Cool evenings in August start some of us yearning again for that time to be up in the trees in the deer woods.
Now, before acorns start dropping, ricocheting off lower limbs with a sharp “ping,” we know it’s time to tune our stands.
Deer season is just around the corner and that means “IT’S” begun.
Preparations fire up our anticipation for the upcoming deer season and begin to get us in the mode.
But more importantly, some of our stands need physical work.
Limbs might be in the way.
Stand is a bit wobbly.
Entrance cluttered with debris.
Things need fixing.
I’ve found preparations that start well in advance of the actual season pay off later during showtime. Tuning our deer stands early lets the woods quiet down.
Filling a tag is not the only aspect of a successful deer season for everyone. But for me, tagging a deer or two is a pretty big “slice of the pie,” to say the least.
We like venison.
I try to get any new stands or accessories, like straps and gear hangers, ladders, climbing steps, etc. up early so that household scents and packaging aromas which are also absorbed while in storage have a chance to dissipate. We want our stands to be “one with the woods.” And it takes time.
What’s the sense of preparing to be “scent free” if the stand we are in smells like the garage, new packaging, or a basement laundry room?
Weird and unnatural scents tip off that smart buck or worldly doe every time during hunting season.
Deer don’t mind human scents, but they need to get used to them.
Whitetails graze in the backyard or munch flowerbeds. We’ve all seen it. But those same deer pick up a new scent back in the woods, new to their environment … that’s when we hear the stamping, snorting, and a typical white flag on the south end going north.
If we can’t get to actually putting our stands in the woods, say we don’t have the time, at least get them outdoors so that the human and artificial scents can lessen a bit and dissipate. Ditto with ladders, ladder stands, popups, climbing steps, chains, locks, straps, etc. that should be treated in the same way. That is, get them outside to detox.
My preseason stand sites are usually of two varieties. Some are placed where I know I want to set up and hunt, while others are observation stands.
The former are set up carefully and precisely where whitetail action was hot during a previous season or where there is history.
They may be located on the inside corner of a field, a connection or “funnel” between two woodlots, or a saddle on top of a ridge. Year after year, these “hot spots” can and have produced. But some years they are better than others. Just the way it is.
I move my hunting stands a lot.
Probably more than the average deer hunter. Sometimes only a few yards, other times I pull them and move to a different property.
How observation stands contribute to success
A second type of stand I place in August could be called “observation stands.” I don’t plan on seriously hunting out of these stands.
Observation stands are set up near field edges or close to whitetail movement areas to observe the local deer and assess the quality of the bucks there.
Not so important these days as trail cams can do most of the recon job now. But there is nothing like getting out there and seeing what’s going on.
Observation stands help monitor human activity patterns, too.
One of the key factors deflecting whitetail movement is human pressure.
Other hunters, hikers, bikers, birders, dog walkers, and agricultural workers all move deer as much as food preferences, weather, and moon phase. Maybe more.
Knowing the movement patterns of people near my hunting spots has saved a lot of valuable hunting time and head scratching, wondering, “Where did all the deer go?” Knowing other humanoids are in the woods answers a lot of questions and saves a lot of second-guessing, too.
One caution, though — it’s easy to overuse our stands before the season.
All it takes is a few times in and whitetails will wind us while on stand. And then they have us patterned. But if it happens and “we’re made,” that’s the breaks.
I stay out of my stands days before they are used for hunting.
Tuning our deer stands early is not only practical, but I find it’s a pleasure and satisfaction in itself. Sitting in them once again, being in the trees, allows us to get back in tune with the woods and in touch with those instincts and feelings as we dream of the upcoming hunting season.
— Oak Duke writes a biweekly Outdoors column.
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Follow these summer treestand tips to have success hunting this fall
Reporting by Oak Duke, Outdoors Columnist / The Evening Tribune
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By Oak Duke, Outdoors Columnist | USA TODAY Network
