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tree stand ,sit or move?
- Thread starter hawk
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I stopped using tree stands years ago...switched to ground blinds in key locations like a heavily used trail crossing over a natural drainage ditch down in a bottom, or at the edge of an oak flat, or outside a bedding thicket, etc...I anchor them with a large tree to sit against, then form a "U shaped" blind of natural materials about 3 feet high out around me on both sides with the front open.
I've found them to cover movement completely, are much safer of course which is good if you fall asleep, much warmer at ground level, out of the wind, far more comfortable with my legs stretched out, have thermos' of hot coffee and soup at arms reach, etc.
And the real good news is that I've routinely taken bigger and better bucks from natural ground blinds than when I used to use tree stands...so they've been a win-win all the way around for me.
I've found them to cover movement completely, are much safer of course which is good if you fall asleep, much warmer at ground level, out of the wind, far more comfortable with my legs stretched out, have thermos' of hot coffee and soup at arms reach, etc.
And the real good news is that I've routinely taken bigger and better bucks from natural ground blinds than when I used to use tree stands...so they've been a win-win all the way around for me.
I mostly hunt from tree stands because they are already out there from bowseason so I might as well use them some more since I bothered to put them up. I only hunt groundblinds over fields because there's not a stand there. It's just groundblinds wouldn't work in the woods at our place because there is so much undergrowth and briars so you can't see much.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Now that's a "tree stand". :haha:
I used to hunt from a tree stand and may again if the situation is appropriate. I like to be on the ground for flexibility of action. I hunt mostly mule deer and elk in the rockies (also antelope, but tree stands are out for them. :haha: Some people shoot from windmills though). Usually visibility is greater and often it's neccessary to make some subtle changes in location to set up a shot. Hard to do from a tree.
Also, elk and mulies do get into habits but not so predictable as whitetails who often move here and there directly in their previous footsteps over and over. A very active wallow would be one place where a tree stand would be very effective for elk. Your gonna be there all day though cause there is no special time for wallow visits.
I used to hunt from a tree stand and may again if the situation is appropriate. I like to be on the ground for flexibility of action. I hunt mostly mule deer and elk in the rockies (also antelope, but tree stands are out for them. :haha: Some people shoot from windmills though). Usually visibility is greater and often it's neccessary to make some subtle changes in location to set up a shot. Hard to do from a tree.
Also, elk and mulies do get into habits but not so predictable as whitetails who often move here and there directly in their previous footsteps over and over. A very active wallow would be one place where a tree stand would be very effective for elk. Your gonna be there all day though cause there is no special time for wallow visits.- Joined
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Umm from a stand with wheels on it! :wink:
I just don't think tree stands are very practical in the West. I've talked to a couple of guys who tried them and said they didn't like them because it was too limiting to sit there while their hunting buddies were out covering the all good areas. Out here, it's best to pic a canyon, or draw, or some other geographical feature, and slowly sneak through it until every inch is covered. Bill
Little Wattsy
69 Cal.
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In the right environment I would argue that tree stands, properly used, would be the most productive method on bigger bucks. It is, however, more challangeing to sit still all day then still hunt around. Ground blinds are a sorta comprimise in that they allow a little "wiggle room" and are VERY mobile (more so then tree stands), and a little better at scent controll.
My two biggest bucks ever came from stands... 1 tree and 1 ground blind
My two biggest bucks ever came from stands... 1 tree and 1 ground blind
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A lot depends on where your at. Like those out west I can see taking stands can be difficult. Where as here your lucky to have a handful of private property to hunt or your stuck with State land and to often State land butts up to that small piece of Private property you have to hunt. So your really better off finding a spot to sit and stay put. Otherwise your just going to push deer to someone else if you get up and walk around. Let others push them to you, which has happened to me many times in the past.
