Hardcore Tree Stand Hunting Too

[Swede]

Some times it takes me awhile to get an elk from a stand. On several years I have used almost all of my season waiting in a stand before I finally got one or just ran out of time. One season I averaged ten hours per day in my stand and never missed a single day of the 30 day season. Crazier still, I was disappointed that I did not have just one more day. Let's hope that does not sound too much like an addiction, but I know I would have gotten one the next day. LOL I figure it takes on average 100 hours per season in my stand. That is about how long it takes me to kill an elk. I really don't like short, one or two day, hunts where I kill one right away. What are some other hunter's experiences like? How long does it take you to get er done?

 

[dreamingbig]

Sitting in a stand for 100 hours would be pure torture. Do you read a book?

 

[Swede]

I read my Bible some, but mostly I sit. I enjoy watching animals that come and go or the squirrels doing their routine. Even 300 hours flys by, except on mornings when the temperatures are in the teens. At times like that I find myself tempted to sleep in or hunt on the ground.

 

[Ryan Avery]

I read a book. But I find there is always something to watch in nature. Last year on stand I saw a lot of deer, 3 bears, 1 bobcat and a coyote. Plus about a million squirrels.

 

[abovealpine]

swede arent u the same cat saying this is a great way to kill a elk ,, how u figure when the avg bowhunter dosent have the whole season more like 7 days.

Swede im lost can u not get around the mountains , why not chase them on the ground . cheers

 

[Swede]

Abovealpine: You are correct I am the same "cat". I am retired now. It takes me on average about 10 days to kill an elk. There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration. Elk do not come in for a shot every day and I don't shoot every elk that comes in. I can and do get around in the forest, but my eyesight is poor. I have a hard time especially seeing contrast. I think my eye disease, corneal granular dystrophy, makes my vision appear similar to what you would see when looking through a screen door. I have that inherited problem plus others that come with aging. The great thing is that I still get out and have learned how to be a lethal predator when it comes to elk.
As far as chasing them on the ground is concerned, I still do some. I just do not "run and gun" like Elknut and others do. I go close to where I think elk may be bedded and call a little and wait a lot. I try to attract a curious satellite bull.
I admit that I did not start off tree stand hunting simply because I thought it was superior to all other forms of elk hunting. I am still not of that mind set, but I have learned over the years that I am out producing, with elk kills, most other hunters by a large margin including those younger and with far better eyes.

 

[Titaniumman]

I feel the same way Swede. I do like to set up and call with a partner or two but I am no run and gunner. Too many back surgeries for that to happen. I set up a treestand for elk last year and will again this year. I shot my bull on my 2nd day out last year so I only spent one morning in the tree. I do like watching the wild life move around me. Us older guys have to hunt a little slower and smarter!

 

[Swede]

To better quantify (maybe) how my tree stand hunting goes, let me illustrate by sharing how the 2011 hunt went. I hunted with my son and two friends. The area we hunt is a OTC, public land, high pressure area. Last year our party of four did a little better than average, but it was not our best season by far. On day one I had a couple five points run by. I did not have a shot, but at noon I went and got my son. During lunch I told him what I had seen, and that I thought the water hole was a great place to sit and wait. Often elk that just skirt a water hole in the morning come back in the afternoon. Well since I invited him to take over my place, he went there and shot a spike early in the afternoon. We had the little bull hanging in camp long before anyone else returned.
On the fifth day of the season I killed my elk. Earlier in the morning I had passed over a couple of elk. The pair was a large cow with her calf. The elk I shot was a crippled cow. I looked her over and decided I would take her since she was still in good condition. The next day my friend Tim arrowed his elk. My other hunting friend went home empty handed after seven days of hunting. The cumulative total was three elk killed with less than 19 total days of hunting.

 

[dreamingbig]

Was your other friend also hunting from treestands? I only ask because that would have been me, sitting in a stand for 7 days with nothing to show.

 

[Swede]

Dreamingbig. Yes we all hunted 100% or nearly 100% from a tree stand. That is our normal routine early in the season. Sometimes I sit in the forest for some early afternoon calling and waiting. I will give a few well spaced short two note bugles to see if a curious bull will sneek in and see what is lazing around at the edge of his bedding area. I do this routine well away from where I am tree stand hunting, but we did not do much if any last year. We just got back in our tree and waited quietly there.
Guys here is something I have observed over the years. Some hunters get elk consistantly from one of our tree stands. I have a friend who swears I could get one if I set up in a Safeway parking lot. That is not true, but it is exasperating to him, that he has such a tough time ever getting anything. I do not observe my hunting friends in a stand. I cannot say for sure why Tim or my cousin Jim always get elk on a week only hunt and sometimes pass over good ones, while others go home empty handed consistantly. I do not believe it is just luck. The pattern is too consistant to be just luck. I turned around my son in law's luck when I advised him to quit calling from his stand. The others I suspect are making noise or are moving too much. I had one friend reading so intently he missed a big bull that came in and got a drink and left. My friend saw him walking away, but it was too late. Another bugaboo is lack of confidence or lack of ability. I know some have passed over good animals saying they were too far away when they were standing broadside at 35 yards. A few days earlier my cousin had killed a 5X5 at the exact same location. I tried to deal with these and some other problems that jinx hunters in tree stands, when I wrote the book Tree Stand Hunting Rocky Mountain Elk.

 

[Titaniumman]

I just may have to invest in your book

 

[Swede]

Titaniumman: I hear you about the surgeries. Fortunately they have not slowed me much, but I sure have had my share of days under the knife. I hope you can get some good information from the book and can enjoy the read. I wrote it with the idea in mind that I had something worth while for beginners and experienced hunters alike.

 

[Titaniumman]

Titaniumman: I hear you about the surgeries. Fortunately they have not slowed me much, but I sure have had my share of days under the knife. I hope you can get some good information from the book and can enjoy the read. I wrote it with the idea in mind that I had something worth while for beginners and experienced hunters alike.

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