Analise This Strategy Please.

[sticknstringarchery]

Tomorrow I plan on hunting an area I have stayed out of for most of the year. I have only entered this area 5 times over the entire year and that was to check for new signs of a big buck. The last time being 3 weeks ago when I found new rubs and scrapes along the trail that is marked below. This is the first time I have hunted an area with the intentions of taking one particular buck. I have been waiting since opening day for the conditions to be what I consider right. We have been in the upper 70's during the day and tomorrow is the start of our "cold" front. High of 51 low of 34, overcast with a 50% chance of rain. The wind will be coming from the NE.

If there is anything wrong with this plan please let me know.

[sticknstringarchery]

And thanks in advance.

[Stanley]

I like the set up and the approach is good for that wind. How did you decide on where the stand was to be placed?

[headgear]

Any idea where he is bedding? Can you get us a topo map?

[JRM6868]

Looks solid.
Only suggestion might be to move south a little to where your close to the tree line or in it south west of the trail like you are might pick up a little more movement with the other tree line dying into that one. Assuming north is up in the pic.

Good luck

[sticknstringarchery]

I chose the stand location based on the lay of the land and shot placement. With my stand at this point I will have a really nice broadside shot or quartering away shot.

Right where the trail turns, it starts up a hill. There is a landbridge we made a year or so back for logging in in the middle of the turn of the trail. They have taken this landbridge over and use it to access the hill easier than crossing the deep branch.

As far as setting up on the south, the only trees I could use, I would only have quartering too shot unless I set up on a shelf 3/4 of the way up the hill. Setting up on the shelf would be perfect if I had a tree I could climb. The shelf is actually a man made old pasture/logging road and does not have any trees big enough to climb.

He is bedding in the pine thicket where the arrow is heading. I found signs of beds in the thicket to the east south east of the arrow last season. 2 days ago I was hunting a stand to the North West of this area. I heard what I assume to have been him grunting around 3:30pm. He grunted 8 times and it sounded like it came right from where I will be seting up. Then again almost in front of me (I was facing east) which would have put him right in front of me at the bottom of the hollar.

I don't have an exact tree picked out to climb as I have tried to stay out of this area but, I do remember from the last time being there that there is a few I will be able to get in and be around 20yd off of his trail. I will glass the other side of the branch before I set up just to make sure there isnt a good enough tree to get up on the shelf. I would much rather be there than at the bottom of the hill just incase he comes down from the bed as I believe him to have the other day.



All in all, I can't wait to get out tomorrow. Needless to say it will be one sleepless night.

[rochester coops]

So how did it go?

[sticknstringarchery]

So how did it go?

Not as planned. I was on my way to the set when it started raining. I put my rain gear on and continued. Got to the tree I had picked out and it was too small so I found another tree that wasn't what I thought was the greatest but once in was probably better placed than the other one was. Made it to the height I was comfortable with which was around 26 feet, hung my bow hanger and pack hanger, hung my pack and turned to grab my hoist rope and there it went, right beside the bow. I climbed down and got it, climbed back up and settled in. It continued to rain and the wind was pretty much gust of 10mph or so coming in from the ENE as planned. After almost 2 hours, the wind changed dirrection and speed. It started gusting to what i believe was closer to 20mph and it was coming in from the WNW, which put my scent cone headed right towards his bed so I packed up and headed for Doeville. Nothing happened there either. Even with the everything that went unplanned and the wet weather, it was still great to be out there. Can't wait to get back out to another set tomorrow morning.