Non-standard tips to share....

[Lou (Louis)]

I would like to get my vote in for this thread as Thread of the Year. To avoid the rush.

Thank you!

 

[Reddish]

Sit in a creek bed in the evening and your thermals will pull your scent down the creek, even if the wind is blowing the other direction. Gale force winds are an exception. I’ve done this twice to get shots on big bucks on public land.

I also use hickory pellets in a smoker tube for cover scent. Set it in the shed and hang my clothes above it.

If you spook a deer and it blows at you during the rut, rattle immediately. I called in several bucks doing this and killed two of my biggest.

 

[NChunter1989]

Sit in a creek bed in the evening and your thermals will pull your scent down the creek, even if the wind is blowing the other direction. Gale force winds are an exception. I’ve done this twice to get shots on big bucks on public land.

I also use hickory pellets in a smoker tube for cover scent. Set it in the shed and hang my clothes above it.

If you spook a deer and it blows at you during the rut, rattle immediately. I called in several bucks doing this and killed two of my biggest.

Or blow back..


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[CobraChicken]

Kind of unique beacuase I ground hunt. When you are at you spot clear everything to dirt at least 4 feet everyday. Helps if you have to move and stand

 

[fatlander]

During the rut, hunt in thickets like you’re looking for a rabbits. You’ll see bucks all day long.


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[tkhuntsman]

Hello. Sitting on stand I was thinking about a couple unique things I do. Not standard advice, but uncommon tricks you came up with.

1) I always wear my binos under my outmost layer. It keeps them from flopping or banging off my bow/rifle. Also keeps the glass warm to prevent fogging when lifted to your eyes on cold days.

2) On long sits, I use a neoprene knee brace under my pants to keep my knees warm where your pants get tight. When really cold, I slip a chemical hand warmer in there too.

Love to hear some other unique tricks.

Never trust a fart in a tree stand after a gas station burrito.

 

[Boarmaster]

Never trust a fart in a tree stand after a gas station burrito.

Don't trust a fart at anytime after you turn 60 , no matter what you been eating.
Refer back to the “never forget your handy wipes “ post.

 

[TJRNER]

During the rut, pack a lunch and stay in a stand that is in a funnel or near thickets. I've seen alot of bucks roaming or pushing does between 11am and 3pm on both public and private land.

 

[MallardSX2]

Hold your gun or your bow for the first hour of daylight and the last hour of daylight.

Dont hang it on the hook in your tree during those hours.

This stupid tip has killed me a pile of animals that I never would have killed if I had to reach for my gun or bow.

 

[Randle]

If you forget or lose your cheater glasses. Make a fist then open up alittle to make a tunnel and look thru the opening . This works, it cuts down the amount of light to the eye and you can read the date to notch your tag. or read whatever fine print you need to read

 

[LostArra]

Hunt Mondays

 

[pbaby]

Trust your gut on whether you're in the right spot or not. I've gotten down out of my stand at ~7:30/8:00am multiple times to still-hunt over to another set up. Most stand hunters would say that it's beyond stupid to get out of your stand at that time, and it might be, but I've been weirdly successful doing it. I've gotten up, walked +200yd to another set up, and have had opportunities to shoot within moments of setting up.

I think the real take away is that, if you do not have faith in your setup, you're not seeing deer, and you suspect that deer might be around another stand or blind then you may just need to make the move. I've sat entire mornings and evenings in bad spots knowing that I wouldnt see deer. I would worry that if I moved, that I would bump deer away. I finally realized that not seeing deer was worse than the potential for bumping them.

Obviously, this is only recommended when you can make that move without messing up someone else's hunt. If you're stuck in a bad spot and moving would disturb someone else's hunt, then just stay there and hope things change.

 

[long hunter]

Hunt from before daylight until last shooting lite, stay on stand during lunch time, use your yes to scan the area move your head as little as possible, look for horizontal lines in the woods. If you move an arm or leg or your head, do it slow no quick jerks. and always remember you're in the deer's living room, how long you think you would last if the deer was hunting you in your living room.

