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09-05-2007 | 12:14 PM

#71

MountainHunter

Typical Buck

Joined: Sep 2005

Posts: 753

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From: Virginia

RE: How do you guys stay awake on the stand

This is a problem for me in the late morning or afternoon when it is sunny, usually starting mid-season, once the initial excitement has worn off. I have trouble getting to sleep before midnight to 2AM in general, so I’m usually short on sleep. Last year I woke up om the stand with a start (I think I “snorted” and woke myself). The woods was deathly quiet, so I think I scared everything within a hundred yards or so.

I also fell asleep standing once, only to wake up with a deer about 30 yards directly in front of me. So I don’t think I want to be falling asleep on the stand.

I tried Red Bull and other caffeinated sodas. They work for about 30-45 minutes, then the sugar crash would come and I would be even sleepier. Aspartame (AKA NutraSweet) gives me headaches and I can’t stand saccharin, so nothing diet works for me. I feel like coffee has a very strong smell that is not native to the woods I hunt (I don’t hunt in Central America), so I am concerned about it wafting around the woods and scaring deer. On cold days I sometimes use black tea.

One thing I found out when I used to drive 500 miles home in flat Texas countrywas that it is impossible for someone to fall asleep with food in your mouth. Gum doesn’t seem to work as well, but crackers, nuts, candy or granola bars, etc. work great. I think it’s an instinctual survival thing to prevent us from choking. It’s always worked for me and everyone I’ve had try this, although I could see putting on weight being a problem if I got carried away with it!

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