Trashman

Hi everyone,

I need a little advice. We purchased some land several years ago to avoid the old public hunting. It' s near where my parents live so that we can hunt with dad. Now the land is not far away (approx. an hour) and is fairly easy to get to. We go down to my parnets, and stay on various occasions throughout the season.

Now, with families of our own, hunting time is tight, and we generally take vacation time to get out. This is also family time, and it is extremely difficult to hunt all day. I like to just hunt nights as it is easier to do. It seems as though when I hunt mornings, and nights, I' m just toast, it no longer is a vacation, it is work. It' s not that I don' t like the morning hunt (I do, there is no better feeling than being in the woods when it wakes up) but both takes just too much of a toll on me.

I' m going down again on Friday, and have until Wednesday off. I do always hunt some mornings every year, but have zero luck. I just think I' m missing something when I don' t do it.

With the rut in full bloom, I want to maximize my stand time. Questions :

how the heck can you stand it all day? (boredom).
eat/drink, does and dont' s
I gotta pee

thanks everyone
jim

davidmil

To be honest... I don' t stay on stand all day. I' ve never felt the need to. I' ll stay in the woods on occasion all day. But after a few hours I may sneak over to another stand or take a little walk to loosen up the body parts. Or I may walk over to visit my buddy. I do take food and water to the woods... ALWAYS...if nothing more than some bottled water and some power bars.

mr4pt

I have sat in a stand all day one time. I didn' t see a thing. But like David said I have spent numerous days in the woods from daylight til dark. If I get bored I go home, if I have to pee I pee where I am standing at the time.

tazimna

For most folks, anything more than 3-4 hours in a stand/woods is a chore. I guess I learned early that the more time in the woods, the higher % of success for whatever your after. I have a routine that has me sitting still with no movement for 50 minutes every hour. then I stretch, move alittle adjust things for 10 minutes and start over for 50 min. more. I' ll usually sit in my primetime stand for 4-5 hours, then possibly get down and move to another for an hour or 2, then go back to the first stand, or try another I have confidence in. Keep in mind that bowhunting is as much a mind game as it is a hunt. And remember, BOREDOM IS A STATE OF MIND. Steve

wolfen68

Absolutey no need to sit in a stand all day IMO. I have never met anyone that has sat all day in a stand all day except from this message board. This year when I go to my honey hole 4 hours from home for 5 days, I " may" try to sit until about 9am then go take a break and hit the woods from 11am to 1pm and then take another break and then hit the woods once more from 330pm to sunset. Usually I skip the 11am to 1pm stint. Go easy on yourself, if you want to just hunt evenings then just hunt evenings...but just remember that daddy rabbit may be skulking by your favorite stand just as the sun is cresting the eastern sky

micdundee

I always take little hand held poker games, or other games. As far a eating, just take a sandwich along and some water or something. If you need to pee, go in an empty bottle, or I have read on a few posts here that deer might not necessarily be scared from scent from human urine. Because they cant distinguish it from other urine. Whether that is true or not, I am not sure.

adams

I have seen most of the shooter bucks I' ve come across in the morning between daylight and 9:30a (this dosn' t mean I' ve shot any of those bucks) I usually leave the woods between 11:00a to 1:30p as I have almost never see anything durring these hours. I' ve decided this is a good time for me to eat and get some rest. I try to be in the woods again about 1:30p and then hunt until dark. I shot better that 75% of my deer in the afternoon, so for me this is the time more than any other that I want to be in the woods. I haven' t spent the whole day in the woods for years. I find that my concentration wanders and if I try to still hunt I get loud. I feel that those noon hours are better spent in camp.

cyclone

Treeloungezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

davidmil

One thing to remember is the time of year and weather. I hunt on crop damage permits in July and August. If it doesn' t happen by 8AM it' s probably not going to. In the afternoon it usually doesn' t happen before 6. At this time of year with the rut fixing to start it can happen ANYTIME. During the earlier part of the season I' ll sit until 9 or 10 and try to be on stand by 3:00. At this time of year if I have the time I' ll sit until 11 and come back around 1 or 2 if I can. The most activity I EVER saw with buck was Nov 11th 2 years ago between 9:00-11:30

PABowhntr

I have only ever hunted in a stand all day on a few occasions...and they were only when I felt that the chances for shooting an animal were higher for one reason or another. A few of the " old-timers" that I once hunted with would sit in their stands all day long...day in and day out...during rifle season but they were definitely the exception to the rule.

In all honesty I occasionally take a small book with me to read when I know I am going to be hunting for an extended period of time. Most of the time though that is when I am rifle hunting and/or hunting out of a blind where I can move freely and not worry about being picked off.