Now’s The Time To Sweeten Fall Stand Sites
By Mark Melotik
Got a day or two over the coming weeks to roam your favorite deer hunting area? Searching for sheds and marking last fall’s still-visible deer sign are winding down, but another wise project looms: Creating new and better treestand sites.
What follows are a few proven ways to increase the deadliness of your current (and future) setups.
Serious Pruning
Ever have a trophy buck pass within bow range of your treestand without offering a shot? I’ve had this happen several times while hunting with outfitters, but very rarely while hunting my own stands. The primary differences? When I set my own stands, I not only pick the tree and stand height/angle, but also (where legal) perform the necessary pruning to make the set as deadly as it can be. More shooting options mean more chances for success.
The prime advantage to creating even the widest shooting lanes now — in spring — is huge. By late summer, new vegetation will have had time to completely camouflage your handiwork. If you prune correctly (that sweet spot between too much and too little), come fall you will have a series of ideal shooting lanes extending out from your stand tree, offering near-360-degree opportunities. And these lanes will appear as natural as possible.
Remember, it’s important to prune both at ground level, and at stand height. Doing this right can mean hauling around a portable climber, or maybe a lightweight saddle system and sticks. Things look a whole lot different 18 or 20 feet up, especially in thicker woods.
Another consideration, especially with conifers, is precipitation. Heavy boughs will sag mightily when soaked with rain, sleet or sticky snow. When in doubt, prune it.
Man-Made Funnels
A last and effective finishing touch to a well-prepped stand involves building man-made funnels. Start by using brush, large branches and/or fallen logs to literally funnel passing deer within range of your stand.
One approach is simply blocking off, or maybe more accurately, redirecting deer from a nearby major trail so they must loop closer. If you have the luxury of many downed logs or large branches — and maybe the help of a strong buddy or two — you can try something a bit more drastic. Working well out from your stand, position fallen logs in a large V configuration on either side of your stand, with your stand more or less at the point.
I’ve had these artificial funneling techniques work amazingly well — and I’ve also seen deer ignore some of my best efforts. But they seem to work more than not.
Again, when you make these tweaks now, not only will forest regrowth make them appear natural, deer will have many months to get used to the new routes. One more bonus? Once I’ve enhanced an already well-chosen stand site, my confidence in the spot is sky-high. And that means I’ll hunt longer and harder while on stand.