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Lots Of Water

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Lots Of Water

Postby Swede » 03 01, 2017 •  [Post 1]

You want to place a tree stand out in your elk hunting area. You would like to hunt on the ground some, but also desire to do some stand hunting. You have one good tree stand and enough steps plus equipment to rig a safe solid perch. In your hunting area there are a lot of trails, some good wallows and many springs. How will you go about deciding where to hang your stand?
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Re: Lots Of Water

Postby stringunner » 03 03, 2017 •  [Post 2]

Buy a stand for every tree you want to sit in! Lol j/k you will be broke fast.

We faced this exact dilemma 5-6 years ago when we got tired of running and gunning and pushing the elk onto the ranch. We started purchasing game cameras. Started with 2 and now we have 12. We move them around from year to year checking new spots and trying to forget old ones (that look so good but never produce). This helped us narrow down where to sit and when between 6 stands that my dad and I own. We also changed our scouting routine from being up there 1-2 times in the summer to being up there 1-2 times per month starting in April. In the past 6 years our knowledge of the area has increased so much. And our kill rate has proven it. Between Dad and I, 6 elk (4 bulls and 2 cows) and 4-5 mule deer in 6 years. With plenty of missed shots that we made that could have/should have been punched tags. Prior to this I had shot at a total of 2 elk and killed one in 5/6 years of hunting hard and my dad 1 elk and a couple missed shots.

Time in the woods, knowledge of the area, and game cameras working for us, has been the game changer. Learning from these forums, reading Swedes book, and since befriending Swede and Oly has also played a big part in our educational success as well.
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Re: Lots Of Water

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 03 03, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Good thread ;) .
Early in the archery season, wallows can certainly be an attractor and worthy of a stand; not just for a mid day cooling mud bath, but, there's a lot of stink there that elk like to re-visit and re-stink. Like stringunner mentioned, getting to know the area "well" (scouting, hunting several seasons, and annual trail cam deployment) can pay dividends in patterning the indigenous population and setting up at likely spots elk may move to, through, or from. I'd say for other than early morning/right before dark sits, a hunter would maximize their odds by setting their stand somewhat close to known bedding areas (gasp, what did he say!!). Back in line with the early season wallow location comment, a hunter can also create their own locational "attractors" as it were. A few mineral blocks, accompanied by 10-15 lbs of a pellet salt product dug in and placed in the ground during the early summer, can certainly create an attractor potentially worth a TS spot come hunting season. Just ensure that it is legal to bait/feed wild ungulates in the state you hunt and further, confirm it's legal to "hunt" over said bait. I've found that small or large, hidden open spots, in the midst of alder jungles seem to get some mid day elk traffic also.. I think they like to get out and stretch their legs on occasion :D. Take all this with a grain of salt coming from a guy with minimal experience TS hunting (grin).
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Re: Lots Of Water

Postby Lefty » 03 03, 2017 •  [Post 4]

I found a few small drainages in a row where the water exited the ground , soaked back in for 50-100 yards , and all over again. the game and cattle trails were perpendicular to the small draws. In this case one spring was hit many times more than the rest,.. and it has great trees above the water.

while there may be many sources of water big game tend to like one location over the rest.
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Re: Lots Of Water

Postby Swede » 03 04, 2017 •  [Post 5]

I am curious Lefty. Was the one that was hit often the first one they would come to when traveling through the area? Was it the first one from their bedding area on the way to where they feed?
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