Stand Approach

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GRUD
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby GRUD » Mon Jun 11, 2012 11:15 pm

Sometimes I need to cross a deer trail to get to my setup. When hunting chopped up farm ground our urban it makes it tough sometimes to get where you need to be. When I do cross a trail, I try to cross it at a spot where I can shoot so when the deer smells where I walked I can hopefully take the shot. Leaving scent can be used to your advantage but it does burn that bridge.


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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby dan » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:24 am

GRUD wrote:Sometimes I need to cross a deer trail to get to my setup. When hunting chopped up farm ground our urban it makes it tough sometimes to get where you need to be. When I do cross a trail, I try to cross it at a spot where I can shoot so when the deer smells where I walked I can hopefully take the shot. Leaving scent can be used to your advantage but it does burn that bridge.


I do the same thing in similar cases. Walking in on spots where deer come around the stand covering both sides, it makes perfect sense to try and come in down a shooting lane so you can shoot your target if he reacts to your ground scent. My experience is that they don't imeadiatly bolt. Somtimes they ignoe it, sometimes they hesitate at it, sometimes they get on edge and have string jumping tendancys, and sometimes they smell your scent and either sneak back to where they came from or hesitate then run... But seldom do I ever see them smell the scent and run imediatly...
Being abble to shoot them before or at the point they cross your scent trail can be a huge advantage...
Of coarse its best to come in from a way no deer cross your scent trail, but thats not always feasible.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby dan » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:34 am

kenn1320 wrote:I agree with everything mentioned, but for years I was a rush to my stand as quick as I could kind of guy. If Im going out for an evening hunt, I try to be as stealth as I can, cause Im setting up close to bedding and know which direction they are headed for the evening. In the morning, Im not purposely making noise, but I try to get to my stands quickly as I want to beat that buck to the spot. After having more then one buck walk by as I was half way up a tree, or still hadnt pulled my bow up, I have come to realise you might think all the deer are out in the feeding fields 1hr before first light, but they arent. A stealth approach both morning and evening is critical. There are 2 schools of thought on morning hunts and each has its merrits. Getting there before the buck allows you to make some small noises and get away with them. If your in your stand and he comes in and beds down and your not detected, there is a good chance he will get back up a few hours after day light and make his rounds and you could get your chance. However if he smells you, or where you walked, the gig is up and if he makes it to his bed, he might stay put, or more likely will go to another bed that morning and avoid your area. It kinda gives some merrit to the waiting till light to sneak in, but then you risk does busting you, and or the buck you were after as he was late coming back that day. Id like to hear from both types, good and bad of each technique. Im a get in early guy, my brother is a wait till he can just see type. :lol:

I have noticed that bucks are often bedded before daylight, and even when there not, they are hanging in the vicinity of there bedding areas the last couple hours of darkness in a lot of cases. I have noticed this tenancy with trail cam pictures, with hunting observations, and based on shining deer near known buck bedding areas in the AM... In my opinion, its very important to be very quiet in your AM approach. I would actually say its even more important than your evening approach. Unless your hunting rut funnels where your expecting late morning action.
Mornings are generally dead silent, where in the evening birds, traffic, squirrles, etc. are making a ton of noise.
Getting to some of my stand sites in the public marsh very early have afforded me the luxury of sitting back and listening to other hunters enter the land.... I can usually hear them from quite a distance and pretty much know right where they are set up... If my old ears can do this, you better believe an old buck is doing the same.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:42 am

GRUD wrote:Sometimes I need to cross a deer trail to get to my setup. When hunting chopped up farm ground our urban it makes it tough sometimes to get where you need to be. When I do cross a trail, I try to cross it at a spot where I can shoot so when the deer smells where I walked I can hopefully take the shot. Leaving scent can be used to your advantage but it does burn that bridge.


I do the same thing with the exception of [glow=red]doing a few tight loops[/glow]at the anticipated area for the deer to stop and sniff - possibly confuse them for a bit... (just 2-3 yards worth)

I learned this while watching a wiley Doe come to my tree on a shoe string.
I wasn't going to shot her at first, but when she came to my tree (not stopping at the intersection of my trail and deer trail as anticipated), she gave me no choice.
I didn't want her to get together with all her other Doe friends and talk about this handsome man perched in the big hemlock!!!
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:53 am

I am generally pretty sure what direction the deer are coming from and going to. I believe you must take the best route with the lowest percentage chance of deer crossing your trail. I do this by using roads, ponds, open fields fences, ditches, well you get the idea. If you know where the deer are bedding you have a good idea of what direction they will be traveling. If you are hunting a table flat you need to make sure and keep your ground scent out of that area. If you are hunting a saddle, or bottle neck you can't leave ground scent in those ambush spots.

