Deer hunting’s “Great Mistake” is a classic, and you may be making it without even knowing.  If the first stands you sit in during your long-awaited deer hunting vacation are the ones where the deer activity is highest you are hunting too aggressively. 

          On the surface it seems reasonable to go right to the best stand on the first day.  I’ve done it myself more than a few times.  But, there are several reasons why this approach is all too often the first step toward a disappointing season.  Deer have amazing abilities to sense human intrusion.  They can perceive our presence in a number of ways: sight, sound, airborne scent and ground scent.  A high percentage of the deer that come past your stand, even after you've left it, are going to pick up something.  Unless the setup is perfect, they know you are or were there. 

          Think back, how often have you actually been on stand and completely fooled every deer that came past?  More than likely at least some of them crossed your trail or got downwind or spotted you or otherwise picked up the slightest signals of danger.  You may have been able to ignore it because they were just does, or just small bucks.  But, those deer didn’t ignore it.  Through body language they communicated danger to every other deer they contacted in that area for the next several hours, or longer.  I’ve seen does that caught me on stand one time come looking for more day after day.  That’s when an antlerless tag in the pocket is a great asset.

          Once deer start catching on to the fact that they are being hunted the season collapses before it even gets going.

TO EVERY RULE THERE IS AN EXCEPTION

          Opening day of the regular firearms season is one of the only times when you should hunt your best stands first.  When lots of other hunters are in the woods and the deer are being prodded into moving you need to be in your best stand.  This is your best chance for success during the entire season so you need to use it to your maximum advantage.  Also, if you are only hunting for a few days – a weekend for example – it won’t matter whether or not you educate a few deer.  When time is limited, by all means hunt your best stands right away.  However, under all other conditions it is only good strategy to keep as many deer as you can in the dark for as long as possible.

START SLOW

          Deer react differently to signs of human intrusion depending upon where they find it.  Usually in the fringes of their core areas they have come to accept human scent, and don't react as negatively to it.  This situation occurs along fence lines that farmers often walk when checking cattle, near roadways that see walkers or joggers or nature hikers and even in fringe cover near active farmsteads.  If your scent shows up in these places it will be noted, but the deer aren't nearly as prone to change their patterns as a result. 

          On the other hand, human intrusion discovered in sanctuaries is another story.  In short order the deer will move on, or become extremely cautious.  In human terms, a deer's reaction to our presence in these places is similar to the difference between you or I seeing a stranger walking past our house on the sidewalk vs. finding him sitting in front of our television.  That's a big difference!

          High activity areas are dangerous places to hunt for a more basic reason: when there are lots of deer passing your stand you have the potential to educate lots of deer.  That’s a bad risk to take on the first few days of a weeklong hunting vacation.  These are the reasons that I advocate a slow start and strong finish.

          I’ve mapped out a different way to think about your hunt this year.  By starting cautiously and increasing your pressure in stages you keep the maximum number of deer from realizing they are being hunted for as long as possible while still hunting good stands every day.  In other words, this approach allows you to make the most of a limited hunting area in a limited amount of time.

THE ULTIMATE WEEK

(Note: this goes with the sketch above)

          I sketched out a hypothetical hunting area that contains many of the terrain, sign and cover elements found throughout the whitetail’s range.  While it may not look exactly like your hunting area, the principles involved are universal and will work just as well in North Carolina as they do in North Dakota.  Let’s start out by assuming that the most active spot on the property is listed as location number 6.  In the past this is where you would have started.  This year it’s where you’ll finish.

          Day one: Now is the time to be conservative.  Hopefully, you have at least one stand hanging in a low impact travel route.  An example is the fence line stand marked number 1 in the sketch.  This is a great starting point.  It is easy to get to and from this spot without spooking deer – a very important quality of any great stand.  Figure out the best route to the stand to avoid the maximum number of deer.  That means following fence line in from the south.  In the morning you have to contend with the possibility of deer feeding the open fields.  Wait until first light so you can see if the coast is clear before approaching the stand.  There will still be buck traffic coming past the stand well into the morning hours.

          Day two: If your stands are already up you can move on.  If not, hunt location 1 in the morning and then shift over to location 2 at midday carrying a stand in with you.  Don’t make a special trip to put it up during this part of the season.  That will create too much impact.

          Now it’s time to increase the pressure slightly.  If this were my hunting area, location number 2 would likely be my favorite stand.  It is located at the head of ditch that separates two bedding areas used heavily by does.  Bucks will travel between the bedding areas regularly as the rut starts to peak and the ditch will funnel them past your stand.  You can access this spot easily for a morning hunt by using the creek and then walking right in the ditch itself for cover.  If the wind is right (westerly) I wouldn’t be afraid to sit in stand 2 several times during a weeklong hunt.

