T.R.’s Tips: Whitetail Stand
Sites
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
Evening
Stands
If you are
hunting whitetails late in the afternoon, when the deer are just
leaving their core areas in heavy cover, you can set up along
travel lanes leading from the core areas to daytime food
sources. Small openings in the woods, mast sites, and swamp or
creek edges in heavy cover, are all good places to set up. If
you are hunting just before sundown, the transition zones of
tall grass, heavy brush, swamps and gullies are good place to
set up. Trails leading to staging areas, downwind of open food
sources, are excellent hunting sites at sundown, especially for
bucks.
If you are
hunting at or just after sundown, and the deer are feeding in
the open, your stand should be along trails leading to the
fields. Bucks move later than does and often come into the
transition zones after sundown, preferring to stay in cover
until sundown (when they feel secure). If you don't see bucks in
open feeding areas you should move farther into the woods along
the buck travel routes. Since the deer generally move late in
the afternoon, you have plenty of time to get to transition
zones, staging areas and food sources before the deer arrive.
Morning
Stands
In the early
morning, when the deer are still feeding in the open, you should
not hunt from stands near the food sources, unless you are sure
there are no deer near your stand, or you are sure you can
approach you stand undetected. Because of the darkness you
probably won't know if there are deer in the area until it's too
late, and if you spook a deer it will alert all the other deer
in the area. In the morning you can hunt transition zones and
heavy cover (where deer travel on their way from feeding areas),
or you can hunt the trails leading to the core areas. You should
be at your stand before the deer arrive, and ambush them as they
go back to their core areas.
Prior to the
breeding phase bucks usually return to cover well before
daylight. This is a good time to hunt the early morning along
rub routes leading to the buck's bedrooms; getting there before
the bucks do. Once the rut begins the bucks may return to their
core areas later than normal in the morning, because they are
either chasing or looking for does. Early in the morning you may
catch bucks along their rub routes near transition zones leading
back to their core areas. If the bucks are not in their core
areas, you can hunt the core areas from first light until noon;
I've seen bucks drag themselves back to their core areas at
11:00 in the morning. If you've previously observed or patterned
a buck you will know when and where the best setup is.
If you are
interested in more whitetail hunting tips, or more whitetail
biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News
and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you
have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Tips
message board. To find out when the rut starts, peaks and ends
in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.
This article
is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict's Manual ($19.95 + $5.00
S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain
Outdoor Products catalog.
T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game
researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He
is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and
Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are the 2003
Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the
2003 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the
2003 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual.
For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R.
Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN
55983, USA. Phone: 507-824-3296, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com,
Web Site: www.TRMichels.com
