is less....more

[Robhuntandfish]

Already been thinking about 2019 deer hunting.  And so far all my ideas point to less is more. I am taking down 3 stands that just havent been productive (and moving two to cover parts of that area), then using trail cams less and putting them higher and more hidden as to not spook deer as much.  And also taking less time off during hunting - specifically not taking anytime off in early season (except for the opener cause i cant sit in office and know i can hunt finally!) and saving my time for the last week of Oct and first two weeks of Nov.  Also this way im not burning out stands trying to hunt in 70 degree weather.  Then if I have extra days off at the end spend some quality time with the muzzleloader. 

this year i moved a stand for the last week of bow season and dropped a doe and my best buck ever in a 3 day span the last week of season.  Thus my plan of quality over quantity.   Whatcha think great hunters of NY?  

[G-Man]

4 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Already been thinking about 2019 deer hunting.  And so far all my ideas point to less is more. I am taking down 3 stands that just havent been productive (and moving two to cover parts of that area), then using trail cams less and putting them higher and more hidden as to not spook deer as much.  And also taking less time off during hunting - specifically not taking anytime off in early season (except for the opener cause i cant sit in office and know i can hunt finally!) and saving my time for the last week of Oct and first two weeks of Nov.  Also this way im not burning out stands trying to hunt in 70 degree weather.  Then if I have extra days off at the end spend some quality time with the muzzleloader. 

this year i moved a stand for the last week of bow season and dropped a doe and my best buck ever in a 3 day span the last week of season.  Thus my plan of quality over quantity.   Whatcha think great hunters of NY?  

I put up 36 stands a year and take them down every year. Some are never hunted but they will be placed back up.. options is key I agree you can burn out a few stands quickly  that's why it's best to have options

[moog5050]

16 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Already been thinking about 2019 deer hunting.  And so far all my ideas point to less is more. I am taking down 3 stands that just havent been productive (and moving two to cover parts of that area), then using trail cams less and putting them higher and more hidden as to not spook deer as much.  And also taking less time off during hunting - specifically not taking anytime off in early season (except for the opener cause i cant sit in office and know i can hunt finally!) and saving my time for the last week of Oct and first two weeks of Nov.  Also this way im not burning out stands trying to hunt in 70 degree weather.  Then if I have extra days off at the end spend some quality time with the muzzleloader. 

this year i moved a stand for the last week of bow season and dropped a doe and my best buck ever in a 3 day span the last week of season.  Thus my plan of quality over quantity.   Whatcha think great hunters of NY?  

Can't speak for the great hunters, but I do agree less time in an area can result in more productive hunts.  I only hunted my property 4 times this year.  Saw deer each sit and killed a nice buck last sit (knew he was around the week prior from cam pics).  Timing sits without burning stands out is big factor in success IMO.  One of the reasons you see guys that love to hunt mobile.  Take your shot and move on without burning an area out with scent.  That's not as easy to do when hunting small parcels of private land so keeping pressure off until the time is right on each property is critical. 

BTW - we have tons of stands and part of the reason is to spread pressure out when needed.  WE will hunt outskirt stands early to avoid pressuring properties.  Nobody hunted the stand I killed the buck from until the day I killed him.

Edited December 6, 2018 by moog5050

[Robhuntandfish]

1 minute ago, G-Man said:

I put up 36 stands a year and take them down every year. Some are never hunted but they will be placed back up.. options is key I agree you can burn out a few stands quickly  that's why it's best to have options

good gravy G man!  Thats a lot of stands!!  My lease doesnt even have that many trees!  lol 

Well with that many you shouldnt have to worry about burning them out.  I have 10 at the lease (soon to be seven), 3 on one permission spot and 1 on another.  

[Robhuntandfish]

3 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

Can't speak for the great hunters, but I do agree less time in an area can result in more productive hunts.  I only hunted my property 4 times this year.  Saw deer each sit and killed a nice buck last sit (knew he was around the week prior from cam pics).  Timing sits without burning stands out is big factor in success IMO.  One of the reasons you see guys that love to hunt mobile.  Take your shot and move on without burning an area out with scent.  That's not as easy to do when hunting small parcels of private land so keeping pressure off when until the time is right on each property is critical. 

BTW - we have tons of stands and part of the reason is to spread pressure out when needed.  WE will hunt outskirt stands early to avoid pressuring properties.  Nobody hunted the stand I killed the buck from until the day I killed him.

i do that now with in early season as much as i can.  Hunt the field edges and closest stands early and try to down a meat doe.  Then save some of the others that have the most buck sign and action.  But yeah i am thinking that Moog.  Those bigger bucks dont want to smell my ass in there every other day and early season when its so warm, it seems like i am doing more harm than good. 

