Alternate Routes
You can have a great stand location, but if you can't get there and back without bumping deer, then I'm guessing your homework wasn't done. I know of hunters who continually move stands and the root cause of detection normally results from their haphazard approach of getting there and back. In most instances, their plan consists of slipping in quietly to a stand and hoping for the best. This is not exactly the greatest strategic plan, by any means of measure!

Some tree stands require ideal conditions to exist before they can be hunted. The author found an alternate route that allowed him to slip into location to shoot this nice 130-class buck the first day on stand.

As part of my planning to determine the best stand locations, I typically start by asking myself a couple of simple questions. First, using the most obvious approach route, can I get to and from the stand both in the morning and evening undetected? Secondly, if I can't get there and back undetected, are there alternate routes that would allow me to? If I can answer both questions with legitimate answers, then the stand site becomes a likely candidate for both morning and evening hunting.

The One Shot Stand
As mentioned earlier, some stands are simply meant to be most productive during a specific time frame. I know a number of hunters who don't put up stands or even begin hunting hard until the rut gets underway. In most instances, these hunters have done their homework beforehand and know exactly where to hang a stand. When the ideal condition exists, they slip in with a stand, setup and kill a buck that same day. I call these the "one shot stands," mainly because they normally get one chance and after that the stand is worthless.

A good example of this was Adam Crumrin's experience last year while hunting in eastern Illinois. His ability to refrain from hunting an area until prime time paid off with a giant non-typical.

In September, Crumrin had spotted the huge buck while scouting and located the buck's core area, an oak ridge flat near a saddle crossing. From the ridge, the buck had a panoramic view in all directions, therefore slipping in to hang a stand wasn't an option. Instead, Adam decided to wait until the rut, when the stud buck would be most vulnerable and slip in with a climber and try to shoot the buck the same day.

As they say, good things come to those who wait. It was November 4, and Adam had seen bucks chasing does for a couple days. Even though the temperature hovered around the 70-degree mark, Adam climbed into his Scent-Lok suit, sprayed everything down with Scent Killer and headed up the ridge. Surprisingly, the savvy hunter arrived at the saddle rim without spooking any deer. Eyeballing a straight tree, he then scaled up 30 feet, a height he felt necessary to get above the immediate downwind scent stream.

A good part of the afternoon passed without Adam seeing a single deer. About 4:00 p.m. Adam decided to rattle a bit. After rattling one short sequence, he followed up with a couple grunts and doe bleats. About 10 minutes later a big buck appeared in the bottom, and shortly thereafter swaggered up the ridge. As the buck cleared the ridge crest at 35 yards, he cut off on a parallel trail. There was too much brush in the way to shoot, and the buck was soon out of range. Fortunately, Adam was able to turn the bruiser around with two bleats from a deer call. With only a small window to shoot, Adam came to full draw. When the buck stepped into the clearing, he released the string. The broadhead zipped through both sides of the quartering buck, causing him to whirl around and charge off. Mouthing a quick grunt momentarily caused the buck to stop and look back before walking a few more steps and going down."

The element of surprise is probably our greatest defense against the whitetails keen senses. Maintaining the element of surprise requires extra effort to keep stands fresh and the hunting area scent free. Follow a few of the aforementioned tips and I'm quite confident you'll not only see more deer, but also have more close range opportunities! Good luck and happy hunting!