So how's everyone doing for the 2006 season?

[adkRoy]

Last year my ladder stand was 15 feet. I added a 5 foot extentsion this year and am back up to 20 feet where I used to hang my portable. 

[archbishop]

i very rarely get into a tree, but 20' is about where i go, depending on the tree and the underlying brush, if you cant get over 10' its not really worth being in the tree, you cant see all that great a distance and your scent is still around the ground level?

[fshnfool]

i very rarely get into a tree

you hunt from a blind arch?

[adkRoy]

you hunt from a blind arch?

I think he hunts blind

[archbishop]

I think he hunts blind

no, i always have at least 1 eye open

no, i still hunt or spot and stalk, i cant sit still in a tree.

[adkRoy]

no, i still hunt or spot and stalk, i cant sit still in a tree.

That Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder still giving you trouble?

[archbishop]

That Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder still giving you trouble?

no, i just dont believe in letting the deer come to you, i like the feeling of finding the deer and getting close enough for a shot, especially with a bow, i like being just off the deer routes and around the bedding area, not having to worry about the wind switching on me in my stand, because i can easily adjust, its just a personall preference, mostly due top the fact i am a self taught hunter so i had to learn on the ground to know about scrapes, rubs, corridors, etc... plus i never had money for stands or blinds until i was older. its been 16 years and i just never got used to waiting for the deer although opening day of gun season i get way back into the stateland on a climber and let the cityots push the deer right to me, other than that im usually on foot.

[fshnfool]

I just can't see me sneaking up close enough to get a decent shot (w/ a bow) without getting noticed, either heard or winded,  so I've been either tucked away in the brush or in my stand.

[bighillbilly]

I'm uncomfortable over 20 feet and actually spend most of my time at 15 feet or less.  One of my best stands gets me only 10 feet off the ground, but the cover on that tree keeps me hidden so well you don't get busted.  All depends on the tree I guess.  Honestly, I think the distance off the ground doesn't make as big a difference as picking the right tree with back cover, wind direction, sun, etc.

[The Smokestick Kid]

As far as gun hunting goes, if I'm hunting somewhere that I'm not real familiar with, I'll hunt from the ground.  I'll usually position myself on a bank, if the wind allows for it.  The reasoning is I don't always know exactly where I'm going, and I hate to carry my climber in if I might not be using it anyway. For example, one of the spots I've been hunting this year is between an apple orchard and a creek.  The trees are mostly knarly old maples, or scrubby apple trees.  I don't see the point in carrying in the stand if I can't use it...it makes dragging a deer out that much more difficult (even though my stand, a Summit Bullet Backpacker, is REALLY light).  I generally only use it on my own property, and on other farms I hunt...and occasionally in state land near home that I've spent a lot of time in, and know right where I'm going.    

As far as stand heigh goes, BHB hit it on the head.  On my property, we have TONS of oaks...I mean, it seems like every tree is an oak, other than a stand of hemlocks and a willow thicket.  A lot of the trees are branch free, and straight as can be, and require me to climb or place my hang-ons at about 20 feet.  However, one of my ladder stands is in a short oak, along a beaten trail.  The trail runs through a really thick area of blowdowns...a natural funnel.  We call it the 10 yarder, because the only shot you have when the deer is directly in front of you, about (you guessed it) 10 yards away.  This stand is only 10 feet maybe (homemade ladder), but the location is so perfect that you can get away with it.   

-Zach

[adkRoy]

I went out for a few hours after work on a friend's farm. It was very windy and cold with occasional sprinkles. I saw no deer but I did see thousands of geese fly over head. The whole time I was out there all I heard was the geese honking! That gets kind of annoying after awhile. I did notice as I was walking to my stand tons of coyote scat all over the fields. I might have to do some predator control this winter over there.

[bighillbilly]

Just got off the phone with a friend who was hunting this morning around Letchworth State Park.  Saw over a dozen deer and rattled in a small 8 pt.  Looks like the front coming in combined with some rutting activity has them on the move today.  Probably going to be forced to do some fishing this weekend.  60 mph winds forecasted for Sunday and pouring rain totaling an inch or more on Saturday.

[archbishop]

Just got off the phone with a friend who was hunting this morning around Letchworth State Park.  Saw over a dozen deer and rattled in a small 8 pt.  Looks like the front coming in combined with some rutting activity has them on the move today.  Probably going to be forced to do some fishing this weekend.  60 mph winds forecasted for Sunday and pouring rain totaling an inch or more on Saturday.

your welcome to join us for some perch on sunday.

[adkRoy]

Well I got out Friday afternoon after work for about 2 1/2 hours. As soon as I got in my treestand a 4 pointer came out into the field next to my stand and fed for about 20 minutes. He would not come any closer nor would he respond to the grunter. At 5:30 I had a big redish-brown coyote come out into the field hunting mice. He took off when he scented me. At 6:00 a bowhunter came out into the field and when I whistled and yelled hey buddy, he went tearing back into the woods faster than the coyote. I guess he knew he didn't belong there. I saw 2 doe right before dark. Nothing close enough to get a shot at but still nice to see. Saturday was a total washout and Sunday we were getting high winds and windgusts at over 70 mph. The wind was so strong my ladder stand was being picked up of the ground and slammed back down by the tree it was attached to.

[DeerReaver]

Hunted Friday afternoon from 2:00pm until 5:30pm when heavy rain drove me from the stand.  Didn't see any deer, though I did see a hunter come walking down the hill towards my stand (2nd time I've seen a hunter instead of deer). 

Put up treestands on Saturday due to the rain, though I did have a 6 pt in the sights...always carry your equipment in rain and high winds because you just never know when you might cross paths with a deer.

High winds on Sunday forced me to still hunt rather then hunt from a treestand.  Had an encounter with a big doe...shot too high at 20yards and I believe the arrow penetrated in between the spine and the lungs.  For the first 60 yards she was bleeding from both sides...then slowed down to drops and rubs against trees.  Went out again this morning and searched longer with no luck...contacted the DEC licensed dogs and I'm waiting to hear from them.