[G-Man]

1 minute ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i do that now with in early season as much as i can.  Hunt the field edges and closest stands early and try to down a meat doe.  Then save some of the others that have the most buck sign and action.  But yeah i am thinking that Moog.  Those bigger bucks dont want to smell my ass in there every other day and early season when its so warm, it seems like i am doing more harm than good. 

Also something to keep in mind when placing cameras in big buck areas , doesnt do any good if your going in every week or 2 weeks to check the cameras, disturbance is disturbance.. I prefer open feed areas where I dont care if they are night pics of big bucks I know what's in the area..and post season scouting shows me where stands need to be .

[moog5050]

The only other thing I will add is that when the time IS RIGHT, hunt it hard because that area may only remain hot for a few days.  We tend to see patterns on properties on when they are hot year after year and that is when we want to push the envelope.  Same with stands on properties.  Some we know are good mid-late Oct. stands while other get hot first week of Nov. and even some areas that can be late season producers.

[Robhuntandfish]

1 minute ago, G-Man said:

Also something to keep in mind when placing cameras in big buck areas , doesnt do any good if your going in every week or 2 weeks to check the cameras, disturbance is disturbance.. I prefer open feed areas where I dont care if they are night pics of big bucks I know what's in the area..and post season scouting shows me where stands need to be .

ive been putting them up Aug 1 and resetting cards Sept 1 then only when i go by them thru hunting season.  In my spot for permission i really dont put them near my stand but put them on other side of a field just to see whats out there.  But on the lease its hard to do cause the hunting areas are so thick and only a very few paths to even be able to take a pic.  But am thinking i need to hide them better there and put them high.   

[Robhuntandfish]

4 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

The only other thing I will add is that when the time IS RIGHT, hunt it hard because that area may only remain hot for a few days.  We tend to see patterns on properties on when they are hot year after year and that is when we want to push the envelope.  Same with stands on properties.  Some we know are good mid-late Oct. stands while other get hot first week of Nov. and even some areas that can be late season producers.

good point.  I am a stickler for the right wind direction but need to be mindful of the time of year as well.  One spot i have seems to change every year pending on what is planted for Ag.  Rotating fields seems to produce pending on the type of crops to the time of year as well.  

[grampy]

7 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Already been thinking about 2019 deer hunting.  And so far all my ideas point to less is more. I am taking down 3 stands that just havent been productive (and moving two to cover parts of that area), then using trail cams less and putting them higher and more hidden as to not spook deer as much.  And also taking less time off during hunting - specifically not taking anytime off in early season (except for the opener cause i cant sit in office and know i can hunt finally!) and saving my time for the last week of Oct and first two weeks of Nov.  Also this way im not burning out stands trying to hunt in 70 degree weather.  Then if I have extra days off at the end spend some quality time with the muzzleloader. 

this year i moved a stand for the last week of bow season and dropped a doe and my best buck ever in a 3 day span the last week of season.  Thus my plan of quality over quantity.   Whatcha think great hunters of NY?  

Sounds like a solid plan Rob.

I do hunt some in early October, but don't really get serious until the end of the month. That is the time I start to see the older bucks on their feet during daylight hours. I'll also hunt other properties during this time to save my best spots.

I don't like sitting the same exact set up a bunch of times. So I have multiple set ups in the best areas, and scattered throughout the properties. And always willing to move to where we think the deer are, as things change!!  Just like this year, with traditional bedding areas being mostly flooded out, due to all the rain we got. At times too, it's just a guessing game as to where we think the deer will be on a given day or hunt. Depending on conditions.

Trail cams are great to see what may or may not be in your hunting areas. We really enjoy using them, and try to put the bulk of them in different spots each year. Some we go out of our way to hide, others, we just hang. Depends on how close we think the deer will be when the pic is taken. Will be looking to pick up a few more in the off season. 

After each season ends, we will look at what worked, and what didn't. Always learning!!! There is surely a move involved with this, to make next year better!  

Tend to take the bulk of my time off starting the first week of November, and scatter it through Thanksgiving. If things get really good, I can usually take a day or two anytime.

Also save days to fish in the summer!

 

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, grampy said:

Sounds like a solid plan Rob.

I do hunt some in early October, but don't really get serious until the end of the month. That is the time I start to see the older bucks on their feet during daylight hours. I'll also hunt other properties during this time to save my best spots.

I don't like sitting the same exact set up a bunch of times. So I have multiple set ups in the best areas, and scattered throughout the properties. And always willing to move to where we think the deer are, as things change!!  Just like this year, with traditional bedding areas being mostly flooded out, due to all the rain we got. At times too, it's just a guessing game as to where we think the deer will be on a given day or hunt. Depending on conditions.

