Climbing into the stand I knew the wind would be great. I had waited for this wind all season. After twenty minutes of sitting the wind made a 180 degree switch and started blowing at my back directly into the bedding area. Frustrated but not wanting to blow up the stand, I reluctantly got down, walked back to camp. Switched gear. Replaced my bow with my .30-06 and headed to the clear-cut stand. Fifty minutes later I was holding a very nice eight point buck!
Had I not switched stands, I would not have killed that buck that day. Being willing to move and having a place to move to made it possible. I have seen far too many hunters who refuse to move even when conditions change or aren’t right. Most of this is attributed to laziness. They simply don’t want the hassle of moving. Others have no other place to go. No back up plan.
If hunting private property hunters should have several stands for different wind directions. Some of our stands actually face one another for opposite winds. Having multiple stands for different winds enables us to have choices and not over hunt a particular stand.
One friend of mine does not have a lot of patience at sitting in the same stand too long. He often will sit in one stand from daylight until around nine o’clock. Or about three hours, get down, still hunt to another stand and sit there another couple of hours. He has been able to kill a lot of deer doing this. Now does this happen because he moved? There is really no way to know the why with so many variables in play. The point is that his willingness to move has paid off for him on many occasions.
On another hunt years ago, I could see deer moving well out of range. Frustrated that my stand was not in a good location, I slowly got down, retrieved another stand and during mid-day, placed another stand near the vicinity where I saw all of the movement earlier. That afternoon, I killed one of the big does I watched that morning out of range.
If conditions are not right, or change, do not be afraid to move. Change stands or get out of there all together. Sometimes moving is the best option for hunters who find things not working where they are.
