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Using
a Diary
 TO
PINPOINT STANDS FOR MATURE BUCKS
I can’t
remember how many times I have hung
a tree stand on what I thought was a
prime spot, only to get skunked
while hunting from it. On the other
hand, I’ve set up stands that
deliver every year. What makes one
location superb while another
seemingly similar spot is an
absolute failure?
On Columbus day
1998, I tied my bow to the rope
dangling from the most successful
tree stand I had ever hung. My
anticipation mounted as I climbed
the massive oak. I fastened my
safety belt, sat down on the
portable stand and fantasized about
big antlers. At first light, a buck
worked his way out of a cornfield
and headed my way. My aluminum arrow
was soon on its way.
After a brief
tracking job, I found the buck. As I
sat beside him, I was amazed by the
productivity of the stand. The
“Brick House,” as I called it,
yielded 132 deer sighting, 10 buck
sightings and 30 shooting
opportunities in its short
eight-hunt history. I saw deer
during each hunt.
Using
a Diary to Select Stand Locations
A few things in
life are guaranteed, but placing a
stand where you can consistently
intercept mature white-tailed bucks
isn’t one of them.
I can’t
remember how many times I have hung
a tree stand, thinking the spot
would offer a shooting opportunity,
only to fail. On the other hand, I
have also chosen locations that
deliver every year. This begs the
question: What makes one location
superb while another seemingly
similar spot is an absolute failure?
To help find the
answer, I have kept a hunting diary
the past six years. In the log, I
recorded detailed information on
every stand location I have hunted
those six seasons. I named each
stand and kept a tally of deer
sightings and the number of Pope-and
–Young-class bucks viewed during
each hunt. I also recorded the
physical characteristics of the
locations, including topography and
proximity to bedding areas and food
sources.
Keeping a hunting
diary gives me tremendous insight
into what combination of
characteristics makes the difference
between a stand that merely looks
promising and one that consistently
yields encounters with mature bucks.
The
Records
Over the past six
seasons, I hunted 464 times from 198
stand locations. On average, I hunt
77 times from 33 stand setups each
season.
Of the 198 stands, 140
produced more success – hunts with
deer sightings – than failure. I
saw 97 P&Y-class bucks,
including 37 during preseason
scouting trips.
(It bears
mentioning that during the
preseason, I do not watch deer from
tree stands. Instead, I use
high-power binoculars to watch them
from long distances. Because of the
nature of these low-impact scouting
strategies, I omit these sightings
from my stand-placement analysis.)
The remaining 60
big-buck sightings occurred at 34 of
the 198 stands. Obviously, some of
these stands produced multiple
sightings.
I rank my top 10
stand locations according to their
success (See Figure 1, Page 560. The
list is based solely on deer
sightings, not big-buck sightings.
However, the characteristics of
stands that produce big-buck
sightings mirror the patters of
other successful stands. Of the
stands that yielded big-buck
sightings, 80 percent had cornfields
as their closest food source, and
100 percent were located within 150
yards of a bedding area. Ninety
percent of these stands were
positioned in some kind of terrain
funnel.
Conversely,
Figure 2 (Page 57) outlines the
features of my 10 least successful
stands. Although these stands
yielded few deer sightings,
documenting their characteristics
helps sheds light on what makes or
breaks a stand location.
The success or
failure of these stands is no
coincidence. Upon analyzing my
hunting log, I learned a stand’s
tendency to produce encounters with
big bucks seems to hinge on its
position on a topographic feature
that funnels deer, and its proximity
to bedding areas and food sources.
Bedding
Areas
Bedding areas are
widely regarded as prime places to
intercept whitetails. However,
mature bucks do not use these
hotspots as do other deer. During my
observations, mature bucks left food
sources and headed for bedding areas
earlier in the morning than other
deer. Mature bucks also left their
bedding areas later in the evening.
In fact, my hunting diary revealed
that some record-class bucks are
totally nocturnal. Thirty-two of the
34 big-buck stands were within 150
yards of bedding areas. Therefore, I
hunt as close to bedding areas as I
can without alarming bedded deer.
Topography
Terrain is a
major component of stand-site
selection. Although some topographic
features have little effect on
whitetail behavior, others
concentrate deer movement,
increasing the possibility of seeing
deer, particularly big bucks. Pay
special attention to funnels, field
corners, low spots, ridges and
shelves. Twenty-nine of my 34
big-buck stands – 85 percent -
were located at such features.
