overhunting a stand
#1
overhunting a stand
GMMATs post brought up a good question to myself..
lately, i been questioning my hunting ability..my scouting ability..
last year i hunted pretty dang hard and dont think i broke 20 deer sightings in bow season. 5 were buck. 1 was legal.
i KNOW i overhunted my stands. honestly, i hunted 1 spot here at school and one spot at home..heck id hunt the same stand at home friday evening and saturday morning and leave and come back saturday evening.
that stand got hunted HARD..too hard i know. i didnt hunt it for 3-4 weeks and rifle season came..2 bucks ive never seen before came through. one whopper big nasty mature 11pt(i seen pics after he got killed 2 days later by some kid over a mile away that got lucky![:@]) and another smaller buck..honestly didnt look at him because he didnt compare to the biggun...didnt get a shot..but that proves my thinking.
also got winded pretty much my whole first week till i started practicing scent control...
most of the times when i saw deer it was when i hunted new stands, first time i hunted stands or stands i havent hunted hardly at all.
my question is...what do you consider "overhunting a stand"? i dont have 100 different spots to keep me busy all season long. i could possibly switch trees..move 20 or 30 or 50yds here and there etc...i do have spots to keep me not hunting the same stand for atleast a week, maybe more..being at school helps..but usually weekends(fri evening, all day saturday) im home...during the week i will probably hunt mon and wed evenings..
just curious how often i can hunt a stand and be safe?
also...do you guys hunt different stands for the rut?? i know my one spot doesnt really hold bucks..but it holds a handful of does...its a small finger of woods..i know one day during the rut im sitting there all day. going to try to find other such setups for the rut..and try to hunt food sources for the first month...
im just trying to get the odds in my favor...sometimes it seems impossible..i just dont see too many shooter bucks..
then again....getting a shot at a legal buck here in PA is almost unheard of your first year bowhunting...so im proud of that...even if i did blow it
lately, i been questioning my hunting ability..my scouting ability..
last year i hunted pretty dang hard and dont think i broke 20 deer sightings in bow season. 5 were buck. 1 was legal.
i KNOW i overhunted my stands. honestly, i hunted 1 spot here at school and one spot at home..heck id hunt the same stand at home friday evening and saturday morning and leave and come back saturday evening.
that stand got hunted HARD..too hard i know. i didnt hunt it for 3-4 weeks and rifle season came..2 bucks ive never seen before came through. one whopper big nasty mature 11pt(i seen pics after he got killed 2 days later by some kid over a mile away that got lucky![:@]) and another smaller buck..honestly didnt look at him because he didnt compare to the biggun...didnt get a shot..but that proves my thinking.
also got winded pretty much my whole first week till i started practicing scent control...
most of the times when i saw deer it was when i hunted new stands, first time i hunted stands or stands i havent hunted hardly at all.
my question is...what do you consider "overhunting a stand"? i dont have 100 different spots to keep me busy all season long. i could possibly switch trees..move 20 or 30 or 50yds here and there etc...i do have spots to keep me not hunting the same stand for atleast a week, maybe more..being at school helps..but usually weekends(fri evening, all day saturday) im home...during the week i will probably hunt mon and wed evenings..
just curious how often i can hunt a stand and be safe?
also...do you guys hunt different stands for the rut?? i know my one spot doesnt really hold bucks..but it holds a handful of does...its a small finger of woods..i know one day during the rut im sitting there all day. going to try to find other such setups for the rut..and try to hunt food sources for the first month...
im just trying to get the odds in my favor...sometimes it seems impossible..i just dont see too many shooter bucks..
then again....getting a shot at a legal buck here in PA is almost unheard of your first year bowhunting...so im proud of that...even if i did blow it
#2
RE: overhunting a stand
I hunt on 10 acres, and I have 5 ladder stands, and 1 ground blind set up. I dont hunt many mornings, but I hunt about 5-6 evenings a week. I am sure I probably over hunt my stands too, but what do you do when you only have a small amount of land to hunt on. I have gotten at least 1 deer there every year for the last 4 years. Now I probably jinxed myself for this year.[&:]
#3
RE: overhunting a stand
one of the reasons I utilize climbers - here in the south the deer wander around looking up - so I hunt a different tree everytime in the woods - they can't pattern me as easily
#4
RE: overhunting a stand
ORIGINAL: mauser06
lately, i been questioning my hunting ability..my scouting ability..
