Monday, July 21, 2008
Choosing The Right Tree
Choosing the Right Tree
By:Michael Turbyfill Jr.
Cole Outdoors Pro-Staff
We’ve all had to go through the frustration of having a new bow hunting spot and not being able to pick the tree for our stand, or once the stand is hung, second-guessing our decision. Whether its months before season and your trying to picture what the woods will look like come October, or you’ve snuck in during the pre-rut and want to get in and out quick, your stand is in hand, and you cannot figure out what to do with it. Taking several logical factors into consideration can make picking the right tree as easy as squeezing your arrow release.
By:Michael Turbyfill Jr.
Cole Outdoors Pro-Staff
We’ve all had to go through the frustration of having a new bow hunting spot and not being able to pick the tree for our stand, or once the stand is hung, second-guessing our decision. Whether its months before season and your trying to picture what the woods will look like come October, or you’ve snuck in during the pre-rut and want to get in and out quick, your stand is in hand, and you cannot figure out what to do with it. Taking several logical factors into consideration can make picking the right tree as easy as squeezing your arrow release.
If I have chosen a good spot, two things are bound to happen: A shooter buck is going to enter my area, and a shooter buck is going to exit my area. I ask myself a simple question: “Where is he going to walk?” If it’s early in the season, I am looking for trails he may come down or an apple or oak tree that he may stop under. Later, I’m concentrating scrape and rub lines, or trails that I know does frequent. Once I have decided where a buck will be walking, I know what I need to be in bow range of. Now it’s time to pick the tree. There are a couple of basic characteristics that I look for in a good tree. I want the tree to be wider than my body so that I am not only concealed from behind me, but because a skinny tree with a big lump of camo sitting in it, isn’t very convincing to a big buck, even from the front. I would like the tree to have enough branches to help conceal me, but not too many that it limits my shots or camera footage. Once I have found several trees that are wide enough, I begin thinking about how high I will need to be in order to maximize my opportunity at my new spot. Can I see the corn field? Is there a dip or valley 100 yards from my spot that I need to be high enough to see approaching deer in? Is the tree barren until 25 feet up, and then branches out for concealment? If I go 25 feet up instead of 20 will I still have all my shooting lanes open or will I be trimming branches until season is over? Am I high enough that a buck won’t see me draw my bow? Choose a height for your stand that will allow your spot work.
By now, I will be down to just a tree or two that will work for my spot. I will pick my favorite one and hang my steps and stand(s). The first thing I will do when I climb in my stand is get out my compass and decide what wind direction(s) I will be able to hunt during. I will pretend to draw my bow and visualize where my shots could be taken. I make sure that if a buck passes within range, I have several lanes to which he will be broadside.I use this logic virtually every time I hang stands in a new spot. It is like a mental checklist that I go over before I strap my stand to the wrong tree. If you employ a basic strategy like this one the next time you take a stand to the woods, you won’t be left scratching your head or second-guessing your tree selection. Best of luck this fall and most importantly, BE SAFE!Turb