Although these features are often
quite different, they all basically
do the same thing: funnel deer by
providing cover and less-restrictive
travel routes.
These hotspots
are often subtle. For example, some
of the most productive areas I have
hunted have not been the classic
funnels most hunters imagine.
Instead, many have been steep ridges
where the only practical travel
route for deer has been along the
crest of the ridge.
According to my
diary, field corners and woodland
funnels are best bets. However, deer
behavior can vary by area. By
keeping a diary and analyzing how
terrain influences deer behavior at
your stands, you can better
understand how to use terrain to
your advantage.
Field
Edges or Woods?
For years, I have
been torn between devoting time to
stands positioned in the woods and
stands on field edges. That’s
because field edges offer increased
visibility and a greater opportunity
for seeing deer. However, that
doesn’t necessarily make them good
places to hunt.
This situation is
testament to how keeping a detailed
hunting diary helps you concentrate
your hunting around the most
productive locations – not just
places that provide increased
visibility.
For example,
according to my diary, four of the
34 successful big buck stands were
positioned on fields. These stands
produced 27 big-0buck sightings.
However, only four of the bucks, 14
percent, walked within bow range.
On the other
hand, 20 of the 34 successful
big-buck stands were in the woods.
These stands produced 231 big-buck
sightings and 17 of them, 80
percent, walked within bow range.
The bottom line?
If you want to see bucks, hunt field
edges. If you want to kill bucks,
hunt the woods. That fact is made
clear in the pages of my hunting
diary.
Food
Sources
After carefully
reviewing the characteristics of
locations where I saw mature bucks,
I discovered another factor of stand
success. Corn was the nearest food
source to 22 of the 34 big-buck
stands. Seven of the stands were
located closest to clover, and five
were positioned nearest bean-fields.
These figures are
no coincidence. Corn produces more
body heat than any other grain or
legume, and it helps create more fat
than other agricultural crops.
Standing corn also provides cover,
serving as a practically unhuntable
maze before harvest.
Mature bucks are
drawn to standing corn, and, when
pressured, they often relocate their
core areas to cornfields. After the
field is harvested, these deer
remain in the vicinity until the rut
or until they are forced out by
increased hunting pressure.
Although corn is
clearly important to whitetails and
played an important role in the
success of my stands, it might not
be the No. 1 food source for mature
bucks in your area. Pay close
attention to all food sources near
your stands. There’s a chance
mature bucks might be using a food
source much more subtle than a
cornfield. Document as much
information on whitetail foods in
your area, and note their distances
from your stands. By doing so,
you’ll gain a thorough
understanding of how different foods
shape a mature buck’s behavior.
Cornfield
Acorn Hunting
Even after
compiling a detailed log of stand
locations and carefully analyzing
deer behavior, consistently placing
yourself within bow range of a
mature buck can be a daunting task.
You might know what food source a
buck is using and what terrain
feature he is using to get there,
but how do you nail down the exact
30-yard window where he will walk?
This might seem to be a hit-or-miss
process, but further documentation
of stand-site features can help tip
the odds in your favor.
I learned this
lesson early in my hunting
experience when I was faced with
hunting near a standing cornfield. I
believed deer bedded in the corn,
and I was helpless to do anything
about it. However, thanks to
documenting the characteristics of
the area, I devised a strategy I
refer to as “Cornfield Acorn
Hunting.” I knew deer used the
cornfield fringes and left the field
in predictable locations based on
the field’s features. Scouting
information in my diary held the
answer. A nearby white oak colony
was producing acorns, and the area
around the colony was littered with
deer droppings and many large rubs.
I set up two stands near the spot,
hunted them on a rotation, and was
pleasantly surprised by what emerged
from the corn on the following
hunts.
Conclusion
All the analysis
in the world can’t guarantee a
stand will yield sightings of big
bucks. In fact, some stands that
have everything going for them
invariably leave you skunked, while
seemingly poor locations produce
intense whitetail action every year.
However, these instances are the
exception, not the rule.
By
carefully examining a stand site’s
characteristics, documenting the
information and studying how these
features affect deer behavior, you
can choose stand sites that enhance
your odds of getting close to mature
bucks.
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