Stand access vs. a deer's sense of smell

[Brian]

I need some advice on a mid-season stand move.

My best foodplot is adjacent to a creek bottom. My stand is back in the woods on the south end of the plot and there's a logging road that enters the north end. The road turns slightly about 30 yards north from the plot, so I can't see very far down it. This year I've had numerous bucks- including one bruiser - walk down the road, stop at the far end of the plot then turn into the woods. Long story short, I really want to move my stand to a point on that road. The problem is access - I always try to position my stands where I can access them from the rear, but that's just not possible here; the only way to get to a stand will be to walk along a 75-100 yard portion of the road the deer are traveling on.

I mow the road about a month before season opens every year so the grass is short and my only scent-control concern is my footprints. I'm certainly aware of how powerful a deer's sense of smell is, but will they get spooked by my tracks if I'm wearing rubber bottom boots (that are usually caked with mud)?

 

[Jeff H]

99% of my stands are semi permanent stands (not climbers). I rarely hunt out of my climber anymore but when I do it seems I see more deer. I've started to wonder if the deer don't have me patterned or better yet, my stands patterned.
I've heard for years the best time to hunt out of a stand is the first time. The element of surprise.
As I'm reading your post I'm wondering if the reason the deer enter the woods at the North end of your plot is because they are avoiding your stand.
What kind of stand do you have in place? Can it be left as a barrier (assuming they are avoiding it) and put in a climber/loc on on the road ?
Also, how much time do you have left in the season? I would not be afraid to pull out all the stops in late season.

 

[Brian]

As I'm reading your post I'm wondering if the reason the deer enter the woods at the North end of your plot is because they are avoiding your stand.
What kind of stand do you have in place? Can it be left as a barrier (assuming they are avoiding it) and put in a climber/loc on on the road ?
Also, how much time do you have left in the season? I would not be afraid to pull out all the stops in late season.

This was the first stand I built after purchasing my property 3 years ago - its a permanent elevated box stand - and I don't think the deer are avoid the existing stand, in fact I've had deer step out within 15' of the base. But after hunting this place for a few years I've learned that the primary travel is north to south and the logging road on the north end is a natural funnel - there's a thick tangle of downed trees between the creek and the road that nudges any deer traveling south onto the road. The real benefit of a new stand location is that I will be hunting the approach to the food plot - the mature bucks are just too experienced to step into a food plot during shooting hours. But as I said in my original post, access is a problem, which why I originally placed the stand on what turned out to be the wrong end of the plot!

I guess need to just put a ladder stand up (I don't like climbers!) and see if the deer notice where I walked along the road. The good news is that we're only mid-way through our season, which doesn't end until Jan. 31.

 

[Chainsaw]

While I do walk across a deer trail with my pants tucked inside my 16 inch high rubber boots I do it only if their is no other option. Walking up the same path the deer are expected to walk up is pushing it though. I remember back to our coon hunting days when the coon hounds would often come back to us running right up our tracks and we always wore rubber boots then. Some deer maybe won't mind but I wouldn't risk it; there just has to be another way in even if the walking distance is greater I'd take the long way.

 

[Drycreek]

At the very least I would spray my boots with whatever scent control you prefer. I use the Primos stuff that smells like moist earth, and I have seen a hog walk up to where I stood and not react other than flinched, and sniffed. This was a large sow, and you can bet that if she had smelled human, she would have boogied ! Hogs have zero curiosity as far as I've seen, and I've whacked a bunch of them in the very spot that I'm speaking of. Most of them and none of the deer have ever had any reaction.

 

[Jeff H]

I'm trying to visualize your situation. If your box stand is on the south end of the food plot and the deer are entering on the north end via the logging road what would keep you from entering the same way you do to access your box blind and simply moving further North until you have good vision of the road ? Are you reluctant to enter the food plot? If they are entering the woods before they reach the food plot seems like that would not be a concern.
Maybe I'm missing something. A map or diagram would help.

 

[Brian]

I guess a picture is worth a thousand words....

There is a creek bottom along the west side of the plot and the other sides are surrounded by 4 year old planted pine. You can see the road I use to access the existing stand heading east from the lower end of the plot.

I know that the "right" way to do this is hack a trail through the pines back to the main road which runs N-S about 250 yards east of the plot, but that would be a back-breaking job!


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[Brian]

This is a picture from the existing stand taken 3 years ago; the creek bottom is in the left and the logging road enters the plot in the upper left of the picture.

That was the first year I planted and my pH was so bad that I had trouble getting anything to grow.


