Hunting the same spot

[Wlog]

I like a ladder stand on private land for an observation stand. Set somewhere I can see a long way. Or for a gun season stand along a known escape route. Usually only sit there once a season. They are real nice for taking kids along on a hunt to let them see some deer.

[Southern Buck]

I have a few set out that I don't move. Might hunt each one a couple times each season and always with a gun. Like everyone else, my level of success really increased once I went mobile. It's one of the few things I had figured out before I found this site.

Read an interview that Dan did for an outdoor magazine years ago, and he said I think most people would be better off if they just threw a dart at a map and set up there. I agree. It's hard to get people to understand that, but it's true.

[moog5050]

Why do I get the feeling that this was posted only to get a reaction? lol

We hunt 6 small private parcels here in NY (20-60 acres) and have tons of preset stands. We will move some or put new ones up depending on sign. But they usually stay set and we try to keep pressure off by changing up properties and stands often (we will sit a hot rut stand for several days in a row). By example, on my 40 acres, I have 21 stands set. The majority were not hunted last year but I did shoot a nice buck during the rut from one stand and the next day my buddy hunted it and had a mature 10pt chasing doe in range but never got a shot. it was the right time. Many of our stands are not hunted in a given year, but they are available. Since we don't have large public parcels except the ADK over 3 hours away (which has low deer density), we make do with what we have and try to constantly move to avoid over pressuring a spot or parcel. We hunt the rut hard and that is the key for us since we don't have large enough properties to target a ton of beds like most do here.

[Rich M]

I'm actually surprised at the poll results, lots of people just leave it there. I did have stands that stayed put but would only hunt them on the best winds and only sporadically.

My answer was move it more than twice - not cause I'm a mobile hunter but because I do move a couple times each year - the first sit is always the best sit, and the next couple of sits are almost as good. This is private land/leased land talking here. IMO it takes about 3 days for the word to get out that there's a person in that tree and the sightings to dip.

Will be hunting public this year and need at least 4-6 spots picked out for each hunt - need back ups in case I'm not the only one hunting the location, and there is no way I'm going to sit in the same tree over the 3 or 4 day FL WMA hunts if I don't see anything in range, will either adjust the stand location closer to deer movement, or go to a totally diff spot.

[dan]

I'm actually surprised at the poll results, lots of people just leave it there. I did have stands that stayed put but would only hunt them on the best winds and only sporadically.

Im not surprised... Even I chose leave it in one position. He said ladder stand... I would not try and be mobile with a ladder stand. Just put it up and leave it, but only hunt it a couple times a year. If he said a L/W, yea, the answer would of been different.

[Stanley]

I was hunting a friends property a couple years ago. He said I could use or move a ladder stand that he had set up about 12 years ago. I found a spot that I was going to move it to. The chain that bound the stand to the tree was grown into the tree. That shot that idea. I didn't like the location so it's still in the tree.

[Tennhunter3]

Welcome to hunting beast dive in and read away!

We very very rarely hunt any spot over 3 times a year. With 4 weeks or longer in between sits.

[Stanley]

Just for the record if a property has a good sweet spot no one should feel any peer pressure to not hunt the spot with a ladder stand. Nothing wrong with a ladder stand if it works out for you. Sometimes we get caught up in a style and refuse to do anything different. I would never look down a guy because he hunts out of a ladder stand, and neither should anyone else.

[dan]

I only have 1 ladder stand... Its a monster giant. A guy gave it to me 3 years ago. Been planning to put it on Daves farm in an observation spot that would also be good for a gun hunt, just never get around to it. I did lean it against the house to fix some loose siding once.

[Jimmybob_581]

Just for the record if a property has a good sweet spot no one should feel any peer pressure to not hunt the spot with a ladder stand. Nothing wrong with a ladder stand if it works out for you. Sometimes we get caught up in a style and refuse to do anything different. I would never look down a guy because he hunts out of a ladder stand, and neither should anyone else.

