Home › Forums › Campfire Forum › How long should I just sit there?
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Hello all,
I’m just wondering what you all use as a guidline. In the past I’ve sat in the same spot/stand all day and seen nothing (If I’m not there, I can’t get a deer, can I). I’ve even gone back to spots where I’ve seen nothing, in the hope that the sign I saw when scouting would yield results. Will this patience pay off, or am I flogging dead horses?
What’s your rule?
How long will you stay in the same spot without a sighting, and how many days will you go back to a spot where you’ve seen nothing?
Of course, this is all assuming that previous scouting showed promise for the spot.
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Well… as a general rule I never stay in the same stand for more than two days in a row, which is long enough. I may come back a week or so later. But I never stay in the same spot for very long. It doesn’t take long for your scent trail to cover the area. No matter how clean and scent free you are. That and the watchful eyes you don’t see. I read once, that for every deer we see…. there are 10 we don’t see.
Best advice is to have multiple spots that you can hunt, and can get in and out of undetected, based upon wind direction and weather.
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this is actually a tough one for me, I am very impatient. I hunt public land and it is hard for me to sit in one spot because I start to think to much . . . I wonder how many other guys hunt this are? Is there even any deer in this area? I think that spot looks better?!! And so on and so forth, I think the green grass scenerio is a biggie for me, BUT if I know that there are tons of deer in that area or if I have trail cam pics, or if I have seen some good bucks in that area before I will sit untill dark. But then again I dont sit very often, I like to bowhunt all year and to keep my profile small enough to comforatably shoot in it requires lots of thin layers. So when I sit I get kinda cold easily. Not that big of a deal because I am a pretty successful stalker, I am good at quitely moving throught the bush. But some days just are not productive using stalking methods and sitting is the only way to go. One day dad and I were hunting and I was stalk and spotting and he was still hunting, he saw somewhere close to 30 deer and I saw 3!!?
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Depends on how confident you are in the spot you have chosen. How was your pre-stand scouting? Did you see the signs you were looking for to confirm the presence of quary? I think that several conditions must be present to stay in one area for more than a day or two in succession.
1. Did you approuch and entrance to the stand permit you to go un-noticed and not winded by your quary?
2. Is your stand placement down wind of the animal with a sustained pre-dominant wind?
3. Is your stand in a funnel or bottleneck which exhibits all the the above characteristics along with the forknowlege that: A (good one) will eventually pass by?
4. What stage of the rut are you hunting? Which will be dictated by your location and most importantly, by what the signs you are seeing for yourself of the activity in the area.
5. Weather can also be a factor. As to the amount of time it takes to get to your stand and leave without spooking deer. I like to hunt on the eve of a storm front, which sometimes kicks up the movement of animals before the storm.
Barometer etc.
Synopsis: I would not recomend staying in one area too long.
Try to time your presence at the most oppertune times which might include food sources and rut activity in your area. -
The sign you saw while scouting is important.
Was it fresh and what type of sign was it? You can’t go wrong with fresh tracks and fresh droppings.
Early in the season I focus on where the deer are feeding.
Sometimes abundance of food sources can be confounding. That is where terrain features can help such as a natural funnel as someone already mentioned. One of my favorites is where two field corners almost touch but other terrain types can create a funnel along transition zones.
Later as the rut begins I will look for buck sign that begins to show up on the perimeter of the food sources. Don’t be afraid of moving your stand if you see deer consistently moving out of range. That has worked for me a number of times. I agree with not over hunting a stand. -
Snuffer is right on! Especially if the acorns are falling, deer will move a little more sparatically from thier travel route to the sweetest white oak acorns. A large old white oak close to the trail that is dropping nuts will be a good spot. Especially as Snuffer said “where two field corners or woodlots join). Patience and confidence trhough scouting and watching the area without molesting it with your scent and presence (continual) is the key. Use your binos from an elevated area (downwind) to scout instead of walking through if the terrain allows.
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The bottom line is you stay in one place for as long as YOU think you should. The only way to learn this is through your own experience. Not much of an answer, I know, but really, it’s all you need. Your own “style” of hunting will determine how long you stay in an area.
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If I see fresh sign then I might come back up repeatedly. How long? Depends on if I think the sign is by an animal which is nocturnal or not. It will also depend on how long I watch an area each time. If I went out a dozen times for less than two hours and all during the same time of day then I might want to mix it up.
I’d go back to the same spot up many times if I felt I had a good chance at seeing what I am after. Fresh sign is important to me. It at least lets me know I have an inkling of a chance. Also, I like to see lots of sign. Not just a few footprints here or there. Trails, rubs, scratches (bears), hair, scrapes, sheds, droppings, etc.
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I’m fortunate enough to own several hundred acres in northern Minnesota that is woods, sloughs, draws,etc. as of last week, I now have 37 permanent ladder bowstands on it(I like the option of moving around). My rule of thumb is hunt a stand that favors the wind, and to not hunt same stand more than once a week. Tazimna
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tazimna it sounds like you have a very good situation all worked out. I am envious for certain. I am not usually a tree stand hunter for various reasons but I certainly would do it a lot more if I had the situation which you have apparently worked out for yourself.
Wanna be friends? 😆
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