Trail cams are great to see what may or may not be in your hunting areas. We really enjoy using them, and try to put the bulk of them in different spots each year. Some we go out of our way to hide, others, we just hang. Depends on how close we think the deer will be when the pic is taken. Will be looking to pick up a few more in the off season. 

After each season ends, we will look at what worked, and what didn't. Always learning!!! There is surely a move involved with this, to make next year better!  

Tend to take the bulk of my time off starting the first week of November, and scatter it through Thanksgiving. If things get really good, I can usually take a day or two anytime.

Also save days to fish in the summer!

 

for sure !  This year all the deer activity on our lease seems to be on the opposite side than usual due to all the water.  One side is just a flooded mess and the other side has been dryer and for the first year - 100 yards away is a cornfield on a neighboring property.  Always changing always learning and one of my favorite things about hunting.  

[moog5050]

7 minutes ago, grampy said:

Sounds like a solid plan Rob.

I do hunt some in early October, but don't really get serious until the end of the month. That is the time I start to see the older bucks on their feet during daylight hours. I'll also hunt other properties during this time to save my best spots.

I don't like sitting the same exact set up a bunch of times. So I have multiple set ups in the best areas, and scattered throughout the properties. And always willing to move to where we think the deer are, as things change!!  Just like this year, with traditional bedding areas being mostly flooded out, due to all the rain we got. At times too, it's just a guessing game as to where we think the deer will be on a given day or hunt. Depending on conditions.

Trail cams are great to see what may or may not be in your hunting areas. We really enjoy using them, and try to put the bulk of them in different spots each year. Some we go out of our way to hide, others, we just hang. Depends on how close we think the deer will be when the pic is taken. Will be looking to pick up a few more in the off season. 

After each season ends, we will look at what worked, and what didn't. Always learning!!! There is surely a move involved with this, to make next year better!  

Tend to take the bulk of my time off starting the first week of November, and scatter it through Thanksgiving. If things get really good, I can usually take a day or two anytime.

Also save days to fish in the summer!

 

Grampy,

You were a great example this year of how to adjust when needed.  No point in sitting and waiting in your usual stands if something has caused a change in movement.  Move with the deer.  Its one of the reasons we have so many stands set as many were set to adjust to deer movement in a given year/time and we leave them up just in case it happens again or the movement is more regular than we realized. I have somewhere around 22-23 stands on my 40 acres for this very reason (along with wind specific stands in the same area) and plan on adding a couple more next season.

[Robhuntandfish]

43 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I put up 36 stands a year and take them down every year. Some are never hunted but they will be placed back up.. options is key I agree you can burn out a few stands quickly  that's why it's best to have options

when do you start putting stands up ?   and do you change their locations each year?  and do you take them down for longevity or because of deer patterning you?   sorry for all the questions but you know a lot on land and setups for sure - appreciatte it.  

last year was the first year we starting leaving stands up year round.  Just for a time and ease factor of course. 

[G-Man]

You could probabaly get away with less stands by being mobile but in my experiance setting stands early and staying out of woods is best way. So if you have a early season stand over an early producing pear or apple ,could you move it when the fruit is gone and put up say on a late producing oak or apple ..yes but again moving the stand is disturbance, as well as clearing lanes ect.. just makes more sense to me to have a stand in each location set in July and left alone.. simple walk in when time is right and hunt!! 

A lot of stands may only be good for a week or two early season on a field edge next to some crab apples when they are gone they game has moved 100 yards to corn field.. making a note book or chart on what trees are favored and when they tend to drop is helpful.. I have had my property for over 25 years and know what trees drop and when and move to favored areas as game shifts.. a good pair of binoculars and looking in tree tops in July will tell you which trees have not or not .. no sence of hunting an oak flat if there are no acorns that year...

[biggamefish]

Thing to remember is that the deer are constantly changing the patterns to food and pressure. You might not want to get rid of all those stands because next year one might be a go to stand. In 3 years on the property I hunt I have seen different patterns each year and tried to adjust. Then there are the solid go to spots that work every year. You always have to scout and weigh your options. That's why I always have a climber stand ready to go.

[G-Man]

13 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

when do you start putting stands up ?   and do you change their locations each year?  and do you take them down for longevity or because of deer patterning you?   sorry for all the questions but you know a lot on land and setups for sure - appreciatte it.  

last year was the first year we starting leaving stands up year round.  Just for a time and ease factor of course. 

