uwbadgers

Before I begin, I know it’s very late in the season to be placing tree stands or ground blinds, especially when a lot of cutting will be involved. However, due to military obligations for my hunting partner who just returned home earlier this week, we are getting a late start this year. This is family new family land and this location will be a long term stand for whatever we decided so we are willing to “sacrifice” this year for the long term success.

Basically we hunt 40 acres of a large 2,000+ acre swamp in Wisconsin. Our section is a full mile from the road and hunting pressure is very minimal due the location and lack of access. We WILL be creating a spot back there to hunt by cutting shooting lanes next week. It's very thick and visibility is very limited. We will need to create large shooting lanes in order to see anything and shoot. The largest trees are only 12-15 inches in diameter at most. Building a tower stand is out of the question due to the area. Wind is also very minimal in the swamp.

We plan on bow hunting and gun hunting from this spot as late as into the season as we possibly can go (potentially into January). Due to the location, we will be sitting all day from that stand or blind.

Our decision now is if we should put a tree stand up, or put in a ground blind and fully brush it in. Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on what would be best for this particular situation?

edgecam

Put up your tree stands and only cut a couple shooting lanes , The deer will not notice them. Give it a month and cut a few more as you get used to he deer movement.

Valentine

Personally, I think too much is made of tree stands and blinds, especially in colder areas. If I was warm and the leaves were on the trees, I'd go with a climbing tree stand in a swamp,at best, during gun seasons.

In my mind, there's getting to be too much dependence on single sites. If the trend continues, I'll get a GPS, just to mark the permanent tree stands. and get to cover the other 98% of the land. In archery season, of course, it's definitely different. There you need to get close to the deer, and leaves are usually on the trees.

Of course, I'm an old time gun hunter, and I've always avoided permanent sites like the plague. As if any deer made a appointment to visit the site I picked.

Buckyou

put up a treestand or two on edges. don;t disturb too much, but take down a "bushey" tree in an area you like and work the blind into the tree. Cut several interior limbs and a path into it. trim minimal shooting holes. The deer will think the tree just fell over.

the whole thing is do it and do it quick. then leave it for at least 3-5 days without returning.

they will continue their daily routine, but ONLY if they do not see you again there for days at a time.

it works

blackhawk_archery

i just hunt log piles or downed trees i dont disturb anything and my freezer is holding 3 deer so far.

tight360

I always choose the tree stand, I've had success on the ground but near as much as in the air for obvious reasons. I really like to stalk during high winds and rain. If you're interested I have some ideas on "brushing it in" in earlier posts, I'll pull them up if you would like.