AR Bowhunter

How many times or how longwill you hunt a stand if you are not seeing what you think you should be seeing, according to the sign in your area.Do you sit in the stand with confidence or do you leave an go look across the other side of the clear cut, swamp, field etc. during the rut.

passthru79

I've been hunting the same piece of property for 15 years now so I have a pretty good idea where the good spots are for stands during the rut. If you hunt where the does are, sooner or later a shooter will check that place out. But, I know I have no confidence if Im not seeing deer from one stand so Ill move. You have to hunt where the deer are in order to kill one. All the sign in the world doesnt necessarily mean your gonna see deer out of a stand, it could all be night time movement.

Austin/WI

patterns are key. I killed my buck this year after only two days of scouting and seeing where they were moving. Both days they followed exactly the same paths and went to the same places. I picked a spot for the stand and two days later I had the right wind, went in wasn't in the stand for more than 15 minutes before I had my buck on the ground. Otherwise, if you confidence in one spot that offers good visability - even if you aren't getting deer into range, use it as a scouting stand more or less. Take some notes as to where the deer are going to and from and you'll patern them real quickly as long as their point of interest is a constant (watering hole, small food plot, rub line, scrape line, etc.)

solocamcan

I've kicked myself often after this past season was over, because I hunted in one stand ALL year long due to the fact that I've seen really big Deer there in the past and when I was putting up my stand in mid-September, I looked over and seen two bucks both around the 140" range bedded down by a small pond. Then 2 days before season opened (Oct 1st), I got up early, showed down with scent away, put on my scent lock suit and grabbed my camcorder and climber up in my stand and around 7am had a 150" come in 15 yards from my stand and eat for 15-20 minutes before walking off. Then come Deer season, I see nothing considered "big". I don't know what happened, I did run into some "city slickers" later in the year, walking through the woods with arrow nocked, deer hunting, or so they called it. I don't know if they had been in my area the whole time and forced the deer into nightime patterens, but it was odd not seeing at least one shooter in range or not out of that stand.

passthru79

Always seems like the big bucks change there patterns on Oct. 1st. I usualy try and get back further in the timber seems to help, just hard getting back there without busting deer on the way to the stand.

KS227

What type of stand it is is the key IMO.

If it is a travel corridor and you are getting skunked, I would pack a lunch and sit there all day long, two or three days in a row. Scent control considered, of course, but they will come.
If it is near a bedding area,do not press your luck.
Find the girls. That is my rule of thumb here in Kansas. The boys magically show up when it is time.
If it is a feeding area, hunt it with the wind in mind. You should have several stands around feeding areas to hunt the wind. I hunt feeding areas according when the moon is straight up or straight down if at all possible.

Fieldmouse

No pro here. I'm still waiting for my monster. I've passed up a lot of big deer in my time and seen a lot of monsters (in my book 150+) but haven't been with in bow range and a few times never offered the shot.

I go where I can that day and where I think I can shoot. I may hunt an area 2 days ie morning evening or some combo of that but otherwise I move another area just because I know the deer are there. I say they should be there but I also believe they move in small heards following a pattern.

RossHnter334

I would say it all depends on the area. The amount of sign in the area, the weather conditions, the time of season, etc.

GMMAT

In 46 hunts.....I hunted the same tree exactly twice, and the areas I hunt aren't huge.

nkyhunter

The main property that I is 90 acres bordered by 600 acres of unhunted land. On my 90 I have 7 perm. stands set up, those i do hunt numerous times depending on the wind/ situation. But during the season you will never see me without my climber in the back of my truck. The 130" ten point I arrowed this year I climbed a tree that was 50 yards away from one of my perm. stands. The reasonI climbed this tree was b/c all the activity right there, yes you could see all these deer from the perm stand but you weren't going to get a shot. Never be afraid to adjust and move.