Pennsylvania Game News - May 2009 - 58

PLACING a treestand in a conifer tree helps in breaking up a hunter’s outline, and it’s hard to argue with success. easier at the end of the season. After choosing a stand site I make sure nothing interferes with a potential shot. The easiest way to do this is to bring a friend to help hang the stand and to help clear shooting lanes. While I’m in the tree and my friend is on the ground, it’s easy to decide which twigs need to be removed or which branch needs trimming. From my stand I can easily point out the twigs and branches that need pruning and direct my friend accordingly. Things look different from the air than they do on the ground and without someone to help, the single hunter will make many trips up and down the tree before suitable shooting lanes are cut. Effective treestand placement also means placing it where it won’t be affected by the rising or setting sun. If I expect to hunt a stand in the morning, I avoid placing it facing east because the rising sun will be shining into my eyes and highlight me against the morning sky. Conversely, a westward facing stand can be just as bad for an evening hunt because the setting sun can be just as much of a problem. If, however, I have no choice, I often set two stands in the same location, one facing west for morning hunts and one facing east for evening hunts. Hunting stands located near field edges can be ineffective for morning hunts, because deer are likely to be feeding in the fields during the nighttime hours. For morning hunts, placing a stand on a bench or flat hilltop above the fields below will enable a hunter to intercept deer as they make their way to bedding areas. By sneaking through the woods in the dark I’m in my stand before the deer begin moving uphill from the fields. Conversely, hunting near the field edges or food sources is the best strategy in the evening, because a hunter can usually get to his stand before 58 the deer arrive from their bedding areas higher on the hill. To spend hours in a treestand the hunter needs to be as comfortable as possible, because moving and fidgeting while on watch can be a recipe for failure. In my opinion, the seats built into most, if not all, commercially made treestands are too low for my comfort so I never sit. They may be okay for those with supple joints or short legs, but I find sitting for hours with my knees bent to be more difficult than standing. One of the most effective tricks I’ve learned when hunting from a tree is to have something on which to lean while remaining vertical in the stand. I have a small, homemade tree seat I use to take the weight off my legs while I’m in the tree. Commercially made tree seats are available and they work fine because they can be attached to the tree trunk any height above the platform. I like using them because they are lightweight, portable, and can be positioned in the most comfortable position for any hunter. It should be noted that manufacturers don’t recommend their use in trees, but this objection seems to be more of a liability issue than anything else, and if a hunter is buckled into a fall restraint system, as he should be, I don’t see it as a problem. Besides, I don’t actually sit; I simply lean back and rest my butt on the seat. That way I can take the weight off my feet and stand GAME NEWS

Pennsylvania Game News - May 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - May 2009