Well see that's the thing, I've never had BAD luck keeping my stand where it is... typically I hunt areas that have little to no pressure. I see movement most of the time, but I go to great lengths with cover scents, back cover etc... just kinda wanted to see what everyone else does, and any success they noticed from either way

[Rich M]

I have a handful of ladder stands and would move them around cause I had more spots than stands. One of my ladders currently has an "axle" and 12-inch bike tires on it. Made that for hunting public land with a 2 mile walk in. It is a comfortable stand, allowing for all-day sits.

[john1984]

When I hunted my step fathers land I would hunt the same stand,, sometimes I would rotate. They were heavy homemade ladder stands.

[Lockdown]

Just for the record if a property has a good sweet spot no one should feel any peer pressure to not hunt the spot with a ladder stand. Nothing wrong with a ladder stand if it works out for you. Sometimes we get caught up in a style and refuse to do anything different. I would never look down a guy because he hunts out of a ladder stand, and neither should anyone else.

Well see that's the thing, I've never had BAD luck keeping my stand where it is... typically I hunt areas that have little to no pressure. I see movement most of the time, but I go to great lengths with cover scents, back cover etc... just kinda wanted to see what everyone else does, and any success they noticed from either way

I would like to add that most of the comments are referencing mature bucks. Does and smaller bucks will put up with a lot more pressure/repeated sits. Don't take that as me implying that you aren't successfully taking big deer

Jimmybob, if some of the responses caught you off guard don't let it bother you. This forum is full of guys who use Dan's tactics to target and kill mature deer. Being a "Beast" comes with a few stereotypes:

1) hunting mobile - REALLY spreading out your hunts. There are many guys who won't sit a stand more than once! (Unless there's good reason too). We know the best chance to kill a big one is sit #1.

*2) We dislike "pixie dust" - many of us feel the rigorous scent control efforts aren't worth the money and effort. Some hunt in their work clothes and still get it done. If you walk through the marsh, Mr Big will know no matter what. You can't beat his nose. That's why we spread our hunts out to so many different stand locations.

*disclaimer- we have many members that use some form of scent control and I'm not knocking anyone that does. But in general the "scent control extremists" are not found here.

3) hard core - We dive deep into high pressure public lands. We scout far more than we actually hunt. We prep our kill trees and make ground blinds in the spring... Then don't come back until the day we hunt.

4) Lone Wolf/XOP enthusiasts- we are big fans of these mobile hunting products. We use different brands too, but these are the "fail safe" for many of us. If you see a guy in the public parking lot with stealth strips and paracord on his Lone Wolf, he's a Beast member.

5) Bed hunters - we infiltrate bedding areas specifically and strategically. The stuff they tell you on TV and in the magazines is largely a bunch of bunk. We do things our way.

6) cyber scouters- we know how to find bedding without ever setting foot on a property.

There are more, but you get the idea. Nobody on this forum will knock you for repeatedly sitting a ladder stand. We have all types and kinds of hunters here and all are welcome. But hunting mobile and not repeatedly sitting stands over and over is one of the staples for success here. So just wanted to fill you in.

Pretty confident if you dive into the threads here, listen to the podcasts, and watch Dan's dvd's, your routine will likely change some

[tgreeno]

Hi all, just checking in to see what everyone's strategy is. I typically hunt the same tree stand through all of archery, I've never had a problem with activity other than the typical days you just don't see anything. So how many of you keep the ladder stand in the same sot, or how many of you switch it up?

So is the original question you're asking, if I hunt in 1 single spot for the entire archery season? Or if I hunted out of a ladder stand, would I move it throughout the season? There seems to be some confusion.

[MN_DeerHunter]

Lockdown summed it up very well.

I'm surprised Dan didn't mention his old trusty wood ladder "stand" that he hauls into the marsh. That thing is the ticket and I think my favorite ladder stand