Sitting all day
 

This is my second year hunting and I've heard of people sitting in their stand all day. I would like to sit all daya couple times this seasonb/c I've haven't really seen much rut activity. What are some aspects that I should think about when sitting all day? Does anyone have any suggestions or stories when sitting all day? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I like to sit near a place where a hardwood ridge and softwood comes together that has deer traveling through it. Find a scrape near the side of the ridge to watch. Also make a small scrape near it with a little doe p in it. The first day (unless the buck is nearby ) is not as good but the next morning beware of your surroundings because things can happen then rather quickly if you rescent it.Good Luck to you..

RE: Sitting all day
 

get a comfortable seat.

RE: Sitting all day
 

i sit allday every weekend. bring trail mix, cookies, etc lol. na but i bring a bit of food thats high energy and light weight and small, few bottles of water with some instant cool aid packs, and definetly a confy seat i hunt from a cliber stand so i have the seat that came with it plus a spare cause ru but does get numb. i also take naps and dose on and off and justw ake for sounds. other than that ur good, and youll have much better luck, and learn the woods MUCH faster than a 2hour hunt.

RE: Sitting all day
 

Try to go #2 in the morning before heading out! ;)
I also like to have a stand that is comfortable and that you can sit back somewhat, so you can take a catnap. I wear a good fall restraint and adjust it so that it is taught when sitting down, so falling is impossible. I find that a brief nap is necessary for an all day hunt.
Not telling you to do that, for obvious reasons. It's just what I do.

RE: Sitting all day
 

i dont wear a fall restraint.. ut oh lol. but i also dotn go more than 15 feet. not saying u cant get hurt just i seen mor eof my buddys fall without them and be just a little bangd up, then have them on and hang till it choked them or they were unconceious.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I have to disagree with your logic there bud. There isn't much reason not to wear a fall restraint in my opinion. It's like saying, "I won't wear a seat belt because I've seen so many people get their collar bones broken in a car accident." Yes in some cases you can get hurt worse with a seat belt on than not. BUT...The majority of the cases you are definitely better off wearing the belt. I believe the same logic can be applied to the fall restraint system.

You will do what you want, but be careful doing it. I'd recommend getting a 4 point harness and just not wrapping it around your neck while sitting on stand. Good luck. [&:]

RE: Sitting all day
 

KalmKidd, poor excuse for not wearing fall protection. A fall from much lower heights can cause serious injury (paralysis, death) or if you get luckyjust a loss of the rest of your hunting season. As far as being left hanging, always carry on your person a couple screw in tree steps to help remount your stand should you fall below it.

Somthing to think about.

Paul

RE: Sitting all day
 

oh beleive me i use to wear one but i have this fear of hanging that id rather fall than hang.

RE: Sitting all day
 

Sitting all day is the ONLY way to hunt the rut as far I'm concerned. A harness is aMUST because of the possibility of nodding off! I saw the biggest buck of my life last year at 12:00PM! So it does pay to sit all day.
If you come out of the woods at 11:00AM, and go back in at 2:00PM each day of a 6 day hunt,you're loosing 18hrs of hunting time.That's almost 2 full days worth of hunting the most productive time of the year, the rut! This is the way I see it, anyway.;)

RE: Sitting all day
 

No kidding! i have one stand that i cant sit in for more than an hour or two because it is so uncomfortable. Arm rests are also a nice feature to look for in a stand you are going to sit in all day. Good Luck!

RE: Sitting all day
 

one question for everyone how do you stay warm all day? For me there is a point i become so cold i need to get down.

RE: Sitting all day
 

yeah weather is a factor...i am a retired bike racer and do not have alot of body
fat to begin with... the weather here is in the 50's..wind from the N-NE at
15-20 lately. i am wearing underarmor top, tights, turtleneck top..and scent
lock camo..long socks.. i sat for 6hrs sat in really nasty weather here....but
the wind was NW....i positioned myself on n the south side of some RR tracks
that broke that wind...it was like 10 deg warmer. i like hunting the ground blind
when temps are 35and below. i guess if u are heavy...sitting in a stand can be
tough too..

RE: Sitting all day
 

That is the first thing that came to my mind. Also bring some disposable heat packs to keep you warm. I use the big ones that you get at the drug store for back pain. They produce tons of heat.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I think there is no doubt that being out on the stand all day would be the best choice, but I think sometimes it can yield diminishing returns also. If the weather is rotten and one starts to shiver, get restless, and stops focusing on being observant of everything around them, I think it would be best for this hunter to get on out of the woods, have a hot meal, take a snooze, and then go back in the afternoon fully alert and fresh. I know many hunters don't want to believe that it's happened to them, but how many deer do you think might have snuck by us without us ever noticing them? Plenty, I am sure. The chances of this happening to the hunter who is starting to get uncomfortable in his stand is even greater, so in my opinion he might as well take a break and try again later.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I would suggest making sure you are real comfortable or you will move so much you are wasting time. As the others said comfy seat/position. Proper clothes to keep you warm. Plenty of food and drink, cold if it is warm and hot if it is cold. Those hand/body warmers work wonders. I usually sit half the day in one area and take a hike to stretch and warm up to my night watch when I can be in the woods all day. The job does not allow that often! I usually have watches that are better at morning or night and do not want to be in the same spot anyway.

I hope all of you do not stop coming out of the woods every 2 or 3 hours though. Who will jump up the deer to me??:D

RE: Sitting all day
 

i think i am sitting all day thurs and friday...lordy...if my a$$ and body can stand it

RE: Sitting all day
 

I seldom sit for more than a couple of hours and usually mix my hunt with still hunting then standing for a while. When in a tree stand it is absolutely stupid to not wear fall protection. Statistically one in 4 will fall sometime in their hunting career. With odds like that having a fall restraint is important.

