Preseason Planning for Whitetail Deer Hunting: Valuable Scouting and Deer Stand Location Part 2
Do you wonder where you should place your deer stand? In Part I of my article, I discussed how it was important to scout your property prior to deer season to find the highest traffic areas.
I also talked about the four "T's" to remember when scouting: time of year, type of weather, technology use and tracking for deer.
You need to use the information that you have acquired, to determine and set up deer stand placement.
This will give you the most optimal opportunity in capturing a big buck.
DEER STAND LOCATION When determining location for a deer stand it should be based on your scouting results.
You will want to determine and set up your stand near deer movement patterns, food/water sources and bedding areas.
However, make sure it's in an area that's easily accessible by foot or by some form of vehicle.
There's nothing like ruining that exciting hunt by having to drag/carry your lifeless deer for any kind of distance.
If you are in an area that it is extremely hard to get vehicle access, then you can use a tarp, blanket, or sheet to place the deer on.
Then it will make it a little easier to drag it out, especially if you have a buddy to help pull it.
Once you find the best location for your stand based on accessibility and high traffic areas, you'll want to determine optimal height of your deer stand.
Usually a satisfactory height for a stand is approximately 20 feet high in tree.
This height is tall enough to remain unnoticeable to deer but not to high to cause a lot of interference by limbs.
However, if you do have limbs that's in your shooting lane, now is the time to cut those branches back, not the day before the hunt.
The noise from cutting back those branches will definitely disturb the deer.
So the best time to determine location of a stand(s) are a couple of months prior to the beginning of deer season.
By doing so, it will allow human scent to dissipate and lower detection.
Try to take one full day to determine stand(s) location instead of going multiple times to keep human detection at a minimum also.
In summary, take a considerate amount of time to plan, scout, and execute that plan to have a very successful hunting year.
Remember that this success is based on your year-round activity so don't let your ideas and actions be idle for several months.
I also talked about the four "T's" to remember when scouting: time of year, type of weather, technology use and tracking for deer.
You need to use the information that you have acquired, to determine and set up deer stand placement.
This will give you the most optimal opportunity in capturing a big buck.
DEER STAND LOCATION When determining location for a deer stand it should be based on your scouting results.
You will want to determine and set up your stand near deer movement patterns, food/water sources and bedding areas.
However, make sure it's in an area that's easily accessible by foot or by some form of vehicle.
There's nothing like ruining that exciting hunt by having to drag/carry your lifeless deer for any kind of distance.
If you are in an area that it is extremely hard to get vehicle access, then you can use a tarp, blanket, or sheet to place the deer on.
Then it will make it a little easier to drag it out, especially if you have a buddy to help pull it.
Once you find the best location for your stand based on accessibility and high traffic areas, you'll want to determine optimal height of your deer stand.
Usually a satisfactory height for a stand is approximately 20 feet high in tree.
This height is tall enough to remain unnoticeable to deer but not to high to cause a lot of interference by limbs.
However, if you do have limbs that's in your shooting lane, now is the time to cut those branches back, not the day before the hunt.
The noise from cutting back those branches will definitely disturb the deer.
So the best time to determine location of a stand(s) are a couple of months prior to the beginning of deer season.
By doing so, it will allow human scent to dissipate and lower detection.
Try to take one full day to determine stand(s) location instead of going multiple times to keep human detection at a minimum also.
In summary, take a considerate amount of time to plan, scout, and execute that plan to have a very successful hunting year.
Remember that this success is based on your year-round activity so don't let your ideas and actions be idle for several months.