How high should the stand be.

Over the years I have experimented with how high I should really be in the tree to stay out of sight from the deer and have come up with a fifteen foot range 15-30 feet for bow hunting.  This is due to the fact that deer do not usually look up into the trees since they have no predators up there.  The range though allows you to stay out of the way of 2 of their sensory organs, their nose and their eyes.  If you are above fifteen feet in the air you are right at the bottom range of being high enough to be undetected.  The ideal range is 20-25 feet because  this will for sure keep you out of sight and the deer will have a harder time smelling you as well down wind since your scent will be higher up in the trees.  Now 30 feet is a little excessive for the bow hunter because at that height the shot angle window to hit both lungs decreases to a very small window.  It takes a lot of time to figure out what is the right height for you to bow hunt at, but now all of my stands are in the 20-25 feet range and have had extraordinarily good luck at this range.  Now gun hunters your range is not as significant, just climb the tree until you have a good view of your surroundings and that is where you should be since your weapon has a much more significant range it really does not matter how high your stand is.  So everyone reading hope this has helped you out and happy hunting.

Trick of the Trade

So we have all heard that eating breakfast is the most important meal of the day, since it helps fuel your body for the rest of the day.  Well I don't know about everyone else but I find it hard to cook something at like 4am when you are used to getting up at a much later time.  So most of the time I will go without breakfast before hunting and this tends to lead to problems.  It is much easier to fall asleep when you are out in the stand and also if your body does not have enough sugars it will start to make you feel sick which will shorten up your time that you stay out in the stand.  Well I have had this happen to me and I radioed my dad to tell him that I was getting out of my stand to go back to the truck and go back to sleep till he got there so I could feel better.  Well his response was did you eat breakfast?  So of course I said no, to which he said well come down here and get some hard candy it will make your brain think that it is getting fed and will make you feel better till we get done hunting.  Thank god he did this for me because not even an hour after I got back to my stand a big based 13 pointer walked five yards from my stand and now he is hanging on my wall.  So now I have learned my lesson and bring hard candy out with me just in case something like that were to happen again.

Prepare for the Weather

If you are a resident of Illinois you will know that it is not the most predictable, as the saying goes if you don't like the weather wait five minutes and you might like it then.  When hunting deer in Illinois it starts off rather warm and ends miserably cold so you really need to dress for the weather at hand.  When hunting late fall to early winter usually the lighter camo will do along with a couple of layers tops under the camo.  Now mid winter to late winter get ready to bundle up and be prepare to possibly be cold because it seems that no matter how much clothes you have on you still somehow become cold.  For me it seems that the more clothes that i put on the colder I get and it just seems like a never ending battle.  Just make sure you are always prepared for the weather though, just remember if you have too many clothes on you can take them off and store them in your bag but if you do not have enough clothes you will be miserable for the entire time you are out hunting.  If you are not prepared for the weather in Illinois chances are you will not be able to stay out long enough for you to even see anything worth shooting, because the deer will move when they get cold and if you do not have the clothes to stay out you will not see them.  Dress for the weather and stay out and hunt for as long as you can!

Camouflage

There has always been a controversy out there saying that a hunter does not really need camouflage because of the fact that deer are color blind and can not really pick you out from the surroundings.  But what people need to know is that just because they are color blind does not meant that they can not pick you out from the background.  You have to realize they patrol this area more than you are out there and they know when things are not right.  So if are one of the people that believe that camo is needed then you really need to choose a camo that is going to blend in with the hunting background.  And I do not mean just for a particular time, you need to have a set for the warmer weather and a set for colder weather.  The warmer weather should consist of more greens to help you blend in with the leaves on the tree while in the stand.  The winter clothing should consist of more browns and lighter colors to help blend in with the trees without leaves on it.  So when you are trying to pick out a camo make sure you are choosing for the time that you are going to be hunting more.  And to prove my point more I have a picture of using the right kind of camo for the job.

                           

Perfecting your skills

Although hunting is a game of luck when it comes to what walks in front of you, it becomes a game of skill when the animal is in front of you.  Luck has nothing to do with where the arrow or shot hits that takes skill and when your skill is lacking then the chance of you bagging your animal becomes less and less.  The way to make sure to keep the skill level that is needed is to practice like crazy.  With a bow this is a lot easier to do since you can keep pulling your arrows and re-using them.  I recommend becoming very comfortable with shooting at different yardages because deer will not just be at one set yardage all the time.  Keep practicing until you are comfortable with the yardages and are able to group the arrows consistently.  This keeps your skill level with the bow high and allows you to be a confident shooter.  Now with the gun since ammunition is not cheap, thanks the the awesome gun laws we have, I would recommend using a .22 rifle to practice with if you have it.  This allows you to use a low recoil weapon to allow you to get used to shooting and developing a particular style of shooting.  Once you have a good shooting style you tend to become comfortable with any weapon that falls into your hands and this will make you a great shooter.  So get out there and practice and have fun doing it.