To go far or not to go far...

[BowmanMike]

I might have asked this before,but what are your opinions on putting stands far into the woods as opposed to somewhat closer to the road so you don't spook every deer going to your stand? I hunt in 4F and there is a big deer population around. 

I kind of feel that I don't want to go to the deep woods sites unless i hunt the afternoon and can be sure to not be detected...

[Robhuntandfish]

access to stands is def a big consideration.  Hunting isnt much good if you just walked through everything.  I always try to place them in easy access areas that i can get in as quiet as possible. Cert dont want to go thru bedding areas to get to a location.  Also set them up so I can skirt the edge of a field without being seen too much.  

I guess it would mostly pend on where you think deer will be coming from to your stand area. Or hunt those farthest locations later in season or only at the best times they are favorable for wind direction.  

[Culvercreek hunt club]

9 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

I might have asked this before,but what are your opinions on putting stands far into the woods as opposed to somewhat closer to the road so you don't spook every deer going to your stand? I hunt in 4F and there is a big deer population around. 

I kind of feel that I don't want to go to the deep woods sites unless i hunt the afternoon and can be sure to not be detected...

is this state land? how pig a chunk of property are we talking about?  Arrangement of the property make a HUGE difference in the answer. bedding, food locations, travel route, Wind. wind wing. oh and one more thing. wind

[BowmanMike]

private land,hilly,a pond close to the road and a creek that drains it,ne to sw direction. Some hayfields on the road,apple trees close to the road and sparsely in the woods. Several ridges,running all different directions. Some real dense planted Spruce trees,a lot of red oak,some beech and maple trees. Only one friend and I hunt the 300 acres.

One ridge was loaded with deer the last year,deep in the woods. But one has to travel maybe 1/2 mile through the woods to get there. Same with a nice spot behind the pond,close to the spruce plantation.

[BowmanMike]

Some properties adjacent to it get hunted,but mostly only during gun and not too hard.

Oh,and the wind. Mostly NW,but the ridges mess with that one a lot...

Edited September 6, 2017 by BowmanMike

[Robhuntandfish]

if you can travel that creek bed and use it as cover that would be a good plan. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Not being able to see it I would opt for a property line entry. Might be a bit late now but could still take a trip in to clear limbs and such. mark the trail and use the most down wind perimeter to gain entry. I am never a fan of entering through the middle but sometimes it could be the only option. The best route may not be the shortest rout. 

[genesee_mohican]

State land I go deep, private land you can hunt the downwind side of the doe area's for good action and that may be just inside the fringe, so not deep. I have some pines and brush out behind my house that I leave alone. It's only a couple acres but the does like to bed there. I've had some real nice bucks on cam there in the last few years.

[BowmanMike]

I always try to get in downwind,but depends where i want to end up I have to be upwind of some bedding areas. I think I will save the trips deep in for afternoons on perfect days. I need to spend some time in the deeper open woods there to hone in on some travel patterns as well. Have only been hunting the 300 acres for 3 or 4 years,so lots of things to discover still.

[OtiscoPaul]

I have sets way deep and sets 30yds from the parking lot.

The quick access stands are typically ladders or hangons I can get to silently via logging trails and get up quickly.  They are covered so heavy on the edges of thickets or tucked into hemlocks that hunters pass them without knowing all season.

Deep sets typically circumvent bedding to get to travel corridors. I typically take logging roads until they intersect with everflowing drainage creeks which I then use as "stairs" to reach my stands which are typically anywhere from 100-500 yards upstream less than 30 yards off the stream.

I can make a 2 mile long near silent entry in almost any conditions this way if I've prepped the trails.  And the noise I might make the last 100-500yards is always covered by creek babble, which is also great noise cover in the stand.

 

Edited September 6, 2017 by OtiscoPaul

[jman22]

4 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

I might have asked this before,but what are your opinions on putting stands far into the woods as opposed to somewhat closer to the road so you don't spook every deer going to your stand? I hunt in 4F and there is a big deer population around. 

I kind of feel that I don't want to go to the deep woods sites unless i hunt the afternoon and can be sure to not be detected...

Many, many factors to consider here. Deeper isn't necessarily better. Sometimes the most overlooked spots are very close to parking areas and roads. Scouting will help you determine if you have any of these spots. Look for sign (especially beds) to help determine if your property may have one of these overlooked honey holes where a mature buck may bed and frequent during daylight. Remember that a lot of buck sign is left at night also. If you can find a scrape that is being hit in daylight by multiple bucks you've struck gold.

Also, sometimes you are just going to have to accept the fact that you will bump deer. If you know that an interior ridge on the property is hot with sign and deer activity, don't be afraid to bump deer in order to get back to where the action is. Sounds like your area is loaded with deer, so its going to happen. Just try to come up with good entry and exit routes that will allow you NOT to bump deer in the immediate area you are going to hunt, if that makes sense. If you don't have great entry and exit to these ridges, you are going to have a VERY limited amount of hunts before the deer are onto you.

You say you have hills on the property as well. Hills can be tricky because you have your wind and you have rising and falling air thermals which can really mess with setups. As you mentioned, coming in downwind of bedding isn't always the best. In hills, a lot of deer (especially bucks) will actually bed with the wind at their backs, while facing downwind. So even though the deer isn't going to smell you, he is going to pick you off with his eyes as you approach. I never knew this until it was taught to me a few years ago, but its legit! 