lately, i been questioning my hunting ability..my scouting ability..
i KNOW i overhunted my stands.
that stand got hunted HARD..too hard i know. i didnt hunt it for 3-4 weeks and rifle season came..2 bucks ive never seen before came through. one whopper big nasty mature 11pt(i seen pics after he got killed 2 days later by some kid over a mile away that got lucky![:@]) and another smaller buck..honestly didnt look at him because he didnt compare to the biggun...didnt get a shot..but that proves my thinking.
also got winded pretty much my whole first week till i started practicing scent control...
most of the times when i saw deer it was when i hunted new stands, first time i hunted stands or stands i havent hunted hardly at all.
my question is...what do you consider "overhunting a stand"? i dont have 100 different spots to keep me busy all season long. i could possibly switch trees..move 20 or 30 or 50yds here and there etc...i do have spots to keep me not hunting the same stand for atleast a week, maybe more..being at school helps..but usually weekends(fri evening, all day saturday) im home...during the week i will probably hunt mon and wed evenings..
just curious how often i can hunt a stand and be safe?
just curious how often i can hunt a stand and be safe?
also...do you guys hunt different stands for the rut?? i know my one spot doesnt really hold bucks..but it holds a handful of does...its a small finger of woods..i know one day during the rut im sitting there all day. going to try to find other such setups for the rut..and try to hunt food sources for the first month...
#5
RE: overhunting a stand
I'm guilty as well for overhunting a certain stand.[&o]I say its better than not hunting at all though.
Do you think you can overhunt a stand during the rut? I don't think so because of the fact that those bucks are so unpredictable during that time. IMHO.
Do you think you can overhunt a stand during the rut? I don't think so because of the fact that those bucks are so unpredictable during that time. IMHO.
#6
RE: overhunting a stand
then again....getting a shot at a legal buck here in PA is almost unheard of your first year bowhunting...so im proud of that...even if i did blow it
Depending on your goals overhunting stands may or may not impact you to a horrible degree. If you just want any doe or 1.5 buck, don't let it worry you too much(but I'd still avoid it if you could), but if you are after an older buck, it will lower your odds of success.
Wind, entrance and exits and if you spook deer all affect how much a stand can be hunted before burning it out. Also where it is. Funnels can sometimes take more pressure if you are good with scent control and can leave them easily.
Deep spots where you are passing deer areas and have a long walk to leave scent can be easy to burn out. Sometimes doing what ever you can to find hunting spots even if they aren't that good, helps you spread around days to keep pressure off your good spots.
And yes I have stands that I don't even think about hunting until the last week of october or later. Depending on the type of activity I am seeing.
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 194
RE: overhunting a stand
ORIGINAL: Brknarrow1970
one of the reasons I utilize climbers - here in the south the deer wander around looking up - so I hunt a different tree everytime in the woods - they can't pattern me as easily
one of the reasons I utilize climbers - here in the south the deer wander around looking up - so I hunt a different tree everytime in the woods - they can't pattern me as easily
That's funny...
#8
RE: overhunting a stand
thanx alot guys...
swampcollie...i know confidence is key...ive been a hunter all my life. but honestly...when i stand hunted, dad picked the spots. he taught me alot of stuff...id help him piece things together and give my input..he taught me since i could walk and hes killed alot of bucks in his time..but last year was the first year bowhunting...dad didnt come with me to pick out my trees...i seen deer...but not what im used to...but as you noticed i picked out many problems with my hunting already...cant get better if you dont learn. i just get frustrated sometimes...
i dont hang stands..i use my climber so moving around is definently a good option...even if i can move 50 yds once a week or something..a little farther up or down the trail or whatever...i think that might work well for me IF i find myself hunting the same areas often...
since my bucks gotta be 4pt to a side im mostly lookin at 2.5yos+ dont usually shoot does..only because my areas have taken a pounding and i like to save them..but if i find an area thats loaded with does i just might take one home with me...i know some of my areas hold some big boys...i just gotta hunt them smarter. maybe only hunt those spots 2-3x a season and thats it. make it ALL day hunts and dont leave or get down.
thats another thing i know i gotta work on...getting up earlier and in the tree earlier(act like everyday is opening day..im on stand 2+hrs before daylight!) and stay ALL day anytime i can. opeing day of rifle those 2 bucks came through at about 1030. i wont lie...1000 is about when i leave usually...eat..go back out around 2 or so...i need to break that as well when i can...
i do try to hunt the wind...by man does that get frustrating sometimes..the wind in that one spot changes every day and throughout the day...its one of the highest points around...its wierd...
