I have a few questions for other white tail hunters. Just trying to add to my personal library of info.
1) How many times in a row do you hunt the same spot, how frequently?
2) How long do you stay in your stand/blind once you get there?
3) How do you decide where to hunt? ( Near a trail, near a rub, in the trees next to a field, over a field, deep in the woods.
4) How many deer do you typically see, how many do you shoot?

Personally,1) I have just decided to never hunt the same spot more than once in 10 days.
2)I can only stay put for 3 hours.
3)I usually hunt within 20 yds of a deer trail.
4)And I usually see about 3 deer per day, but I haven't had the right opportunity to shoot yet this year.I've seen probably 30 deer.

Assuming we're talking about bow-hunting...

1) I try not to sit in the same stand more than once in a week.

2) I will sit as long as my butt and my bladder allow-- which is rarely more than three hours.

3) I place my stands within 20 yards of places where I know deer travel (I've been hunting the same property for 16 years now, so I know patterns pretty well.) This means they are typically along funnels and corners of woodlots surrounded by open areas. My most productive location over the years is a spot where the space between a large pond and a cornfield is only 50 yards at the widest. These places will also, by definition, be spots where you are likely to see lots of rubs and scrapes.

4) As to how many deer I see each day...Well, it depends. Some days I see a lot, some not so many. Some conditions, times of year and times of day are better than others. But I have always maintained that the best time to go hunting is whenever you can, so I often find myself hunting at times I'm not as likely to see deer.

Actually I was talking about whatever, but I do tend to hunt like a bow hunter, though I don't bow hunt.
Probably not the most productive thing to do.

You might hunt the same spot over and over and maybe not. It may have the historically best odds, but the field may not be planted right for it this year or it may not have paid off recently, or a hundred other things.

Basically, it's like this - it's different each trip you make and depends on the circumstances at the moment. The business of out-guessing the deer is agonized over the entire day before and while trying to sleep the night before and on the drive out to the farm at 4:00 a.m. and frequently not decided til we actually arrive and someone asks "ok, where are you going to hunt today". And it's always a crap shoot, based on the weather of the day, wind, field conditions, who's already shot what and where, where the deer were last seen, what size deer are you hunting, who wants to go where, whether we brought the 4-wheeler this trip (to retrieve deer from remote places), how long everyone has til they must leave, etc etc.

So the straight up answer is, there really is no answer possible beyond what the deal today is.

The only parts that are fairly definite are getting to the stand about 6 a.m. (which is when it starts getting light) and agreeing to leave at 10 a.m., which is about the latest you can most of the time expect to see anything on morning hunts. And afternoon hunts are generally from 3 to about 5 p.m., or about close of legal shooting. As far as how close to a trail, I think we all like to be somewhat close but definitely not right on the trail.

I usually hunt afternoons, mornings I seem to spook more deer getting to my spot than anything else. I hunt until the last second of shooting time, and usually don't leave my stand untiol it's fully dark. I like to watch the night creep in and that's when I get to see mose of the animals. The deer don't spook when I walk out in the dark like they would if it was lighter.

I have hunted out of the same tree stand morning & afternoon for 3 straight days & see plenty of deer at each session. When the acorns are falling deer will be in the oaks. When the acorns are gone you just see passing deer through. It is not unusual for us to kill a deer in the morning and another in the afternoon out of a large food plot late in the season when that is their main food source.

My point about average number of deer seen is location, location and finally location.

If I am in a large comfortable stand I stay up 4 hurs or until my candy or cookies run out. In the morning I get up when there is enough light to walk in the woods without a light, in the afternoon I get up 4 hours before dark and get down when I can't see well enough to tell the difference between a buck & doe.

Buy this book and read it for the next year over and over again.

Buy maps of your hunting area and set stands by this book.

It is the best book I have read on the subject of "Where to hunt deer"

It works!!!! I recommend it highly!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-...erndon/dp/0873495039

Thanks! I'm putting it on my christmas list.
I never know what I should get, I LOVE recommendations from people who have already bought books, and know what is good.

quote:

Originally posted by frank4570:
1) How many times in a row do you hunt the same spot, how frequently?

It varies depending on "Who" has Hunted it and if it is a Close-Up Stand or a Long Distance Stand. On the Close-Up Stands, we prefer 1-2 Hunts per week. On the Long Distance Stands, they might get 1-4 Hunts per week. If a Fidget Hunted from either one, we might let it set idle 3-4 weeks.

quote:

2) How long do you stay in your stand/blind once you get there?

Depends on the time of the year, the weather and for sure the Moon. Sometimes only the "Prime Time"(Twilight Periods), sometimes arrive at 9-10AM and Hunt until Dark. It is very important to decide a day or two ahead of the Hunt so you can get your normal body functions ready.

quote:

3) How do you decide where to hunt? Near a trail, near a rub, in the trees next to a field, over a field, deep in the woods.

It primarily depends on what the Deer are eating at the time, water availability, and where we locate high traffic areas(lotsa Tracks), aka Deer Interstates. We have designated some of the Historic Deer Interstates with numbering systems like "D-25" which is similar to I-95 being an Interstate.

quote:

4) How many deer do you typically see, how many do you shoot?

Zero to a thousand. Or if you have access to Camp LeJeune, you can cut across it and see 2000-5000 Deer during the night. Typical to see 50-100 on the Long Distance Stands, but it depends on the Crops. When the crops are removed, some Deer are too far away and some too small(don't mention that to the folks growing the crops ). On the Close-Up Stands, you might typically see 4-25 and occasionally Zero.

We shoot a lot of Deer.