Overhunting stands
 

Is it possible to overhunt a stand when you are not seeing deer very often? I see sign in the area but the deer only seem to be coming thru every couple days. No pattern that I can see. Can I hunt one stand for a week straight? Or do I move everyday?

RE: Overhunting stands
 

I would say you are over hunting it, but I know how it is, when you only have 1 0r 2 stands. I only have 5 stands, ( 3 for a North wind, and 2 for a south wind). And my hunting spot is only about 10 acres. I move around as much as I can, depending on the wind.

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RE: Overhunting stands
 

I always hear that stands can be overhunted and I have done this in the past....successfully. They say even though you don't see any deer from that particular stand you are leaving behind scent which can be detrimental to your hunting. This is true but I have hunted stands consistently (3-5 days at a time) and I have been successful. The buck I got last year only came through every few days, very much like your situation. So I hunted that stand every evening for a few days. If I would have kept changing stands than there is a good chance I would not have gotten him.

Its a guessing game...it really is. You think you may be doing yourself a favor by moving around a lot but that day you do move may be the day the big boy comes through.

RE: Overhunting stands
 

I think it is very well possible, if done day after day.

RE: Overhunting stands
 

During the rut I hunt one stand because in my eyes that is the big buck stand. two out of three years big buck have been within shooting range. So I would say if you have one really good stand practice your scent control and hunt it hard.

RE: Overhunting stands
 

This comes up all the time.

IMO...if the deer don't know you are there. NO you aren't over hunting the stand. If they don't know you are there. They don't know you are there.

This is where a good pair of boots and good scent control comes into play along with hunting a good wind.

If you are busted on one or more occasions then, yeah. You probably need to leave the stand a lone for a while. Or move it to another tree.

RE: Overhunting stands
 

GregH changed my view on this, recently. I think he hunted the same stand like 25 out of 74 hunts in one season. He's playing the wind and practicing a sound scent control regimen....and he doesn't worry about it.

I move around a lot. But I suppose there's benefits of each method. If you now where he travels....you need to be there when he comes through. Greg's proven he knows where they travel.

RE: Overhunting stands
 

And if you get bored and want a change of scenery just move the stand 200 or 300yds here or there. If you have the trees to do it you can hunt 50 different places in a 10ac track of land.

RE: Overhunting stands
 

I do have afew different stands I hunt within about a 30 acre area. I believe the buck I saw this morning would have went by three of them. I saw him in front of one of them in the field
(200 yds away).I walked by another and there was a fresh scrape not twenty yds from it. He was less than fifteen yds from me in the other.
I guess I just have to wait for the bigger ones to come by. I will keep using good scent control and change it up every couple hunts, trying to use the wind. That is another topic!!! It always seems to change toward the end of the evening...