Armchair hunters should leave some wiggle room

I MET MY BUDDY for a coffee the other day and we started talking about the all-important issue of deer stand placement. More importantly, we started talking about the deer stand placement of another hunter we knew. We’ll call him Bill.

Armchair strategizing is half the fun of hunting – any hunter will tell you that. But there is an art to it. The conversation that follows illustrates the classic technique used by experienced hunters.

“I hear old Bill has placed his ladder stand at the base of the ridge in the middle of all those birch trees,” I said.

“Yup,” my buddy replied. “It wouldn’t be in my top ten locations.”

“You can’t tell that guy anything,” I answered.

“The wind is all wrong there,” my friend said.

“Yup, it blows right down that hill every evening and swirls unpredictably through there for the rest of the day,” I said.

“The main deer run is on top of the hill too,” my

buddy said. “Why the heck wouldn’t he set up there?”

“All those oak trees and all that cover and browse is up top, too,” I said.

“Why the heck would any deer want to walk through an open stand of hardwoods when they could remain hidden in the thickets up there?” my buddy said. “It’s right next door to where they bed, too.” “It sure is,” I agreed. “Anybody who knows anything about bowhunting would set up on the top of the ridge,” my friend declared.

“Or where the trails intersect at the saddle,” I added.

“The saddle is good too. That’s where all the does hang out,” my buddy added. “And the place is loaded with buck sign.”

I nodded.

“How are your stands doing?” my buddy asked. “Seeing anything on your trail cameras?”

“I’ve got great photos of squirrels and a doe and two fawns. I also get a visit from a skunk every now and then,” I said. “A big buck will come any day. You?”

“I even haven’t placed a stand this year yet,” he said. “I’m going to wait until more leaves are down so I can find just the right spot.”

“Finding the right spot is important,” I said.

Just then Bill walked in beaming from ear to ear.

“He’s going to tell us he saw a hoof print,” my buddy snickered.

“Or a pile of deer pellets,” I giggled.

It turns out that Bill arrowed a nice 10-point buck from his stand. I went to the counter and bought another round of coffee. Then I patted him on the back while he told the story about that deer and how he had to pass up several other nice ones before he got his chance on the big buck.

When my buddy went to the washroom, I said, “Bill, I always knew that stand was a winner. I mean the wind was just ideal for any buck approaching the main trail from below to get to the oak flats and all that browse up above.” “It sure is,” he said. “You saw more than one buck there?” I said. “Several,” he nodded. “Say, would you mind if I used that stand this weekend?” I said. I pushed over a maple-glazed donut just to sweeten the deal.

“I’d say yes, but your buddy beat you to it while you were getting us coffee,” he said. “He’s seems really excited about that stand too.”

I smiled and took back that donut.