I Found A Great Spot

I found what appears to be a great deer-hunting spot on state land today, walked into the cedar swamp and pines for a quick look-see, and came away enthusiastic about hunting it during what remains of the year's bow, firearm and muzzleloader seasons.

It sits not far off a dirt road, but just far enough to discourage most people. Particularly once snow covers the ground.

My intentions were to check and see what it looked like. If deer tracks are worth anything, this spot holds plenty of deer. There are many good reasons why.

The spot just looked great for deer hunting.

This spot is bordered on two sides by private farmland. Corn and other truck crops grew there during the summer months, but now that snow is inevitable during the next few weeks, the animals are gradually moving from the thinner farmland terrain back into something that will offer some thermal cover for a bedding area. Yesterday and day were warm but soon the temperature and snow will send deer moving to such spots.

Thermal cover is something that breaks the cold winds from biting into a deer's hide. It breaks up the wintry blasts, and provides deer with cover where it simply isn't as cold. It also forms a type of yarding area for many deer in the event of deep snow. The thing about this spot is the animals don't have to travel far to find food, and that is important during nasty periods of late November and December.

Moseying around the land during a 30-minute walk-through made it apparent that this spot has been overlooked. It's not overly large, as acreage goes, but it provides for ideal winter bedding conditions.

It offers a hunter the chance for a morning hunting or a late afternoon outing, and deer tracks were seen going in both directions, so it could be a productive spot any time of the day.

Moving quietly to set up two stands.

I slipped into it again today, and quickly put up a stand. It's important to watch the wind like a hawk because a sudden winter switch in direction could ruin your chances. Today the wind was good for this spot, and the stand was set up for that wind direction.

This spot would probably warrant another stand that could cover some other wind direction, but this spot will also work for a north wind. The problem with putting up stands this late in the season is it can be very easy to spook deer. I sprayed my tent blind down with Vanishing Hunter or Scent Killer.

Fortunately, my spot picked today has a sturdy pine tree with a natural opening in exactly the right spot for an east-wind hunt. A small stand with name and address on it was carried in, and a haul rope was tied to it. I climbed the branches, got into position, hauled up the stand, and five minutes later I was gone after also spraying it down.

There was no noise, no breaking of limbs or any disturbance. It was a quick in-and-out maneuver, and the stand is only 12 feet off the ground.The haul rope was tied off to a lower limb so it doesn't sway back and forth when the wind blows. A chain and lock was added to keep honest people honest.

There wasn't much to be done for the footprints where I'd parked but I used a broom to mar signs of the car and my prints. A deer could follow my tracks to the tree, but I used every trick in the book to remove my scent, including spraying down my rubber boots.

What really appealed to me with this hunting location.

My choice was along a natural travel route out to the nearby farm field. Two deer trails met within 20 yards of my stand, and the trail then followed a natural funnel. It was a spot deer would feel comfortable using, and the pine had bushy boughs that provided some natural shade for my face even though I wear a face mask.

Unless I moved (which I don't do), there is no way a deer could spot me unless they happened to be bedded nearby and watched me walk in. Once I got up in the stand, it was positioned to offer broadside and quartering-away shots at 15 yards.

I was tempted to sit there ttonight but decided against it. I wanted the deer to have another evening of milling around in that general area, and moving both ways down the trail tonight and tomorrow morning, and then perhaps tomorrow evening, with a favorable wind, I'll climb up into the small stand for the first time.

A rubber butt pad will keep me comfortable for two hours, and it will be interesting to see what comes tripping down the trail. It may be a doe with a buck trailing behind or it could be a nice buck. The only bad thing is finding a spot to hide my car.

Staying hid in the open and not giving away my true location.

I've got three vehicles, and I'll take turns with them and pick my parking locations 200 to 300 yards from where I'll hunt, and I'll use both sides of the road. Of course, there may be snow before the firearm opener and my tracks to contend with but a wind-broken pine bough can help sweep away some of my tracks near the road.

I can run but can't hide completely in snowy conditions. Perhaps I can fool most of the hunters for a few days, and with any luck I'll be done with that spot by then. One can always hope.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors