Same hunting spot over and over?

[acwatkins]

How many times do you hunt a certain spot on your hunting land? Is it ok to keep on going to the same spot? Im just wondering if the deer are starting to be more cautious of the area as I've been busted 3 times...

 

[engineerbrian]

My stand and my neighbors stand have been in the same place for ~10 years. We shoot about 25-30 deer a year, so my vote is that it doesnt matter

 

[mdoutdoorsmen]

I know a lot of people that do but I like to move around deer will pattern you better then you can pattern them

 

[BigDaddy]

Deer remember when they see someone in a stand who moves, coughs or makes noise. I hunt at a commercial place in SC. Every stand has had 100 people in it before me. Deer come out and look right at the stand. If you are still and in a reasonable amount of camo, they will keep coming. If the wind is wrong, you may never see them in the first place.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

I've taken 30+ deer on the same 11 acres of land in the last 9 years.

I'll kill one. Then stay away for a couple/few weeks. Then go whack another one. Two within 30 minutes if I'm lucky.

I saw 6 the last time I was out and 8 the time before that. But since they received their copy of the DNR regulations, they knew it was crossbow season again and refused to come within range.

 

[Doctor_M]

The ones that walk by my spot don't get to tell their friends about it :-) Have been largely hunting under the same tree for 20+ years. It doesn't matter at all.

 

[ryu]

I move about 100 yds in a forested area from year to year, depending on where I see deer. My hunting partner has shot two in two days in the same spot, practically on top of each other. As always, deer are most concerned about smell and movement.

 

[mark71211]

I have been hunting the same two spots for the last 15 years. I take two deer every year from those spots and see a avg of three deer every time I hunt. I think that after the first couple sits the deer get use to seeing me sitting in my stand.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

A neighbor in WV took a few deer every year in the same spot, for the better part of 30 years.

If you are along the right kind of trail, that the deer follow like a religion, due to the terrain, then you are golden.

 

[Rocky BearDog]

My dad's got 2 permanent stands on his 20 acres in eastern Washington state. He's been limiting out for 25 years. When my brothers or I hunt there - same thing.

 

[danb]

Deer are creatures of habit. They learn where they do not get shot, and stick to those trails. Does show their fawns where not to go. There are very few places where the terrain or layout is such that deer will travel a trail even when they think it's dangerous.

Randomize your location.

 

[BossmanPJ]

I move between two spots. I have a blind in the corner of a cornfield along a feed trail, and a stand about 40 acres away on the other end of the cornfield along a major path.

I have been busted this year in both spots while sneaking to my hunting areas. Not sure it matters. The deer still come around.

 

[outrider58]

It depends. Gun stands hold up much longer than bow stands for obvious reasons. Bow stands burn out much faster because they tend to be more 'in your face' positions(right off trails etc) whereas gun stands are more 'stand off and shoot' type placements.

 

[BigSteve57]

I have 3 spots about 100-200 yards apart that due to the terrain happen to be arranged in a large arc. I'll change spots on different days.

 

[Derwood]

I think what everyone said above is right. It also depends on how you hunt. If you go in smelly and noisy, and the deer are pressured, your stand could burn out for the rest of the season. If you slip in and out carefully, you're fine. I've got four stands at my hunting spot but I almost always go to the same stand because I've learned the deer's patterns there. Last year I shot one, dragged it out and my brother then went in and got one about two hours later.

 

[wilcam47]

I've taken 30+ deer on the same 11 acres of land in the last 9 years.

I'll kill one. Then stay away for a couple/few weeks. Then go whack another one. Two within 30 minutes if I'm lucky.

I saw 6 the last time I was out and 8 the time before that. But since they received their copy of the DNR regulations, they knew it was crossbow season again and refused to come within range.

Im up around 6 deer and one elk on my almost 9 acres...Usually a few days after a kill the animals come back in. The ones Im having trouble getting are the big bucks. I think this is because of the hunting pressure in the area.