Observation sits

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Moose
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Observation sits

Unread postby Moose » Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:32 pm

How often will you do observation sits? Can you burn out your spot if you do an observation sits multiple days in a row? Is there such a thing of a set distance to sit from bedding or expected bedding so you don't burn out the spot? This is in farm country.


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greenhorndave
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby greenhorndave » Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:12 am

Subscribed.

And I would like to add swamps/rivers to the equation where the deer are in certain places because easy line of sight does not exist because of pressure.
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MichiganMike
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:22 am

I dont feel you can burn out a spot if your sitting back a ways. Once you get eyes on a target though - move in and get em!
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Tim H
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby Tim H » Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:34 am

greenhorndave wrote:Subscribed.

And I would like to add swamps/rivers to the equation where the deer are in certain places because easy line of sight does not exist because of pressure.


One of the marshes I hunt has a got a good vantage point where I'll be setting up to overlook the whole marsh. I'm hoping I can catch deer getting up out of the bedding as they make their way to the timber/ag. I haven't tried it yet but in my head it should work really well. :lol:
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greenhorndave
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby greenhorndave » Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:05 am

Tim H wrote:
greenhorndave wrote:Subscribed.

And I would like to add swamps/rivers to the equation where the deer are in certain places because easy line of sight does not exist because of pressure.


One of the marshes I hunt has a got a good vantage point where I'll be setting up to overlook the whole marsh. I'm hoping I can catch deer getting up out of the bedding as they make their way to the timber/ag. I haven't tried it yet but in my head it should work really well. :lol:

Some of the best spots I scouted have limited to no line of sight from a tree without encroaching on the bedding areas. The trees might even be too far to be staging areas, but even if they are, that’s way closer than I want to put scent in for an observation. I am going to drop a cam in on some trails that now are being used that I should be able to find in the longer vegetation, but I don’t want to put scent too close. I might stack some scent in the ways I don’t want them to go, however, and channel movement the other way.

Bottom line, the deer are in isolated places for a reason. I really am not sure how to observe them with my eyeballs without getting too close.
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Hawthorne
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby Hawthorne » Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:25 am

I knew a guy that hunted private land and killed some giants. He had his property set up to where he could always see another pre set treestand in view from the one he was sitting in case he had to move from observation. This was before the mobile hunting boom.
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby rfickes87 » Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:50 am

Here is an old post of mine on a PA farm buck I killed thanks to an observation sit. i'll try to repost the imagines because it looks like my links are broken. I think that I could have sat this observation sit several times and not disturbed this buck. He had a beaten down path to the corn field and yet no one I know of ever saw him in daylight. I think he felt safe and didn't have a care in the world since he was making him move to the field after dark.

I never saw this buck during the observation sit but I saw 2 or 3 other smaller bucks and it showed me where to get on the exit trail which led me to this hog. :L:

http://thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=287&t=47018
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby Deerkins » Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:13 am

I killed this buck on Ny public, by using information gained from an observation sit. I had previously found him on trail camera 300 yds further down his run, but was unsure of his exact route as he traveled closer to his core area. I decided to sit at a safe distance in the area I thought he was heading. This area lended itself to an observation sit, but if it hadn’t, I would have either tried moving a camera in, or looked for sign in the area I thought he was moving through.

Generally, I think observation sits are most useful in cases where there’s good access and line of sight, to backup a hunch made through reading sign or camera pics. If you have something to go off of, that’ll be your starting point on planning your entry and exit to where you’ll observe from.
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:43 am

Couple of great bucks there! way to get it done!
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby Hookslinger » Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:00 pm

I have never actually done an observation sit before. Now, heading into my second season hunting in a Beastly manner, I plan to change that. I am going to hike this summer and locate some good vantage points where I can observe some of the bedding areas adjacent to my setups that I have scouted. In particular, the week or two before the bow opener I am going to do my best to locate a target buck or two to go after. Easier said than done from what I hear, but sounds like a great way to spend your time.

I would say in farm country you could do as many observation sits as you want without burning anything if you have the right vantage point. Seems like you could really put some distance between you and the deer in that type of terrain.
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby LeeKov » Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:35 pm

greenhorndave wrote:Subscribed.

And I would like to add swamps/rivers to the equation where the deer are in certain places because easy line of sight does not exist because of pressure.


To relay off of this...
I have a few swamp areas where I’m trying to come up with plans for observation sits... when sitting an edge (may even pertain to farm country) how far back should I be? Obviously further back the better “as long as you can see...” but I’m talking about where should I set up? There’s the main land where I’d expect other hunters to be... I have yet scouted this, it’s assumption based from e scouting. The main land has a funnel of timber before it opens into a clear cut. Knowing the food available in a clear cut is why I’d suspect bedding in the swamp in the area I am considering. There is a point that sticks out into the clear cut, that is (according to topo maps) is a low spot that feeds up from the swamp. Should I be conducting observations on that main area where I can see movement to the main land area where I can see movement coming head on? Or should I be one side or the other (wind specific) of that suspected low entry spot, maybe 60-80 yards if I’m able to still see movement heading to there? Or should I pick a tree out in the swamp (off to the side) where I can just observe movement coming from left to right, or right to left trying to see what’s bedding where? And how they move through?
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Re: Observation sits

Unread postby muddy » Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:41 pm

My observation sits are never close enough to my kill spots to do any damage to them. Sometimes I'll even observe areas that are transition areas to my spots just to be safe.
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