On one hunt this was my route; walked 1/4 mile over an open field to a fence, crossed the fence, walked down a dirt road 1/2 mile, crossed the rail road tracks, crossed a fence, walked down a cow pasture 1/2 mile, crossed a fence, crossed the railroad tracks crossed another fence and hunted 20 yards into the timber. With the wind the direction it was coming from SW. I took this path to hide my ground scent, not let my human scent go towards the bedded buck, and never let myself be silhouetted to where the buck was bedded. I didn't kill the buck this hunt, but passed a few others. I can't iterate enough, how critical your approach and ground scent are. I have said this before, sometimes it's the little things one does that puts the buck on the wall.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby dan » Thu Jun 14, 2012 8:09 am

Good post Stan. 8-)
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:09 am

There are things that happen to us while hunting that have an immediate impact and that leave a profound impression. The first time I made the approach to my stand a huge priority I was immediately rewarded. I have posted about it a number of times, how important it is. I also remember a post about it that Stanley replied to quite a while back... I copied and pasted it to my HB file, a literal "book" of insight I have obtained from our members at the Beast... I read and review my Hunting Beast book on a regular basis. If you haven't started one, now is as good of a time as any.

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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:57 pm

Stanley wrote:I am generally pretty sure what direction the deer are coming from and going to. I believe you must take the best route with the lowest percentage chance of deer crossing your trail. I do this by using roads, ponds, open fields fences, ditches, well you get the idea. If you know where the deer are bedding you have a good idea of what direction they will be traveling. If you are hunting a table flat you need to make sure and keep your ground scent out of that area. If you are hunting a saddle, or bottle neck you can't leave ground scent in those ambush spots.

On one hunt this was my route; [glow=red]walked 1/4 mile[/glow]over an open field to a fence, crossed the fence, walked down a dirt road [glow=red]1/2 mile[/glow], crossed the rail road tracks, crossed a fence, walked down a cow pasture [glow=red]1/2 mile[/glow], crossed a fence, crossed the railroad tracks crossed another fence and hunted 20 yards into the timber. With the wind the direction it was coming from SW. I took this path to hide my ground scent, not let my human scent go towards the bedded buck, and never let myself be silhouetted to where the buck was bedded. I didn't kill the buck this hunt, but passed a few others. I can't iterate enough, how critical your approach and ground scent are. I have said this before, sometimes it's the little things one does that puts the buck on the wall.


Yes Stan - a very good post!
That's dedication for sure...

Stan's mileage appears to be +1 1/4 miles - How often do you buy boots? :P

Was this your first attempt at this location or did you have to try a few approaches due to lack of results and after gaining experience isolate this approach?
I ask because sometimes on newer properties it's trial and error for me...
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby dan » Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:17 pm

There are a lot of situations where I hunt a buck bed that is near the road or parking area but I need to go a long distance to get around to his back side undetected because he is set up to watch and or smell hunters approaching from the road or parking lot... Approach is one of the most important things in hunting. I also think actually seeing the buck beds and knowing where he is, and why he is there is another one, and its one most hunters don't put enough value into.
In a lot of cases, mature bucks will set up to watch your entrances to the woods. If you enter somewhere where he can see or smell you, the game is over before you even get to the tree.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Southern Man » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:15 am

Singing Bridge wrote:... I copied and pasted it to my HB file, a literal "book" of insight I have obtained from our members at the Beast... I read and review my Hunting Beast book on a regular basis. If you haven't started one, now is as good of a time as any.

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SB, that's a pretty good idea. I have folder after folder of maps, notebooks with scouting notes, season logs, but no forum "Quotebook". Great idea....
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:39 am

Edcyclopedia wrote:
Stanley wrote:I am generally pretty sure what direction the deer are coming from and going to. I believe you must take the best route with the lowest percentage chance of deer crossing your trail. I do this by using roads, ponds, open fields fences, ditches, well you get the idea. If you know where the deer are bedding you have a good idea of what direction they will be traveling. If you are hunting a table flat you need to make sure and keep your ground scent out of that area. If you are hunting a saddle, or bottle neck you can't leave ground scent in those ambush spots.

