ORIGINAL: MOTOWNHONKEY
ORIGINAL: GMMAT
Can I play? I would concentrate the stands and have a buck on the ground in about a third of the sits. Hypothetically
That statement neither threatens me or makes me second-guess Chris. He may be right.
Confession! IF....ALL I wanted to do was take one of the best bucks on my lands.....I'd agree (More) with what you guys are saying. See....I'm not hard-headed!
The fact of the matter is.....I like to hunt. So...I hunt...every chance I get.
So let's say I did it you guys' way. I determined my best chance for a certain size/age class buck....and I concentrated my stand sites on those locations. Absolutely agree "your" way would work. In reality.....it's what I do. When I'm "Hunting".....I shy away from buck areas. When I don't have a good wind.....ditto. When I (and I'm learning) "Hang to kill".....I go to those spots with one thing in mind....and basically ONE deer in mind.
Where I'll stray from you all is......I STILL vary my entrance/exit just to ensure I'm not easily patterned. The big 7 I was after.....I set up on him only 5 times after seeing him the first time. I sat in 5 different trees in doing so......and this "area" was "maybe" an acre. I ended up encountering him (there) on 3 of those occasions.
I DO see what you guys are saying.....and I agree with you (now that I think about how I hunted that/those specific deer) more than I previously thought.
Thanks for keeping this informational.....and sans emotion/"questioning". I appreciate that a LOT.
For the record, your getting it done no doubt about it. You lay a nice one down every year. It's hard to argue with success. You know you were growing weary this year.
All that climbing, thinking, stratagizing, rethinking, will run you down. I know I've done it. Some comfrotable well placed hang on's in key areas puts more enjoyment back into it for me.
This a very good point I think. For the first time ever, I really got a little sick of my climber this year. I'm very good at it, can climb fast and quiet, lemur-like, some would say. But, I hunted a lot this year, more than even in IL actually, which was awesome, but there were days toward the end of my first season (pre-gun) which were prime time to be in the woods, but I was a little weary from climbing so much, thinking about where to set up, playing mind games with myself really. Next season, i'm putting up 4 hang ons on this property, take alot of the guess work away from it. These sets will be based on this years data, and in some good spots I feel. Its a small property (40 acres) but fully timbered, so there are alot of options for stand sites. I enjoyed the mobility this year, as this ground was new to me, and I never laid eyes on it until opening day. Now though, I can be more secure in my locations. I still ended up hunting the same area about 75% of the time, with good sightings. My entry was IDENTICAL every time too...only one way to get in...which kinda sucks.