When To Relocate Tree Stands
Locating deer sign and placing a tree stand nearby for hunting is a technique often used by deer hunters. The key to success is being in the most active area during daylight hours. Another is knowing when to move the stand to a new location.
When To Move: The Three Hunt Rule
I generally stick to a three hunt rule. By this I mean that I will hunt a certain set up only three consecutive times in a row. Start with an evening hunt, followed by a morning hunt, then another evening hunt.
On occasion I may use a variation of this rule such as morning, evening, morning or three evenings or three morning hunts. But never more than three hunts from the same stand location. If no success, relocate to a different area.
Why Move?
I have always been more successful when using these tactics. My thoughts are that it keeps the hunting areas fresh and reduces the chances of being detected by the deer. The least amount of pressure is applied in the area. The deer are rarely alerted or spooked. This also prevents being patterned by the deer.
Another reason is that this technique offers the ability to cover more land. Even if the sign is in an area, the deer may be only using it under the cover of darkness. Moving will allow the chance to get closer to the deer during daylight hours.
Give It A Try
Give these deer hunting tips a try and see if they work in your area. I know that they have been very helpful in bringing success to this hunter for the past twenty years or so. Remember that you can always move back to previously hunted areas if the situations dictate. Good luck and be safe.
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Windy Day Deer Hunting
Deer hunting on days that the wind is blowing can have an effect on both deer and hunter. Other factors such as temperatures and wind speeds often make a difference in what effect if any the wind will have. Here is some information and deer hunting tips for how to hunt windy days.
Light Winds
Generally, deer will not change any patterns when the wind is lightly gusting or even steady blowing at or below 10 miles per hour. Their senses are still tuned in well and they do not normally react any differently than on a calm day. The only real concern for hunters is scent control. A light breeze can blow human odors quickly to an alert deer.
Temperature And Wind
The temperatures can also factor in on windy days. When the temperatures are warm, the wind will help cool down the deer. However, during cold air temperatures, deer will normally stay put while the sun is out to gather much needed heat. They will be more active towards evening and after dark hours in order to stay warm through movement.
Medium To Strong Winds
Once the wind speeds begin climbing to 15, 20, 25 mph, the deer will often change their movement activity. Everything around them is moving which can fool their sense of sight. Their hearing is reduced and their ability to pinpoint and detect odors will be greatly decreased. Deer will become more skittish.
Problems For Hunters
Deer hunting under high wind conditions can present two problems for hunters. First, there is a safety issue if a tree stand is to be used. Always take extra care to avoid any accidents. The second concern may be locating the deer. Many times deer will be less active and move to more secure areas to improve their sense of safety.
Windy Day Deer Hunting Tips
The best bet for hunting is to find areas that block or reduce the majority of the wind. This may be the lower sides of hills, gullies, or ditches. This could also be in pine or hard wood thickets. Depending on how a particular property is laid out will determine what sections are the best to hunt. The lower the terrain is, the more likely the deer will use it.
Take note of these possible locations during normal scouting events. This will provide you with tree stand set up locations. Also, if the hunter has developed good still hunting skills, a windy day may provide an advantage and excellent opportunity for hunting on the ground. Remember to use good scent reducing techniques.
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Deer Hunting Open Country
Deer have the ability to disappear in any kind of terrain. Thick brush or wooded lands make their hiding easy. However, just because a property has limited or no tree cover does not mean the deer won’t be there. Open country terrain has deer too.
Hiding In Plain Sight
Deer will take advantage of open country hills, grassy fields, ditches, and field crops to hide out. I once observed a nice buck bed down in the middle of a cow pasture in a patch of two feet tall grass. The grass was only about three feet in diameter. The only thing visible was the antler tines.
Why Open Terrain
Sometimes the terrain will dictate how a deer uses cover. There may not be any thick cover around, so deer take advantage of whatever is available. Hunting pressure can also make deer move out of the woods and thickets and into more open country.