On one hunt this was my route; [glow=red]walked 1/4 mile[/glow]over an open field to a fence, crossed the fence, walked down a dirt road [glow=red]1/2 mile[/glow], crossed the rail road tracks, crossed a fence, walked down a cow pasture [glow=red]1/2 mile[/glow], crossed a fence, crossed the railroad tracks crossed another fence and hunted 20 yards into the timber. With the wind the direction it was coming from SW. I took this path to hide my ground scent, not let my human scent go towards the bedded buck, and never let myself be silhouetted to where the buck was bedded. I didn't kill the buck this hunt, but passed a few others. I can't iterate enough, how critical your approach and ground scent are. I have said this before, sometimes it's the little things one does that puts the buck on the wall.


Yes Stan - a very good post!
That's dedication for sure...

Stan's mileage appears to be +1 1/4 miles - How often do you buy boots? :P

Was this your first attempt at this location or did you have to try a few approaches due to lack of results and after gaining experience isolate this approach?
I ask because sometimes on newer properties it's trial and error for me...


Ed.... I hunted that location one time that year. It was 2007. I had another thing going for me that day the dirt road was mud and I knew no vehicle traffic would cause any trouble. I remember it so well, the mud would ball up on my boots and I'd have to kick it off every so often (terrible walking). The buck I was after was a super nice 10 point. I saw the buck a week later in another location but had no shot (50 yards). I never did kill him and never saw him again. :cry:

Newer properties are a trial and error effort for everyone. The better you know a property the better your chances are in my opinion. I knew that property very well. My thought process is low impact so I like observation stands and move in from there. Stand and sticks/steps works great for that. Lot of guys, first thing they do is walk a new property during the season. I think this is a mistake.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sun Jun 17, 2012 1:36 am

Southern Man wrote:
Singing Bridge wrote:... I copied and pasted it to my HB file, a literal "book" of insight I have obtained from our members at the Beast... I read and review my Hunting Beast book on a regular basis. If you haven't started one, now is as good of a time as any.

[ Post made via Android ] Image


SB, that's a pretty good idea. I have folder after folder of maps, notebooks with scouting notes, season logs, but no forum "Quotebook". Great idea....


When you look at the talent level of the hunters here on the BEAST, it makes a lot of sense to pay attention to and record the wisdom of our hunters for future reference. I do a lot of copying and pasting into my Hunting Beast file. There are so many hunters that want to learn more... or go to a new hunting area with different dynamics than what they are used to... that are out there buying videos and books in order to try and help...

Ask away any questions that pertain to new challenges- but I also recommend creating a reference file from our members whenever pertinent knowledge presents itself. 8-)
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby headgear » Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:43 am

Good tip SB, this place is a gold mine for hunting tips and keeping a book is a great idea.

Just to keep on topic, one of my favorite "beast" stand approachs I park the truck 250 to 300 yards from the bucks bed. However I have a 1.1 mile walk to setup 100 yards away from him on the back side. Its a lot of work but it the only way to hunt the bed without getting busted.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Stanley » Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:24 am

headgear wrote:Good tip SB, this place is a gold mine for hunting tips and keeping a book is a great idea.

Just to keep on topic, one of my favorite "beast" stand approachs I park the truck 250 to 300 yards from the bucks bed. However I have a 1.1 mile walk to setup 100 yards away from him on the back side. Its a lot of work but it the only way to hunt the bed without getting busted.


Sometimes you just got to do, what you got to do, and then do it. I have said it many times the approach is one of the most important aspects of successful big buck hunting. I have been called lucky by many hunters that just stumble into an area to hunt. I am lucky, and using a good approach increases that luck.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Stand Approach

Unread postby Stanley » Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:26 am

Singing Bridge wrote:There are things that happen to us while hunting that have an immediate impact and that leave a profound impression. The first time I made the approach to my stand a huge priority I was immediately rewarded. I have posted about it a number of times, how important it is. I also remember a post about it that Stanley replied to quite a while back... I copied and pasted it to my HB file, a literal "book" of insight I have obtained from our members at the Beast... I read and review my Hunting Beast book on a regular basis. If you haven't started one, now is as good of a time as any.

[ Post made via Android ] Image

Super great tip.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.


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