Let the Insanity Begin!

[DropTyne]

I got a phone call about 2 weeks ago from one of the members of the lease I am a part of and he said he just got a great deal on ladder stand and he bought nine of them! This property already has 15 of them on there so it will now have a total of 24. The logic used behind that ladder stand placement is terrible and it frustrates me to no end. On top of that the person who is putting the stands up trims EVERYTHING within shooting distance of the stand because years ago he missed a big buck when he deflected an arrow off a branch. It seems like every year I have to re-learn the property because cover is altered and ladder stands are moved and put up all over.

This weekend some of the guys went to the land to put them up and he took the pine that I shot my buck out of and trimmed all the way up and stuck a ladder stand in it. Now I'm not saying that I would necessarily shoot another big buck out of that same tree but it just gets annoying.

I have noticed in the past when I actually did hunt the ladder stands that often times I would see mature bucks but they would always be a touch out of range.

What are your thoughts about this situation? What are your thoughts on ladder stands in general?

[GRFox]

I dont like ladder stands at all. I feel like it isnt bowhunting when Im not perched 25 feet up on a tiny platform.

Its also an obvious structure that a deer will see, and every time you use it you leave scent on it which IMO, If I were a big buck, I wouldnt be going anywhere near that unnatural hunk of people smelling metal. Jut my 2 cents.

[Black Squirrel]

Wow Droptyne, that sounds so familar, from the ladder stands, to the excess trimming. If I didn't know better, I would have thought we shared the same lease partners . There are 4 of us total and 2 guys hardly ever show up, and when they do the trim out everthing. Makes a good spot terrible. Last year we had a 10 pointer working and area of the land. We saw him three times, and everytime he stayed in the thick stuff out of range. I believe they don't go into those open shooting lanes, not because they know there is a hunter there, but because they just don't feel safe in those open areas. One of the reasons I have been using a Tree Saddle for the past few years. I can hunt where I want, but I am constanlty adjusting do to the damage they all create.

[headgear]

Sounds a little messy, they guy probably thinks he is helping everyone out and in a way he is. It is just that we know better then to buy a ton of stands and trim everything in sight. I would say your best bet is to re-learn the land again and try and figure out how the bucks will avoid the ladder stands and hunt them there. Heck even go mobile and hunt 30-40 yards out from a ladder stand to see if you can catch those bucks by surprise.

It might help you to be a little more tight lipped about where you shoot your bucks in the future, I know it's not honest but it might help you take a little pressure off the deer and give you a little extra space.

Overall I don't care much for ladder stands bow season but I am constantly moving so I don't have much use for them. Now rifle season I like them, my bigwoods areas are constantly changing with the loggers moving in and out so I can easily throw up a ladder stand and do a little trimming and hunt a location for a few years then move it when the time is right. However I still use my mobile setups there too.

I also hear you about stand placement, 90% of the guys I hunt with will shoot anything, there is absolutely no ryhme or reason behind why they put stands where they do. It gets even worse when they want to all get together and have everyone agree on a stand location. I just gave up and let them put stands where they want and I do my own thing, it saves on a lot of headaches.

[DEERSLAYER]

It may be time for a new lease or to learn a bunch of public land spots. If you want to stay on the lease then maybe throw around the idea that the land gets divided up into sections and each person gets a section. This might be difficult because of people accessing stands through each others section and it could cause in fighting because some sections may be better or at least perceived to be better than others.

The best thing though, may be to consider this an opportunity. You mentioned sitting in those ladder stands and seeing bucks skirt them out of range. This could be looked at as forming a bottle neck. You could take advantage of this by setting up 50-60 yards away or what ever is necessary to be in this "bottle neck". Another thing I would do is plot these stands on a map so you can find the seams between them. This will help you find the travel corridors that are created by hunting pressure and the "clearings". If possible you should also find out how they access those stands to help further narrow down places to set up.

Of course, you could always refer them to the Beast so they could learn how to hunt! Although that might be counter productive as then they would kill off all the mature bucks.

[dan]

You have to treat it just like public and figure out the overlooked areas with no ladder stands...

[Bucky]

Depending on what you are paying... it might not be worth the headaches!

[magicman54494]

What are your thoughts about this situation?

You'd probably find less pressure on public land

What are your thoughts on ladder stands in general?

Because they are so inviting they are most likely over hunted.

[DropTyne]

Squirrel I remember you saying that you hunted in a similar situation to mine. Ironically and truthfully after reading everyones responses I am doing most of these things you guys said successfully. Hunting where they don't hunt, being mobile all the time, hunting some public on weekends when everyone and their brother is out there, ect.

I just needed to vent the frustration, I will tell you one thing, if the lease was not dirt cheap in a well managed area, I would have jumped ship a while ago.

Good input, guess I will just stick it out and learn some other properties while I wait for this year to see how things pan out!

[dan]

Could be worse, they could know how to hunt correctly and then you would really be fustrated
Also, one issue I have had in this type of enviroment is these guys will likely start to get pissed when you keep hopping around and killing bigger bucks... Rather than adapt, they might try asnd hunt your spots, or force you to choose or draw for stand sites. In some cases they may even get mad and ask you to leave.. After that buck you shot last year and the way they moved right in and set up where you killed it, I would be concerned... It may sound funny, but in cases like this I often get the deer out without the "partners" knowing. I either don't tell them anything, or I claim I shot it on another farm...

