overhunting?
 

this is going to be my first year hunting from a treestand. i will be able to go out quite abit..but how much is too much? how long should i wait inbetween hunts?

RE: overhunting?
 

well from my experience ,with only hunting Saturdays, 2 in a row ended me seeing deer from that stand.The first two weekends there were deer all around me after that they shut it down

RE: overhunting?
 

Try to never hunt stand two days in a row. Move around either with muliple stands placed out well in advance of season or a portable or climber that allows you to be mobile. Always use the wind in your favor and don't set up too close to bedding areas. I would recommend hunting funnels where deer travel to and from bedding to feeding areas.

RE: overhunting?
 

Just like Hardcore said you don't want to use the same stand 2 day's in a row.
Thats why I use 2 diffrent stands and I have a ground blind to be more moble.

RE: overhunting?
 

:DGot to be a hardcore cheer leader too except with one addition. Mutiple area's. Be activly trying to find new places to hunt.6 is a good #. As you get to know the places they will produce so that the new one's will not bumb you out being not so productive in the harvest dept but a gold mine in the illumination dept.. They will be. May take 4 years. Good topo's are a must.

RE: overhunting?
 

The most I like to hunt a single stand in a row is evening, morning, evening. I only do that when it is the HOT area too. I certainly try to not make that a habit.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional hunter and I hold no world records.

RE: overhunting?
 

I think it depends a lot on the location and the circumstances.

If it's a location close to bedding or feeding areas, and you get busted or you might have spooked a deer or two on the way in or out, then it's definitely a good idea to leave the area alone for a while.

But say it's a good travel corridor, and it's pre-rut time, and you either didn't see any deer or snuck out mid-day. If you're diligent about scent control, then you probably have no reason not to hunt that stand the next day or even that evening.

I've been in stands two days in a row that on the first day were dead and the second day was hot with activity.

RE: overhunting?
 

Buy several cheap treestands and set them up ahead of time,then hunt the ones when the wind is right. Deer do notice changes in their environment. Portable treestands are ok as long as the wind is right, if you get busted don't use that tree again. I like to hang 3 stands a month in advance, even then on opening day I was reading a book in my stand, quietely. Got that feeling I was being watched looked up and a doe was staring at me, Busted! Moved that stand the same day. Ive never hunted a tent blind for deer. This past season I turkey hunted and put out my decoys sat down 15yds away. Five deer walked into my decoy spred and hung around for ten minutes! No scent lok, no shower no problem. Next day I hunted from my tent blind and every deer stopped and stared at the blind from @50yds away

RE: overhunting?
 

And that is exactly why it is recommended to set up ground blinds weeks in advance, OR why it is necassary to blend the blind into the natural surroundings. Turkeys will except a blind that was not there yesterday, but is there today, even if it is in the middle of a plowed field. Deer on the other hand, don't easily except the "thing/blind" that is out of place, odor or no odor!!

If you can get into and out of a tree stand with no deer detecting you, then hunting the same stand a few days in a row can be done!! The hard part of that is finding that place that is in a good kill spot/location but yet can be entered/exited without being detected!!

RE: overhunting?
 

There are a lot of factors that go into hunting the same stand multiple times. Are you after "any" deer or are you after a mature buck? Are you diligent about scent control and your routes in and out? Are you hunting a bedding/feeding area or a travel corridor?

I grew up being taught to hunt pretty much the same stand day after day....eventually one would come by. And they did. Sometimes seeing deer several days in a row. Now that my focus has changed, I believe hunting a mature buck you don't want to burn out a stand. 2 days in a row is fine if you take scent precations and don't get busted in or out. If you are just after deer, keep hunting a stand as long as it's hot and you aren't spooking them while in the tree or enter/exiting. The rut can also mean you can get away with hunting a stand more often as bucks will be traveling far and wide and your 3rd day in stand may be the 1st time he's come within a half mile of your tree. Best advice is to be as scent free and pay attention while setting up at the base of the tree and watch your in and out routes.

