It seems anal but all that stuff adds up and makes a difference. I feel like an idiot at times for way overthinking all the little details but I feel more dumb when I'm being careless and bump deer unnecessarily.
The worst part about trail-cameras
- Thread starter BSK
- Start date
It seems anal but all that stuff adds up and makes a difference. I feel like an idiot at times for way overthinking all the little details but I feel more dumb when I'm being careless and bump deer unnecessarily.
Chickenrig
Well-Known Member
Them deer pattern humans like humans pattern deer
As i say ,critters are closer to our God than we are
Weren't any pattern to me that day. Was the first time I'd been able to get out in weeks due to the flu. Different route in, different time in/out. Just bad luckThem deer pattern humans like humans pattern deer
As i say ,critters are closer to our God than we are
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Whoever thought of putting velcro on hunting clothes was every bit the opposite of an accomplished deer hunter.
One of the reasons I don't like ladder stands is because of their propensity to make far-carrying metallic noises, no matter what you do. Stalk a metal ladder stand an hour before dawn on a cold clear morning, slowly, slowly start going up, and about half-way up, there will usually be a loud metallic POP! Then another when you turn around and sit down! Every bedded deer within 400 yds now goes any direction except toward you.
But the main reason I don't like ladder stands is because they become a standing invitation, including to trespassers, to over-hunt a particular spot, ruining that location.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I never cease to be amazed what a shell game hunting is. We have cameras covering all of our traditional scrapes, which are also covered by stands. We aren't hunting the scrapes specifically but hunting the area because it is a major deer travel concentration point (which is the reason the traditional scrapes are there). We try not to overhunt these stands, so they are only hunted 3 or 4 times over the course of the entire season. But invariably a big buck will work the scrape in daylight the day before or after someone hunts the stand. It's just a matter of luck - being on the right stand on the right day.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
No kidding. As soon as (if/when) that stand pops, I immediately start cussing the thing wondering what I can do to improve it. I get sweating mad
Because of this that is why I switched to a saddle. If I take my time I can make very little noise and what noise I do make is more of a scraping of the tree sound.
Speaking of deer patterning you. I was on a 6000 acre lease back in the early 2000's a lot of guys used 4wheelers to access their spots. I started noticing when deer were say in a field or near me and they would hear an atv they would run away like someone had shot at them. I quit using my 4wheeler and would walk into my spot. I noticed I started seeing a lot more deer.
Now the farm I am on now the farmers use side by sides almost daily and those deer pay no attention to an atv at all.
I also have locations I hunt that I know is near bedding areas and near travel corridors for the rut. I will not hunt those areas till the rut has started to keep the deer from knowing I am using the area. I know the deer are in the area and my first few hunts are usually the best hunts. After that I go to another spot then will come back to it in a couple weeks.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
I've got a saddle and use it at times. Mostly during warmer and cool conditions. All depends on the circumstances, but we have several dozen stands we maintain annually and move from time to time. Those are my go to and hardest to reach locations. I mostly use mobile setups for easier access and closer hunting. I plan on marking certain trees this off-season for next year for more saddle hunting…both the trees themselves and on my hunt app.
I have said for years that velcro should not be used on any hunting clothing or gear.
Years ago I had been hunting a buck hard and just couldn't catch up to him. I was telling a certified big buck killer about it and he said "that buck has you patterned. You are hunting mornings and afternoons and doing the same thing every day. Next time you hunt get in the stand at 930 and hunt the midday." So I did. I felt like a fool driving to hunt in the broad daylight, but I did it. At 11:30 that buck came down the scrape line like he owned the place and I killed him. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.Them deer pattern humans like humans pattern deer
I have the same luck!! Opening day for gun I had some things I needed to get done so since it was very cold I decided to skip hunting and do some other chores. Went hunting the next day, checked cam and this guy was there opening morning 30 yards from stand.
Ouch! He's purdy
Duck dogn
Well-Known Member
This is me I've tried paracord to keep tension on it and all. But 5 steps up pop there it goes I thought about welding my ladder together.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I was working on a big club in Alabama where most hunters hunted from elevated box blinds over food plots. The box blinds were built so hunters could drive their ATVs under the stand and then climb a ladder up into the box-blind (whole tower was boarded in so deer couldn't see ATV or hunter climbing the ladder). Deer had learned how hunters operated so well that if someone fired up an ATV within a half-mile of a food plot, every deer in the plot would instantly scatter.
BSK
Well-Known Member
After many years of observing deer and how they react to different stimuli, I'm amazed at how little they react to some sounds - like the human voice - and how instantly they react to other sounds - like anything metallic.
That said, I still prefer ladder stands because of their ease of entry. Now I'll be the first to admit they have their downsides - noise, invitation to poaching, lack of mobility, etc. But for me, they are still the easiest and safest way to hunt for us old guys. And for my place, eventually we'll have enough of them up we won't have to move many each year. We'll have so many up the deer can't possibly avoid them and each stand gets hunted so infrequently that the one or two times they get hunted in a year won't alter deer activity in the area.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Agree.
As bad or worse than metallic, made be the sound of opening anything held by velcro.
Also, the time of sounds seems to have much to do with how deer react.
This is in part due to how far sounds will travel or not at different times,
as well as there are often similar sounds at certain times.
I noticed many years ago that deer seemed to pay much less attention to the sounds of something walking (even humans) about an hour before daylight (or anytime in total darkness) compared to between dawn & dusk. This may be due in part to so many critters also being active, especially right before dawn, as well as deer just feeling more secure under the cover of darkness.
I often climb a tree (with a climbing stand) with deer bedded nearby, and those deer do not leave the area because of my presence. Maybe in their minds, I'm just a big raccoon. The sounds I make may be similar to those of some other critter in a tree. So long as nothing metallic dings, or velcro tears, all seems ok.
Sight, sound, & smell.
Don't underestimate the ability of deer to see distant movement thru woods.
Your movements can be at least somewhat camouflaged by your coming & going in darkness, as well as during early afternoon when wind velocity is typically near peak. The wind makes things move, greatly camouflaging your movements. This is another advantage of staying on stand until 1pm, or all day until after dark.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
As to stand safety, from an overall perspective, I believe climbing stands are possibly as safe or safer than ladder stands, assuming a safety harness is worn at all times.
I don't think deer spook to the sound of walking. They look in that direction to investigate, sometimes even come toward the sound, but in my experience they don't spook until they see or smell me.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
I have not yet been able to figure out deer reactions to the sounds of me walking. Sometimes they flee at the first sounds of footsteps - being able to hear them on the next ridge over running away (when I know they don't see me or smell me). Other times, I have had them come straight to me. Numerous times, I've had to hide or get up in my stand really fast before they got to me, sometimes coming to the base of my tree. Earlier this year I got out of my stand at dark and walked 15 yards to a cleared (quiet) trail and as soon as I got to the trail, deer started coming up the hollow to me. These were deer I had been listening to the last 30 minutes of light, essentially being stationary. 5-6 came and surrounded me. I eventually got my coyote howler out of my pack and blew it so they'd clear the area without knowing a human was there. Seems to be random and may be the mood they are in at that given time. And my experiences are during daylight and dark.
