Pinelander
09-04-2005, 09:12 AM
Was reading a thread on LW (Setup / Stratagy for Whitetails??) where a fella that is fairly new to bowhunting was asking about what to look for in picking spots to ambush and also if you could pick one stand location, what features would it have? Funnels, scrapes, trails, ridges?
My own belief is that any of the above locations are good ones, it's HOW you get there and WHAT you do that increases success. Here are my thoughts based on whitetails and where I hunt - got any of your own?
- Wind is everything... not only after you've arrived at your location, but also accessing in and out to your location. Your appproach to accessing your hunting location is very important. Your route should be based on where you think deer will be if it's morning or evening.
- For a morning hunt, try to avoid cutting across open areas and stay away from known feeding areas (the deer are out in the fields at night). Go the long way around if you can and access your setup through the woods if you have to. Making noise in the woods approaching from the backside is way better than walking right through the deer in the fields.
- For an evening hunt, use the wind to your advantage and swing around and away from known bedding areas... keep your scent line out of there! Imagine that your scent has a colored dye and always be aware of it's direction and where it will end up 100-200 yards downwind. Of course, during the rut there is more movement, so if you've bumped some deer out of your area going in, there will be others moving through later.
- There are some situations where walking in on a deer trail (sneaking, no noise) can get you in very nicely, but you have to make sure that your clothing is very clean and it leaves no out-of-context scent images that deer might be able to pick up on. Most importantly is a fresh pair of gloves and at the very least rubber-soled boots, knee-highs are better. Stealth, think stealth.
- Setting up TOO close to a deer trail can sometimes get you busted, all depends on the terrain. Get on the deer trail (off season is best) and walk it like a deer would. Scutinize where your stand would be... will your body form be extremely skylined? If possible, choose trees that have enough cover to break-up your outline.
- Remember that on relatively quiet wind days, the warming thermals of the morning will LIFT your scent upwards and vice-versa the cooling thermals of evening will drive your scent DOWN. Keep this in mind when hunting ridges or valleys.
- Always keep your hunting clothes clean and sealed away. Take that non-scented soap shower right before leaving and scrub like a surgeon does before surgery (kills way more bacteria on your skin then just taking a regular shower). Get dressed out in the garage or something... skivies, socks, pants, shirt, and clean slippers. When arriving at hunting spot, then finish getting dressed from rubbermaid or plastic bag clothes container. Don't wear your hunting boots in the truck, always keep them outdoors, aired out, and frequently sprinkle baking soda inside them.
Many bowhunters may not go to these extremes, but since it is very flat terrain here and I hunt the same hunting grounds throughout the season, I must be careful to keep my presence at lowest profile as possible.
Not as much photography, observation, and selectiveness for me this year. It was fun and got some great pics last season, but this year's approach will be different... gonna be more aggressive and thump 'em every chance I get. :p
My own belief is that any of the above locations are good ones, it's HOW you get there and WHAT you do that increases success. Here are my thoughts based on whitetails and where I hunt - got any of your own?
- Wind is everything... not only after you've arrived at your location, but also accessing in and out to your location. Your appproach to accessing your hunting location is very important. Your route should be based on where you think deer will be if it's morning or evening.
- For a morning hunt, try to avoid cutting across open areas and stay away from known feeding areas (the deer are out in the fields at night). Go the long way around if you can and access your setup through the woods if you have to. Making noise in the woods approaching from the backside is way better than walking right through the deer in the fields.
- For an evening hunt, use the wind to your advantage and swing around and away from known bedding areas... keep your scent line out of there! Imagine that your scent has a colored dye and always be aware of it's direction and where it will end up 100-200 yards downwind. Of course, during the rut there is more movement, so if you've bumped some deer out of your area going in, there will be others moving through later.
- There are some situations where walking in on a deer trail (sneaking, no noise) can get you in very nicely, but you have to make sure that your clothing is very clean and it leaves no out-of-context scent images that deer might be able to pick up on. Most importantly is a fresh pair of gloves and at the very least rubber-soled boots, knee-highs are better. Stealth, think stealth.
- Setting up TOO close to a deer trail can sometimes get you busted, all depends on the terrain. Get on the deer trail (off season is best) and walk it like a deer would. Scutinize where your stand would be... will your body form be extremely skylined? If possible, choose trees that have enough cover to break-up your outline.
- Remember that on relatively quiet wind days, the warming thermals of the morning will LIFT your scent upwards and vice-versa the cooling thermals of evening will drive your scent DOWN. Keep this in mind when hunting ridges or valleys.
- Always keep your hunting clothes clean and sealed away. Take that non-scented soap shower right before leaving and scrub like a surgeon does before surgery (kills way more bacteria on your skin then just taking a regular shower). Get dressed out in the garage or something... skivies, socks, pants, shirt, and clean slippers. When arriving at hunting spot, then finish getting dressed from rubbermaid or plastic bag clothes container. Don't wear your hunting boots in the truck, always keep them outdoors, aired out, and frequently sprinkle baking soda inside them.
Many bowhunters may not go to these extremes, but since it is very flat terrain here and I hunt the same hunting grounds throughout the season, I must be careful to keep my presence at lowest profile as possible.
Not as much photography, observation, and selectiveness for me this year. It was fun and got some great pics last season, but this year's approach will be different... gonna be more aggressive and thump 'em every chance I get. :p