RE: Sitting all day
 

i wear it..i hate being up in the air

RE: Sitting all day
 

I've been doing all day sits during the rut for years now and it CAN pay off. It never has for me, but I know things happen during the rut that don't happen any other time. I have seen some nice bucks appear seemingly out of nowhere at 1100 and 1300, and even though I didn't get a shot, there were out there. Even with more midday activity, I still find that mornings and late afternoon are best - it's just that you have better odds at midday than you did early in the season. If the weather gets ridiculous and warm like it did the last 3 or 4 years, I have found that nothing moved except at first and last light. I'm planning on sitting all day starting Thursday, but my butt will be numb and there will be long periods of inactivity I'm sure. If this wind wasn't blowing so hard, I'd be out there right now.

RE: Sitting all day
 

Use a mutipoint style like Seat O The Pants, not a chest strap type. With a restraint you can always cut your way out of it, there is no way to cut yourself out of a wheelchair or a coffin. I had a climber slip on me and leave me hanging by my harness, all I had to do was wrap my legs around the tree and slip up the trunk a bit to unfasten it, if I had fallen from that height(15') I probably would be crippled or dead now.

For an all day sit I bring a comfy chair, my pop-up(I can't sit still for long), and either a good book, a video game, or both.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I think books or video games would be a huge distraction for me. There was even a thread on the deer hunting forum recently where people are bringing i-pods with them to their stands. I don't know about others but I need to use my eyes and ears to look and listen for deer. If I am looking at a book or have my ears plugged up with music blaring I think would be bound to miss out on more than a few shots at deer. Heck, if I was to think back at the deer I have spotted over the years I could honestly say that I heard a good many of them before I ever actually saw them. And the ones I did see before I heard were more often than not were sneaking through some thick stuff where I would have never seen them if I were looking at a book or fiddling with a video game. In a perfect world the hunter wishes the deer would simply materialize out in the wide open for an easy, clear shot. In my hunting experience that is not the way it usually happens. Just as the deer use their senses to avoid us, we must use ours to try to find them!

RE: Sitting all day
 

Used to sit all day in a tree. God it was awful, mind numbing and arduous. I have shot deer at noon tho. I cant do it any more. I hunt entirely from the ground now. 2 falls will do that to a person. 1st time I crashed and burned all the way to the ground hugging the tree (aka linemans fall). Dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm. The second time I wasn't so lucky. Full fledged fall getting into a permanent (hah!) stand. 24' onto a root ball that shattered 4 ribs and ripped the cartiladge from my sternum - I couldnt breathe for 3 weeks. Never again. Jeez - I trip enough walking along the ground. Moral of the story WEAR FALL PROTECTION...especially when climbibg in or out. Be safe!

RE: Sitting all day
 

How do you guys do it? Do ya take a valium or something , after 30 minutes Im bored and cant wait to move around a little bit.Have actualy thought of bringing a magazine with me.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I have often thought of bringing a book as well..I did this while bear hunting in maine a few years ago.Looked up and there the bear was,looking at me..I never heard a sound..
But with my hearing starting to fade with age now,I have to use my eyes more and look for movement..

When I set all day I always bring a blanket to cover myself when I notice the chill starting to creep in my skin..I hang my orange ponchel on a limb but leave the orange hat on..I seldom wear gloves..I find the hand warmers to be better..Now my main problem is my feet get cold..So I got a pair of micky mouse boots to wear..Makes a big difference..

But if you feel youself starting to shiver and shake real bad,your in trouble.Get up and get moving around..If you scare off the deer,so be it..Hypo. is getting you...I had this happen,befor I started bringing the blanket..You can carry your food and drink in the blanket as well..Roll it up like the cowboys do and but a strap on it to go over your shoulder...I sometimes bring along an extra pair of socks as well...I guess enough said..Be safe and have fun.Thats what it's all about.....

RE: Sitting all day
 

How old are you? I know when I was a lot younger each hour seemed like an eternity. The older we get, the quicker the time seems to move so sitting for a few hours at a time is no longer a big deal. I think anything that keeps you away from looking around for deer movement on your stand will hurt your chances of success. The most successful hunters are those who focus on what they are doing and don't get distracted by other things like i-pods, books or games.

RE: Sitting all day
 

Im 45 , but I even have a hard time sitting on my couch doing nothing for 10-15 minutes.

RE: Sitting all day
 

Try leaving your boots real loose, even in cold weather your feet will sweat , that is when they get cold. When someone first told me I thought they were nuts, but tryed it and wow, what a differance.

RE: Sitting all day
 

I guess stand hunting will continue to be a problem for you. I think for most people your age time starts moving quite a bit faster. Maybe the problem is that you are considering sitting on a stand as doing nothing? You ARE hunting afterall, aren't you? At age 44 my time seems to pass pretty quick these days just looking around and listening to everything that is happening around me while I am in the woods. I don't necessary just wait for a deer to materialize, I try to look for IT in every little corner!

RE: Sitting all day
 

Just want to pass along some of things i have tryed to keep warm One is steno cans they burn clean and oderless not bad to warm you hands on those days when it sub zero out,Iam going to Tioga PA second week Temps are dropping fast my wife just pick up a couple of cans of a self heating coffee and hot chocolate tryed one not to bad and there light,we hike about hour into thes area in PA don't want to come out unless we have something to drag so we pack light but effective.

RE: Sitting all day
 

Thanks for the help guys.

RE: Sitting all day
 

yes leaving your shoes or boots loose will help if you have them tied up nice and tight you lose blood flow causing your feet to become cold,
i saw that on some show, about mt everest,
dr kill