Cuttin' Limbs

[1hornwilly]

This comes out of Fluteman's thread about huntin setups. I saw a few guys mention not cutting limbs because the deer can smell it and won't come around. Any of you fellas have any success using mobile setups and clearing shooting paths on the same day/hunt? This will be my first season being mobile, so I am trying not to screw it up right outta the chute.

 

[Archertl]

I hung two stands and set up shooting lanes at both sites to day. But thats besides the point through out the season I will continue moving stand and cutting shooting lanes as need. Ive never had a problem with deer not coming back to that area if not that day and deffently not after 3 days.

 

[Jackalope]

With my mobile setup i don't cut a thing.. I concentrate on getting there and setup as quietly as can be.. Usually i already have the tree and facing direction picked out from when i found the spot. In the pre dawn mornings you get what you get for lanes when the sun shows them to you.. Stealth is the objective.

In the evenings and post dawn mornings i still don't cut anything. I just position my stand to where i can shoot over or under whatever it is that might obscure the trail, or I go with a completely different tree to get the right angle...

Some mornings when i need to be super stealthy i'll actually wait 30 minutes past daylight to walk in.. This way i can see everything better like sticks, trails and good paths to take.. It's tons quieter, and i'm able to see deer before they see me if they are already in the area..

I haven't cut anything in a couple years except the occasional small limb that might be right in my back or overhead.

 

[Gern186]

I don't believe that deer will refuse to come in 'per say' when they smell freshly cut limbs.....but I do believe it will make them more cautious than they normally would be for a short period of time... Limbs fall out of trees all the time during storms and heavy winds, so it's not all that uncommon in a deer's world.

What I prefer to do when putting up a treestand during the season, or even before the season is this... when I cut limbs and branches I will drag them away from the stand site at least 40-50 yards and sometimes pile them up or use them to direct deer toward my stand site. If there is a way to create a small funnel by using cut branches, I will try to do that. It doesn't take much to make a deer change directions slightly by selectively placing foliage here and there.

If you need to trim out shooting lanes, by all means do it. Just drag the limbs away from your setup a little ways and pile them up, or use them to route the deer to you.

 

[formerbowhunter1023]

I don't believe that deer will refuse to come in 'per say' when they smell freshly cut limbs.....but I do believe it will make them more cautious than they normally would be for a short period of time... Limbs fall out of trees all the time during storms and heavy winds, so it's not all that uncommon in a deer's world.

What I prefer to do when putting up a treestand during the season, or even before the season is this... when I cut limbs and branches I will drag them away from the stand site at least 40-50 yards and sometimes pile them up or use them to direct deer toward my stand site. If there is a way to create a small funnel by using cut branches, I will try to do that. It doesn't take much to make a deer change directions slightly by selectively placing foliage here and there.

If you need to trim out shooting lanes, by all means do it. Just drag the limbs away from your setup a little ways and pile them up, or use them to route the deer to you.

I operate roughly the same way as Chad...

Anyone that has hung a stand with me, knows I'm a shooting lane cutting sum beech when I hang them in advance of the season. I like to be able to shoot at least 4-6 lanes in a full circle of my stand, and I want to have a couple long range bombs. I'll shoot 50 yards, so that opens up some shots that I take full advantage of on my early hangs. I also use the stuff I cut to "direct traffic" so to speak. I've had great success with that in the past.

Now if I hang in season, I will cut if I absolutely have to. But I try to limit the in season cutting. Sometimes, you just have to cut a few things to make it work. I look at it like this: I would rather have the shot and risk the buck being skittish over the smell of a cut limb, over not cutting that limb and having him lick his ass for 5 minutes using that limb for cover. If I can easily and quietly cut it, I will and then drag it to the side somewhere I don't expect deer to encounter it.

I can tell that things are going to change for me with the LW and Millennium combo. I plan to sell all of my stands next year and go exclusively to stands prepped with climbing sticks and Millennium brackets. In places I don't want to leave stick, I'll use the LW's to hang them. I bought the GamePlan Gear Treestand Transportation System and it makes carrying just the Millennium a breeze. I'm all about the comfort nowadays, I can't do the small hang-ons anymore...

 

[Dannmann801]

I don't believe that deer will refuse to come in 'per say' when they smell freshly cut limbs.....but I do believe it will make them more cautious than they normally would be for a short period of time... Limbs fall out of trees all the time during storms and heavy winds, so it's not all that uncommon in a deer's world.

What I prefer to do when putting up a treestand during the season, or even before the season is this... when I cut limbs and branches I will drag them away from the stand site at least 40-50 yards and sometimes pile them up or use them to direct deer toward my stand site. If there is a way to create a small funnel by using cut branches, I will try to do that. It doesn't take much to make a deer change directions slightly by selectively placing foliage here and there.

If you need to trim out shooting lanes, by all means do it. Just drag the limbs away from your setup a little ways and pile them up, or use them to route the deer to you.

Dang that sounds like a good idea...why didn't ya tell me that a month ago when I wuz puttin my my ladder stand?

 

[Gern186]

Dang that sounds like a good idea...why didn't ya tell me that a month ago when I wuz puttin my my ladder stand?

Oh, I forgot to mention it only works when using hang on stands!