when setting up on a buck should seeing along ways matter or should you just set up where you can kill him

[wolverinebuckman]

[glow=red]The spot I am going to hunt the most is pretty solid with cats.[/glow] Its going to be bang- bang seeing to shooting. 10-20 yard visibility in most places. I found out pretty quickly last season that the places that I could see a long ways for deer, all I saw were young bucks and does.

Feral cats are really putting a hurting on our wild bird populations. Keep that in mind when the hunting is slow but the cat sightings are thick.

guess I should have been clearer...cattails. we are thick with cattails.

[JoeRE]

I think a pretty common mistake is setting up just for visibility. Not talking about observation sits, that's different. When I find a big buck it is usually in the thick. Sometimes its small cover but still thick in where a pressured buck feels comfortable getting up and moving in daylight. Don't believe everything you see on TV!

[Divergent]

Unless I’m hunting a cutover, I’m hunting in a thicket with minimal sight distance. I had always hunted with a gun once our gun season started. My deer sightings would drop tremendously. I attributed my results to hunting multiple subpar areas from one tree, rather than hunting one great spot with minimal sight distance. I felt that if I could see more real estate then my odds would go up. I was wrong. Now, it’s rare that I even hunt from a tree because the understory is so thick and I usually can’t see more than 50yds in most situations.

[Babshaft]

My findings from scouting this year are in line with the information in this thread. I'm finding beds everywhere, but as soon as I get into the thick stuff, it lights up. I've got rubs, huge tracks and huge turds everywhere. Before Dan's workshop I was having a hard time figuring out setups because I couldn't figure out where to hang a stand in these spots - there was nowhere that I could see more than 50 yards let alone a long distance. Seeing how close Dan sets up was a light bulb moment for me.

One thing I really wasn't doing was actually listening to what Dan and the other beasts were saying - whether it was on here, in videos or on podcasts. When they say you have to be close - they mean CLOSE. When they say you won't have an ideal tree in the right spot - they mean it. For me I have to hunt from the ground, a lot more than I thought I would, because of the thick canopy. I'll be able to see ~50 yards, but when it comes shot time, it's so thick I'll be at 10 yards if it happens. When they say you have to be quiet and take your time - they actually mean it haha. I practiced closing the last 40 yards (it'll be closer to a 100 come season) and setting up yesterday when I prepped a tree. Wow does it take patience. Access is another aspect I really need to work on (thanks Lockdown!). I'm going to test the beast theory, that you have to be close to kill them, this fall and see if it's going to work for me.

The workshop was awesome for me because it gave me visuals on what I needed to start working towards success. Now I need to go out in season, make mistakes, learn from them, and see what it takes to get it done. Staying out of sight is really easy for me right now, because the best spots I'm finding happen to be in the really thick and nasty stuff. Sorry I went a bit off topic.

[flinginairos]

My findings from scouting this year are in line with the information in this thread. I'm finding beds everywhere, but as soon as I get into the thick stuff, it lights up. I've got rubs, huge tracks and huge turds everywhere. Before Dan's workshop I was having a hard time figuring out setups because I couldn't figure out where to hang a stand in these spots - there was nowhere that I could see more than 50 yards let alone a long distance. Seeing how close Dan sets up was a light bulb moment for me.

One thing I really wasn't doing was actually listening to what Dan and the other beasts were saying - whether it was on here, in videos or on podcasts. When they say you have to be close - they mean CLOSE. When they say you won't have an ideal tree in the right spot - they mean it. For me I have to hunt from the ground, a lot more than I thought I would, because of the thick canopy. I'll be able to see ~50 yards, but when it comes shot time, it's so thick I'll be at 10 yards if it happens. When they say you have to be quiet and take your time - they actually mean it haha. I practiced closing the last 40 yards (it'll be closer to a 100 come season) and setting up yesterday when I prepped a tree. Wow does it take patience. Access is another aspect I really need to work on (thanks Lockdown!). I'm going to test the beast theory, that you have to be close to kill them, this fall and see if it's going to work for me.

The workshop was awesome for me because it gave me visuals on what I needed to start working towards success. Now I need to go out in season, make mistakes, learn from them, and see what it takes to get it done. Staying out of sight is really easy for me right now, because the best spots I'm finding happen to be in the really thick and nasty stuff. Sorry I went a bit off topic.

That last 150-200 yards is absolutely critical IMO. It's not easy to slow down and really focus on not making any noise but I found once I started doing that my success rate made a huge jump. I guess I just never thought that it was possible to get that close to a bedded buck but last year proved to me that with a good access route and total stealth on the final approach to the tree I was able to get within 30 yards of multiple bedded bucks three days in a row. When you sneak in like that and have a nice buck stand up from his bed 30 yards away it's an AWESOME feeling knowing you did it right!

