M
MoLandOwner
Guest
How many of you guys get a ride to your stand by some type of transportation? We utilize our golf cart as much as possible dropping guys off and picking them up. Is walking in worse or better than getting a ride?
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B
BJE80
Guest
Boy, this is very site specific. No boilerplate answer for sure. I know with very limited equipment and ATV traffic in my block of woods you would be letting every deer in the area know a man is in the woods. Bad Bad Bad.
But in more of an Ag setting, it can be a very useful tool for sure. Covers up your ground scent and if you do run into any deer you probably won't alarm them much if at all.
chummer
5 year old buck +
I think it depends on if they see that machine the rest of year or only during deer season. I stopped hunting a place because guys insisted on driving atv's on opening day when there hadn't been a machine in those woods all year. They couldn't understand how guys would see deer during bow season then no one would see a deer opening day. At my place we ride the trails all summer and many times we will drive past deer and they don't move. I try to avoid driving in the dark because that would alert the deer to something new.
bueller
Moderator
All my setups are either in the woods or on small food plots so I walk in. However the deer will "spook" much more if they see me walking on one of our roads compared to driving an atv or vehicle on the same road. If I was hunting ag fields I'd probably drive in or get dropped off. Parking an atv near my stands is not something I want to do with my current setups. Plus a sloooooooow walk through the woods in the dark of the morning has so much more less impact than an atv would in that situation. I don't overly concern myself with scent left by me walking in. If anything the deer seem to follow my path on occassion. Could be the doe pee on my boots ;).
gwm
5 year old buck +
We usually walk in. However, when we sit certain food plots, we'll have someone drive the truck to the food plot to spook the deer off, and to allow the person to get down out of the stand. Trail cam pics shows they come back to the food plot very soon after we leave. It's almost like they sit and watch until you drive away and they're good to go again.
I know a local farmer that will have his wife drive the tractor to a few of his spots while he stands on the hitch. She slows down, he jumps off, and they both go on their way.
I know a local farmer that will have his wife drive the tractor to a few of his spots while he stands on the hitch. She slows down, he jumps off, and they both go on their way.
bueller
Moderator
X2. I was pondering how I was going to get out of my stand Saturday Night without alerting all the deer if the plot was filled up. Fortunately/Unfortunately there were zero deer in the plot at sunset so it didn't matter.
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BJE80
Guest
I've never done it but I've listened to people that use yote calls to give a Howell or two and that usually clears the plot.
j-bird
Moderator
We walk - I had a buddy use a bicycle a few times - that didn't last long, but I could see some advantages to it (speed and less scent on the ground and less effort). I don't even own an ATV or UTV - If I have issues with deer in the plots I am sitting on. I typically have the wife turn the dogs loose. They will come looking for me and the deer get bumped that way. I have also carried a bag of walnuts in my pack and tossed them to spook deer off as well, actually hit a deer with one once - that freaked it out! Normally not much of an issue for me however.
M
MoLandOwner
Guest
For $9k.....no cat for me!
Riggsgwp->
5 year old buck +
I walk in to my stand but i also utilize an almost 360 degree access plan. I can walk to or leave a stand from almost any direction and even by canoe(water). I also walk my property all summer long and leave plenty of my scent in the area which the deer do not seem to mind. I think I would freak deer out if I stayed off my property and only showed up to hunt because I feel the deer always catch a little scent when I'm hunting, its really a matter of whether they tolerate it. The last thing I do is keep my stands in travel funnels and not on top of my foodplots. I very rarely will spook deer but now that the numbers are better its a bit more challenging as I found out on the opener.
phil@thesidehill
5 year old buck +
its very much dependent on the specific set up...so many variables. I think one of the variables is AM vs PM hunts. In the AM's i think stealth in the dark by walking is best...as long as you dont have to walk thru/near where the deer are at that point in the AM. Most of my morning set ups are in spots that the deer are not accustomed to vehicular traffic of any type at that point in the day. I spray my boots down heavily before i put them on, and i put them on in the field (and i store them in a tub and only wear them to hunt). I have deer cross my entry fairly often and i have rarely seen them break stride let alone seem alarmed. I think that using a vehicle as cover sound/scent/sight/distraction to get in or out of stands in the evening definitely has its advantages.
M
MoLandOwner
Guest
Wish I had a Marv!
foggy
5 year old buck +
We use the "main trails" on my land for travel on a fairly frequent basis. I drive the main trails via an electric golf cart to take hunters close to their stands. No talking, no scent, little noise. No sweating or layered clothing issues due to weather either. The hunters have either a short walk or no walk to the stands.
When needed on a dark night: I have a small LED flashlight taped to a hand-spring-clamp that is located on the cart. I shield the light beam with a foam tube. Works slick.
I've driven by deer standing in the woods on numerous occasions (no big bucks tho). They just watch me silently drive by. Sometimes the deer will run when they see me come.....but never seem to go far. Just "bump" em.
I think the cart advantages are greater than any disadvantage.
I've seen the same thing when mounted on a horse: Deer just watch the horse. But climb off.....and they "get it" real fast. I believe the golf cart provides the same false security to the deer. :cool:
When needed on a dark night: I have a small LED flashlight taped to a hand-spring-clamp that is located on the cart. I shield the light beam with a foam tube. Works slick.
I've driven by deer standing in the woods on numerous occasions (no big bucks tho). They just watch me silently drive by. Sometimes the deer will run when they see me come.....but never seem to go far. Just "bump" em.
I think the cart advantages are greater than any disadvantage.
I've seen the same thing when mounted on a horse: Deer just watch the horse. But climb off.....and they "get it" real fast. I believe the golf cart provides the same false security to the deer. :cool:
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