How to avoid being picked off?

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live2hunt
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Re: How to avoid being picked off?

Unread postby live2hunt » Thu Dec 19, 2019 12:21 pm

raisins wrote:
Denisboyko22 wrote:
mheichelbech wrote:So I had some does approach my stand over the weekend. I was basically just in an observation set overlooking a bedding area from about 200-300 yards away. I spotted the does moving towards me from way off and did not move at all as they approached. They came across the field directly to my stand and when the mama doe got to about 20 yards, she looked up and immediately spotted me in the stand. It was one of the typical December trees with little cover although I did have some branches from a tree beside me on one side. I was wearing what is typically regarded as the best camo out there...ASAT facemask and beanie, Predator camo over the rest of me and camo gloves and even my bow has sneaky leaves attached. I sometimes have deer look at me in the tree and just move on. In this instance, the doe knew I was a problem, stared at me for a good 15 minutes. She never blew or anything, but she did alter the route of travel to a different direction away from me. There were 6 other deer with her.

Just curious, besides sitting still and having back cover, what else can you do to avoid being picked off in late season? I was a good 20 feet up but I think I could have been 50 feet up and she would have seen me. The only thing I can figure is to have a bigger tree so I don't stand out as much.

Idk if youve heard of Cody D Acquisto and his father but in some of their podcasts they talked about how just about every single hunter goes to that desired height of 12-20 feet up in a tree and deer have learned that throughout the years and sometimes if you're up that high too when standing below looking up you will stand out like a pumpkin , but he was saying he likes being 8 feet up because when standing from the ground looking at you all you see is you blended into the other trees and woods but if you were higher you would stand out because you have nothing but the sky as a background , idk what your situation was but this could be something to consider , but if you're lower you have to be more careful with movement since you're closer to eye level


I don't know, this sounds fishy (sometimes unconventional things are more likely to be said?). Why not take this idea to the extreme and stand on the ground behind a tree then?


Barry Wensel has a YouTube video where he just spats out random hunting tips. He claims the same thing about hunting height but he also said there has to be a gap between you and the ground or deer will get spooky. It’s worth a watch to get you thinking about the basics. I hunted anywhere from 5ft to 30 ft high this year in my camo pants and grey carhartt hoodie and didn’t get picked off when it mattered.

As far as o.p I pretty much set up the same late season as I do early season. Go through the details of the set up and I’m sure you can point out things wrong. Examples like no back or fore cover, sun position, glares on gear and clothes, strap blowing, outline wasn’t broke up enough by tree trunk, she might have watched you approach or set up stand, doe had bad experience near that tree, she saw your sticks or straps, you stared her in the eyes, the list can go on and on


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Re: How to avoid being picked off?

Unread postby Denisboyko22 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:20 pm

live2hunt wrote:
raisins wrote:
Denisboyko22 wrote:
mheichelbech wrote:So I had some does approach my stand over the weekend. I was basically just in an observation set overlooking a bedding area from about 200-300 yards away. I spotted the does moving towards me from way off and did not move at all as they approached. They came across the field directly to my stand and when the mama doe got to about 20 yards, she looked up and immediately spotted me in the stand. It was one of the typical December trees with little cover although I did have some branches from a tree beside me on one side. I was wearing what is typically regarded as the best camo out there...ASAT facemask and beanie, Predator camo over the rest of me and camo gloves and even my bow has sneaky leaves attached. I sometimes have deer look at me in the tree and just move on. In this instance, the doe knew I was a problem, stared at me for a good 15 minutes. She never blew or anything, but she did alter the route of travel to a different direction away from me. There were 6 other deer with her.

Just curious, besides sitting still and having back cover, what else can you do to avoid being picked off in late season? I was a good 20 feet up but I think I could have been 50 feet up and she would have seen me. The only thing I can figure is to have a bigger tree so I don't stand out as much.

Idk if youve heard of Cody D Acquisto and his father but in some of their podcasts they talked about how just about every single hunter goes to that desired height of 12-20 feet up in a tree and deer have learned that throughout the years and sometimes if you're up that high too when standing below looking up you will stand out like a pumpkin , but he was saying he likes being 8 feet up because when standing from the ground looking at you all you see is you blended into the other trees and woods but if you were higher you would stand out because you have nothing but the sky as a background , idk what your situation was but this could be something to consider , but if you're lower you have to be more careful with movement since you're closer to eye level


I don't know, this sounds fishy (sometimes unconventional things are more likely to be said?). Why not take this idea to the extreme and stand on the ground behind a tree then?


Barry Wensel has a YouTube video where he just spats out random hunting tips. He claims the same thing about hunting height but he also said there has to be a gap between you and the ground or deer will get spooky. It’s worth a watch to get you thinking about the basics. I hunted anywhere from 5ft to 30 ft high this year in my camo pants and grey carhartt hoodie and didn’t get picked off when it mattered.

As far as o.p I pretty much set up the same late season as I do early season. Go through the details of the set up and I’m sure you can point out things wrong. Examples like no back or fore cover, sun position, glares on gear and clothes, strap blowing, outline wasn’t broke up enough by tree trunk, she might have watched you approach or set up stand, doe had bad experience near that tree, she saw your sticks or straps, you stared her in the eyes, the list can go on and on

I hunt the same way, I just wear brown work pants I have and whatever jacket/hoodie I'm wearing that day and when I setup height is depended on cover and etc like you mentioned, so many variables, I usually go with my gut feeling where to setup so far I've never been spotted in a tree even after I had a mature buck stare up to the tree tops and scan for about 20 minutes this year he ended up walking and I shot him because he didnt spot me because I was right where the leaf cover started on the trees
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Re: How to avoid being picked off?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:05 pm

PK_ wrote:Was it preset or have you hunted the tree before?

Not a preset. I was basically there to observe a thicket about 300 yards away where I had watched a buck exit in late season the prior 2 years. I actually set up where I thought the deer wouldn’t come. Really thought the deer would come in about 100-200 yards west of me.

One issue that I now know but didn’t think about when I picked the tree to climb is that deer would be almost forced to look up when they come to the woodlot I was in. There is an upward slope going from the field to the woodlot I was in. That was a mistake and I should have picked a tree further back. I just didn’t think they’d come right at me like they did.

That is an Interesting observation about the Predator. I’ve always thought camo didn’t matter that much especially if sitting because it all bunches together anyways.
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: How to avoid being picked off?

Unread postby BorealBushMN » Thu Dec 19, 2019 3:10 pm

Did you make eye contact with her? That’ll get you pegged every time.
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Re: How to avoid being picked off?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 am

BorealBushMN wrote:Did you make eye contact with her? That’ll get you pegged every time.

No. I think my main mistake was picking a tree too close to the edge. I know deer are super cautious about entering the woods from a field, I’ve seen it many times. Who knows though, the next time they could enter 100 yards to the left or right. Doesn’t matter, didn’t see the buck I was hoping to see. The good thing is she never did spook off, stomp her feet, snort or anything, just went a different direction. She also seemed to know not to stand there broadside.
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893


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