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Post by Ahawkeye on Sept 28, 2017 4:49:58 GMT -5
Just wondering how most of you hunt field edges during bow season? I usually hunt public ground far in the woods so my experiance with this is very limited. Do you want wind sending your scent into the field or into the woods? Do you wait for a wind that runs perpindicular to the run your hunting and hunt the down wind side? Thanks for your answers.
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Post by thebellcompany on Sept 28, 2017 6:03:43 GMT -5
Here’s my thinking: field edges are a night stand only. I hunt an edge where the wind needs to be a SW wind and the deer will come east straight to me. So the deer, coming to the food at night will come straight to me and not smell me. I hunt public land also, and the food is the best place to hunt at night, the morning I sneak into another stand in a lightly wooded transition zone between the field and their bedding so I don’t cross a field and spook anything still feeding.
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Post by scrub-buster on Sept 28, 2017 6:44:58 GMT -5
I hunt a lot of field edges. I have stands right on the edge and some that are 15-25 yards back in the woods. Our fields are on hill tops. I like for the wind to be blowing my scent into the woods where it drops off down hill. I'm hoping my scent stays above them for a ways down the hill. Around Halloween each year, I've noticed the bucks start cruising around the fields maybe 15 yards into the woods looking for a hot doe. I have killed most of my mature bucks in that situation. And almost every buck was killed in the morning on a field edge.
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Post by dbd870 on Sept 28, 2017 6:50:00 GMT -5
Yeah I want my scent blowing back in the woods as well. I've killed some in the woods; 10 yds in and some out in the field.
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Post by firstwd on Sept 28, 2017 7:38:52 GMT -5
I have stands anywhere from 10 feet to 70 yards off the field edge on the main farm I hunt. West/southwest wind the majority of the time, but any wind will carry my scent to one field or another. I hunt next to a cattle farm to my west and southwest, a hog farm to my south and southeast, and a year round gold camp to my east. Human scent is everywhere and always mixed with either cattle, pigs, of campfire smoke. Movement spooks far more deer than human scent ever will where I'm at.
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Post by steiny on Sept 28, 2017 9:23:43 GMT -5
Interesting responses. A field edge could be either the edge of a woods or thicket, or a fence row between fields. When I say "edge", I mean a position right along the edge that allows bow shots to the field or into the woods. Forty yards into the woods would not be an edge set up for me.
When hunting a woods like this, I want my scent blowing out into the open field as deer are most likely to be in the woods. And if a deer happens to be traveling in the field along the woods edge, he won't catch my scent till he's right under me.
On a fence row, always set up so wind is blowing cross ways to the fence row, not up and down it. On one side deer traveling the fence row can't wind you, and on the other side he won't catch my scent till he's right under me. It often blows over top of them.
I love a fence row set up with standing corn and some oak trees on the fence row dropping acorns in early archery season.
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Post by bill9068 on Sept 28, 2017 9:33:51 GMT -5
I always hunt with the wind in my face if possible, I have a section of woods about 10 acres surrounded by crop on one of my hunting spots. When I set up there I just watch the wind and am always on an edge. The woods is about 100 yards wide in spots but long. Some places I can set up in a tree right on the edge, other places 10 yards or so in the woods.
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Post by chewbacca on Sept 28, 2017 11:54:14 GMT -5
Interesting responses. A field edge could be either the edge of a woods or thicket, or a fence row between fields. When I say "edge", I mean a position right along the edge that allows bow shots to the field or into the woods. Forty yards into the woods would not be an edge set up for me. When hunting a woods like this, I want my scent blowing out into the open field as deer are most likely to be in the woods. And if a deer happens to be traveling in the field along the woods edge, he won't catch my scent till he's right under me. On a fence row, always set up so wind is blowing cross ways to the fence row, not up and down it. On one side deer traveling the fence row can't wind you, and on the other side he won't catch my scent till he's right under me. It often blows over top of them. I love a fence row set up with standing corn and some oak trees on the fence row dropping acorns in early archery season. Great response! Pretty much exactly what I was going to respond with. I definitely agree that I prefer my scent to be blowing into the field. I have really paid attention to keeping my scent out of the woods the past 5 or so seasons and it has made a huge difference in sightings. I try to not ever allow my scent to be blowing into the woods although there are some exceptions. It seems like any time I sit a location where my scent is blowing into the woods my sightings reduce significantly. My favorite stand of all the ones I hunt (and I have about 20 to choose from) is a spot where I have 2 fence rows that come together and form a T. It just so happens that I have a nice mature tree right in the T and that is where my stand is located. So I am surrounded by 3 fields. Some years it is beans in one field and corn in the other 2 and other years it just the opposite. The first year I put a stand in this location I had hay, corn and beans in each field. That was a phenomenal year for deer sightings especially in early season. My fencerow runs between 2 very good deer woods so it is heavily traveled and the deer tend to stay within 30 yds of either side of the fencerow. So almost every deer that passes by is within bow range. My stand is about 80 yds south of the bigger woods and I do not sit that stand if there is any chance my scent would be blowing into the woods. I absolutely love fencerow hunting! |
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Post by 76chevy on Sept 28, 2017 20:12:36 GMT -5
I will hunt tight to the bedding with the wind at my back. They enter the field from behind me. If you setup right, you still let the bucks have an advantages wind and you can see them in the field. Shoot before they get direct down wind of your position or the game is over.
