How would you guys approach this...
I' m after a big 5x5 and a big non-typical on some public land. It is a big river bottom with heavily wooded areas and some clearings. The area that the 2 big ones are in is a 45+ minute walk from the truck. If I come in from the north, I follow 2 old, overgrown roads. One runs N/S, the other runs E/W. The 2 bucks are within 100 yds of the E/W road. This year the grass and weeds are 6' tall in some spots on the old roads. It certainly is not a quiet walk. If I come in from the south, I walk through about a mile of heavily wooded area. Not exactly a quiet walk either.

Since it is a wooded river bottom, the wind is constantly swirling. Of course, the area that the 2 I' m after are in is one of the thickest areas. I bought a climbing stand this year, but it' s difficult to get too far in the woods without making a lot of noise. So far I' ve been staying on the outskirts of where those 2 deer are.

Do I take my chances on going to where I need to be and not spooking the deer, or do I wait for a windy/wet day to make my attempt? What do you guys think?

I would go in early in the day and set up the climber,hunt that afternoon and leave the stand and slip back in befor day the next morning.if you leave at dark and back at day ,no one wil get your stand.fix a place you can hide you stand for the next day.
that way you can get in with out making noise.just walk slow and stop often.
You may get some bright eyes and put them about knee high(that way you want be shinning the light all over the woods).pick a good clean route.you may have to weave a little and walk a little farther,but it will be worth it in the long run.

good luck and keep us posted.[:-]

I agree with Tree climber on this one Bottoms can be very very tough to hunt as you said. If you have a big rain headed your way you could always head out to hand the climber in the rain (just be sure to lock it to the tree) and then sneak back in the next morning. Good luck, Hope you nail him

You can' t shoot him if you' re not there when he is. It is like playing the lottery, you can' t win if you don' t play. Go in early and as quiet as possible, hang your stand at what you think is your absolute best location. Deer are creatures of habit and have very short memories, I have spooked deer from my stand only to have them feed their way back in less than an hour. Now your stand is hung for other hunting days. Good luck!

Thanks for the ideas! I don' t like the idea of leaving my climber up overnight but if I' m back first thing the next morning, it shouldn' t be a problem. If I do happen to spook one of those bucks, I don' t think either of them will move too far away. As I found out too late last year, the 5x5 moved about 70 yds north of where I had my stand...just enough to avoid me. With that said, I' m guessing it would be a good idea to hunt from a different tree each time.

I think I' m going to move a little closer to their core areas tomorrow and if that doesn' t work, I will have to try you ideas and get to my spot a couple hours before legal shooting hours.