What do you do in the stand?

M

Morgoroth

New member
I am pretty new to hunting in general this is my first year really deer hunting.

I still have not gotten anything yet though one of the guys I hunt with did.
We know the land has deer because we have seen them in the off season and we have jumped a number of them when walking the property.

I have been probably a half-dozen times now, and I just can't get one in the scope.

I am starting to wonder if I am doing it wrong. I know you have to be as quiet and still as possible, but how do you keep from moving at least a little for hours at a time?

We are hunting in wooded areas so the deer are not far away or anything.
 
When I was younger and could see better, I would read. Every few minutes, I would look around and then go back to reading for a few minutes. In those days I would sit for 8 hour at a time. Now, I can't stay in the stand for more than 5 or 6 hours. I don't really think that you have to be so totally still in the stand. I have killed a pile of deer out of climbers and ladder stands while reading or smoking my pipe. I just try to be quiet and keep my movements slow.
 
Scout-

How far up and away are you in those stands?

One of my places is on the ground and pretty close quarters.
Also did you have any type of blind?
 
If I'm in a ground blind, I'll read also or do a crossword puzzle book but no smoking. If I'm in an elevated shooting house or a climbing stand or ladder stand, i'll do those I mentioned before but I will smoke. Regardless of what some may say, I've laid many deer (and one russian boar) to rest with a smoke sticking out the left corner of my mouth. When I'm in a tree, I'll usually be 20 ft or so up.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I guess I am doing better than I thought, I'm just unlucky.

How far away can deer hear/smell/see you?

The guy I go with pretty much thinks they have super powers.
 
Deer are creatures of habit. They are also used to seeing, hearing, and smelling humans in their woods. I've had 'em eyeball me whilst I was running a chainsaw, them being almost 30 yards away. I hunt from a ground blind now and it has heat, a small cook stove, a lantern, a snack table for my radio and cigarettes and a gallon jug for relieving myself. I often read. I'm 64 years old and have hunted every year since I was 12. It'd be nice to say that I've harvested a deer every year. Alas and alack, I haven't. Some years, when I would still hunt or hunt from a hideyhole I would get skunked. But not since I started using a commercial ground blind. Arthritis kinda laid me low for a while and the ground blind allows me to still go out and enjoy the woods. I just can't take the cold like I used to so my ground blind has a heater in it. The deer are used to all the different smells. Hahaha, even had a young buck stick his head into my blind one year, just to see what was in there I guess. Him I let live for another year.
 
I am always looking. Section off the area you are hunting into zones and watch one intently for a few minutes. Then move on to the next zone. I like to use binoculars. I see a lot of deer that a lot of people would miss. I don't necessarily get a shot at them, but I see them. In my opinion, if you aren't constantly looking around, you're not really hunting.
 
When I was younger I spent most of my stand time wondering what Louann was doing.

Now, over 30 years later, I spend most of my stand time WORRYING about what Louann is doing.

You asked.............
 
I just sit there and do nothing. Im kinda young though, so my back doesn't start hurting unless I'm up there for 10+ hours. Plus when ever I see a deer, my adrenaline starts to rush.
 
I've had my share of naps in the stand thats for sure.

I've got one stand in a shag bark hickory tree that the squirrels run up and down that thing like crazy. When I hunt that stand, I'm always very still to see how close the squrrels will get to me. I've had them in my lap, on my shoulders and legs.

During pre-rut, rattling and grunting about every 30-45mins. and glassing in between uses up alot of time.
 
I try to look around different sections of the area. Use the binos to watch the hawks and other birds. Laugh at the squirrels playing in the trees around me. Contemplate the meaning of life and occassionally doze off for a catnap.
 
I keep my eyes and ears alert.

Mentally, I sometimes free associate, other times pray or meditate. I try NOT to think about work or professional or relational problems, although sometimes solutions or paths forward come to me ... maybe as a result of prayer or free association. I try not to sleep. And I never read or do anything that pulls my eyes or ears from the hunt.


Sometimes, I try to stay warm :rolleyes: (thus the BLUE smiley ...)
 
As a few of the previous posts said, sit quiet and still, watch (moving your head as little as possible) and listen. I'd add, face the wind. Any deer downwind of you will probably pick up your smell (or the smell of your gun oil) and avoid the area.
Reading is a pleasant activity but there's a good chance that both you and the deer will be surprised, and if that's the case, my money's on the deer.
In the off-season, deer become accustomed to the scent of humans, but after the first shots on the first day, they associate human smell with the danger of becoming a delicious roast.
 
Try downloading a podcast to an ipod and listening to some good talk radio. One earbud in and one out lets you still listen to the wildlife
 
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