As I have stated in other post, I will occassionally bump deer in the dark and deer barely run off. To my knowledge, I have not been busted on stand nor been busted close to my stand by deer in daylight hours. Deer walk across my trail and never miss a lick. Even if I hunt the same stand twice a week and deer never know im there, am I overhunting the spot?
About overhunting
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I hunt till I quit seeing deer. Then I change stands.
Well thats were I am. Last few hunts deer sightings have dropped big time! The setup is in a bottom were several ridges funnel deer. I stay away from the thick stuff to avoid the places they hang out. To my knowledge the area is just a travel corridor. guess overhunting could be. I was blaming it on peak breeding/lockdown period which should be in on my property.
Me and my kids have been hunting 1 stand all year. I hunted there 5 mornings durng bow season. Then 2 mornings on youth hunt.Me and my son 2 mornings on muzzleloader. And me and one of my kids 4 days days on gun so far. We have killed 5 deer out of it, and seen deer every time except 1 morning. Seems like the more we shoot, the more deer move in.Since the 2nd time we hunted it during muzzle loader, all we have seen is bucks.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Especially when it comes to gun hunting, where long shots are possible (shots to areas beyond the influence of your presence), overhunting a stand can sometimes be less of a problem. But for "close up" stand set-ups, especially those for bow-ranges (shots inside 30 yards), over-hunting a stand can be a real problem, if you are hunting for older, more experienced deer.
Now unique situations can exist, such as finding stand sites that take advantage of escape routes and other hunting pressure related movement, or highly restricted movement (tight habitat/terrain bottlenecks), but in most hunting situations, older more experienced deer quickly pick up on our hunting locations and learn to avoid those areas at least during daylight. And contrary to what most hunters assume, it isn't about deer "busting you" while you are on stand. It is simply about the massive amount of scent-carrying particles that pour off your body and clothing continuously. Those scent carrying particles cover the ground around your stand as you sit there. Deer can smell these particles long after you leave the stand. Older, more experienced don't need to smell you while your hunting. They can smell you were there for long periods of time afterwards (even a week or more afterwards). The more times you hunt a particular stand, the more human scent buildup occurs in the area, and the more obvious your past presence is to deer, making it easier for them to avoid the area in the future.
Now unique situations can exist, such as finding stand sites that take advantage of escape routes and other hunting pressure related movement, or highly restricted movement (tight habitat/terrain bottlenecks), but in most hunting situations, older more experienced deer quickly pick up on our hunting locations and learn to avoid those areas at least during daylight. And contrary to what most hunters assume, it isn't about deer "busting you" while you are on stand. It is simply about the massive amount of scent-carrying particles that pour off your body and clothing continuously. Those scent carrying particles cover the ground around your stand as you sit there. Deer can smell these particles long after you leave the stand. Older, more experienced don't need to smell you while your hunting. They can smell you were there for long periods of time afterwards (even a week or more afterwards). The more times you hunt a particular stand, the more human scent buildup occurs in the area, and the more obvious your past presence is to deer, making it easier for them to avoid the area in the future.
