24/7 hunter

The area I plan to hunt opening day has alot of straight trees in it, but they dont have much cover. The area is a staging area - a highland with white pines and maples surrounded by swamp, and 150 yards from an alfalfa field. I have always seen deer here and got pics of 5 different bucks there this summer. The 2 trees I am looking at most have a little cover, but not as much as I like. One is a white pine with a 4" maple about 18" from the pine. The other is a big maple with a crotch about 15 feet up. Both are about 15 yards from the main trail, but another trail comes 5 yards from the big maple. I am limiting myself to 15 yard shots this year since I will be usingmy recurve. What are your thoughts on hunting trees with little cover? I have done it before and feel almost naked doing it.

MichaelHunsucker

Early season i wouldnt think that you would have a problem at all, especially hunting from a crotch stand. Crotch stands that go right in the Y of a tree make you stand out a lot less anyway...

Early season there is so much cover i think youll be fine. Late season might be a different story. I have used cedar branches for cover when it is lacking...

GMMAT

Does this help?

Red Lion

Cover is always nice and makes hunting easier. With that said, if you are disciplined enough to minimize movement and noise, along with good scent control, you can be right out in the open and not be seen. It is more difficult but can be done.

WARedBear

Try to position your stand so that you look like a huge bump on the tree and not a stand sticking out from the side of the tree. By that I mean try to face the area the deer most likely will be coming in from. Don't put your stand at a 90 degree angle like you normally would for a good shot. That way when the deer look up at you the stand will look like a bump on the tree. Otherwise the stand is a huge bump on the side of the tree. Every move you make is highlighted instead of blending in. Does this make sense or do I need to take a picture?

Confused
Reid

bryant1

I agree withWARed bear on minimizing the perspective of the treestand. Blend it in to the natural surroundings, and use as much camo on the stand and yourself as possible.

24/7 hunter

thanks. I udnerstand what you mean Reid. I didnt really think of that.

OGW

I agree with both of you...I'd also do some practiceso that if you choose to shoot from the sitting position(to minimize movement) that you can accurately shoot with thebow between your legs. Shooting straight in front of yourself presents some intresting problems that practice can cure!

nodog

Don't give them long to look at you. Get in there 30-45 min. before you think you'll be shooting. Plan your entrance out so you can stealth your way in. I've used a leaf blower before to totally clear the path. Seems to created such a ruckus that they flee without ever seeing why and come back that evening to check out what was up (you can tell by the tracks). Pick your day and don't miss. If you want to check and see what kind of bucks are there without any trouble at all put some thread across the trail high and low. When you return check it on the way in. Both will be broke for bucks, only the bottom for does. It works!

greenboy

well id place a stand in between the two trees and then hunt like cracy cause that sounds like a really good spot