If you want to kill a deer, you’re wasting your time hunting where they ain’t, unless you just happen to be there on the lucky day one happens by. By all means, go someplace else, even if you have to stay in a motel for a few nights or camp, if that’s something you’re equipped for. Now is a great time to scout, leaves down and maybe even some shedding going on. If you’re going to do that, don’t put it off. Get an app like On-X and the maps for your state so you can narrow down the good places before you go. Works best on a tablet for pre-scouting as the details are easier to see. The spots you mark will transfer to your phone.
You didn’t mention (or I missed!) what your stand consists of. I, with the “help” of the state land-management folks, gave up hunting from trees this past season and acquired a good tripod stool with a seat 21” high. Weighs two pounds, less than my safety harness, I think. Straps to my pack or goes over my shoulder. Lets me adapt to the wind or other factors instead of being trapped by a fixed location. Really paid off for me, and no worries about falling out of a tree far from help. Wish I’d done that years ago instead of limiting myself to fixed locations. There are limited options for still-hunting on the small WMA I hunt, and I’m nursing a bad knee, so sitting is what works best. Fortunately, that WMA is only 20 minutes away from home.
Last edited by Pappy348; 01/03/24.
