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Do you prefer to hunt from the trees or the ground for deer?
- Thread starter Goshawk
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Let's see if I can describe this . . .
Mine is 14" long, so step one is to come in 1" from the edges at about the 7" mark and drill two holes. I used 1/2" eight-plait braded Dacron, but any non-slippery line will work. On one side drill two more holes towards the tree end at 1" centers and again 1" inside the edge.
The knotted end stays with the seat. Unthread the other side, pass the line around the tree (I hold the seat against the tree with my knee) and in through the furthest forward (top with the seat vertical against the tree) hole passing towards you, then back in through the middle hole and finally through the bottom hole. Pass the line under itself and snug it up to the seat (not the tree - it has to be somewhat loose at this point).
The weight of you on the seat will "lock" the rope in place. With practice you can judge how high to hold the rope on the backside of the tree so that it levers up tight as you tip the seat down.
To carry it I loop the rope through the holes and carry it draped over my shoulder and under my haversack. It really is worth lugging around. Mine is 1/2" exterior B-C plywood with a foam pad cemented on ands a length of high-pressure steam hose slit and tacked to the tree end.
I've been meaning to make a bag that just attaches to the bottom for lunch & all the manure in my haversack but have never got around to it.
longcruise
70 Cal.
That describes it perfectly! Thanks for a great tutorial. It oughta go into the how too section.
It's not something I would use a whole lot but it's light enough to carry even on a trek into elk country and surely easier and quieter than the small folding chair I sometimes carry now, and would carry more if it weren't such a pain in the butt (no pun intended)
I can visualize some of these being made up for Xmas gifts for the hunters in the family!
As I reminesce in this thread about my tree stand experiences of falling and dropping guns, I may have arrived at staying out of trees altogether!
It's not something I would use a whole lot but it's light enough to carry even on a trek into elk country and surely easier and quieter than the small folding chair I sometimes carry now, and would carry more if it weren't such a pain in the butt (no pun intended)
I can visualize some of these being made up for Xmas gifts for the hunters in the family!
As I reminesce in this thread about my tree stand experiences of falling and dropping guns, I may have arrived at staying out of trees altogether!
Whether one stands, still hunts by moving slowly or drives, would determine what I would do. Lately I'm up a ladder stand because of the increased number of hunters moving the deer around and in this area the worst thing a guy could do, is move around and your chances of getting a deer while moving in this area is next to nothing. The reason I like elk hunting better than deer hunting is that you have to move in order to see animals, anyways that's been my experience. Have wondered for a long time if anyone hunts from a "foxhole"....seems like it might work w/ the right type of terrain and it worked in the army.....Fred
longcruise
70 Cal.
Well, you and I are in the same camp for sure! That's the same reason I prefer elk to whitetails. Mulies? I like spot and stalk.
Here in the west antelope are hunted from "foxholes" at the water holes. I've never done it cause it's done in hot weather and is a dawn to dusk proposition. My lack of patience and dislike for the encounters that my buddies have had with the occasional rattler keeps me pretty much above ground. :haha:
Any hunter who can consistently be successful still hunting whitetails on their own turf ranks, IMO, as the very best of hunters. I'm not one of them. :redface:
690RB said:
Busted! I'm waiting for that deer you spotted. :wink:
Speaking of foxholes - I know two hunters who hunt in an overgrown former tree-farm near a working corn farm that has a ton of pine. They sit in two pits and can see the deer under the lowest branches. Always seem to come up with nice bucks.
In one spot I used to hunt there was a wooded slope that had a glacial boulder "artifact" on it. Erosion had dug a depression on the downhill side of the rock. I used to sit in that hole (figuring my scent was trapped in the hollow) and watch a deer-trail that passed nearby. Never shot a deer there, but it "looked" like a great spot. That was on unposted land owned by a furniture company (no stands allowed) and it was routine to see a dozen hunters a day and hear the occasional slug ripping through the foliage nearby.
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Stumpkiller said:
That's one of the most overlooked "secrets" of hunting in thick cover. Deer are built for putting their head down along the ground and often can see further under the brush than you can see over it or through it.
It's hard on the back to stoop and hard on the knees to crawl, but if you can develop the habit of regularly looking UNDER the undergrowth, you'll be surprised how often you can make out deer legs and deer heads. The white inside of deer legs is often the very first thing I spot in cover, especially if it's moving. The white passing behind the dark is kinda like a flashing neon sign when you're looking for it.
Getting high above the brush is one solution to seeing. Getting below the brush is another. All that in-between territory make for awfully tough looking.
Okay, long as I'm on a roll...........
A mistake hunters make, even in open country, is looking right over deer. If there's any relief at all to the terrain, a deer in a low spot can stick it's head up for a looksee. And while doing that, all you're going to see is the head. Right down at ground level. Kinda like hunting for rabbits, you have to train yourself to look low, very low for deer.
Can't tell you how many times the deer I've spooked were doing just that- hanging out down below eye level where deer are "supposed" to be.
I will hunt them in a tree, and I will hunt them where they're free,
I will hunt them on the ground, and I will hunt them where they're found,
Yes, I will hunt them here or there, I will hunt them anywhere.
I love to hunt the deer where I am, I love to hunt deer Sam I am...
Ok, a bad rip off of the original, but basically I get so little time afield, I will hunt them any way I can.
I will hunt them on the ground, and I will hunt them where they're found,
Yes, I will hunt them here or there, I will hunt them anywhere.
I love to hunt the deer where I am, I love to hunt deer Sam I am...
Ok, a bad rip off of the original, but basically I get so little time afield, I will hunt them any way I can.
