Shooting lanes?
04-08-2004, 07:42 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 6,006
Shooting lanes?
Ok, so I have a problem with cutting shooting lanes. I live in Washington, the Evergreen State, so all of my stands are in huge pine trees. In order to get a 10 yard shot most of the time you have to cut half the tree off in order to see the ground.
What do you all do for shooting lanes? Just open small holes overlooking trails? Hope to get the deer to stop in one of these openings?
What do you all do for shooting lanes? Just open small holes overlooking trails? Hope to get the deer to stop in one of these openings?
04-08-2004, 08:07 PM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 40,154
RE: Shooting lanes?
Then your set. You don't need to climb as high and in your openings you put scent down to get them to stop. Another thing that may help instead of walking to all of your shooting spots and getting your scent spread out, put some on a stick and toss it to the spot. The only draw back is if you miss your mark. The deer will stop where you don't want it too.
04-09-2004, 11:46 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern Idaho's Panhandle
Posts: 4,436
RE: Shooting lanes?
Hey Wash,
Most mature pines, (ponderosa species in your and my areas which are basically the same) say 2 feet or more in diameter on the stump, they should be fairly void of limbs the first 15-20 feet up. We call them "yellow bellies" here. If you can find a mature tree in your set up area you may be able to put your stand right at the base of where the first ring of limbs begins growing. Make sure you have a long strap to hang your stand with, since the diameter of the trees could easily be over 2 feet or more 20 feet up. I have a couple stands set up this way. I only had to take out a couple limbs to creat at least 200 + degrees of shooting or more. Also in our habitats up here we have tammarack, douglasfir, grand fir, and lodge pole pine and other species. These are all good trees to set up in. Tammarack are almost completely void of limbs. If you have other trees backing a tammarck, like a fir then you can use them as your background camoflouge. As for the fir species they have much smaller limbs unlike the big ponderosa pine limbs. The fir species are easy to trim up without taking too many limbs. Fir have great back ground camo from the existing limbs .... and other trees. My favorite set up is usually in a slick tammarack nestled in fir trees. As for picking the right tree ......BE CAREFUL not to hunt the perfect tree and miss out on the where exactly your deer are traveling ! LOL I hear guys say...."man thats a great tree, I think I will hunt from it." and the deer are traveling 100 yards away.
Wash are you using screw in steps? Ladders? Ladder system? or making your own steps? or climbers? Climbers in our neck of the woods are tough 'less ya have tammarack ( the best for climbers) or mature doug fir or pine that are void of limbs..
Good luck bud,
Shed
Most mature pines, (ponderosa species in your and my areas which are basically the same) say 2 feet or more in diameter on the stump, they should be fairly void of limbs the first 15-20 feet up. We call them "yellow bellies" here. If you can find a mature tree in your set up area you may be able to put your stand right at the base of where the first ring of limbs begins growing. Make sure you have a long strap to hang your stand with, since the diameter of the trees could easily be over 2 feet or more 20 feet up. I have a couple stands set up this way. I only had to take out a couple limbs to creat at least 200 + degrees of shooting or more. Also in our habitats up here we have tammarack, douglasfir, grand fir, and lodge pole pine and other species. These are all good trees to set up in. Tammarack are almost completely void of limbs. If you have other trees backing a tammarck, like a fir then you can use them as your background camoflouge. As for the fir species they have much smaller limbs unlike the big ponderosa pine limbs. The fir species are easy to trim up without taking too many limbs. Fir have great back ground camo from the existing limbs .... and other trees. My favorite set up is usually in a slick tammarack nestled in fir trees. As for picking the right tree ......BE CAREFUL not to hunt the perfect tree and miss out on the where exactly your deer are traveling ! LOL I hear guys say...."man thats a great tree, I think I will hunt from it." and the deer are traveling 100 yards away.
Wash are you using screw in steps? Ladders? Ladder system? or making your own steps? or climbers? Climbers in our neck of the woods are tough 'less ya have tammarack ( the best for climbers) or mature doug fir or pine that are void of limbs..
Good luck bud,
Shed