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[Jeff H]

Would you be able to see where they are entering the woods from either of the two red X's ? and enter via the yellow line ?
For that matter is there a reason you could not continue on North to the spot you have marked for the new stand ?

 

[catscratch]

I've tried lots of stuff to eliminate my trails. Yotes and deer have always been my test subjects. I can fool deer easier than yotes, but neither are easy. The only way I've found to keep from alerting yotes was with a product called Elimitrax. The only other method that worked to keep yotes/deer from checking out my trail was avoidance.

 

[Brian]

Would you be able to see where they are entering the woods from either of the two red X's ? and enter via the yellow line ?

That may be my "second best" option (short of hacking an access trail through the pine thicket). I've never seen a deer enter the plot from the east side so the path you marked in yellow shouldn't present any problems on entry, the downside is that I'm going to educate any deer that are in the plot when I get down from the stand.

 

[Jeff H]

I use a coyote call to clear a field.. only takes one to leave then they all follow.

 

[j-bird]

Can we see a more zoomed out layout? Depending on property lines and roads and the like maybe we can see an alternate route?

I agree that walking along that plot edge is a bad idea......UNLESS.....unless, you screen your access, say with MG or the like to create essentially a tunnel or grass wall.

You mention a creek bottom to the west.....is there enough of a creek in there to use as part of an access route to your new stand location?

You are going to have to also consider where the property access is. If it is at the lower right hand corner where the road is - any access thru the center with a east or west wind may disturb (at best) any deer bedded downwind of your access as well. Last thing you want to do is stink up have the property just getting to your stand.

Also we need something for some scale. This can give us an idea of if you could potentially move the stand to a more central location to possibly hunt the entire length of the plot. As I would consider putting the blind nearly mid way down one side or the other of the plot and again use screening to hide your access.

I'm just spitballing here trying to look at other options......

 

[Mennoniteman]

That may be my "second best" option (short of hacking an access trail through the pine thicket). I've never seen a deer enter the plot from the east side so the path you marked in yellow shouldn't present any problems on entry, the downside is that I'm going to educate any deer that are in the plot when I get down from the stand.

I'd hack access through the pine thicket, as long as it's not a high use deer area or bedding area.

 

[Kevin Altemara]

I use a coyote call to clear a field.. only takes one to leave then they all follow.

wouldnt they not come back and just run for a half mile or so?

 

[Drycreek]

wouldnt they not come back and just run for a half mile or so?

I've run em off with a coyote sound too, and I think they'll stop once they see they're not pursued. When the rut isn't on, a buck grunt will move them enough for you to sneak out also.

 

[Jeff H]

wouldnt they not come back and just run for a half mile or so?

I've used this tactic and seen them in the field the next day. They may leave for the evening, or they may return later when they don't feel threatened, I'm not sure. It's been said before you cannot run a deer of it's territory.

 

[Brian]

Here's a wider angle picture from a different site and a current view from the existing stand. I put dots marking the current stand location (south end of plot) and where a new stand needs to go. Deer are picking up the road as they travel south along the creek - the problem is that I can only see about 20 yards down the road because it enters the plot at an angle and every mature buck I've seen from the existing stand stopped at the end of the road and wouldn't enter the plot but turned into the woods.

With less than a month to go until season ends I've decided not to do anything for now and then cut a trail through the pine thicket running NE from the new stand location before next season.

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[Drycreek]

I think the trail through the pines might be a good idea if you're dead set on the new stand placement. I think one reason the bucks are not entering the plot is that they can pretty well see all of the plot without entering. My experience has been that mature bucks are reluctant to enter large openings in daylight after the pressure of hunting season. A doe decoy at the S end might help, at least around the rut period. You don't say if the bucks are veering off into the same side of the woods all the time or if it varies with the wind. If it's the same side always, then they have regular trail that they are using. I would be investigating that before I placed a new stand, because they might be getting downwind of your new stand. All this is supposition on my part not being able to see it firsthand, it's just some food for thought.

 

[Brian]

I think one reason the bucks are not entering the plot is that they can pretty well see all of the plot without entering. My experience has been that mature bucks are reluctant to enter large openings in daylight after the pressure of hunting season.

I think that's exactly what's happening at my place. I know where the bucks are turning into the woods (always on the same side) and I can place a stand near there and see down the road and still be less than 150 yds. from the far end of the plot. Other than access issues its the perfect location for a stand. In the meantime, a doe decoy might be worth a try - the rut just passed its peak here, so I still have time to give it a try.