Never tried a tree stand before. At daybreak, dusk, or (as Swampy said) if there are enough people out pushing 'em around I'll find a good spot with some sort of cover and wait for the deer/elk to come to me. Most of the time, though, there's either too much area for good odds of something finding me, or I have to go back and forth between small areas hoping something will show up at one of them (Critters around here are quick learners as to where nobody shoots at 'em). Majority of my hunts end up done on the move.
I carry a tree-seat. Ground level and I can put it where I find a good spot. When I get too cold to continue sitting I move. Repeating as the day goes on.
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I like that a LOT!
Up here we do a lot of "stand and stalk" for lack of a better term on our Sitka blacktails. Especially early in the season you find a makeshift stand and hide out someplace with a good vantage, then stay out of sight and stalk once you spot a deer. Getting your hiney up off the cold wet ground would be the ultimate luxury.
I'm always fascinated to read about you guys hunting whitetails, cuzz I learn so much from you.
My only real experience with "whitetails" other than a few in the midwest and west was growing up shooting Cous whitetails in the Southwest. Whitetails for sure, but a really different critter that doesn't have much in common with our blacktails. But in many areas we hunt Sitkas, you guys would feel right at home I bet.
Up here we do a lot of "stand and stalk" for lack of a better term on our Sitka blacktails. Especially early in the season you find a makeshift stand and hide out someplace with a good vantage, then stay out of sight and stalk once you spot a deer. Getting your hiney up off the cold wet ground would be the ultimate luxury.
I'm always fascinated to read about you guys hunting whitetails, cuzz I learn so much from you.
My only real experience with "whitetails" other than a few in the midwest and west was growing up shooting Cous whitetails in the Southwest. Whitetails for sure, but a really different critter that doesn't have much in common with our blacktails. But in many areas we hunt Sitkas, you guys would feel right at home I bet.
Not having to worry about sitting in deep snow here in NC, this has turned out to be the best low cost investment I've made for turkey and deer hunting...about 6" off the ground, simple seat & back angle adjustment with a single strap/slide buckle to accommodate uneven ground slope. Stretch you legs out in front of you and fight falling alseep. :grin:
Picking it up by its shoulder strap makes it fold up flat, and its very light.
Picking it up by its shoulder strap makes it fold up flat, and its very light.
Problem Child
40 Cal.
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I prefer the ground.Here's my "Torges Seat" which is very similar to Stumpkiller's but I use the Prussic knot.I add a Hunt Comfort(Lite) seat and sometimes take a little snooze.
bigbore442001
50 Cal.
Swampy said it best for hunting here in Southern New England and I may add some parts of Northern New England. You really cannot walk around and still hunt without pushing deer into someone else. I have done it enough to stop still hunting.
I do a lot of hunting out of treestands but I am using ground blinds more often. I will use them only on private land where access is very limited.
I do a lot of hunting out of treestands but I am using ground blinds more often. I will use them only on private land where access is very limited.
I have never been in a tree stand and you couldn't pack all the game I have harvested in my hunting life time in an 18 wheeler. I am amazed constantly how THE NEWEST THING ON THE MARKET pulls wantabes in to spend money. Any way, how does tree stands fit into the PC and BP modes? :idunno:
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Well PC wasn't mentioned in the original post, so you'll get all kinds of answers. Some take it very seriously and some, it is just enough to use the gun, bag and horn and you'll get all kinds of answers inbetween. As in my case, I can't walk so I use a modifyed a CATV with a pedistal seat in the back. It is my legs and gets me into the woods, where when I'm at where I want to be, I stop and transfer into the back pedistal seat, giving me a 360 view at about 9 feet up off the ground. I'd rather it not be that way and be able to walk in my Fore Fathers foot steps the same way they did but I won't be allowed to in this life time and will have to settle on the pleasure of just using a similar gun. :v
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And more power to ya, Swampy. I'd be proud to hunt with you. I gotta say too, my habit of still hunting would be great for you, the way I stumble and mumble and cuss through the woods. I'm betting you'd see lots more deer with me "sneaking" around! :rotf:
And I think that's the point of most blinds, whether on the ground or in the air. Letting someone else push the game to you. I'm betting this fact is lost in the "history" of hunting in the golden age, but as areas got settled and more and more hunters were stumbling around to feed their families, I bet there was a lot of blind hunting going on. It's just more romantic to think about and talk about the guys leading the way in the wilderness, but there's a good reason they kept pushing west. It was all those dang settlers coming in behind them and spooking the game they were spooking! :rotf:
I expect it's going to be the "next new thing" on public lands out west, too. When I'm hunting with other folks around, I ALWAYS do better letting them push the deer to me than stalking. There's getting to be so many people out west, it only follows that public land hunts are going to be best from blinds.