Hunting Open Country
Deer hunting in open country can be just as productive as any other environment. A good pair of binoculars can be used to scout and spot deer from distances. Adequate camouflage clothing and proper scent control is a must.
A spot and stalk can be an effective way for deer hunting in open terrain. Make sure to use the wind properly. The wind in your face or a cross wind blowing away from the deer is best.
Another approach is to set up a natural or portable ground blind. A blind is an excellent tool for open terrain deer hunting. Look for fresh deer sign and place the blind accordingly.
Don’t overlook open country terrain when considering a deer hunting location. It may just be the spot where the big boy is hiding.
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October Deer Hunting
This article offers tips for deer hunting during the month of October.
Food Sources
Acorns are falling offering a good food source for the upcoming winter. Look for areas with a small growth of oaks that are actively producing acorns. Also look for any seasonal foods that are becoming available to deer in your area. Evening hunting over remaining field crops may still be effective.
Rubs And Scrapes
As October progresses, there will be more and more signs of rubs and scrapes appearing. Look for and hunt near rub lines and active scrape lines. Pay close attention to such signs that are found deeper in the woods near bedding areas.
Bedding Areas
Evening hunting near a deer’s bedding area may be one of the more effective approaches. October is a transitional month between the active summer feeding schedule and the rutting period. Deer sometimes become seen less often during the month. A bedding area set up provides the hunter the opportunity to catch deer when they first get up.
Lures And Calls
October is the time to begin using and experimenting with different lures and calls. The rattling antlers and grunt calls become more effective. Deer lures start coming into play towards the end of the month.
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Deer Hunting Corners
Deer Hunting Tips – A corner is where two or more sections of land come together. These locations can occur naturally or be man made. Setting up a stand and deer hunting an active land corner can be an effective way to increase deer sightings. The deer will often use corners as travel routes.
Finding Corners
Aside from walking on foot, one of the best ways to locate corners is by viewing a satellite or aerial photo of the land. Google provides excellent tools for such information. A photo will help in distinguishing how and where terrain changes occur on a given piece of property. These changes will provide a starting point for locating the most active corners.
Types Of Corners
There can be many types of corners on any given property. Here are a few examples. An oak or hardwoods grove that joins a field. A swamp edge that joins hardwoods. Rolling hills that join flat land. Two distinct types of woods that meet such as oaks to pines. A cut over that joins a field or standing woods. Basically anywhere that two different terrains meet.
How Deer Use Corners
Deer will often walk along the edges of different types of terrain. They will use the corners to make directional changes and to cut across from one area to another. A corner will often funnel deer travel to a specific location. For example, deer will most often enter a field from a far corner.
Deer Hunting Corners
After viewing a photo from above, it is then time to enter the area on foot to prepare for deer hunting. When evaluating a corner for possible set up locations, apply proper scouting skills to help with determining the best place for a stand. As with most hunting tactics, the areas with the most deer activity is generally the better locations.
A good approach is to set up 10-25 yards along the inside or the outside of a corner. Pay attention to the wind direction and only hunt if the wind is appropriate for the particular area. Also make sure to take scent elimination precautions.
Good luck and be safe.
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How To Prevent Spooking Deer
Deer Hunting Tips – Most if not all hunters will at some time or another spook a deer while deer hunting. The key to success is limiting these occurrences. Here are a few helpful tips to prevent spooking deer.
Scent Control
Scent control is probably the number one factor in spooking deer. Use proper scent control clothing and other products to reduce the chances of being detected. There are many techniques for masking human odors. Make sure to always have an action plan before hunting. Don’t take short cuts as they will result in an unsuccessful hunting experience.
Over Hunting
Another common mistake made by hunters is to over hunt a particular area. Deer will begin to detect and pattern a hunter that walks through the woods along the same path every day. It is better to limit hunting a specific stand location to only 2-3 days at a time.
Stand Placement
It is important to consider stand placement and how a stand might be seen by deer. Make use of shadows and avoid hunting when a stand is in direct sunlight. When possible place stands in trees that provide limbs and leaves for natural cover. Increase stand height in trees with no cover.