RYBO....i aint pattin myself on the back too hard...im just pretty proud of that...i dont know of to many others that have done that...exspecially on a 2.5yo buck..wasnt a monster..but was far from a dummie..our fawns are smarter than most guys mature bucks
i do gotta start babying my drawing arm...i AM putting a buck down this season!! (haha got my confidence back...)
funny how just talking helps me...gets me thinking..think of problems i didnt see before...most of the time i can fix my problems on my own too...just takes some talking to get me to realize them...one day i will be a buck killer...this year is going the be the start...
i need to quit doin homework...i got topos to study to save me some leg work next week while scouting up here at school
swampcollie...i know confidence is key...ive been a hunter all my life. but honestly...when i stand hunted, dad picked the spots. he taught me alot of stuff...id help him piece things together and give my input..he taught me since i could walk and hes killed alot of bucks in his time..but last year was the first year bowhunting...dad didnt come with me to pick out my trees...i seen deer...but not what im used to...but as you noticed i picked out many problems with my hunting already...cant get better if you dont learn. i just get frustrated sometimes...
i dont hang stands..i use my climber so moving around is definently a good option...even if i can move 50 yds once a week or something..a little farther up or down the trail or whatever...i think that might work well for me IF i find myself hunting the same areas often...
since my bucks gotta be 4pt to a side im mostly lookin at 2.5yos+ dont usually shoot does..only because my areas have taken a pounding and i like to save them..but if i find an area thats loaded with does i just might take one home with me...i know some of my areas hold some big boys...i just gotta hunt them smarter. maybe only hunt those spots 2-3x a season and thats it. make it ALL day hunts and dont leave or get down.
thats another thing i know i gotta work on...getting up earlier and in the tree earlier(act like everyday is opening day..im on stand 2+hrs before daylight!) and stay ALL day anytime i can. opeing day of rifle those 2 bucks came through at about 1030. i wont lie...1000 is about when i leave usually...eat..go back out around 2 or so...i need to break that as well when i can...
i do try to hunt the wind...by man does that get frustrating sometimes..the wind in that one spot changes every day and throughout the day...its one of the highest points around...its wierd...
RYBO....i aint pattin myself on the back too hard...im just pretty proud of that...i dont know of to many others that have done that...exspecially on a 2.5yo buck..wasnt a monster..but was far from a dummie..our fawns are smarter than most guys mature bucks
i do gotta start babying my drawing arm...i AM putting a buck down this season!! (haha got my confidence back...)
funny how just talking helps me...gets me thinking..think of problems i didnt see before...most of the time i can fix my problems on my own too...just takes some talking to get me to realize them...one day i will be a buck killer...this year is going the be the start...
i need to quit doin homework...i got topos to study to save me some leg work next week while scouting up here at school
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,837
RE: overhunting a stand
I now all the experts say that but back in Indiana on a farm we hunted for over 13 years wehad the deerpatterned to the point that we all built large permanent stands and hunted the same stands all season and killed the heck out of deer.
#10
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location:
Posts: 68
RE: overhunting a stand
How much land do you have to hunt on? That is the first question. If your hunting a small piece of property 40 acres or less I would hunt it 3 or 4 times before the rut.Let me tell you what I do.I hunt my honey holes 2 or 3 times and then save them for the rut. Then I will try totally different areas a mile away or so.Last year I hunted one of my best spots twice all year long and killed a doe and a 15 pointer.You wantto hunt the areas where you see the most does during the rut.The edges of very thick cover on the downwind side are excellent spots for cruising bucks. If you want to kill nice deer and see deer consistently you should not overhunt your stand early. To many peopleburn out their stands early then when the good hunting starts the deer just aren't there no more or have went nocturnal.Moving your stand 50 myards or so I don't think that is really going to help you much. Hunt your area 3 or 4 times then save it for the rut. You already have seen some big deer so you know the deer are in there.Another thing is you need to be very careful how you walk in and out of your stands. Don't walk down the deer trails.If you have creeks or ditches you can use to access your stands that will help you.