And I think that's the point of most blinds, whether on the ground or in the air. Letting someone else push the game to you. I'm betting this fact is lost in the "history" of hunting in the golden age, but as areas got settled and more and more hunters were stumbling around to feed their families, I bet there was a lot of blind hunting going on. It's just more romantic to think about and talk about the guys leading the way in the wilderness, but there's a good reason they kept pushing west. It was all those dang settlers coming in behind them and spooking the game they were spooking! :rotf:
I expect it's going to be the "next new thing" on public lands out west, too. When I'm hunting with other folks around, I ALWAYS do better letting them push the deer to me than stalking. There's getting to be so many people out west, it only follows that public land hunts are going to be best from blinds.
longcruise
70 Cal.
I'm often lucky enough to hunt elk and mulies in areas where there is no significant activity to push animals around. But, that does not eliminate stand hunting mornings and evenings in places where you expect game to move. One of the best situations in my area are the saddles between small mountains and hills. They are automatic four way crossings for elk. Not so much for deer.
My early hunting lessons were with bow on whitetails in Michigan. At that time, hunting from trees was prohibited. We never even gave it a thought though. My dad taught me to sit and wait with or without a ground blind. You don't have to be hidden to go unnoticed. It's movement that will get you busted. I have had deer walk within five feet of me while I sat in bright colored lawn chairs with no blind and no camo.
For all the talk about scent cover ups and scent control, I don't see it as an issue. For me, scent control has always been about air movement and position. No way to hide the way I smell after three or four days in camp.
These days I have a small aluminum framed folding chair that does not weigh more than a pound or so. It can be bungied to a pack and put to use in minutes.
Earlier I made a comment about tree stands and antelope not being all that compatible. Most bowhunters however like to set up with a blind at a water hole. Most of them dig a pit and put some sticks and bushes areound it for cover. The archery success rate on antelope in colorado is higher than the archery success rate for deer and elk. :shocked2:
My early hunting lessons were with bow on whitetails in Michigan. At that time, hunting from trees was prohibited. We never even gave it a thought though. My dad taught me to sit and wait with or without a ground blind. You don't have to be hidden to go unnoticed. It's movement that will get you busted. I have had deer walk within five feet of me while I sat in bright colored lawn chairs with no blind and no camo.
For all the talk about scent cover ups and scent control, I don't see it as an issue. For me, scent control has always been about air movement and position. No way to hide the way I smell after three or four days in camp.
These days I have a small aluminum framed folding chair that does not weigh more than a pound or so. It can be bungied to a pack and put to use in minutes.
Earlier I made a comment about tree stands and antelope not being all that compatible. Most bowhunters however like to set up with a blind at a water hole. Most of them dig a pit and put some sticks and bushes areound it for cover. The archery success rate on antelope in colorado is higher than the archery success rate for deer and elk. :shocked2:
Swampy you have an invite to hunt elk with me in MT any time you can get a tag. And you have a place to stay and all the "fixins" my gourmet wife can put out. AND you will be able to hunt in some very limited areas where others can't hunt. In no way was I knocking your hunting methods,and I sure am pleased you are able to keep on keeping on. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
