Yesterday afternoon on watch

[Al Bundy]

I tried a new spot yesterday afternoon and was sitting on a seat, not in a stand. I was on the edge of a gulley where I could barely see a ledge that ran along the gulley. Sure enough I hear squirrel like noises and see only the head of a small doe, maybe button buck. It comes closer and closer and pops up out of the gulley literally no more than 20ft from me!!! Never had one quite this close. SHe knew something was off and stood and looked at me. I gave it a pass as it was a bit small and really tough to raise my bow and line up.

New spot was great though. I saw this doe, two mamas and two of their babies, one other doe, and another group of two. More deer seen than I did all of last year in my regular spot. Going to get a tree stand for new spot and alternate it into the mix of where to go on watch.

Good luck to all.

[WhitetailAddict11]

I started doing the hang and hunt style last year, which in case you're not familiar with that, is a style of hunting where you carry in climbing sticks and a lock on stand, and hang the set and hunt from it. A style popular with a lot of guys because it doesn't require you to find a straight/limbless tree that is required for a climbing stand. Carrying in a lock on gives you more options when it comes to trees, however the trade off is that it's not always quite as quick or convenient. That being said, you are able to hunt a new area every time you go in the woods, and as we all know, typically your first sit in a new area is going to be your most productive sit if the deer are there. Although you were on the ground, it's all fairly relevant. Hunting from a tree definitely increases visibility though and may help with keeping your scent above their nose.

[WhitetailAddict11]

I meant to include that it was one of my best years for seeing deer and I think a lot of that has to do with being mobile and trying different spots/areas.