Entrance and Exit to stands
- BackWoodsHunter
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Entrance and Exit to stands
What are some of your best and worst entrance and exit to stand sites? Any tips on things to ALWAYS avoid, or access routes that will always work.
After some recent scouting I have a good access route to get away from other hunters but to get through the tangled mess to a better spot to hunt I need to use the deer trails because everything is so thick. I don't quite have the deer movement in this area figured out and one spot I'd like to hunt is sort of a funnel, I don't have beds pinpointed. I don't like the idea of using deer trails to access my stand site in the thick cover but feel like because it is so thick I have little choice. Will using these deer trails cause them to go cold all together?
After some recent scouting I have a good access route to get away from other hunters but to get through the tangled mess to a better spot to hunt I need to use the deer trails because everything is so thick. I don't quite have the deer movement in this area figured out and one spot I'd like to hunt is sort of a funnel, I don't have beds pinpointed. I don't like the idea of using deer trails to access my stand site in the thick cover but feel like because it is so thick I have little choice. Will using these deer trails cause them to go cold all together?
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- gjs4
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
seems to be for me (in high pressure NY)- I can get away with more instrusion in tight screened areas than i can in an open field- a 15 ft wide path through bursh leaves deer moving the same way- 4 or 5 entrance trips through an open field has nightime movement altered.
so many like ditches and creeks for sneaks in- i dont...too much (buck) traffic in or along them
I love use train tracks- great cover sounds and smells.....
I love any farm fields with livestock- same reasons as above....
A good way means nothing for a good way out.....and sometimes a stand area is trashed because despite alll the stars aligning.....there is no good way out or in.
i like to mow or trim paths wide enough that deer dont like them but
on ground you own- walk the lines you blow deer inward rather than off your ground.....i love wlaking and hunting the edges
so many like ditches and creeks for sneaks in- i dont...too much (buck) traffic in or along them
I love use train tracks- great cover sounds and smells.....
I love any farm fields with livestock- same reasons as above....
A good way means nothing for a good way out.....and sometimes a stand area is trashed because despite alll the stars aligning.....there is no good way out or in.
i like to mow or trim paths wide enough that deer dont like them but
on ground you own- walk the lines you blow deer inward rather than off your ground.....i love wlaking and hunting the edges
Green and growing... Or red and rotting
- Zap
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Best acess to a stand is water.
Then:
Bare dirt.
Gravel.
Short crop/grass.
If you stink up the trails, well the deer know you where there.
What they do after that depends on the amount of human intrusion that they will tolerate/are used to.
Then:
Bare dirt.
Gravel.
Short crop/grass.
If you stink up the trails, well the deer know you where there.
What they do after that depends on the amount of human intrusion that they will tolerate/are used to.
"Forged in fire lit long ago. Stand next to me and you will never stand alone".
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
I use to have a spot a few years ago that was just a honey hole, big bucks, small bucks, does etc. This spot was super easy to get to, I parked up by the house/ shop and walked in about 100 yards through a mowed field that the landowner kept trailers, back hoes etc parked in. Then I walked down a 20 foot hill, climbed a 20 foot little knoll and came up right behind my stand, took 10 minutes to get to, and maybe 30 yards of walking in the timber. I WAY ove rhunted that spot, but it was always a hot spot, and I think it was due to the easy entrance/exit. I wish they were all that way! I still struggle with this Matt, I think this single aspect alone is better than having an awesome spot with crap entrance and exit.
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Most of my spots I use deer trails to get to. Like you said it's hard to avoid. So I hunt the spot once and then go to another one the next day, unless I'm rut hunting and that's a different story. My biggest concern is noise getting to a stand, so I just go slow and watch where I walk. Exiting a stand in the dark in the swamp is never silent for me so I don't worry too much about it unless like I said I'm rut hunting and plan on coming back the next day.
- headgear
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Some places you just have to use the trails, burn the bridge and move on. I try and find the best access routes possible but sometimes to get the location to kill a nice buck you just have to go in and mess things up. Most of my sets are this way, hunt it once and move on. I'd say 90% of my exit routes don't matter becase I won't hunt that location for a month anyway.
