Shot and Strings

I learned last year how easy it is to overhunt stands. My brother and I really hunted our favorite stand hard and by the middle of the season we had ruined the spot. We went from one night early in the year having 6 different bucks in range to not being able to see a single deer from the stand. We only had one way in and out and it was close to bedding areas on both sides. We kind of had a similiar situation in that we had very limited land to hunt and this was the best spot and one of the few spots that consistently yielded deer sightings.

I never got busted in the stand and he said he never did either so we just think the pressure of us going in and out and leaving our scent and sign behind pushed the deer off.

Droptine I hunt NJ also, southern portion, Gloucester County mostly. Some Cumberland and Salem also.

StrutNtom

This may be correct or it may be that the deer shifted their pattern naturally. Deer follow food and you said it was towards the end of the season? Wouldn't this be around the time of the rut?

During the rut, all bets are off.

HNI Jim

this is not the senario tho, he is not seeing deer but he knows thier there.

Shot and Strings

I do think part of it was a change in the deer's overall pattern StrutNTom. However, we started noticing our numbers of deer seen on stand dwindling before the food source they were concentrated on was harvested and prior to the beginning of the early rut stage. So probably some combination of both.

Shot and Strings

True HNI Jim, but I don't think you have to be seeing deer to overhunt a stand. Atleast IMO.

StrutNtom

Again...IMO.

If you don't get winded or "jump" deer going in and out. They shouldn't know that you are there. So they shouldn't go anywhere.

My main tract of land is 18ac. So, trust me. I know how hard it can be huntingsmall tracts.

loogout1

I think its possible to overhunt a stand, especially if you're not careful with your scent control. I also think it has to do with the particular spot and the amount of deer that frequent the area. During the pre and rut though, I think you can get away with it a little more because the number of bucks moving around increases and your chances of educating all of them is slim. I have a nature preserve that I have permission to hunt mainly to keep does in check. This I've found is actually harder than hunting a good buck because they really pay attention to detail and are constantly changing the trails they use to stay one step ahead of me.

quiksilver

Depends... Deer can and will pattern you. Will every deer pattern you? Of course not.

In my opinion, most average guysdon't really play the wind so well. They're leaving loose ends untied on scent control, just being a little sloppy here and there. It happens. All the tiniest details make a measurable difference. How much will those particular deer tolerate? How intrusive is your entry/exit?

Take GregH for example. I'd tab him as one of the best whitetail hunters on this site. The guy hunts the same stand 33% of the time. BUT, he doesn't hunt it 100% of the time - just when the situation is right. He knows when it's right, and when it's not. Most guys wouldn't really know when the light is green.

It all comes down to knowing why that particular stand is great, and keying off of those factors. If it's a good pressure stand, be in it anytime there's hunting pressure. If it's a dynamite pinchpoint rut hunt, be in it in the rut. If it's a good transition area for a southwesterly wind, hunt it then.

So, yeah, I think if you keep beating the same stand to death, at some point, there will be a diminishing return. That's definitely not to say that you still can't fill a tag out of it. I just like to keep certain stands fresh and move around, if I have the opportunity to do so.