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 Tree stand view.... 
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King of Spring

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 8:30 pm
Posts: 988
Location: Lexington
Post Tree stand view....
I did a thread like this last year and it worked out well for me so here's another for this year.

We had some logging done in the Spring....a few patches of planted loblolly thinned along with some other select cut. A smaller patch of loblolly butted up against a couple of acres of mature cedar. These cedars were very heavily thinned out by the loggers (used for fuel chips). There's always been a lot of deer activity in these cedars. I never hunted among them because it was too thick. I did have a stand in some more open hardwoods on a steep hill above a small stream that wraps around in front of the cedars. I decided to move that stand about 100 yards into the thinned out cedars. Here is a pic of the stand. It is 20' to the platform. This pic was taken from about 25 yards away. I was standing in a hay field that is about 20 acres and forms the uphill boarder of the cedars. The stand is facing the other direction, down the hill.

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This is the view from the stand back into the field. The hay has already been cut. There is always lots of deer feeding activity in that field through winter.

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There is a very pronounced skid trail about 60 yards down the hill from my stand and to the right, that emerges where the cedars and the loblolly meet. It peters out in the cedars. I took a weedeater and cut a swath from the skid trail out into the field. I did this so that the deer would be less likely to use the path I had cut from the the field to my stand as their travel path. Here is the view form the stand to the left. You can see the trail I cut. I had a cam hung over the skid trail earlier in the summer and got lots of deer pics so they were already using the skid trail then.

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View straight downhill from the stand.

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Looking to the right where the cedars end into hardwoods....former location of this stand.

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Ground level view of the path I had cut from the field.

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View of the area right after logging was finished.

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This stand should be good for bow season. There is lots of pokeberry and alanthus coming up that has been heavily browsed. Plus this has always been a natural travel corridor from deer bedding on the neighbors coming up to feed in the field. However, I have found a few trees dropping acorns which seem scarcer this year, so I may hunt them during bow season and save this for muzzleloader.

I've been getting pics of this buck all summer....so hoping to get a shot at him from this stand or another.

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Thu Sep 10, 2015 10:31 pm
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Jake

Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:29 pm
Posts: 34
Location: King George
Post Re: Tree stand view....
Your stand sites look pretty good! Best of luck to you this season!


Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:24 pm
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King of Spring

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:22 pm
Posts: 310
Location: bland county va.
Post Re: Tree stand view....
looks great. hope you get him. cant wait to see the pictures..


Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:35 am
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Boss Gobbler

Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2004 10:59 pm
Posts: 2851
Location: Roanoke
Post Re: Tree stand view....
Looks nice Neil! I can't wait to see the hero shot :mrgreen:

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"What gets us jangly is the suddenness of everything. We hunt turkeys because we want to hear them gobble, watch them strut and all that, and we hunt them with shotguns because we want to be close to them when those things occur." - Jim Spencer


Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:23 am
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King of Spring

Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 7:40 am
Posts: 2696
Location: Baltimore, MD
Post Re: Tree stand view....
Beautiful! I am sure a few deer will meet their dimise with that set up. Only thing I wonder about is how open you are in that stand. I like to be concealed more than that. For firearm it isn't as critical. Keep us apprised!
Vic

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Vic

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
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Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:46 am
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King of Spring

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 8:30 pm
Posts: 988
Location: Lexington
Post Re: Tree stand view....
This stand ends up getting mixed reviews on the year. The location is great. I stayed out during bow season because I was getting no activity on a trailcam. I figured later when they start hitting the fields it will be great for movement, and it has been. I did realize but there are a lot of mast trees left in the thinned timber. Several wild pear and persimmon, a couple oaks, and even a honey locust, which is the only one I'm aware of on the property.

The downside is a lot of shots 150-200 yards and I can't get a solid rest in the hang on. The seat as a slight bounce to it that prevents me from using elbow to knee bracing effectively. And shots behind the tree out in the field also end up being freehand. As a result...I missed 2 very nice bucks, on ML one rifle :oops: I did kill a doe here during rifle.

The solution I think will be to reposition so that I can cover the field and the timber in 180 degrees. I may need to pick a different tree, that remains to be seen. I will try a Caldwell tree pod for a rest. Appreciate feedback if anybody's tried it already.


Sat Dec 19, 2015 10:37 pm
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Longbeard

Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 12:22 pm
Posts: 176
Location: Smithfield, VA
Post Re: Tree stand view....
My suggestion is to purchase a ladder stand with a shooting rail in the discounted off season period. And if it looks like this may be a gun only stand maybe tuck it back in the cover a little more. Sounds like a super location.


Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:00 pm
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