[tgreeno]

That last 150-200 yards is absolutely critical IMO. It's not easy to slow down and really focus on not making any noise but I found once I started doing that my success rate made a huge jump. I guess I just never thought that it was possible to get that close to a bedded buck but last year proved to me that with a good access route and total stealth on the final approach to the tree I was able to get within 30 yards of multiple bedded bucks three days in a row. When you sneak in like that and have a nice buck stand up from his bed 30 yards away it's an AWESOME feeling knowing you did it right!

You cannot be slow enough , careful or quiet enough during access to your kill tree! This is sometimes easier said than done. It's very hard to teach yourself to slowdown. But not being quiet enough, can end your hunt before you even get into your tree!

[SwampThing1980]

Babshaft, it seems we had a very similar experience at the scout day:). What you bring up as far as having been working on since the camp; is exactly what I’ve been working on:). What I would usually cover in about 2min for distance took me almost 15min to cover yesterday. And I still made. A bunch of noise... starting to think I may have to opt for socks on the final approach instead of boots..

[Babshaft]

That last 150-200 yards is absolutely critical IMO. It's not easy to slow down and really focus on not making any noise but I found once I started doing that my success rate made a huge jump. I guess I just never thought that it was possible to get that close to a bedded buck but last year proved to me that with a good access route and total stealth on the final approach to the tree I was able to get within 30 yards of multiple bedded bucks three days in a row. When you sneak in like that and have a nice buck stand up from his bed 30 yards away it's an AWESOME feeling knowing you did it right!

Right on man, thanks for the encouragement. If I can get onto the quality of bucks you've been killing I'll be a happy man. Long way to go to acquire your ninja and hunting skills but I'm working on it! It's nice putting in the practice now without having the feeling of potentially ruining a hunt.

Babshaft, it seems we had a very similar experience at the scout day:). What you bring up as far as having been working on since the camp; is exactly what I’ve been working on:). What I would usually cover in about 2min for distance took me almost 15min to cover yesterday. And I still made. A bunch of noise... starting to think I may have to opt for socks on the final approach instead of boots..

Beauty! Today I had my wife stay in the best beds we found on a particular area while I snuck in, climbed a tree and prepped it. I had 4 texts before I even got to the base of the tree haha. When I finally got to where she could see me she was yelling at me for taking so long. I think I'm getting the hang of it! I woulldn't recommend this particular training exercise unless the individual has an exceptional dog house...

[SwampThing1980]

That is a great idea.. I have a really nice doghouse, been a regular resident there in the last 11years:). I doubt I will get the wife to go into marsh muck with me though.. I think my son is going to get wet though:)

[Divergent]

Well played sir, well played

[Matt6506]

My findings from scouting this year are in line with the information in this thread. I'm finding beds everywhere, but as soon as I get into the thick stuff, it lights up. I've got rubs, huge tracks and huge turds everywhere. Before Dan's workshop I was having a hard time figuring out setups because I couldn't figure out where to hang a stand in these spots - there was nowhere that I could see more than 50 yards let alone a long distance. Seeing how close Dan sets up was a light bulb moment for me.

One thing I really wasn't doing was actually listening to what Dan and the other beasts were saying - whether it was on here, in videos or on podcasts. When they say you have to be close - they mean CLOSE. When they say you won't have an ideal tree in the right spot - they mean it. For me I have to hunt from the ground, a lot more than I thought I would, because of the thick canopy. I'll be able to see ~50 yards, but when it comes shot time, it's so thick I'll be at 10 yards if it happens. When they say you have to be quiet and take your time - they actually mean it haha. I practiced closing the last 40 yards (it'll be closer to a 100 come season) and setting up yesterday when I prepped a tree. Wow does it take patience. Access is another aspect I really need to work on (thanks Lockdown!). I'm going to test the beast theory, that you have to be close to kill them, this fall and see if it's going to work for me.

The workshop was awesome for me because it gave me visuals on what I needed to start working towards success. Now I need to go out in season, make mistakes, learn from them, and see what it takes to get it done. Staying out of sight is really easy for me right now, because the best spots I'm finding happen to be in the really thick and nasty stuff. Sorry I went a bit off topic.

That last 150-200 yards is absolutely critical IMO. It's not easy to slow down and really focus on not making any noise but I found once I started doing that my success rate made a huge jump. I guess I just never thought that it was possible to get that close to a bedded buck but last year proved to me that with a good access route and total stealth on the final approach to the tree I was able to get within 30 yards of multiple bedded bucks three days in a row. When you sneak in like that and have a nice buck stand up from his bed 30 yards away it's an AWESOME feeling knowing you did it right!

I agree with this 100%, this past year I started forcing myself to completely stop and sit down for 10 mins or so to get unwound before slipping in that last 200 yards. I saw a huge increase in my sighings. As far as being close or sitting back and observing I think that needs to be addressed on a case by case basis.

[<DK>]

Put it this way, find me a hunter who consistently kills good bucks in open areas on pressured ground. Especially outside of rut.

Boom