[JRM6868]

I've killed my biggest buck from a ladder stand. I went in the week before in the rain and set it up. It's a 22' skyscraper. The secret is in the location and the trimming. I agree though, That you can have too many and depending on the size of the property and amount of people hunting it that it can educate the bucks. I think there is a time and a place to use different stands. It's just a different tool to use. In my instance the double poplar tree was too large to use climbing sticks and my lone wolf or a climber. The ladder stand had long ratchet straps that would fit around the tree on a narrow saddle between the bucks bed and food. They couldn't skirt the stand because of a drop off on one side and allowed me 40 yard shot on the shelf below the stand to get where they want. I knew where I wanted to be and the double poplar was the only tree that provided the cover I needed. I killed the buck at 16 yards and he didn't even look at the ladder stand. I usually set the stands in the rain to cover scent and also spray them down before I take them in and then let them sit outside for a week before I take them to set.

How big is the property??? 24 stands seems like alot.

[tim]

yep , tell em you shot the deer on the worst part of the farm you dont want to hunt. to take over the spot you killed a buck last year is rediculous.

[kenn1320]

I used to hate ladder stands, climbed one as a kid on state land and had a buck see the ladder and follow it right up to me. They stick out like a sore thumb and I had written them off years ago. My thinking has now changed. My dads place is hunted by my dad and 2 brothers. They all use climbers. The property is only 40 acres and is a sqaure wood lot with no adjoining woods(stand alone woods surrounded by ag). You can fart and scare deer out of this woods. Imagine how quickly the deer wise up to hearing them trounce into the area, then climb a tree with noisy climbers. Then they see a deer or two and will sit the same tree half the season, maybe longer. They leave the climber at the base of the tree the whole season. This type of hunting kills a small woods like that. I am setting up wooden ladder stands(20ft) in key locations and will start with a min of 12 of them and add more as money permits. I will have entrance routes marked to them, and the paths to those will be raked twice a year. I will label the stands and give them a map indicating what stand for what direction. They will have to mark what stand they sat on what day. You might not like your lease partners putting up so many stands and trimming, but if they are doing it out of season and moving around, not burning out one area, it might not be as bad as you perceive it. Of course as a Beast, you want them to sit the same stand everytime out and have that stand 100yds from where they park. Sounds like they are at least somewhat thinking strategicaly, although they are not Beasts. That being said, as long as they are not bumping the bucks out of their beds, it shouldnt hurt your hunting right?
Also you need to put your foot down asap! Tell them its BS that they "took over" your stand location. If that buck you shot was not chasing a doe, he likely used that area to move thru for a reason. Other mature bucks will do the same.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Could be worse, they could know how to hunt correctly and then you would really be fustrated
Also, one issue I have had in this type of enviroment is these guys will likely start to get pissed when you keep hopping around and killing bigger bucks... Rather than adapt, they might try asnd hunt your spots, or force you to choose or draw for stand sites. In some cases they may even get mad and ask you to leave.. After that buck you shot last year and the way they moved right in and set up where you killed it, I would be concerned... It may sound funny, but in cases like this I often get the deer out without the "partners" knowing. I either don't tell them anything, or I claim I shot it on another farm...

Exactly what I deal with all of the time. I have and continue to do the same things as Dan.

[DropTyne]

How big is the property??? 24 stands seems like alot.

The property is about 120 acres of woods. But there are other parts of the property that get very little attention, these are the areas I focus on and is where I got my buck this year, now that the area I was hunting has produced I will have company.

I used to tell these guys I hunt with everything. I told them extactly what I saw, where, what time ect. Around 4-5 years ago on opening day I took my climber back on the edge of an overgrown pasture, I watched 2 really nice bucks walk through the pasture past a single pine tree and start to feed in the field during daylight. My was to get in that pine tree and kill one of them. I went back and told the guys what I saw and the next day they put up two ladder stands, one in the pine, one on the far end of the field. I never saw either of those bucks again. That's when I completely stopped telling them anything. "IF" I see a buck it's a yearling, and I never tell them exactly how my setups are working or where I am sitting. The only reason they knew where I shot my buck this year is because when I was tracking him the next morning one of the guys saw my truck and came down to investigate. I hate having to act secretively but that is the only way I will be successful.

Don't get me wrong these guys are my friends and they are nice people. It is interesting in this sport how many people out there claim to be experts. Even someone that has never taken a trophy buck will sometimes claim to be an expert. I'm just happy that I am a smart enough person that I figured out early to listen most closely to those that are seeing consistent success and not to trust everything I read in magazines or see on mainstream television.

And for those that like ladder stands I have nothing against them when used appropriatly. I actually know a guy personally that is pretty darn successful but refuses to hunt of a hang-on after incurring a terrible wound to his "member" from a tree step. He is successful in alot of the ways those that like ladder stands described. He actually moves them pretty often, but he is also a guy that leaves his land alone all year for the most part and then hunts hard during the rut. I would personally think hunting a mature early season buck from a fixed position ladder stand would be big disadvantage to my way of hopping all over that place with the LW.