Clearing Trails and Shooting Lanes before your Season

I realized I hadn’t posted a tip in awhile so here is one for you to think about although it might be a little late for some because your season has started already but, for like me I still have two weeks to go.

Clearing your trail in and out is important so as not to spook deer while you are heading to your stand, and while leaving your stand. I will be going out in a few days to mark sections of trails that I will be using because in the dark these trails in certain places are not easy to see, even with a flashlight. I will trim certain spots which will help keep the noise to a minimum hopefully. Once I get my trails trimmed and marked than I will concentrate on my stand location. One other thing to keep in mind when you are making trails is you need to have at least two different trails to the same location because of the wind. If you can’t use one trail maybe you can use the other.

After you have pick a tree to use you need to clear yourself a couple of shooting lanes that you think the deer will be going through. Don’t cut to much, the more you cut and trim the more the deer will notice. I will usually try to trim at least three different shooting lanes but two will work nicely if placed in the right spots.

If you are using a fixed position stand than limbs are not really going to be a problem for you. They will act as steps and also breakup your outline. You will need to maybe trim a couple around where you sit, especially if you are bow hunting. If you are using a climber like I am you need to pick a straight tree without limbs. You will also need to have some sort of cover near you to break up your outline. The particular tree I am using is actually in a small group of trees on the edge of a dried up pond. I will be on the opposite side of the tree facing out so I should be hidden from the pond side and outside the pond I will have the other tree’s in that group to hide me. I should still be able to look all around and pick my lanes.

All this trimming and stuff should be done as early as possible before you even start to hunt but we all know things happen and sometimes you do not have that choice. To minimize noise and your scent while trimming and setting up so close to your season I would recommend doing it on a rainy day. Any movement is very quiet do to everything being wet and as far as your scent, any you leave will wash away with rain and air currents will not move them they will generally fall to the ground.

Trim and setup what you have to and quietly leave for awhile to give the area a chance to calm down. For me it will have a week and a half before I go back to hunt.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting! ” remember to respect the environment and it’s wildlife “