Remembering some old hunting stands

Today seemed to be one of reflection. My topic on this somewhat rainy day is about some tree stands and ground blinds from many years ago. Many were memorable but some where very bad.

It is rather amazing how a stand can be productive for several years, and then fall flat and into disfavor. It's not so much the blind or stand wouldn't still produce a nice whitetail buck, but for whatever the reason, I no longer hunt there anymore. In a few cases, the tree had fallen during a windstorm and no other good tree was nearby.

Sometimes a stand dies a sudden death because crops are planted elsewhere, or because another nearby stand turns hot. In some cases it is because the stand is no longer just right for the prevailing wind direction, is uncomfortable to sit in, or for many other reasons.

Very few huntings continue to produce year after year.

Thirty years ago I had a crooked tree that was so uncomfortable to sit in that a person needed a Posturpedic mattress, chiropractic adjustment  and time in bed to recover. The tree produced plenty of bucks over the years but anyone who hunted there needed a new mattress, and that set became known as the Posturpedic tree. It’s still there but the tree stand was moved to a more comfortable spot.

Another old favorite tipped over years ago. It was a dead popple tree near a fence crossing, and it was in steady demand by me and some friends. It was great on an east wind and unters could sit there, watch deer walk to the fence hole, step through and offer a clear shot.

I hunted it one night, heard a creak deep in the dead tree, and didn't move after that. I climbed down, and walked away, looking back at what once was a popular stand. It fell down the next day, and no other nearby tree could offer such an advantage. When it went down, a long-standing tradition went down with it.

The old Execution Knob was a pit blind on a hill. It offered a great view of the area, and it was made for firearm hunting only. I can't remember how many bucks were taken from that stand. but if I had a Ben Franklin ($100 bill) for each one, it would go a long ways toward paying me a healthy payment this year.

The Knob grew into disfavor. Why? Who knows, but I quit hunting it once we were able to hunt from elevated stands with a firearm. A new bow coop now sits on Execution Knob, and it produced a really big whitetail buck last season.

The Lakeshore coop was another favorite. There were two elevated coops, one on the south and one on the north side of the beaver pond, but this corner coop set on the ground alongside the main north-south road. The area also has an elevated coop now.

If offered clear shots for 200 or more yards to the north and south along the shoreline, and people who sat there during the firearm season always shot bucks that the hunters in the other two nearby stands never saw. It too fell into disfavor, and was moved elsewhere.

Anything that has been there long enough can be used for a stand.

There once was an old foundation back in a field, and it was crumbling and falling into the basement. One day a buddy had a bright idea, and pushed the rest of the cement into the basement, filled it with dirt, packed it down, put more dirt on top, and built a 15X30-foot building filled with windows on all four sides.

It offers shots in four directions. The only bad thing is that hunting in the old foundation was like hunting from a gigantic pit blind. Every day an ermine would come out for a visit, stare at the hunter, and go on about his business of killing and eating. The ermine disappeared when the foundation was filled in.

Another stand that died a quick death stood 15 feet up an old willow tree. A person could only hunt from it on a calm day because it swayed in any kind of breeze. It got hit by lightning, and lost most of its branches. The tree is still there, but it hasn't been used as a stand in many years.

There are many other ground blinds and tree stands that have disappeared, but whenever I pass one of the better ones that is no longer being used, a bit of nostalgia settles in.

Nothing lasts forever, and that can certainly be said for ground blinds and tree stands. The deer change their patterns, move elsewhere, follow different runways dictated by food-plot locations and they stop getting used, and new and better stands take their place.

One of many pit blinds we’ve used are good bets.

A current favorite for my wife is a pit blind behind the house. It has a roof overhead, and small walls, and it’s been there long enough for all the deer in our area to have become used to it. This year I’ll have at least two stands set up  specifically for an east wind. Both should be in great spots.

But, on occasion, I still like to remember some of those blinds and stands that have gone before. All were good at one time, and were then replaced. It is like so many things in life. They get used until they are used up, and are quickly discarded.

It's fun, however, to remember way back when …

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors