A fatal error I hear many
whitetail hunters make is to setup a tree stand, or create
major shooting lanes right before the season, or even the
day before they plan to hunt! There are numerous reasons
why this reduces your chances for success and I will attempt
to touch on them all.
Being the research scientist for MDR Outdoor Group, I always
like to hear the details behind any negative reaction a
hunter has with a hunting scent product. By far, the most
consistent error most hunters make, whether they are using
attractant scent or not, is to not address their own scent
with scent destroying soaps, detergents, sprays, and outerwear.
A hunter needs to use a combination in which they are comfortable
that they are truly accomplishing this. The first pitfall
in establishing a tree stand at the last minute is that
it finds a hunter contaminating their stand site with unusually
high levels of human scent. It is true that one can be very
careful with the stand itself, as experienced climbing stand
hunters prove week in and week out. However, when one goes
beyond that, trouble is in the making. One must remember
you are in the whitetail’s living room. If someone were
to come into your house and re-arrange part of a room, how
long would it take for you to notice it? Not long at all,
if not immediately. Sure, the ever-ignorant yearling buck
or 6 month old fawn will wander through your new site clueless.
But when a mature buck, or even worse a mature doe enters
the scene, you are in a world of trouble. First they will
get nervous and stomp their feet multiple times releasing
large amounts of interdigital gland scent to warn others
in the herd who come through later. Then they will change
their travel routes to avoid the site you worked hard to
establish, or worse yet, go nocturnal. Most hunters establishing
lock-on or ladder stands at the last minute, when things
are very much still green, have a hard time refraining from
pruning some openings for quality shots around their stand.
The result is two things: over pruning for the peak season
when the foliage will be gone, as well as the scent contamination
issue that I already mentioned.
By far the best time to establish new tree stand sites
is from the time your deer season ends until spring. That
is when the foliage returns, and a safety issue arises with
turkey hunters sharing the woods. This gives most of us
a 2-3 month window to find days to do this work. The observant
hunter pays attention from season to season and keeps track
of the patterns that setup on the property once fall sets
in and food sources change. I have always believed that
the mid-winter pattern is much more closely representative
of how the deer travel during the hunting seasons than what
we observe in late summer and early fall. It’s March, you
are in the woods, and there is no foliage just as there
wasn’t any in November. Whitetails are continuing to use
the heavy cover to conceal their movements to the best of
their ability as they move from bedding areas to food sources.
One can’t make that statement in mid-September. Observe
the patterns in the snow. This will reveal trails you may
not even know existed without it. Pick a tree in areas of
the highest levels of activity based on the evidence at
hand. I am always looking for “funnel” or “edge” type areas
that whitetails notoriously frequent more than other areas
that do not contain changing landscape features (like the
middle of mature hardwoods). Where hardwoods, brush lots,
fields and evergreen stands meet each other, or come up
against a body of water, should be considerations. I find
myself always gravitating toward evergreens or low brush
(deciduous plants 4 -15 feet tall) as my experience tells
me that deer are very comfortable in both situations. I
look for a tree that’s going to conceal me well. Nothing
breaks up the hunters outline better than an evergreen.
But oftentimes you will sacrifice some of your shooting
radius in choosing this type of tree. For hunters who are
not fond of heights I strongly recommend the evergreen,
as I have been able to get away with things at a 10 foot
height that you cannot even dream about in a hardwood of
the same height. Still thinking about breaking up my outline
to the best of my ability, the other type of tree I look
for are doubles or clumps. A single tree of large diameter
can also be effective. It’s obvious none of these situations
are attractive to the climbing stand hunter, and it’s probably
the number one reason they hunt higher on average than hunters
using other stand strategies. I’m going to refrain from
recommending a certain stand or climbing device as there
are so many great products on the market for us to choose
from. If it is “TMA Approved” and you follow the directions
that come with your product, then you are well on your way.
I will strongly recommend the use of a safety harness in
all stand hanging and hunting situations. If it saves your
life once, it was worth it.
Now think about your prevailing wind direction and if
you will be using this stand predominantly in the morning
or evening. Also think about how you will approach it and
on what winds. It’s very frustrating if you setup a morning
stand that faces east or an evening stand that faces west,
and you are constantly fighting that low sun in your eyes.
I’ve learned that the hard way. There are very few stand
sites that can be hunted on any wind, or approached from
any direction. This stuff matters big time! A Midwest outfitter
made a statement to me a couple of years ago that I will
never forget. He said, “When you add up all the little things
that people say do not matter, they matter a lot”. Man did
he hit the nail on the head. The hunter who is scoring on
mature bucks at close range year in and year out is thinking
about all of these variables, and understands the properties
they hunt intimately. I also recommend placing several stands.
This will allow you to make a quality choice the day of
the hunt no matter the situation you’re presented with.
This late winter – early spring period is also the time
I feel comfortable doing major trimming of shooting lanes.
I generally like 3-4 lanes in different directions that
are 6-7 feet wide. That way I can shoot an arrow unobstructed
out to the distance that I am comfortable shooting. I would
strongly recommend, if possible, making this a two man operation.
It is nearly impossible to accurately tell what needs to
be trimmed as you are looking from the ground up at the
stand. A good bow saw and loppers are usually sufficient,
but a chainsaw may be necessary and make life a little easier.
Be sure to make at least two of your shooting lanes on the
side of your stand that will be upwind when you plan to
hunt there. Oftentimes the western side of the stand, or
the uphill side on an evening stand site with the cooling/falling
air. Or downhill on a morning stand site with rising air.
This will be the situation on days that winds are light
as they often are at dusk and dawn. I prefer to clear the
bulk of the brush I create to an area out of range of my
stand. Another option I consider is to place the brush right
at the base of my tree or directly behind my stand as to
avoid those shots presenting themselves. Now with your hard
work done, the whitetails in your area have an entire 6
month growing season to acclimate to your new stand site.
You can take your stand home and bring it back to the tree
1-3 weeks prior to hunting and easily put it where you had
it at setup. Some would do this to avoid theft. I do it
to avoid the local squirrels chewing at the seats and straps
of the stand.
The last tip I would give on tree stand preparation is
to test it in the coldest temperatures you anticipate hunting
in. This could be on a tree near your house or in your neighborhood.
What you will often find is the stand that was quiet at
40 degrees makes some obnoxious squeaks at zero degrees.
The time to find this out is not when that wallhanger buck
is right behind you. You will either change position on
the platform or lift up your seat to get a shot, only to
hear a squeak that sounds like a red squirrel hooked up
to a amplifier! Adding Teflon washers or scent-free lubricants
that are available is a way to prevent living out that nightmare.
I hope this helps our website visitors think about their
stand strategy for the upcoming season, and provide them
with the best chance of success in 2008!
Good Hunting!
Ron Boyce
Field Research Scientist
MDR Outdoor Group
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