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By Lee Gatzke
Which stand is the best choice for hunting out of? Each stand has
advantages that make them popular but is one stand type more effective than
the other for producing deer hunting success or shot opportunities? Permanent
stands are typically chained or nailed to a tree, making them immobile,
where portables are carried in, set up and taken down at the hunters
discretion. I've been successful hunting out of each type of stand, however,
one type has been more productive. Lets examine some pros and cons.
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I gladly forgave my son, Tom, for spooking the
bucks away after he explained that he just shot a 130" ten pointer
and wanted me to share the moment.
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Without a doubt, if the hunter has properly scouted an area, the first
time a stand is hunted is the most productive as far as seeing and shooting
deer is concerned. This is because the deer have probably not seen or
smelled humans in the area for some time and feel safe in this location.
A good example of this happens every year on opening day of archery deer
season. When I do my pre-season scouting I'm typically glassing bucks
from a distance and do not enter the chosen area until I'm ready to hunt
it opening morning or evening.
A few years back my son and I employed
this tactic opening day. I had two P&Y bucks under my stand, on the
edge of a clover field, when my son came to pay me a visit...he needed
help. I gladly forgave him for spooking the bucks away after he explained
that he just shot a 130" ten pointer and wanted me to share the
moment. All of these bucks showed up at least two hours before sunset and
were unaware of our stand locations. The bucks each walked close by our
stands as though they hadn't a care in the world. When a portable stand
is quietly positioned downwind of travel routes, and the hunter remains
quiet and still while occupying the stand, the deer have no clue you
are around and they come in relaxed and unaware of the hunter. Portables
offer the element of surprise each time they are set up in a different
location, a huge advantage for creating shot opportunities. I expect to
have a shot opportunity the first time I hunt a particular location!
Portables can be positioned downwind of travel routes anytime you hunt,
whereas you must wait for a favorable wind to hunt a permanent stand.
It takes a little practice to set up a portable without making much noise
but it can be done. Another point to consider with portables is that
they are not all made such that it is possible to set them up quickly
and quietly. The best portable on the market are the Lone Wolf Tree Stands,
they set up quietly and are rock solid in the tree so that no noise is
made by the stand while you occupy it. If the wind should change during
your hunt you can re-position your portable immediately and still be hunting
the spot correctly. If the wind changes while you're hunting from a permanent
stand you probably will have to abandon that spot unless you have another
stand positioned correctly nearby, which is usually not the case. Portables
allow you to fine tune your location, as the conditions dictate, each
time you hunt which is something a hunter, especially a bowhunter, must
do. Portables are the only stand you can use on most public property
as stated by law.
Permanent stands are convenient because you have previously placed them
in a good spot and you can access them without making any noise or expending
any time or energy setting them up. Setting up portables in the dark
requires time and patience to do it quietly, something a permanent stand
user doesn't have to deal with. Portables left in the woods are targets for
theft, try stealing a permanent stand that has been nailed to a tree! Good
shooting lanes are typically cleared from the permanent stand site well in
advance of the time you'll hunt, and yardages to trails can be determined
then as well. Some of my most memorable gun hunts took place in a particular
permanent stand I nailed to a swamp oak. Opening day of gun season always
created a near panic in the local deer population. With the influx of
many hunters causing the deer to seek safe cover to hide from them, I
placed this stand in heavy swamp cover on my property. I saw a lot of deer
from that stand, and they would come by all day long that first day of
the season. Permanent stands can be very effective when you know a pattern
will repeat itself that forces deer through a particular spot. Permanent
stands are typically more comfortable to hunt from which can allow a hunter
to stay on stand longer.
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Portable treestands, like this Lone Wolf Alpha Hang-On, give a hunter the versatility to move in right
on top of the deer if necessary, something a bowhunter especially requires.
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Portables take some effort to set up quietly to prevent spooking nearby
deer, and if you hunt heavy cover your shooting lanes will be more limited
than hunting from a permanent stand where you have previously cleared
lanes. It's frustrating not being able to get a shot when the deer don't
show in natural openings and you haven't cleared lanes for fear of leaving
your scent all around the stand you just set up. Portables also can make
it difficult to walk through brush quietly while being carried on your
back and getting hung up on branches. Portables are too often stolen
if you leave them in trees while not hunting.
A permanent stands biggest downfall is that deer soon figure out their
location, and that they spell trouble. Because deer know their surroundings
as well as you know where your refrigerator is, permanents are easily
discovered by them. Deer, especially mature deer, soon detour, typically
downwind and around these permanent stands far enough to go by undetected
by the person occupying them. You can see this by checking out how the
deer trails skirt permanent stand sites. Long ago I found out that my
deer sightings reduced dramatically with each time I re-visited my permanent
stands. Any trail that remains heavily traveled past a permanent stand
is probably being used during darkness, not the ideal time to be hunting.
Too often a permanent stand will be over-hunted because it is less effort
to hunt from than setting up a portable, and easier to slip into quietly
so as not to spook deer. My hunting group had plenty of good spots go
cold because we kept going back to the same permanent stand that originally
produced so well. Each time you visit a stand site you lay down a scent
trail that can last days. If you visit a stand site every few days you
are leaving almost a continuous scent trail which the deer will remember
and their reaction will be to avoid that area, especially during daylight
hours. This is especially true for mature deer. A mature deer will be
alert to danger in an area where it has smelled humans after only one
exposure to the scent, and since you cannot re-locate a permanent stand the
site will be spoiled for a long time. Permanent stands are not allowed on
most public land.
For my preference, I'll take the portable stand over the permanent almost
every time. Portables give a hunter the versatility to move in right
on top of the deer if necessary, something a bowhunter especially requires.
I can strap the portable on my back and scout a given area and upon finding
good sign, set up downwind of it imediately.Try doing that with a permanent
stand. Portables are not as easily noticed by deer if you remove them
after each hunt and change your locations frequently. I admit it can
be extra work to be setting up stands and taking them down after each hunt,
but this effort is what it takes to hunt mature deer successfully. When
portables are properly hung and relocated each time you hunt your
success will be far greater than hunting out of permanent stands.
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Comments
Good article Lee. When you develope patterns from watching a particular buck travel through your area during late summer, positioning a portable quietly the day of the hunt is the key to success on the true Slob's.
Posted by: Dan on September 2, 2005 06:16 PM
Good article Lee, now I know why you see so many deer.
Posted by: Bill on October 27, 2005 08:08 PM
Hey Lee,
No wonder why you have all those deer on the wall.Good information on tree stands. i printed this out and placed it in our deer hunting scrap book in the cabin. You and Dan are doing a great job, keep the good work up.
robert Richer from HalesCorners!
Posted by: Robert Richer on February 8, 2006 10:14 PM
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