When to put your blinds up and clear trails to your spot

[luberhill]

This year I’m going to take or leaf blow the path I use to walk to my stand they the woods.

Im in 7J so no leaves have fallen yet ..I usually put my ground blind up and trim shooting lanes etc a month before gun..

This year I may not get to it until 2 weeks before 

[GreeneHunter]

One year I actually took a rake and raked the path to my ladder stand , it helped to see the path in the dark and was very quiet !

[luberhill]

10 minutes ago, GreeneHunter said:

One year I actually took a rake and raked the path to my ladder stand , it helped to see the path in the dark and was very quiet !

How soon before the opener

[Robhuntandfish]

@growalot

[GreeneHunter]

53 minutes ago, luberhill said:

How soon before the opener

Roughly one month !

[G-Man]

Done back in july.

[luberhill]

16 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Done back in july.

Yea but the path in will be covered with leaves after October 1st

I have my stands up, just need to tighten the straps I loosen after the season.

I will put my ground blinds up ASAP but probably not until October when I can get there .

[luberhill]

45 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

@growalot

??

[Robhuntandfish]

4 minutes ago, luberhill said:

??

She used to be on here and always cleared out her trails like that.  Older members all remember her. 

[G-Man]

If you want leaves out of path do it mid day anytime 

[Nomad]

I use a backpack leaf blower to do mine once the leaves have mostly all dropped . I’ll do it after a morning bow hunt mid oct I guess , and the next time I hunt there will be tracks walking and crossing it . 
 
For some reason this pic posts sideways ,when it isn’t when I grab it ….

 

[grampy]

7 minutes ago, G-Man said:

If you want leaves out of path do it mid day anytime 

This! 

After all the leaves have fallen by mid to late October, take a warm sunny day, and do it mid day. The deer will be bedded. Rake or use a blower. It won't matter. The deer will likely walk the paths you clear later that night. As they are attracted to the freshly exposed ground.

[Bolt action]

I looked at cam pix this morning. Had deer on camera 2 hours after i was there cutting lanes. This time of year deer seen to be pretty relaxed.

[grampy]

37 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

She used to be on here and always cleared out her trails like that.  Older members all remember her. 

Especially this time of year, growalot always had some tidbits of wisdom to share. I truely miss her being here.

[Lomax]

Put up this blind yesterday in the backyard….early conditioning works. Also been mowing leaves off access routes to blinds and stands for past 10 yrs or so.  Walking in quietly in the morning when it’s cold with no leaves is a bonus.
Quiet chairs and the blinds are a must as well you can have them making noise squeaking when it gets cold when you turn to pull back on a deer.  It’s kind of tough to practice that…you just learn from your mistakes.  Small details matter.   

[Shoots100]

30 minutes ago, G-Man said:

If you want leaves out of path do it mid day anytime 

If my father wanted a deer that night, Mid day, he would make a ground blind next to a stand of sugar maple trees, cut one down with the loud as all heck Homelite chainsaw and wait.

It was like ringing the dinner bell.

My brother also clear's the paths to his stands periodically.

He found out that although it helps you get to your stand quietly, it also makes a seasoned sneaky buck even more quieter.

A little zig zag pattern about 40 yards away from the stand, will enable you to see movement and/or hear them as they walk into the leaves between the path.

Good luck.

[dinorocks]

Just finished clearing some trails and beefing up my ground blinds.  Last year I used my tow-behind lawn rake on my main trails…afterwards I was wondering why the deer were in the leaf piles late into the season and realized there were tons of acorns that got raked up into the piles along with the leaves.

lots of acorns, apples, pears, and crabapples this year!