Archie's Archery Depot

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The Old School Approach to Deer Hunting

With over 35 years of hunting experience, I learned very early in my hunting career that having a good sound approach to my hunting stand is more critical than the stand itself.  You can pick out the best stand location in the world but if you can’t get in and out undetected, you’re pretty much wasting your time.

Last hunting season I had the opportunity to watch a poor approach first hand.  I am a firm believer in being in my stand at least an hour before it even thinks about breaking daylight.  I always mark the trail with trail markers to my stand so I can take a direct route and reach it quietly and quickly.  Once in the stand and everything is in its place, I start my day with a little light rattling and grunting just to ease the deer that might be in the area that could hear me but not see me.

 Last season’s stand location gave me a good view of the hillside of the next property over.  There was a man and his two sons hunting the property and every day it was the same routine, just when it was getting to good shooting light, I could hear the truck heading up the hill to their spot and within 5 minutes I could hear their truck doors shut.  It only took 2 days for the deer to pattern them and react to their approach.  The third day and every day after that, when the truck doors were shut, I would put my binoculars on the hillside leading to our lease and here they come.  Good for us but not so good for them.

With today’s new technology it has made it much easier to scout your hunting properties and get pictures of the deer on it.  Unfortunately the majority of the hunters that I talk to place the cameras within shooting range of their stands.  This causes trip after trip to their stand locations to retrieve the pictures.  I personally don’t believe it has made it better.  I still prefer the “Old School†approach.

 When I am looking for new property to hunt the first thing I do is start glassing the area.  Late July and August is the perfect time.  The deer normally hit the fields early enough to get a real good look at them with 12/50 binoculars.  If I locate a good buck on the property that I would like to hunt, it’s time to go to work.

 The first thing I do is see if permission can be obtained to hunt the property.  If that is successful, I then get on the computer and obtain both topo and aerial photos of the property, mark where I have been seeing the deer, find all the bottlenecks and ridgelines to find several good ambush points.  Next and most important, I plan my approach to the stand locations.  If I can’t get to these stand locations without feeling reasonably comfortable that I can do it undetected, I pretty much stop right there.

 The property I am currently hunting is only a 39 acre lease here in Ohio but it’s a good lease.  In the course of the season, we can expect to see several 150 to 170 class deer.  I wound up getting permission to cross the neighbor’s property so I could walk in from the backside to my stand locations.  There was absolutely no other way to get to my stands undetected without coming in from the backside.  If I couldn’t have gained that permission, I wouldn’t have leased the property.  It would have basically been a waste of time
After planning and obtaining permission for my approach to my tree stands, I make one trip in to the area to scout the areas I have chosen from the maps, cut what needs to be cut, and hang my stands.  The next time I will be in the area will be about 2 to 3 days before season starts to make several mock scrapes around my stand locations.  The least amount of pre-season trips you make into your stand locations and hunting areas, the more successful you’re going to be.

The next time you decide to tackle a new hunting property, take the time to cover all the bases before you ever set foot on the property and keep your trips on the property to a minimum.  Make sure there is one or two on the property you are willing to shoot and plan everything out, especially your approach.  It will save you a lot of wasted time. This system has been very effective for me and hopefully there is something here to help you become more successful.

About the Author

Archery Country is a full service archery and hunting retail and online store located in Central Minnesota. Archery Country carries a very large selection of equipment and gear for the archer or hunter. Archery Country's staff has decades of experience to share with and educate those who have an interest in archery and the outdoors.
Please visit Archery Country for all your archery needs.

ok, now that all of the deer seasons (in most of PA) are over?

(archery, rifle and flintlock) anyone else counting the days until spring gobbler season?

i am! but i am in GA....but its still duck season so atleast i got something to do for a little bit!

Final 2009 Minnesota deer harvest numbers released
A strategy to achieve deer population goals by allowing hunters to harvest fewer deer succeeded in 2009, according to final deer harvest numbers the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released.

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