It's nice that's it's only you and another guy hunting this property. Keep pushing the envelope and scout the heck out of it. If you run cameras, don't be afraid to sink a few deep in those ridges on perennial scrapes or funnels and just let them sit all season without checking them. They will give you valuable info for future years. Best of luck this season!!

[GreeneHunter]

I have had my ladder stand in the same place for going on 8 years , I can hear and see the road traffic from there ! Last year I raked the path into the stand and its pretty quiet that way when I walk in on opening day ! I usually do the trail cleanup one month before opening day and do not go back until opening day morning at "Oh Dark Thirty " ! Works for me !
 

[growalot]

I have both...It really doesn't matter for me because they bed in the garden at the end of drive...my only access to our property across the street and they bed ether next to the dog kennel or just a tad farther into the woods behind the house...my only access to the hunting there. ..When I walk the middle of the road to get down to lower properties...they are bedded along the culvert ditches...It's laughable..but I do have one stand 30 yrds from the road and I love it I catch the deer crossing back and forth on our place and then from us to the neighbor.

 If your bow hunting consider where they will run...and if you can go get them. if it's not a problem hunt just off the culvert ditch if that's where they are...I also have a ground blind 50 feet from the road on my drive...That by the way, 20 mins ago a bear ran past...15 mins after I walked down the drive.

Edited September 6, 2017 by growalot

[BowmanMike]

They really are all over the place there,I just have to figure when and why they are in certain spots at certain times. A friend saw a monster buck late last muzzle loader season,and he probably beds on the adjacent 300 acres that has some real thick stuff in it,blackberries and evergreens. Never saw him at all last year,but it sure makes me want to pay attention to that property line. I saw a ton of 1 1/2 year olds last year,so hopefully they are still around.

The apple orchard,well,wild apples really has the biggest scrapes,i guess you call those community scrapes. Last year there were no apples,so no scrape. But this year they are loaded. That area is in a corner where two dirt roads meet,and two years ago i got pics of at least 6 different bucks using it.

I will set up a stand there,even if it is only 50 yds off the road.

[DirtTime]

This is why boots on the ground scouting plays a huge part of hunting. Especially public land that might be new to you. I don't hunt from a tree stand, so I look for the bedding areas, food sources, and the travel routes deer use to and from those areas. Then I will set up a few brush blinds in different spots around the travel areas to deal with wind changes.

You can have success 30 yds from a road, and you can success 3 miles in.

The private property I hunt up north there's a creek 50 yards from the road, the creek turns into a natural funnel leading into a small marsh about 300 yds in. I had a couple brush blinds set up before the creek, and I have rarely sat there and not seen deer passing by. I also utilized the funnel and had some brush blinds set up on the other end by the marsh.

I also had a few brush blinds back around a pond about a 3/4 mile in. If I go a full mile in, I am now off the property I have rights to hunt. 

[Doewhacker]

1 hour ago, BowmanMike said:

They really are all over the place there,I just have to figure when and why they are in certain spots at certain times. A friend saw a monster buck late last muzzle loader season,and he probably beds on the adjacent 300 acres that has some real thick stuff in it,blackberries and evergreens. Never saw him at all last year,but it sure makes me want to pay attention to that property line. I saw a ton of 1 1/2 year olds last year,so hopefully they are still around.

The apple orchard,well,wild apples really has the biggest scrapes,i guess you call those community scrapes. Last year there were no apples,so no scrape. But this year they are loaded. That area is in a corner where two dirt roads meet,and two years ago i got pics of at least 6 different bucks using it.

I will set up a stand there,even if it is only 50 yds off the road.

It's remarkable how similar your place sounds to a place I occasionally hunt in Otsego. Actually rarely now because I hate the 70 mile drive when I can hunt in back of my house.  

Some folks can't get a real picture of what it is like to hunt 300 acres of hilly mountains until they experience it in person. The constant wind variables make it pretty frustrating to try and plop down in one spot all day. Still hunting is ok but also a pain when it's on the side of some steep hills. Bedding, sure pick an area out of 300 acres and the deer are sure to be on the other side of the property lol. The place I go is more akin to the Adirondacks than anything else. 

[Swamp_bucks]

Depends i have my lease(40 acres) which i hunt the fringe, a piece of stateland thats atleast a 1mile hike in through some nasty areas but nobody else goes there so they push the deer down to me. But yet another piece of stateland ill park walk in till i just get out of view of truck but most guys dont go in because its just a little 10acre chunk off the main piece. Its where i shot my 8 last year. Just depends on the spot your going to be at.

[jpastor1759]

I would say you need to hang your stands where the deer travel through no matter where that is. Just be sure you stay out of their prime bedding area until last resort or last week of the season and you should be ok. As always practice strict scent control.

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[Doc]

I usually go too far away. I'm hunting a mile up on top the hill, and have to listen to my wife describe all the deer that walked across the front lawn down at the house.

[G-Man]

Honestly your better off going in deep in the am. As deer are. In fields and orchards..they tend to bed deeper In the woods during the day. And will move at mid day to eat if they feel safe.. In your situation go deep early and stay late...

[Hock3y24]

personally i put them all over the place, save the deeper ones for later in seasons, try to be invisible early bow season.

Edited September 13, 2017 by Hock3y24

[helmut in the bush]

There's no rules

[BowmanMike]

16 minutes ago, helmut in the bush said:

There's no rules

There is no box!!