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Post by 76chevy on Sept 28, 2017 20:13:19 GMT -5
Interesting responses. A field edge could be either the edge of a woods or thicket, or a fence row between fields. When I say "edge", I mean a position right along the edge that allows bow shots to the field or into the woods. Forty yards into the woods would not be an edge set up for me. When hunting a woods like this, I want my scent blowing out into the open field as deer are most likely to be in the woods. And if a deer happens to be traveling in the field along the woods edge, he won't catch my scent till he's right under me. On a fence row, always set up so wind is blowing cross ways to the fence row, not up and down it. On one side deer traveling the fence row can't wind you, and on the other side he won't catch my scent till he's right under me. It often blows over top of them. I love a fence row set up with standing corn and some oak trees on the fence row dropping acorns in early archery season. Great response! Pretty much exactly what I was going to respond with. I definitely agree that I prefer my scent to be blowing into the field. I have really paid attention to keeping my scent out of the woods the past 5 or so seasons and it has made a huge difference in sightings. I try to not ever allow my scent to be blowing into the woods although there are some exceptions. It seems like any time I sit a location where my scent is blowing into the woods my sightings reduce significantly. My favorite stand of all the ones I hunt (and I have about 20 to choose from) is a spot where I have 2 fence rows that come together and form a T. It just so happens that I have a nice mature tree right in the T and that is where my stand is located. So I am surrounded by 3 fields. Some years it is beans in one field and corn in the other 2 and other years it just the opposite. The first year I put a stand in this location I had hay, corn and beans in each field. That was a phenomenal year for deer sightings especially in early season. My fencerow runs between 2 very good deer woods so it is heavily traveled and the deer tend to stay within 30 yds of either side of the fencerow. So almost every deer that passes by is within bow range. My stand is about 80 yds south of the bigger woods and I do not sit that stand if there is any chance my scent would be blowing into the woods. I absolutely love fencerow hunting! you guys nailed it! I like to walk across the open field about 3-4 hours before sundown with a solid wind right in my face...setup on that edge. |
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Post by brucevillebowhunter on Sept 28, 2017 20:25:10 GMT -5
I only hunt field edges is at the latter part of post rut where deer seem to care more about their stomachs than they do about mating.
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Post by duff on Sept 29, 2017 4:35:16 GMT -5
On the pocket woods of Madison Co I learned to hunt the down wind side of the wood lot. The deer can use sight to know what is in the field and smell to catch what is coming through the woods.
This was with steady decent wind. Variable light wind is a crap shoot.
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Post by chewbacca on Oct 2, 2017 7:49:59 GMT -5
Great response! Pretty much exactly what I was going to respond with. I definitely agree that I prefer my scent to be blowing into the field. I have really paid attention to keeping my scent out of the woods the past 5 or so seasons and it has made a huge difference in sightings. I try to not ever allow my scent to be blowing into the woods although there are some exceptions. It seems like any time I sit a location where my scent is blowing into the woods my sightings reduce significantly. My favorite stand of all the ones I hunt (and I have about 20 to choose from) is a spot where I have 2 fence rows that come together and form a T. It just so happens that I have a nice mature tree right in the T and that is where my stand is located. So I am surrounded by 3 fields. Some years it is beans in one field and corn in the other 2 and other years it just the opposite. The first year I put a stand in this location I had hay, corn and beans in each field. That was a phenomenal year for deer sightings especially in early season. My fencerow runs between 2 very good deer woods so it is heavily traveled and the deer tend to stay within 30 yds of either side of the fencerow. So almost every deer that passes by is within bow range. My stand is about 80 yds south of the bigger woods and I do not sit that stand if there is any chance my scent would be blowing into the woods. I absolutely love fencerow hunting! you guys nailed it! I like to walk across the open field about 3-4 hours before sundown with a solid wind right in my face...setup on that edge. Yes, Entrance to the stand is critical. If you allow your scent to blow all through the woods trying to get to your stand you might as well forget it. |
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