          The fact that location 2 is a fairly long ways from what you feel is the area’s hottest spot (location 6) shouldn’t worry you; bucks move a lot during the rut and this is a great spot.

          Day three: Again, if your stands are up move on.  If not, hunt location 2 in the morning and carry a stand to location 3 at midday.  Now you’re edging a little closer to the hotspot.  Location 3 is in a fairly narrow creek bottom overlooking a heavy trail that parallels the creek bank.  You can increase the odds a little by also finding a creek crossing that brings in another travel pattern.  Again, access it by walking in the creek (if it’s shallow enough) or at least try to hug the water’s edge while staying down below the creek bank.

          Day four: Location 4 is only an evening spot.  Getting into a feeding area like this in the morning is too risky.  You have three good choices for your morning hunt: locations 1, 2 or 3.  Which one you choose depends upon wind direction, what you saw from each stand the first time you hunted it and whether or not you got busted by deer.  They’re all good choices.

          The afternoon hunt on a food source makes very good sense.  Does will be coming to the isolated field and bucks will follow them.  You are now very close to your hunting area’s core, the sanctity of which you’ve protected dutifully for several days.  Carry your stand in and pick the spot that offers two things: a wind advantage and a way out at the end of legal shooting time.  Getting back to your vehicle will be tough, but do what you have to do.  You probably want to try to slip out by dropping down into the draw and following it east and then north to the road after shooting hours.

          Day five: You really need to have this spot up in advance of the season, because it’s primarily a morning spot.  Location 5 is made great by the fact that bucks will come to the bedding area looking for does for the better part of the morning.  Find a low impact access route, probably coming in through the timber from the north after walking up the creek to avoid bumping into deer that are leaving the nearby crop fields in the morning.  Take advantage of any ditches or ravines to avoid being seen or heard when approaching the stand.

          Day six: This is the day you’ve been dreaming about all summer.  You’re finally hunting the stand that overlooks the big scrapes and trails in the bottom of the draw.  By now you realize that there’s nothing magical about this spot.  It’s not a whole lot better than the others you’ve already hunted, but your impact here is greater and has the potential to do more damage to your chances if not properly managed.  That’s why we’ve saved it for the end of your hunt.  Again, like location 5, location 6 is a morning spot. 

          Come in along the creek from the south to avoid the feeding areas.  You should plan on getting in early so you beat the deer back to the cover.  Some will begin drifting back well before dawn.  Stay on stand until at least noon and then slip up the ridge and into the stand you’ve got at location 7 for the afternoon hunt.  The wind is liable to be a problem at location 6 as the heavy sign is located in the creek bottom below the bedding ridge.  It’s a one shot deal, but a good one.  It’s worth taking a bit more risk because the hunt is almost over.  Bucks bedding on both primary ridges are likely to come past the scrapes after they get on their feet in mid-afternoon. 

          Day seven: This is a free day.  What locations showed the most promise as you hunted them earlier?  You don’t have to be nearly as conservative now because it’s the last gasp.  Of course, you don’t want to bump deer out on the way to the stand, so you still have to hunt smart, but any one of the stands is in play.  Go with your instincts.  A good plan might be to hunt one of the bedding ridges in the morning (locations 2, 5 and 6) and then hunt the scrape line at location 7 or the feeding area at location 4 in the evening.

          The Wild card: The only unknown is wind direction.  It may not cooperate perfectly, so don’t get too hung up on sticking to the “letter of the law”.  But just as importantly, don’t deviate from its spirit.  In other words, don’t hunt sensitive high activity areas (locations 5 through 7) until the end of the week regardless of wind direction.

          In summary, a gradual increase in pressure is the key to success when you have only a limited area to hunt and an entire week to hunt it.  You don’t want to burn it out right away, but then again, by the end of the hunt you have nothing to lose.  Only then does it make sense to be aggressive.

Sidebar: Put the Plan into Action

          Now you have a basic strategy outline for the hunting season but you still need to put it into operation where you hunt.        Scouting during the season is always a dicey proposition.  You might be able to learn a lot about the deer in your hunting area but your scent and presence also has the potential to make them more cautious.  If you don’t know your hunting area well enough to determine which areas are the most and least sensitive to hunting pressure I suggest that you first grab an aerial photo and use it to help you think this through. 

          In the process, consider your access route.  An area that is difficult to access without bumping into deer must be considered more sensitive than similar types of areas that are easier to approach and exit.

          Spend the first few days of hunting focused on the best stands you can find in the areas you’ve determined to have the lowest sensitivity.  Don’t make any preliminary scouting trips, but instead carry the stand in when you go to hunt the area.  You may not hit the absolute best spot but the element of surprise more than makes up for this shortcoming.  As the season progresses, follow the same routine in what you believe to be the higher sensitivity areas.