The white oak trees were producing an average year’s worth of mast, and a line of rubs was showing me a decent buck was using the oak bottom. Being a traditional bowhunter, I limit myself to a maximum of 20 yards and preferably 15 yards. Selecting the proper stand is critical to giving me the ethical shot I demand.
Whether you hunt with a traditional bow, compound bow or crossbow, the name of the game is getting close to your quarry. So selecting the correct stand is essential to success. Here are five things to take into consideration for your stand selections.
Access
Regardless of how good the location looks and how many rubs are in the area, if you cannot get to it without alarming every deer in the county, it doesn’t matter how good the location may appear. It has been preached and preached for decades and surprisingly, only a few adhere to it consistently. Access to your stand is arguably THE most important aspect of being successful in the deer woods. Before you ever hang a stand, you need to know with certainty that you can access it without disturbing the hunting area or alerting any deer in the area. Otherwise, it will just be a boring sit.
Dominant Winds
We can not know with any certainty what the wind will do on any given day, but having a record of what would be the best wind for a specific stand will let you know when you can hunt that stand. We use a compass, and when the stand is hung, we sit in the stand with the compass and mark the winds that will work best for that stand. The list goes into our logbook, so we know that the Homeplace Stand is good for north, northeast and even west. Anything with south in it is out. Having this information prevents us from hunting a stand on a bad wind. The wind determines what stands we hunt 100 percent of the time.
Low or high
Do you want to hunt from a ground blind or a treestand? This will help you to know where to set your stand or blind. Once you determine what you will use to hunt with, the next step will hone it in some more.
Type of stand
For most bowhunters, the options are lock-on style stands, climbing stands, ladder stands and saddles. The most popular for bowhunters are lock-on style stands. These stands allow the hunter to have zero obstruction in front. Most have comfortable seats and plenty of platform to stay comfortable. The next most popular for bowhunters are climbing stands. In these stands, the ones that face away from the tree are the best, and the portability means you can adjust if the wind switches in your area. The climbers also help you to relocate when the food or bedding area changes.
Ladder stands are, in my opinion, the safest and the most comfortable. However, they are heavy and require pre-season set up. But for areas with good concentrations of deer, the ladder may just be the best set up. Use your safety harness and lifeline to stay connected to the tree from the ground up.
The right tree
Several years ago, I interviewed Barry Wensel about this very subject, and his knowledge was impressive.
Wensel said, “In picking the right tree, I need to get it right 100 percent of the time. Being close isn’t enough for traditional archers. We have to get it right.”
He went on to instruct that nuances in the sign will tell you what tree to set up in. On what side of the tree are the rubs? Look at the scrape, in what direction is the buck raking the ground, and the direction of the tracks, if any? Put all of these pieces together…how active is the trail? Setting up on a hot trail is about as good as it gets for bowhunters.
Don’t overlook the obvious or the mundane. Spend time in the woods and learn how those deer are surviving.
Compromise:
In order to get the best shot at a quality buck, bowhunters often need to make some tough decisions when it comes to what type of stand they want to use, and where it should be located.
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