I take all my stands down in feb.. throw a party everyone brings a dish and we go out walking,snowmobile, tractor and each take a few down before lunch..eat good and go back out after lunch for a few more.  

I take them down for safety.  Straps break down in sunlight, trees grow and straps tear I have friends that hunt with me and I would hate to see a strap break and them fall and get hurt. I have stand that are 30 years old ..many have replacement straps cables or seat on them now. Easy to test them 2 ft off the ground in summer and replace what is nessassary.. leaving stands up is just a bad idea I know yo many people who have fallen by checking them in place from year to year..yes its work but safety is more important to me. 

I start in July,  many will go back into same spot even same tree if in a good funnel. Adjustments are made to others as food and trail may of changed due to logging treefalls,lack of mast, ect. I can get up 3 or 4 a day if I have help to trim lanes. ( best thing I bought was a battery operated chainsaw pole trimmer.. ) by mid august I'll have them all set and have a policy of no ATV or walking around starting sept 1st. ( I let my neighbor ride my trails and he abides by this simple rule, as well as no ATV from april 1 till after Turkey season) this allows my woods to be quiet safe place as all the neighboring camps are setting stands up checking cams, riding atvs, walking dog,looking at fall leaves,shooting their guns ,ect. My place becomes a sanctuary due to their pressure.. little things that  help imo.

Edited December 6, 2018 by G-Man

[grampy]

1 minute ago, moog5050 said:

Grampy,

You were a great example this year of how to adjust when needed.  No point in sitting and waiting in your usual stands if something has caused a change in movement.  Move with the deer.  Its one of the reasons we have so many stands set as many were set to adjust to deer movement in a given year/time and we leave them up just in case it happens again or the movement is more regular than we realized. I have somewhere around 22-23 stands on my 40 acres for this very reason (along with wind specific stands in the same area) and plan on adding a couple more next season.

Thanks moog. I think for me, it's the HUNTING part that I enjoy most!  Things never stay the same in the deer woods. What worked perfectly last year, may be terrible this year, and so on. So the "fun" (sometimes not so fun) part is always adjusting to what you see, or more importantly, what you "don't" see! 

It's the same old, same old some years. It's fly by the seat of your pants, other years! This one included. No two seasons are ever the exact same. 

The figuring part, if they aren't here, they gotta be there! Trying to get close, but not too close to run them off. Then adjusting time and time again to put yourself in position for a good shot. That is what makes hunting fun for me. Also 95% of my hunting is done from the ground. I can throw together a natural ground blind in no time, for a sit the next day. Or just take advantage of a blowdown or tangle of weeds. Again, flying by the seat of the pants hunting.

I often call it the zig and zag game. Because that is what we, and the deer are doing. Every now and then, I get lucky!

[moog5050]

8 minutes ago, grampy said:

Every now and then, I get lucky!

Understatement!

[CapDistPatriot]

1 hour ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Already been thinking about 2019 deer hunting.  And so far all my ideas point to less is more. I am taking down 3 stands that just havent been productive (and moving two to cover parts of that area), then using trail cams less and putting them higher and more hidden as to not spook deer as much.  And also taking less time off during hunting - specifically not taking anytime off in early season (except for the opener cause i cant sit in office and know i can hunt finally!) and saving my time for the last week of Oct and first two weeks of Nov.  Also this way im not burning out stands trying to hunt in 70 degree weather.  Then if I have extra days off at the end spend some quality time with the muzzleloader. 

this year i moved a stand for the last week of bow season and dropped a doe and my best buck ever in a 3 day span the last week of season.  Thus my plan of quality over quantity.   Whatcha think great hunters of NY?  

I am thinking the same.

This is first year on property for me and my partner, and we got into property so damned late in the year I know it had to have effected the quality of the hunt.  We spent 4-5 consecutive weekends (which ran into archery season) scouting for funnels, then setting up stands/blinds, then cutting shooting lanes. Now that we have seen what goes down when the season starts I am completely ditching ground blinds and using tree stands only. Will probably have only two tree stand sites next year in different areas. Oh, and I plan to stay out of the woods as much as possible pre season. Maybe set up my stands in mid summer? It may be feasible now that I know the property and am more familiar.

[CapDistPatriot]

39 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I take all my stands down in feb.. throw a party everyone brings a dish and we go out walking,snowmobile, tractor and each take a few down before lunch..eat good and go back out after lunch for a few more.  

I take them down for safety.  Straps break down in sunlight, trees grow and straps tear I have friends that hunt with me and I would hate to see a strap break and them fall and get hurt. I have stand that are 30 years old ..many have replacement straps cables or seat on them now. Easy to test them 2 ft off the ground in summer and replace what is nessassary.. leaving stands up is just a bad idea I know yo many people who have fallen by checking them in place from year to year..yes its work but safety is more important to me. 

