“The Devil’s in the Details”: Tips on Tactics

Often-all too often-overlooking or disregarding the most minute factor, the tiniest little detail, makes the difference in success or failure in the deer woods.  The more we take care of the potential for mistakes or errors, that much more often we can look forward to having the chore of dragging out a fresh kill, even that once-in-a-lifetime trophy.  I THINK I’ve learned from some do’s and don’ts, mostly the mistakes I’ve made in my over 50 years of stand-perching, “easing and slipping”, and stump-sitting.

Skirt the Stand   Many commercially available treestands, be they ladders, hang-ons or climbers have a rail around the front 3/4′s of them.  Hanging a cloth curtain or skirt in a flat-finished, dull-colored material will hide the hunter from view, or at least, partially obscure visibility from the ground.  Inexpensive burlap, camo netting, even a cut-to-fit old bedsheet hung from the armrest/shooting rail will do.  A bit of ingenuity with some galvanized, semi-stiff wire, and the material, for the stands without the rail may make all the difference in being seen, or staying hidden.

Put Out the Welcome Mat  A mat on the footrest or floor of a stand will deaden sounds from feet shifting, standing to get a better look, or to take a shot.  It also makes the footrest less slippery when damp from dew, frost or rain.  A rubber or vinyl mat makes a good sound deadener, but can be as slippery when wet/damp as the metal mesh so often used by stand manufacturers.  I use a cocoa fiber mat, the fuzzy, kinda strawish type readily available in home supply or variety stores.  

Face and Hands  When I’ve walked up on someone in the woods, the first things I see is the stark contrast of his exposed face and hands.  In cold weather, a face mask and gloves are pretty standard attire.  In warmer weather, tho, cheap brown matte jersey gloves and a net or “bug-out” face mask won’t cost an arm and a leg, and help hide the hunter from intruding, prying eyes.  Helps, too, to ward off skeeters and gnats so we don’t have to swat and shake while we sit and wait.

Old, Faded Camo  It’s been washed so many times that it has gotten a whitish cast, almost a glow.  Don’t throw it away and spend the hundred bucks or so for a new set until you try refreshing it with dye.  Use black-that’s right, BLACK-dye, but only use a small amount from the packet.  Follow the instructions for dying fabrics, or use a 5-gallon bucket outside, if the boss of the house objects to using the washer.  Trial and error on how much dye to use in the soak solution, the time to soak, may renew the tint.  If not, only the fractional cost of the dye and thirty minutes of time spent trying is all we’ve lost.  Remember:  we were about to throw it away anyway.

Short Shots  Wrap ladder stand rungs, or steps, with pipe insulation.  Deadens sound, and makes less slippery.

Hang outer layer clothing outside overnight or between hunts.  Keeps them from absorbing household odors.  If damp from dew or mositure condensation, go on, take’em in long enough to dry a few minutes in the dryer.

As leaves and sticks accumulate on your stand trail, rake ‘em off.  Takes only a few minutes and makes for a quieter trek to and from the stand.

Use one of the squeeze bottles filled with white dust-again, readily available and inexpensive-to detect thermal movement and wind/breeze drift.  This is especially important in calm or relative calm, when the wind is not blowing steadily.

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