Stand Area Preparation

What to do to get the area you are hunting ready for opening morning.

Stand Hunting

First and foremost, after you get your stand into the tree, make sure that you have good shooting lanes. Clear out any braches that might be in your way while sitting in your stand. You want to be able to move around if you need to position for a shot without stepping or running your arm into a branch, ruining your chances. Also, clear trees and twigs on the ground to create lanes to the trails that the deer will be traveling on. Now, of course, if this is private land ask the land owner before cutting any trees down. If you are hunting with a bow, figure out where certain distances are and mark them. This way if a deer walks into range, you will have a mark where you positivly know the distance to the deer. Background formation is also something that you need to take into account. Look at where the deer will appear and then look at where your stand will be in the tree. Will you stick out like a sore thumb against the sky, or will you blend in? It is good to have some branches around you and below your stand, so they will break up your outline, but making sure they aren't in your way of shooting. Now, one the first morning you want ot be able to get to your stand early and quietly so you won't scare any deer out of the area right off the bat. What I do is to clear out all the leaves or anything else below my stand so I can get up in it quietly. I also clear a couple hundred feet to my stand so the last little ways to it, I am very quiet. The most important thing to remember is safety. Use a safety strap every time your in a tree and always pull your gun or bow up by a rope once you are settled in the stand. From here, sit still, try to be quiet and wait till the moment of truth.

Ground Hunting or Stalk Hunting

Choosing a ground blind can be achieved the same way as choosing a tree stand. Stalk hunting requires a tremendous amount of patience and a great awareness of yourself and your surroundings. To start out, wind direction should be your most important consideration while stalk hunting. You should always have the wind blowing in your face so that your scent won't be blowing in the direction you are heading. Keep your movement ot a minimum. If you are taking more than 5 or 6 steps at a time, you are moving to fast. If you are only seeing flags of deer, you are moving to fast and not looking around enough. As you walk, make sure with every step that you are balanced, so if you need to come to a sudden stop you can right in your step. Plan each step. Look ahead to see where the easiest traveling will be and which way will be the easiest. When you have taken your steps, stop near a tree or bush to break up your outline. Ridge tops are a great place to be while stalk hunting because you have the vantage point and can look down on a lot of land, maybe catching a deer wandering through the area below you. The hardest port of still hunting is the long waits at each stop. Be calm and stay put for five minutes just looking around for anything that might stand out. One tip is to look for horizontal lines through the trees. With the trees going up a deers stomach or back going horizontally, it will be easier to maybe spot something. Also look for just pieces of a deer. Watch for flicks of a tail or pieces of an ear. Remember, big bucks didn't get big because their stupid, they have this ability to not move yet still hid from you, so look through those twigs pick out the ones that would look good on your wall. Listen for sounds such as a twig breaking or the crinkle of leaves. Study the situation and look around for that deer that may be feeding near you. When you do see a deer, freeze. If it is in range get into a shooting position and wait for the good shot. If he is out of range and walking away from you, stalk after him at a slow careful pace. Don't get anxious and start running after him. Chances are that if he is unaware of your presence, he will slow and feed, giving you a chance to gain ground on him. One important thing that I have seen produce some big bucks is, when you jump a deer don't start chasing after it. Wait for a few minutes because some deer come back to see what scared it after a while. They usually make a wide circle and come down wind to check things out. Stalk hunting, like any hunting, takes a lot of experience and effort. But once you get it down, it can be one of the best techniques of all.