How often do you sit in the same stand

pred8er · 09-28-2008, 04:57 PM

How often do you sit in the same stand or location? Or more approptiately, how often do you move to a different stand? Is there a reason you sit in one stand repeatedly, day after day? Do you think there is a reason not to?

I hunt alot of urban area's and I think the deer are used to being around people enough so that it doesn't seem to bother them when stands get repeated use. Any thoughts?

killasoundz · 09-28-2008, 05:59 PM

I ussually wont hunt the same stand twice in a day unless I just stay in it all day. But I usually take a break mid day.

Also usually dont get back in that same stand till the next weekend. I probably have about 10 stands that I'll hunt in a season and usually rotate fairly evenly. Out of those stands I'll probably only sit in 5 of them more than once.

This season I have about 14 stands in mind and plan on doing a little more hunting this year. So I'll see. Im still new to the whole thing and haven't figured the lay of the property as well as I want to. This year should be a steep learning curve.

bullfiddle · 09-28-2008, 06:06 PM

I would say it depends on the area you have to hunt. I have a 125 acres to hunt but very little of it is woods. The deer mainly travel by one end or right down the middle of the woods there. I basically have one tree stand there and I would say greater than 50% of the time I set in that stand I get a shot oppritunity. I don't hunt it everyday consecutively and I don't let deer see me get in it or out of it if I can help it.

wildfan99 · 09-28-2008, 06:24 PM

My choice depends on wind. If the wind is favorable, I will sit in a stand more often. I usually have 2 or more stands in an area I am hunting & will go to the stand that is best for the wind.Obviously, it also depends on whether or not I am seeing deer.

bullspotter · 09-28-2008, 08:39 PM

I only hunt the evenings, ill sit in the same stand night after night after night if the wind is right, and the deer I want to try to get are still moving though the area. I have been hunting 2 specific bucks, I see them about every other night, sometimes every 3 nights. I did move it down the trail abit closer, but the wind was wrong the last few nights, so i use anouther location, that i can still see where they come out for feeding, They did go right by my stand too, but the wind was bad, so if i would have been in the stand, I wouldnt have had a chance at them. I keep close track of them. One of these nights the wind will be right and they will come though.... I hope.....

BowhuntnHoosier · 09-28-2008, 08:58 PM

All depends on the situation and wind.

J.Blay · 09-29-2008, 11:06 AM

Hunting in highly pressured areas like I do requires that I not hunt any stand I hope to take a mature buck from more than 3 or 4 times a year, and only when all conditions are favorable to hunt that stand (wind direction, during prerut and rut only, and only if I can get in my stand 2 hrs before light and hunt untill at least 2 pm.) In low pressured areas you can can get away with a lot more hunter error, like overhunting your stands. I don't know what it's like where you hunt, but in Michigan we have the most bowhunters of any state and relatively few mature bucks. When I'm hunting meat, I hunt natural food sources and may hunt a given stand a 2 or 3 times a week.

jdawg240 · 09-29-2008, 12:02 PM

Lots of variables to your question..Wind being number one. Early season we will only hunt a stand once or twice in the same week. However its the element of suprise that makes hunting the rut in a fresh stand so productive. Either way if you over hunt a stand you will leave scent and it will affect deer traffic in the long run. O yeah did I mention I'll be in a stand in less than 41 hours

calling for 39 degress Wed morning for our opener!! Ye haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

pred8er · 09-29-2008, 05:44 PM

I understand the wind thing. I hunt in a few urban area's where the deer interact almost daily with humans and don't seem upset in the least bit by their presence. I have noticed in these area's it is less about scent control or even being seen as it is about only killing the "right" deer. They are more disturbed by being ambushed then by seeing people. I would think that as long as no deer are harmed when other deer are around, they would be slow to catch on. Two years ago, I killed 5 doe out of the same stand that I hunted three times per week for a month straight. I just waited until there was only a solitary deer before shooting. I'm sure that had I wanted to, I could have killed more from that stand, but chose not to.

Ronhop · 09-29-2008, 06:20 PM

3 things for me, where I currently hunt.

Wind, dry or wet weather and when crops are picked vs. not picked.

The whole harvest opportunity changes after crops are picked. Opening day (Oct 1 here) is WAY different than the middle of December.

Ron

no1huntmaster · 09-29-2008, 07:31 PM

same stand 4 times in a row.....A.M ...PM......AM...PM etc. then move for about three days. This giveS me a good chance to see what the deer are doing in that area and then move off that piece of proprety for a cool off period.

archer1983 · 09-29-2008, 07:41 PM

Right now I have around 7 good sets.

Last year I went through the "I need more stands!"

And guess what? It didn't work. I think once a stand heats up you are best to hunt it as much as you possibly can. A lot of this depends on where the stand is. I have two stands that I don't plan on visiting until at least the middle of October maybe later. The sites are prepped, shooting lanes cut and a good clear path to it is raked.

I think you burn a stand when the proper preperation is not taken. I like to have a good exits and entrances to my stands. I won't hunt a stand thats deep in the woods if I don't have to. IMO, from my experiences you burn a stand when one of two things happen, you hunt it with a BAD wind, and you make a lot of noise entering and exiting.

Cornfed · 10-03-2008, 09:59 AM

For me, it's all about stand access. For example, I may only hunt a stand once or twice if it's located in an area where I feel it may be next to impossible to enter or exit without deer eventually knowing about it.... wether by seeing you cross an opening or by smelling where you have crossed in the middle of the night. Obviously the higher the deer traffic, the fewer chances you're gonna get to fool a mature deer there. However, stands do exist where it might be possible to not just hunt several times, but nearly every day. Perhaps it's a location along a very steep ridge where you can access it by climbing up the steep side where no deer go. Or perhas it's a stand where you can walk or wade a creekbed ot river nearly right to your stand. There have been a small handfull of super stand sites that I've located where you could hunt 'em reguraly and not seem to turn deer off. hard to find, but every hunter would do well to locate a couple of them. Good luck and good shootin'

UPSTATE · 10-03-2008, 01:32 PM

I rotate my spots as best I can but if I'm feeling good about a particular stand I'll stick with it until deer stop going through or they are otherwise apparently aware of my presence. Being a meat hunter getting busted is not a big problem cause I kill and leave the area. Usually durning the rut I have meat and am waiting for a larger buck. I find sightings go down the longer I stick with a spot, then It's time to leave.

MagnifiedFur · 10-03-2008, 08:59 PM

I hunt according to the wind and what the Deer are feeding on...If the wind stays good around the Apple tree I will hunt it as long as I am not spooking the Deer off...Rite now is a good time to hunt food areas,later in the season when the pre-rut starts its good to keep a eye on the Does,so you need to know what they are feeding on later in the season as well...Persimmon trees drop around Nov,so thats a good place to be...Corn and Winter Wheat fields are good to...My stands always change from season to season,Their food changes from crop rotation...Later in the season look for green leaves,you will find Deer...