Originally Posted by
cayugad
When hunting private lands in Wisconsin, the punishment for trespassing is not something you want to experience. So while we "walk" our own property, we also do pre season scouting to see where the deer are moving, feeding and bedding, and what trails they use. Then tree stands allow us to ambush them as they wander around. Some land owners are real "touchy" when they catch someone on their property. Some events even lead to violence.
When I hunt the federal forest, we don't use stands. Well ... some people actually do. But in the federal I find a good fresh track and then start walking it down. Trying to see where the deer are heading.
You mentioned walking to the stand on keeping the gun dry. I was just saying we don't use stands and it's harder keeping the gun dry when you're walking around in the weather the whole time. It's pretty hard to keep the gun tucked under your arm for the whole hunt.