Wind Direction
Try to hunt with the wind in your face or downwind of deer activity. All to often the wind is what gives away a hunters location. Keep regular checks while hunting to make sure the wind has not changed. If you find that the wind is not favorable it is better to not hunt that location.
Travel Routes
Another problem when it comes to spooking deer revolves around entry and exit routes. Always make sure to have access routes to your hunting area that will not come in contact with the deer. Also having more than one travel route may be beneficial in some situations.
Hunter Movement
Another factor to consider is limiting hunter movement while hunting. Some hunters get fidgety when on stand. Deer will notice sudden movements so if you have to move make sure to be slow about it. Unusual movement can cause deer to spook even if unaware of the hunter.
Use these deer hunting tips to help reduce the risk of spooking deer. Be safe and good luck.
How To Recover A Deer
Deer Hunting Tips – Many times when harvesting a deer, the animal will drop instantly in its tracks. There are also times when a deer will run away or will run into thick cover out of sight. Here are some tips for deer recovery.
Shot Placement
The first task on any recovery job is to make sure that a proper shot is made on the deer to start with. Always make shots that provide the most accurate angles and that are within your skill levels. Take your time and make a good shot. It is better to let deer walk than to take a poor or ill advised shot.
Location
Pay attention to where the deer was standing when the shot was made. Use the surroundings, such as a particularly large tree, to mark the area. Often when hunting from a stand, for example, the landscape will appear different once on the ground. By picking out easily visible markers, the hunter will be able to quickly locate where the deer was last seen. This also applies if the deer runs out of sight. Make a mental note of the direction of travel.
Deer Reaction
How the deer reacts after a shot is made will be a good indicator as to how well of a shot was made. Obviously the best scenario is for the deer to drop immediately. However, even if the deer runs off, the shot may have been adequate. Generally, if a deer jumps up and kicks out it’s hind legs, this is a solid hit. A deer that takes off running quickly is also usually hit well.
Steps to Recovery
- Locate where the deer was standing when shot.
- Mark this spot with landscape tape or bright colored string.
- Look for any signs of blood, hair, tracks, etc. that will provide a direction of travel.
- Slowly begin following such sign marking as you go.
- Make note of what of any found blood looks like.
- Look for blood on the ground as well as any trees, vines, leaves, bushes, or grasses above ground level.
- Make note of any found tracks or trails that may indicate direction of travel.
- Slowly follow blood trails until the deer is recovered.
If The Blood Trail Stops
There will be times when a blood trail stops before recovering the deer. A good approach when this occurs is to mark the last place blood was found. Then walk ahead in the direction in which the previous sign was headed. If this does not result in recovery, start at the last sign and begin a zig zag approach increasing the length and width of movement on each pass through.
If No Blood Is Found
If after the shot no blood is found, it is still wise to locate the direction of travel that the deer left on. There will be times when deer do not begin bleeding right away. Follow the tracks for as long as they are visible. Usually blood will appear within 25 yards or so. If no blood is found after 75 yards or so, most likely the deer was missed. However, on occasion, the deer may bleed internally without ever leaving any sign. Always do a thorough search just to make sure.
Good luck and be safe.
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Deer Hunting The Pre Rut
Deer Hunting Tips – The pre rut period brings with it the changing of deer activity. The bucks are leaving their bachelor groups for more of a solo lifestyle. The food sources are changing. The deer movement is adapting to the upcoming breeding period. The hunter must also adapt to these conditions.
Food Sources
The acorns will be falling providing food for the upcoming winter. There will also be late field crops, fruits, and other food supplies that will be visited. Bucks will be stocking up on food to provide extra body fat and energy that will be needed during the breeding period. Finding such food sources will provide good stand locations.
Rattling And Grunting
The pre rut period is an excellent time to use rattling and grunting techniques. The bucks will be asserting their dominance in order to set the breeding order. The sounds of rattling and grunts will often bring other deer including mature bucks in to investigate. The hunter would be wise to use these tactics.
