By Anonymous in a Treestand and Tim H. Martin
As most experienced hunters probably know, hunting from a treestand is a great way to see farther into the woods and keep our scent above deer, which is a huge advantage.
My tip: Don’t get complacent while climbing and sitting, and don’t make a lot of unnecessary movement even though you are above a deer’s line of sight. Deer can still see you.
When it comes to movement, my mantra is “move like snails; see less tails!”
— Editor’s Note by Tim H. Martin
In the early 1980s, I recall my Auburn University Wildlife Trends professor saying, “There’s this cool new invention they call a climbing stand. I believe it will be far more effective than hunting from the ground.
“In fact, new studies indicate hunting success rates rise by more than 80 percent when hunters get elevated.”
The professor’s words were a revelation. I had to have one of these new tree-climbing contraptions, but back then nobody produced them.
Most hunters, myself included, built our own widow-makers from V-shaped aluminum strips and a few wing nuts. They were shockingly dangerous, but they worked.
Deer rarely looked up during that era. But after 40 years of being shot at by hunters using climbers and elevated lock-on style stands, deer definitely look up now.
Much depends on where you hunt. In my home state of Alabama, it seems deer come out of the womb staring up into the trees.
On numerous occasions, I have witnessed deer step into openings and immediately start scanning the tree line for hunters. I believe the southern herd has evolved quickly, and does even teach their fawns to beware of death from above. I’ve watched them do it.
Conversely, I have been on hunts in Nebraska, Ohio and Illinois where you could practically do jumping jacks in a 10-foot ladder and not get a buck’s attention.
No matter where you hunt, I agree completely with the mantra of this week’s anonymous tip contributor — when it comes to treestand hunting, move like snails and you’ll see less tails.
Read Recent Tip of the Week:• Homemade Scent Granules: This tip is a way for fellow hunters to create their own scent granules from liquid lures.
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