Dont overhunt your stands
Wisconsin
Ever wonder why the PY book entry kill dates are mostly the first week of bow and the first 10 days of November?
That's why I have 100 plus treestands as well. Good article.
November with climbing stick or tree pegs thats like $10,000 in tree stand who can do that
Zebra, November isn't shy about letting people know he has money.
over hunting stands is one issue . constant screwing around with trail cams in your hunting area is another . You leave scent everytime you come and go .
Its all about scent , I went scouting this morning in a heavy rain for 2 hours . cleaned up 2 shooting lanes and got out . Soaked to the bone but very little scent if any was left behind .
Sounds like it will be very cool and windy this weekend . YES !!!
Never sit the same stand twice until the rut. Always approach a stand from a different direction if possible.
100 treestands? How do you even maintain that many stands? If you leave them out all year they will get the seats eaten up and after only 1 or 2 years there are no seats left. If they have nylon straps I wouldn't trust them being up all year and if they have chain I've seen the growing tree tear apart a turn buckle.
I use lifelines in all my stands, let those sit out a year or two and see how much use they are.
"100 treestands? How do you even maintain that many stands?"
25/year get brushed, maintenance. So every 5 years we get thru the rotation. Specific notes are taken on any sit for each stand that needs attention. Some lifelines have been out over 20 years with no issues. Yes, the tree carp enjoy the seat cushions not so much on lifelines and drop cords. Some of my homemade stands in pine/cedar trees are still good built almost 40 years ago. I bought 5 more big game legacys and put them in this year. Some stands are early season, rut, late season. Some are simply wire decoys.Some stands have not been sat in 4 years due to wrong wind for that time period. 39 years on the same dirt, put a few in each year and they add up. 3x39=? The gun towers are no maintenance.
great advice, but very hard to do. Were going to have a dozen bowhunters at our place this weekend for the opener. Of course our success rate takes a hit but its the only time we see some of these guys all year so its worth it.
Or, go out and hunt when you have the time available. Enjoy your time in the woods, shoot a deer if you see one you want to shoot, and enjoy your time with mother nature. I guess not all of us feel the need to make bowhunting another job.
Well said walteman!! Some of us don't have the luxury to get out as much as others or the money to do so and we do what we can with what we have.
There is about as many "nevers" is there is"always" in the world of whitetail hunting!
That beig said I have hunted the same several times in a row.
If hunting deer was predictable it wouldnt be nearly as much fun......
Very well said Walteman, not all of us or even a majority have the land, stands or money to maintain ahd have so many stands. To me hunting is a hobby and a relaxing sport that gets me away from the work and stress of everyday life. I go out to not harvest an animal but if I do it is an added bonus. I go go to enjoy nature, take in the beauty of the woods and all the creatures and relax.
walteman & trapperjack +2. Not everybody has the access to a whole lot of land & the luxury to have that many multiple stands.Some have to hunt the same stand multiple times & just watch your sent the best you can & hope bucks from different areas cruise by during the rut.Main thing is having fun.
Not necessarily true. The author is under the assumption that those deer will remain local and other bucks won't be travelling through. So it really depends on the region or area you hunt, the amount of property you have to hunt and the home ranges of those bucks. The 3 best times to harvest a mature buck are: 1)archery opener, when bucks haven't been pressured and can be patterned. 2) the rut, including pre-post, because at any given time a buck may go outside his core area. 3) gun season, when human/hunter pressure really has an effect because the amount of people and randomness of where they go the deer the deer have a tough time seeking out sanctuaries.
That's why I like my climber, lots of different stand sites to keep my scent down. Plus, I hunt public land, so I like to hunt the freshest sign I can find and keep mobil.
Intended to hunt this AM but, stayed out because the wind was wrong for all my stands. NE wind in my area is a hunt killer and if you do try and manage to see a big buck, your chances of sending him nocturnal are very high! i will get up and try again tomorrow.
