Ani-Logics Outdoors

Outside of the breeding season, deer are crepuscular meaning they are mostly active in the morning and evening. That pattern, however, changes during the breeding season. A buck could walk past at any time during the day, and if you are back home eating lunch you may miss your only opportunity at a trophy buck. All day sits can be mentally draining, especially if you are new at it. Here are some tips to help keep you in the stand and in the game.

1. Dress for the weather. The obvious reason to exit your stand early is to warm up. If you dress properly, you can stay in your stand without shivering all day. Be sure to bring a bag so you can take layers off if necessary. The first areas to get cold are usually your hands and feet so wear thick socks and use hand/toe warmers. If you forgot the toe warmers, wiggle your toes on the bottom of your boots to create friction which causes heat. Be careful not to wear too much clothes on your entry walk because if you sweat, you will lose heat faster once you get settled into your stand.

2. Don’t look at what time it is. If you are planning to sit all day, it shouldn’t really matter what time it is. When I first began sitting all day, I would end up peeking at my watch and all of a sudden I’m depressed because I haven’t been in the stand for as long as it feels. The obvious exception to this rule is early morning or late evening when you need to know if it is legal to shoot at a deer that is coming in.

3. Eat a hearty breakfast and also bring snacks. The average daylight length in early November in the Midwest is roughly 10 hours. If you skip breakfast because you are eager to get into your stand, you will be angry hungry by around noon. They need to make a commercial for snickers that revolves around a hunter that “gets a little angry when he is hungry,” because the phenomenon is real. I like to pack a PB & J sandwich in a bag that doesn’t require a lot of effort to open. I also like to bring jerky because it usually takes a fair amount of time to eat and has a good amount of protein.

4. When nature calls, answer it. Whether you urinate in a bottle or off the stand, you shouldn’t try to hold it the entire day. I like to leave my gauge on “E” when I leave for the morning, but inevitably that doesn’t last all day. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that human urine does not spook deer, and I tend to agree. I have heard several wise old hunters say they would pee on a scrape right before they got into their tree.

5. Enjoy nature. When there isn’t deer around my stand I am thankful I get a chance to watch other wildlife. For most hunters, seeing a squirrel after hearing leaves crunch is a major let down, but for me it’s better than seeing nothing. Have you ever seen a squirrel pick up a nut with his front paws? If you watch closely enough, you will notice they always pick up nuts with their mouth and then grab them with their paws. I also will watch birds as they do their normal activities. I often wonder what that nuthatch thinks of me when it’s 2 feet away looking at me upside down.

Keep these tips in mind if you intend to accomplish an all-day sit. Just remember, you can’t shoot one if you aren’t out there trying!