 

[peaches]

I'll add another...learn to shoot left handed (or vica versa). I was sitting and had a deer creep in from behind on my right side. I shot left handed and killed that deer.

 

[SquatchN]

Consider parking your vehicle in unconventional/out-of-the-way locations. In the heavily pressured areas I hunt I have noticed deer spooking off my vehicle at the field entrance. Conversely, I've also caught trespassers while I was in the stand because they didn't think anyone was around.

 

[WCB]

unlace/loosen your boots when you get on stand feet stay warmer with better circulation.

Buy a ghillie suit and don't be afraid to sit in deadfalls or even semi open hillsides with trails below. My dad and I have killed a pile of deer after finding a good trail or crossing with no good place to hang a tree and not enough time to set up a ground blind and properly camo it etc. Too many hunters dependent on stands and blinds these days and forgot how to hunt.

 

[Yoder]

Would love to hear the full story of this hunt

It started out with another tip, Drive back roads that go through public land instead of taking the direct route to scout. I started doing this commuting back and forth to work.

On the way home one night I saw a bachelor group of 6 bucks standing in a field right next to the road. Two were right around 120 in. I came back on my next day off, scouted and setup a camera. I wound up getting pictures of all the bucks on a ledge that was in about 300 yards and up maybe 300ft vertical from where I parked. I think the bucks were bedding at the highest point of the ledge where there were a bunch of thick pines. They walked the ledge to a ravine, then dropped down to the flat ground to cross the street where there was a corn field. The front of the ledge was a sheer cliff face. Just the way it was setup, it was a perfect spot. I really didn't see a way to get up to the ledge without them smelling me or my scent trail going in. You also had to worry about thermals. I had a few other spots with some pretty good bucks that were easier to access so I never hunted this until the second week of rifle season. After doing some research on Onx and scouting the general area, I found a hiking trail about a mile down the road that was a pretty easy route to the top of the hill. I picked a morning that the wind was blowing up the hill to offset the thermals. It was also raining. I parked at the hiking trail and hiked all the way to the top of the hill. I worked my way along the top until I was directly above where I had my camera setup earlier in the season. I waited for it to start getting light and I slowly worked my way down to another ledge that overlooked the ledge the bucks were using. I inched my way forward a step at a time, to see over the edge. I noticed movement and saw two bucks slowly working their way toward the bedding area. They were the two big 8 pointers. I don't usually get too worked up rifle hunting, but these were the biggest buck I have ever had a shot at. I slowly took a knee and put the cross hairs right on the shoulder. It was maybe 100 yards at a steep downhill angle. I squeezed the trigger and both bucks bolted. I was so excited I slid down the hill on my ass and started looking for blood right away without picking out any landmarks. I looked for maybe 30 minutes and couldn't find anything. I climbed back up the hill and hung my orange pack where I shot. I climbed back down and only looked in areas I could see my pack. I looked another 20 min and found nothing. I really felt sick. I looked around and thought maybe the deer wasn't standing where I thought. I was looking down to the right, I went left and toward the road and I found tracks, then blood on a tree. I quickly followed the blood down the hill toward the cliff. Right on the edge of the cliff was my buck. If he would have taken a couple more steps he would have dropped off 150ft cliff. It looked like he spun around at the last second before he went over the edge. What was pretty cool was looking down, I could see the road. I'll bet it was only 200 yards in a straight line to where I first saw the buck. He wasn't a giant, I actually thought he was way bigger. Maybe 110 inches, but pretty good for PA public land. What I thought was awesome was seeing a buck next to the road then managing to kill that same buck months later.

 

[Yoder]

Here's the buck:

 

[LCsmith]

Here's the buck:

Awesome buck and story. I hunt PA as well, that's a public land trophy. Think the other buck will stick around for you to have a repeat this year?

 

[Yoder]

Awesome buck and story. I hunt PA as well, that's a public land trophy. Think the other buck will stick around for you to have a repeat this year?

I haven't seen him yet. I just setup a camera last week. I need to figure out where he went.