Western MA Hunter

sometimes...
w/ my climber.

YooperMike

I hunt mostly from my climber, so I usually kind of running and gunning, so to speak. I usually have a general idea between a couple different trees where I'm going to be. I scout for trees in the late winter when the leaves are down to get an idea of what the area looks like. There are a couple trees in honey holes that I've climbed many times. The buck I shot this past season came from a tree/area I had never hunted before. I had discovered the area walking to the area I had planned to hunt, but it looked too good to pass up, so I shimmied up the best tree I could find. Definitely satisfying to just discover the spot and have it pay off.

Brknarrow1970

I do a lot of this at times until I discover where the sightings are, then I hone in on one or two trees in that general area - but try to rotate so I never hunt the same area twice in a week or so- so constantly scouting, observing, fine tuning

twildasin

What are you planning? How to hang your stands??LOL[8D]

virginiashadow

VA--I hunt a military base as you know. We cannot have any permanent stands on the base, so its a climber or hunting from the ground. I know alot places on the base but sometimes I go in to get my pass for an area, and the area is closed down, so I would say 10% of the time I hunt from the hip in that I hunt a new area and use my climbing stand. Also, one of my best learning tools is that I use the mid October slow down as a time to scout/hunt new areas on the base to increase my working knowledge of areas I usually do not hunt. I just pop around on the base in the middle of the month, walking/exploring and hunting, just trying to take it all in to formulate a game plan for the following year.

wallhangr

I'm still exploring some of the public land in my area, so I have done this a couple of times and probably will again this fall. So far I havent aken any deer this way, but I've seen plenty.

RefusetoFollow

I've done it before, but not too much. I mostly use a climber so its not too big a deal but two seasons ago, I went out hunting and got bored. I got down and walked around a whileand came upon this really good spot. That afternoon I brought outa ladder stand and even a saw and cut limbs and hung the stand. That evening, I sat that ladder stand and killed a big bodied old buck. Unfortunately he was so old that his rack was on its way down and he didn't have much, but oh well.

magicman54494

I have never done it. I always go somewhere where I have scouted.
During the rut I will scout hard for fresh rut sign then get in there right away and hunt it.

treboryerf

I've done it before and had succces,espeacially when hunting large tracts of woods,just put the stand on my back and head out until I find a spot with deer sign,usually a food source.Sometimes the first time you hunt a place is the best time.I think we as hunters tend to hunt the same familar spots each year and don't try that spot that's in the back of your head,but you don't want to miss the chance at your honey hole.In fact that is one thing I am doing different this year,I am going to hunt those spots that I have neglected,instead of my stands that I am more familar with.I love the excitement of hunting a new spot for the first time anyway.

nchawkeye

I did when I was younger, don't have to now, after you hunt an area a few years, you know where the sign will be, where the scrapes will be laid, which trees rubbed, which white oaks they feed under first, no need to do it after you learn the lay of the land...Some trees I climb, I just check on them during the summer to make sure they are still there, then go in and climb when I'm ready to hunt...