I see more deer when I hunt from a treestand. By a large margin.
Yet, I love still / walking / ground hunting. I just wish I saw the same amount of deer.
Also I have taken more deer from tree stands than when on the ground. So far.
Oh an I do not recall who posted about how they wash with IVORY soap before they hunt. Deer hate and can detect the smell of ALL soap very well. Washing with pure water or maybe a little baking soda and a good rinse will yield better results than using soap of any kind but IVORY has a very intense smell that the deer can pick up. (Note one of the best DIY deer deterrence for your garden is to take IVORY soap drill a hole through it and string it along the fence or in the trees AROUND your garden.
Two weeks before hunting season I put my clothes and ALL my gear outside on the wood piles. I wash with well water and a touch of baking soda and make sure I rinse really really well. Deer detect ANYTHING FOREIGN and what is NOT indigenous to their surroundings.
Yet, I love still / walking / ground hunting. I just wish I saw the same amount of deer.
Also I have taken more deer from tree stands than when on the ground. So far.
Oh an I do not recall who posted about how they wash with IVORY soap before they hunt. Deer hate and can detect the smell of ALL soap very well. Washing with pure water or maybe a little baking soda and a good rinse will yield better results than using soap of any kind but IVORY has a very intense smell that the deer can pick up. (Note one of the best DIY deer deterrence for your garden is to take IVORY soap drill a hole through it and string it along the fence or in the trees AROUND your garden.
Two weeks before hunting season I put my clothes and ALL my gear outside on the wood piles. I wash with well water and a touch of baking soda and make sure I rinse really really well. Deer detect ANYTHING FOREIGN and what is NOT indigenous to their surroundings.
GENERAL COMMENT:
IMO, I think we all have to do what gives us confidence in preparing for hunting...but after it's all said and done if we don't hunt the wind we're busted and we don't even see the deer downwind that detect us and turn away.
All the different approaches to washing ourselves, washing our clothes, etc, etc, really don't amount to much when you consider that most people still put on the same pair of smelly boots they've worn for years, and wear the same old smelly leather belt that's saturated with scent, and wear the same hat that hasn't been washed after every use, and wear the same wrist watch which if it has a leather band is also saturated with our scent...we're carrying firearms that stink of our scent from handling them, plus the smell of oils and finishes...and the final over-arching issue is our breath...we expel an average of 100 gallons of hot stinky human breath every hour...a constant stream of our scent floating down wind.
And while treestands provide a benefit by minimizing the effects of our movements of close deer since they put us up above the normal field of vision, they really don't do much to eliminate scent...downwind deer simply get wind of us further away.
I quit doing anything extreme, anything out of the ordinary for scent control 10-15 years ago and just concentrate on hunting the wind...and frankly, if anything my results have improved some. IMO, the bottom line is that we cannot eliminate or hide our human scent and make ourselves become invisible to wildlife...any breeze will inform downwind deer of our presence.
IMO, I think we all have to do what gives us confidence in preparing for hunting...but after it's all said and done if we don't hunt the wind we're busted and we don't even see the deer downwind that detect us and turn away.
All the different approaches to washing ourselves, washing our clothes, etc, etc, really don't amount to much when you consider that most people still put on the same pair of smelly boots they've worn for years, and wear the same old smelly leather belt that's saturated with scent, and wear the same hat that hasn't been washed after every use, and wear the same wrist watch which if it has a leather band is also saturated with our scent...we're carrying firearms that stink of our scent from handling them, plus the smell of oils and finishes...and the final over-arching issue is our breath...we expel an average of 100 gallons of hot stinky human breath every hour...a constant stream of our scent floating down wind.
And while treestands provide a benefit by minimizing the effects of our movements of close deer since they put us up above the normal field of vision, they really don't do much to eliminate scent...downwind deer simply get wind of us further away.
I quit doing anything extreme, anything out of the ordinary for scent control 10-15 years ago and just concentrate on hunting the wind...and frankly, if anything my results have improved some. IMO, the bottom line is that we cannot eliminate or hide our human scent and make ourselves become invisible to wildlife...any breeze will inform downwind deer of our presence.
nchawkeye
58 Cal.
I agree RB...I spent last week on one of our farms camping out with no hot water except for what I heated in a coffee pot...I did get a "bath" every few days, but frankly when out with a bunch of guys camping I don't worry about what I smell like...
Worked out OK as I killed 6 deer...
Worked out OK as I killed 6 deer...
Exactly...you hunt the wind and take what's in front of you...the settlers sure as heck didn't fool with all this...the funniest example I've ever seen was somebody saying they "spray their crotch" with some sort of miracle scent killer
RonT said:
Old Indian Saying:
If a deer sees you he'll run off a little bit then stop to listen for you;
If a deer hears you he'll run off a little bit then stop to look for you;
But if a deer smells you, he'll run and run and won't stop running til his nose clears out;
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Old Indian Saying sounds good but, just like the hearing and seeing deer don't just generally run off at your smell. They usually need two triggers go off before heading to the next county. At least the ones I seen.
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roundball said:
No it's deer in general, they usually need two of their senses to trigger before getting the hell out of there. I've been surprised by deer that smelled me and trotted a few yards or stomped off a ways and were easy shots cause they didn't hear or see me. :grin:
Two triggers? Never heard, read, or witnessed such a thing...by contrast I've sat like a statue on deer stands watching deer walk across in front of me a mere 20-30 yards away and never knew I was there but when they've gone past far enough to hit my scent stream downwind they've snorted and bolted...maybe that's why our deer herd keeps getting larger...our deer have learned to haul butt on the first trigger and stay alive :wink:Swampy said:
