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Post by scrub-buster on Oct 16, 2019 14:31:06 GMT -5
Do you guys ever clean the leaves off of the trails to your stands so you can sneak in quietly when hunting? I've been doing this for several years now and haven't noticed any negative affects. Once the leaves start dropping I will either rake or blow (if I can get the blower started) the trail the day before or even the day of a hunt from that stand. I think deer are curious about the freshly exposed earth. I've raked a trail to a stand and then on the way out had a doe standing on the start of the trail sniffing the ground. I only do this on a couple of trails that I have cleaned down to bare dirt. They get covered with maple and oak leaves. It's impossible to walk in without making a lot of noise. I used a gas leaf blower on the trail Monday afternoon around 3 pm. I killed that buck from that stand a few hours later. I also had a doe cross the trail without getting alarmed. We have mowers and utility vehicles running around our property all the time. We keep the fields and trails mowed during the summer. I think the deer are used to hearing motors running without spooking.
I was just curious to see if anyone else does this.
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Post by mgderf on Oct 16, 2019 15:03:54 GMT -5
Yes, every year, but I usually do it the week before opening day and leave it at that.
Deer are skittish, but they will also use any trail that is the easiest path, as long as there are no smells along the path to dissuade them.
I have actually cleared paths in the woods that start in the middle of the woods and end at my blind.
A lot of times deer will pick up the path in the woods and follow it straight to my shooting lanes.
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Post by esshup on Oct 16, 2019 19:49:09 GMT -5
Definite yes. I'll use the mower on the garden tractor to chop/blow the leaves off the trails that I have on my place. I think it helps.
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Post by firstwd on Oct 17, 2019 18:25:36 GMT -5
I have a 4 wheeler trail to or passed every stand and blond location in the woods. They get ridden periodically year round. The deer use them tear round. If you sit still they will walk right to you. If they are running from any of the neighbors places they head straight for the trailheads and usually slow down within 50 yards of hitting the woods.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2019 8:51:02 GMT -5
No, I try not to change anything. EVery minimal on shooting lanes. No cutting 5 feet or lower. If I do cut a bush or branch I'll relocated a good distance away. Today, I walk very slow to my stands. I will stop and pause every 5-10 yards or so. Yes, sometimes it takes me 20 minutes to walk fifty yards, but I've found out I will not spook as many deer. Only ones right in my path that sees me. Since I started this way my success for older deer has increased many folds. I think the combination of minimal changes to environment and walk procedure has helped.
I learned this from my two good hunting neighbors.
I don't know how many times I've heard my neighbors walking in-out. I can tell it's them by the constant crunch. Not natural. Their two stands are around 400 to 700 yards away. I know every deer hears them. I can hear them walk to the creek, cross the creek and up the hill to their stands.
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Post by jjas on Oct 21, 2019 8:59:16 GMT -5
We've cleared them for years by using a gas blower in the middle of the day after most of the leaves have dropped. I'm sure the deer hear the blower as we head back in and I can't say they do/don't connect it to deer hunters. It doesn't seem to effect deer movement as the season progresses, so we continue to do it on stands/blinds that are back in the woods.
It definitely makes it quieter when walking in, and the deer use the paths themselves.
We also spray off the trails we keep clear with round up during the spring/summer to keep the growth killed off.
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