Now if this is private land that you plan to hunt more you migth have to be much more careful, wait for solid evidence that the buck is in there before you go in or do it when the rut or moon is right to give you the best chance. Or maybe you just have to hold back a little if you aren't sure about his bed and don't want to mess up the area.
Now if this is private land that you plan to hunt more you migth have to be much more careful, wait for solid evidence that the buck is in there before you go in or do it when the rut or moon is right to give you the best chance. Or maybe you just have to hold back a little if you aren't sure about his bed and don't want to mess up the area.
- JRM6868
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Another thing I do is go in with loppers and hand pruners and trim out what I need for access the spring bofore coming in from an angle the deer won't use and make it less obvious to hunters by not starting your path until your 20-30 yards in. The first 20-30 yards are a PITA but once you get through that you have your trail. You'll have some regrowth over the summer but it can be trimmed pretty easy in august before the season.
- Edcyclopedia
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
JRM6868 wrote:Another thing I do is go in with loppers and hand pruners and trim out what I need for access the spring bofore coming in from an angle the deer won't use and make it less obvious to hunters by not starting your path until your 20-30 yards in. The first 20-30 yards are a PITA but once you get through that you have your trail. You'll have some regrowth over the summer but it can be trimmed pretty easy in august before the season.
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
my favorite setup and entrance to a stand (in bluff country) is when the crop fields are on top and i park my car on the road and walk up the bluff to my stand early morning when deer are up near crops. . unfortunately my land does not allow this as im in the middle of a huge valley/ridge and in the middle of nowhere with no road near my land. so best for my own personal land is evening hunts and dropping down as close to bedding without scaring deer. i always try to go out of my way so my scent doesnt blow where deer are bedded walking to stands . then try to get an almost wrong wind. getting out always proves best on my favorite entrance also . the evening exit on my land can be bad exiting cause crops are on top.
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Using water is tops. Starting to walk up small creeks more..
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- PLB
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Edcyclopedia wrote:JRM6868 wrote:Another thing I do is go in with loppers and hand pruners and trim out what I need for access the spring bofore coming in from an angle the deer won't use and make it less obvious to hunters by not starting your path until your 20-30 yards in. The first 20-30 yards are a PITA but once you get through that you have your trail. You'll have some regrowth over the summer but it can be trimmed pretty easy in august before the season.
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Trimming is illegal on much public land
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- Zap
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
wmihunter wrote:Trimming is illegal on much public land
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This is true, but.....
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
Zap wrote:wmihunter wrote:Trimming is illegal on much public land
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This is true, but.....
For stands where I know where the deer trails are, I try to make sure I cross them only once. As in if there's a side hill, I try to go straight up. I feel the less I'm on a trail, the lesser of a chance they have at picking up my trail coming in.
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Re: Entrance and Exit to stands
My best enterance is walking a river/creek in my chest waders, finding where deer cross the river and set up there. You can get nice and close to bedding areas this way b/c if you're careful, you can be silent.
The worst enterance/exit is walking a river/creek in my chest waders, then finding out that the muck/water is too deep and filling up. That happened to me this year. I was too far in to turn around so I just hunted wet that night...not fun.
I've also found that as long as you don't "burn bridges" while taking deer trails in and out and take your time, being careful not to make noise- a hunter can use deer trails. Especially in cattails where the deer's sense of hearing and sight maybe limited due to the cattials making noise and being too thick to see through.
The worst enterance/exit is walking a river/creek in my chest waders, then finding out that the muck/water is too deep and filling up. That happened to me this year. I was too far in to turn around so I just hunted wet that night...not fun.
I've also found that as long as you don't "burn bridges" while taking deer trails in and out and take your time, being careful not to make noise- a hunter can use deer trails. Especially in cattails where the deer's sense of hearing and sight maybe limited due to the cattials making noise and being too thick to see through.
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