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Making Adjustments

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Making Adjustments

Postby Swede » 09 16, 2019 •  [Post 1]

This season I observed a couple of old tree stand locations that were probably abandoned because there was some problem with them. Both stands were close to where they needed to be but there were issues. I would venture to guess they were abandoned because the person(s) that originally placed their stand there gave up discouraged.
One stand was behind some trees and brush that obscured most of the area where an elk was likely to come in to water or wallow. The trails were too far to the right of the stand to offer a decent shot. The other stand was too low and many elk coming in would have instantly seen the occupant of the stand. I too hung a stand this season were it was not optimal. I killed an elk there last year and my son got one this season, but the shot angle is too steep. I needed to select a new tree and move back a ways into a tree with some background cover.
The point here is to remind tree stand hunters that adjustments may need to be made. Until we experience a place for awhile, we may not see all of the pertinent matters. It takes about an hour to take your stand down and set it in a different tree. Do it in the middle of the day and you are likely to not lose much in quality hunting time. It sure beats abandoning a good location.
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Re: Making Adjustments

Postby Elkhunttoo » 10 03, 2019 •  [Post 2]

What do you feel is the optimal distance from the wallow/water hole for your stand?
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Re: Making Adjustments

Postby Swede » 10 04, 2019 •  [Post 3]

It depends on how high I am above the water, but commonly it is about 20-25 yards. I don't like too steep of an angle looking down because there is very little blood trail. I rarely get a pass through and the arrow hitting high on the back means very little blood on the ground. That is what happened to me this year and I could not find the bull in the brush until it was too late.
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Re: Making Adjustments

Postby Roosiebull » 10 24, 2019 •  [Post 4]

good points Swede... like the rest of the hunting world, it's the little details that can make or break a season. I have been considering this stuff a lot. now that I have my wife fully interested in rifle blacktail hunting, I think it may be time to move my blacktail hunting back to archery season so we can focus the whole rifle season on her tag... i'm archery hunting them this year, and will probably continue that.

I think if I want a good chance of killing a mature buck with my bow on a consistent basis, I need to add treestands into my tool box (especially if I plan on killing them with my recurve) I have been brainstorming treestand spots for a couple years now, and there seem to be very few "perfect" trees... always something not perfect, whether it be no back cover, short shooting lanes, iffy on wind, and even a good route to the tree without messing things up on the way in.

i'm hoping to get a couple stands going by September to also use them for elk.... if i'm shooting a recurve especially, those more controlled encounters (like in a stand) are hugely beneficial.

I know there is a learning curve ahead of me, and probably some tough lessons.... but will certainly have your advice on my mind while picking spots
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Re: Making Adjustments

Postby Swede » 10 24, 2019 •  [Post 5]

Roosie, I rarely find what I would consider an excellent tree to hang my stand in. I just have to pick the best available and make it work. Sometimes that means hanging cover above and behind my stand seat. I have even considered using guy lines to secure a snag. Some of my problem this year I attribute to poor location.
Best wishes.
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