I start in July,  many will go back into same spot even same tree if in a good funnel. Adjustments are made to others as food and trail may of changed due to logging treefalls,lack of mast, ect. I can get up 3 or 4 a day if I have help to trim lanes. ( best thing I bought was a battery operated chainsaw pole trimmer.. ) by mid august I'll have them all set and have a policy of no ATV or walking around starting sept 1st. ( I let my neighbor ride my trails and he abides by this simple rule, as well as no ATV from april 1 till after Turkey season) this allows my woods to be quiet safe place as all the neighboring camps are setting stands up checking cams, riding atvs, walking dog,looking at fall leaves,shooting their guns ,ect. My place becomes a sanctuary due to their pressure.. little things that  help imo.

This. I may do the same next year, GREAT policy.

[Robhuntandfish]

4 hours ago, G-Man said:

I take all my stands down in feb.. throw a party everyone brings a dish and we go out walking,snowmobile, tractor and each take a few down before lunch..eat good and go back out after lunch for a few more.  

I take them down for safety.  Straps break down in sunlight, trees grow and straps tear I have friends that hunt with me and I would hate to see a strap break and them fall and get hurt. I have stand that are 30 years old ..many have replacement straps cables or seat on them now. Easy to test them 2 ft off the ground in summer and replace what is nessassary.. leaving stands up is just a bad idea I know yo many people who have fallen by checking them in place from year to year..yes its work but safety is more important to me. 

I start in July,  many will go back into same spot even same tree if in a good funnel. Adjustments are made to others as food and trail may of changed due to logging treefalls,lack of mast, ect. I can get up 3 or 4 a day if I have help to trim lanes. ( best thing I bought was a battery operated chainsaw pole trimmer.. ) by mid august I'll have them all set and have a policy of no ATV or walking around starting sept 1st. ( I let my neighbor ride my trails and he abides by this simple rule, as well as no ATV from april 1 till after Turkey season) this allows my woods to be quiet safe place as all the neighboring camps are setting stands up checking cams, riding atvs, walking dog,looking at fall leaves,shooting their guns ,ect. My place becomes a sanctuary due to their pressure.. little things that  help imo.

i usually change the straps every year regardless for the same reason.  Seen them dry rot and get chewed by squirrels too often.  And i always have 3 on every tree.  2 at the top (top rail and foot rail)and one on the stabilizer bar (which i may not replace every year) figure for $100 in straps a year its worth it.  

sounds like a good time to get everyone together to help out too.  We try to do this for a couple of us for improvements every year to the areas we hunt.  And a buddy and i go to each others spots and help out with stands and scouting etc.   We also do the no entry as of sept 1.  Put cams out that day and no one in til season!   

sounds like you have a great system - need to with all those stands for sure.  

[Robhuntandfish]

4 hours ago, CapDistPatriot said:

I am thinking the same.

This is first year on property for me and my partner, and we got into property so damned late in the year I know it had to have effected the quality of the hunt.  We spent 4-5 consecutive weekends (which ran into archery season) scouting for funnels, then setting up stands/blinds, then cutting shooting lanes. Now that we have seen what goes down when the season starts I am completely ditching ground blinds and using tree stands only. Will probably have only two tree stand sites next year in different areas. Oh, and I plan to stay out of the woods as much as possible pre season. Maybe set up my stands in mid summer? It may be feasible now that I know the property and am more familiar.

I hate ground blinds!!!  lol  We did the same when we first got lease , we bought 3 ground blinds and havent used them since.  I would sit there and hear the deer go behind them and never see them.  I do like brushed in homeade ones like Grampy mentioned - cause you can see and still hear and still turn and have a spot to shoot. esp for gun and crossbow.   But they were always too noisy and obvious and constricting to me. And i am not the smallest of guys so im not too graceful in them either.  

[E J]

To stay out of the woods more and still see what's going on I have been adding cell cams with black flash. It's super fun seeing what's going on while your not there and not have to go in just to pull cards, also I just don't have the time to get out and pull cards all over. 

[Robhuntandfish]

14 minutes ago, E J said:

To stay out of the woods more and still see what's going on I have been adding cell cams with black flash. It's super fun seeing what's going on while your not there and not have to go in just to pull cards, also I just don't have the time to get out and pull cards all over. 

those are just cool!  they come down in price i am in.  But would get even less work done!  lol  

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Less permanent and more climbers to be able to move quick when cam's finally show your target buck moving in daylight. That is if you target certain bucks.


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