RE: overhunting?
 

yes i will be hunting "any deer" simply because i dont have much to choose from. the closest that i would be to a bedding area would probably be about 150-200 yards. but i can get to about 500 yards away as well but i am working in a very small part of woods.

RE: overhunting?
 

As a rule it is a bad idea to hunt a stand back to back, that being said in depends much on the stand and how you hunt it. If you are painstakingly scent free and hunt only with relatively 'safe' wind directions, and probably more importantly, if your entry/exit is TOTALLY safe from detection you can get away with it. Otherwise you just end up spooking animals. I have one stand like that, the only way in I use is to scale a steep 100 yard high bluff, I have hunted it several days in a row wind permiting and seen lots of deer all season long...but that is the only stand out of a dozen I would do that with.

RE: overhunting?
 

Another thing I thought of is whether you expect deer to come from mostly 1 direction or if they can come from any direction. I think stands where the deer typically come from one direction can be burned out quicker if the wind is wrong or there is no good way in and out. If it's a stand where they can show up from anywhere then your chances go up despite hunting multiple times.

If you can get in and out without spooking deer, you should be fine. The tricky part will be whether it's a small woodlot that they visit occasionally, compared to a small place where they always are. Leave as little scent as possible going in and out and hope you can do so without bumping them and you should be alright. BUT it wouldn't hurt to have some other spots picked out as well to rotate.

RE: overhunting?
 

I have a slightly different take on this one!

If a stand is a hot location and you have the right wind and you have a stealthy way to get to it, then hunt it to death if you want to. I did exactly this in a hot travel corridor last year and saw deer including 5 different bucks in the 100-120 range and one 130+( I saw them multiple times), all between mid-October and November 20. I only hunted in the AM and took several different paths to the stand and watched the wind carefully. I never got busted and only once did adoe pick up my trail into the woods and that was the only time I hunted it in the PM. And she became deer sausage!

BTW, the 130+(my estimate)I did not shoot because he was a 7 pointer. I'm hoping he'll be back this year along with the 4 other nicer bucks.

RE: overhunting?
 

I have a small spot in suburban Chicagoon unincorporated 6ac. My neighbors property and house etc. Small 1ac woodlot adjacent to @65 acre weedfield with some wetlandsand a school. It's a travel corridor. With the right wind I can hunt it all the time. getting in and out is no problem. I park in his driveway and walk to my tree. There's piople /kids around al the time deer are conditioned to it. Took the 9-pointer you se on the left from that stand

RE: overhunting?
 

Nice deer Dr Andy!

Some of the lands I hunt are like yours. Can't stand all the noise. Had a dog that barked last year for almost the entire time on stand one day. On another to brothers keeped going at it and then the dad joined in. I could here the kid scream after his brother drilled him with his toy bow and then the dad jump in and yell at him to stop. The little one would scream and stop, scream and stop.. I said to myself if he screams one more time I'm moving even though there was little time left. He did and I did, all the way to the back of the small lot. It was so nice and peacfull and his screams were distant. I even had to go back down and retie my bow back on before settleing in. 45 min. later I drill what turned out to be a contest winning doe. 35 bucks worth.There's deer there but the price to get them is never mentioned is it.:D

RE: overhunting?
 

Deer Nodog, The only screaming we have here in Pike Co. are jets screaming overhead. www.lazyshuntclub.org

RE: overhunting?
 

Much like plotting the perfect murder ,the answer is wholly dependant upon how many clues you leave behind . ;)

As long asthe next deer to come along gets no indication of danger you could theoretically hunt the same small patch all the time without "burning it out" , vis a vis a permanent ground blind ,ladder/tower stylestand , or even a well concealed climber spot. It's how well we understand the quarry that makes the biggest difference .

RE: overhunting?
 

Jets would be misrable.

Pike Co.!

Poor baby!:D

RE: overhunting?
 

A week before I got that one I had a small 4-point coming in all he had to do was turnto his right and take a step. Right then the neighbors teenager(my god-daughter) drove up the drveway. I told her later she saved a deers life that day! Yeah car noise all the time !