I have heard many people here say not to over hunt a stand, meaning to not go to that stand too many days in a row. Is there a rule of thumb on how much time to go between hunting a stand, and how far away another stand should be that you intend to hunt?

I don' t think there is any " rule of thumb" so to speak - each situation and stand location is different. If you have a stand far from the beds with easy access in and out you can probably get away with hunting it a bit more - lets say once or twice a week.

High impact stands close or in the bedding " core areas" must be delt with a little different. Personally I don' t like to hunt one tree more than a few times over a 3 month season. Maybe 1 or 2 times in the evening and 1 or 2 times in the afternoon per month.

But come the peak rut - when new bucks can be in the area and anything can happen hunting a hot stand often can still produce.

I will only hunt a stand 2 or more days in a row if I feel it is real hot - and have had a shooter skim by me without knowing I was there.

Very good point.

Another thing to consider is where you are hunting Urban or country. I have found that urban deer react alot differently to human scent and sightings of humans. I had an 8 pt. coming tome one morning when all the sudden he stops to watch a guy walking his dog across the creek from my set up. After he was gone he kept coming and I arrowed him. If that had happened in some of the deeps woods I hunt that buck would have bolted for sure.

I think people make a bigger mistake trying to hunt with the wrong wind then hunting a stand two days in a row.

This has been my biggest problem to overcome in my bowhunting career. I was taught to keep going back to the same spot and you' ll get one. And honestly that worked really well, and would still work, for shooting does and smaller bucks. I think to really get after a big smart buck you have to play the wind, move locations and be aware of routes in and out more critically. Its still tough for me to leave a stand when I' m seeing deer there day after day.

Not much to add after the last three answers. They were all very very good. I would sum up saying you need to pay attention to the scent you are leaving down, the impact on the area you have everytime you enter it. If you start to see deer movement changing then you need to figure out why. Has the food source changed or is it you. Scent control, entering and exits, location of stand (bedding area or feeding area or transition area) ( urban or rural) all these make the biggest factors on how often you can hunt a stand.

Charlie,

That' s where I am confused and unsure of what to do. I hunt urban/suburban deer and often wonder what measures I need to take. I also have a small plot of land to hunt, so my stand locations are limited. However, we do have trophy class bucks that pass through this property and I have seen them often during daylight hours through August and September, so they already are not following all of the " book" knowledge of trophy class bucks.

I am after these throphies, though, so I believe I will err on the side caution and treat them like deep wood trophies and take whatever precautions I can. I can get three to four different stand locations set up and will vary when I use each, with the time I have available. When November hits, though, I will increase my time in the woods and hope for the best, from my scouting I' ve done so far.

That' s about all you can do.

If can pattern a big one I wouldn' t wait however.I have a buddy that dropped three nice bucks on opening day of archery three years in a row. If you are hunting a small plot you might also have alot of other hunters around who could spoil your set up and send the bucks nocternal. When the rut kicks in he could be miles from your hunting area.

Defiantely do anything you can to reduce scent. Deer patttern people more then we do them.

Good luck.

PS. Don' t forget to hunt the does when the ruts on.

Too many factors to consider. But basically I dont hunt the same stand more than once a week. I may have another stand setup 50 to 75 yards away but I always rotate. Ive had alot better luck since i started changing stands more often. Leave the deer guessing. Ever notice how those deer manage to always stay about 10 to 15 yards outside our effective shooting range? Coincidence? I thinks they KNOWS![]

Actually they are doing just what book bucks do

They play real dumb in August and September, and I often see bruisers fiddling around during light in open fields. But they have that alarm clock set for 12:00AM Oct 1 around here........................and then there were none