Hunt Often
During the early pre rut and all throughout the rutting period, it is best to hunt as often as possible. The deer will begin to be more active during daylight offering more chances for sightings. The bucks will begin keeping watch in areas that hold groups of does. Hunters should pay attention to such movement by spending more time in the field.
Hunt The Cover
Does will often locate and begin using specific areas as cover during the rutting period. Often these areas are isolated patches away from their normal travel routes. These areas are used when the doe comes into estrus. They may be in fields that are over grown, a small patch of saplings, or even the edges of a swamp. These are good places to hunt.
Rubs And Scrapes
There will be an increase in both rubs and scrapes during the pre rut. Bucks will be checking scrape locations in search of any sign of the first estrus does. Finding a fresh scrape line may provide a good set up for a stand.
Good luck and be safe.
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Deer Hunting Scrapes
Deer Hunting Tips- A scrape is a relatively small area cleared of leaves, dirt, and debris. A buck makes a scrape by raking the area with it’s front legs. A scrape is made to identify dominance, mark terrain, and to signal the rutting period is near.
Locations And Sizes
Scrapes can be found on the edges of fields, near other food sources, bedding areas, and any other travel areas used by bucks. There may be a single scrape here and there or a line of scrapes found throughout the woods. They come in different sizes from 1-2 feet in diameter on up to 4 feet or more.
Frequency Of Use
Some scrapes are made by bucks and then left alone. Others will be made and occasionally cleaned out again from time to time. Then there are those few scrapes that are kept clean throughout the season. More than one buck will often use the same scrape.
Active Or Inactive
There are two types of scrapes. Those that are active and those that are not. Obviously when it comes to hunting, finding the active scrapes is the important factor. However, this is not the only factor.
The next step is to locate an active scrape line. This consist of several scrapes in a directional pattern. Such findings will be more productive than hunting a single scrape. It is also better for the line to be inside of cover rather than in open terrain.
When To Hunt
When it comes to hunting scrapes, generally the best time is during the few weeks leading up to the rutting period. This is usually when bucks become more likely to visit during day light hours. Bucks will scent check and freshen up the scrapes looking to get the first indications of does coming into estrus.
Good luck and be safe.
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Deer Hunting Fresh Sign
Deer Hunting Tips – All throughout the deer hunting season, the deer will provide hunters with fresh signs of their activities. Finding such evidence is a key to continued success. A hunter must pay close attention in order to understand deer movement.
Food Sources
The available food sources will change as the deer hunting season progresses. Farm crops are often in abundance early on in the season. Later, the deer will gradually change to available fruits, acorns, and other browse. Knowledge of what food sources are available in a certain area at any given time is important to a hunter. A helpful approach is to figure out what food is in short supply. Deer will feed on these resources the earliest. Find the freshest food and find the deer.
Tracks And Trails
Locating and monitoring fresh tracks and deer trails will keep the hunter aware of where and when deer are using a particular area. It is also helpful in determining where deer are coming and going to or from. This information can be used to identify bedding or feeding areas. Obviously, the fresher the tracks and trails, as well as the frequency, will allow a hunter to make proper judgement on how to set up on deer.
Rubs And Scrapes
Rubs and scrapes are used by deer to announce presence, mark terrain, and to indicate signs of the upcoming breeding season. Finding an area that offers such sign will determine how to hunt the bucks. A single rub or scrape here and there generally will not provide much help to the hunter. However, locating an area that offers a line of rubs or an abundance of concentrated rubs may be worth the effort. The same goes with scrapes. Especially if the scrapes are frequently kept clean.
Deer Sightings
Don’t forget to factor in deer sightings. When deer are seen in a certain area more than once, it is a good indication that something is keeping them there. Whether it be a food source, bedding source, or travel area, seeing deer is the freshest sign a hunter can have. Regardless of what other sign is observed, a hunter should always at least make an effort to hunt an area with repeat sightings of deer.
Good luck, be safe, and enjoy your next hunting experience.
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