To Trim or Not To Trim
Posted By
Joe Knochel
at
11/25/2009 12:00:00 AM
To Trim or Not To Trim…..
By: Dean Gericke
How many shooting lanes to cut is like picking a new bow….personal preference. My camera man Cal Childers is on one extreme. He spends hours preparing a stand sight by trimming lanes a full 360 degrees around the tree. I on the other hand will only cut a couple lanes where I expect the deer to come in and I can get this work done quickly and get out of the area. I will be the first to admit I run the risk of not getting a shot at a deer if it comes in where I don’t expect it. However, I work very hard to position my stands to minimize the chances of this happening, and to date it hasn’t (knock on wood). Both of my deer this year were taken where I expected them to travel and at very close range (10 yds.). Here are some key points that I watch for while cutting my lanes:
1) I usually only cut 2 lanes that are about 60 – 90 degrees apart from each other. That gives me two shot opportunities and keeps the hard “quartering to” shots to a minimum. Having two lanes gives me the opportunity to get that quartering away shot depending on the deer’s direction of travel. The lanes are about 6 – 10 ft. wide where I expect the deer to be which will give me plenty of time to get the deer stopped for a shot.
2) I pay special attention on how I cut trees and trim the branches….I try to cut them at my head level (above the deer’s line of sight) and try to fall them so none of the exposed tree trunk or trimmed branches can be seen by the deer. Deer are very attuned to their surroundings and exposing the light colored inside of a tree or branch can tip them off that you are in the area or something has changed. I have seen deer shy away from a freshly cut tree that wasn’t cut above the deer’s line of sight. Deer do see trees that have fallen naturally, but if it looks like a mad forester has come through the area, that is not good and I believe does spook deer.
Minimizing the amount of trimming helps on a couple of fronts. First, the extra branches and brush helps keep the hunter and camera man more concealed especially if the stand is close to the trail (which I strive for). Second, less scent is put down while trimming and there is less disruption in the woods while performing the work. I believe this is important when you are making stand adjustments while you are hunting.
I also like to trim my lanes after the foliage is off. Many times, if trimming is done while the leaves are on, it becomes apparent that too many branches and trees are removed after the leaves have fallen. This will leave you with plenty of shooting lanes, but too exposed later in the season. Just like in carpentry, measure twice and cut once.
Good luck the rest of the season and be safe out there!
