james.bailey87
New member
I recently moved to North Carolina from Montana. I am a complete novice at stand hunting for whitetail. What should I be looking for in general? How about stand locations? Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated!
Whitetail Newb, please help!
- Thread starter james.bailey87
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rwc101
Guest
Where about in NC? Real hard to say without scouting the land you have access to. If anyone is running dogs in the area look for the furthest area from where they could dump their dogs, legally or not.
Dabyrd75
Member
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- Aug 22, 2020
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- 39
Look for edge habit. Where secluded fields meet woods, creek or river bottoms, and in October the key is white oak acorns...
Nick87
Well-known member
Yup edges, also look for drainages or ditches. Bucks will use them to travel and be hidden in plain sight or you can also use them to approach your stand while staying hidden.
Not sure what type of stand you will be using but make sure you have it oriented in a suitable direction for ease of shooting. Especially if bow hunting. If possible, trim some shooting lanes or clear a trail in front of the stand. It makes it 10x easier. Can’t move to get a better angle when you’re 15 foot up a tree. Plus the deer can get used to walk down the trails/shooting lanes.
RobertD
Well-known member
This but also regarding wind direction. Need to learn common wind directions for the property and orient the stand in relation to them.
Also, seconding the guys who told you edge habitat. Where ag meets timber, or where new growth and old growth meet.
Outdoor Life or Field and stream used to run a column monthly where they'd diagram a hypothetical whitetail spot with wind directions and terrain details mapped out. Then they put suggested stand locations. Those can be really helpful. Mark Kenyon's content with Wired to Hunt is also a really good whitetail resource.
std7mag
Well-known member
Scouting in the east, is kinda like scouting out west. You wanna be where the animals are.
It's just lower in elevation & way more humid here.
Think trail cameras. But depending on where you are, also think of some way to lock them.
If your a Youtuber, then here are a few to check out.
The Hunting Public
DIY Sportsman
Hunting Beast
Good luck!
It's just lower in elevation & way more humid here.
Think trail cameras. But depending on where you are, also think of some way to lock them.
If your a Youtuber, then here are a few to check out.
The Hunting Public
DIY Sportsman
Hunting Beast
Good luck!
3855WIN
Well-known member
Deer are edge animals. Hunt deer just like you fish for bass. You throw your bass bait right on the edge of cover where it’s almost getting hung up. Deer hunt the edge where you can see enough to shoot, but are tight to the cover. Edges are good, where three types of habitat meet is great. Also, find recent clear cuts and hunt them with sun at your back and wind in your face.
Purchase a climbing stand and safety harness. Practice with it so you’re comfortable going up to 25’.
Purchase a climbing stand and safety harness. Practice with it so you’re comfortable going up to 25’.
3855WIN
Well-known member
Warren Womack is about as good a Southern hunter as the come. Worth the listen when he speaks.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
I’d start by identifying about a dozen promising-looking spots about 10 acres apiece by looking at google maps. Then 2-3 weeks before opener I’d check those spots for fresh sign. Of the places that are being frequented I’d pick one and sit for 2-3 hours before dark to hunt from the ground. If you see deer, think about where a good tree to hang a stand is. If you don’t see deer, move to another spot you scouted.
A common pitfall is committing too quickly to an unproductive spot. Hanging a stand has become one of the last things I do in hunt planning, if at all.
NC has a decent amount of public land, and it varies greatly in deer density. There are huge seas of mature trees or rhodo thickets that do hold deer in isolated pockets related to food sources, but these can be difficult to identify using maps. As others have mentioned, I’d start by looking at edges such as private boundaries of row crops, orchards, pastures, even tree farms. Other isolated edges that can split through public include railroads, and gas and power lines. Good luck and have fun.
A common pitfall is committing too quickly to an unproductive spot. Hanging a stand has become one of the last things I do in hunt planning, if at all.
NC has a decent amount of public land, and it varies greatly in deer density. There are huge seas of mature trees or rhodo thickets that do hold deer in isolated pockets related to food sources, but these can be difficult to identify using maps. As others have mentioned, I’d start by looking at edges such as private boundaries of row crops, orchards, pastures, even tree farms. Other isolated edges that can split through public include railroads, and gas and power lines. Good luck and have fun.
SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
Send me a pm. I’ve been hunting whitetail in the Carolinas since I was eight years old. Public and private. Farms and in the mountains.
Boarmaster
Well-known member
I’m currently hunting in Alabama. I hunt edges. My favorite spots generally have several different types of terrain and cover coming together. Clear cut, old cuts and timber. I look for trails and likely shoots, escape routes and beds. I dont hunt our many food plots but like hunting back in the woods. I have access to all of my locations by ATV or my truck so i use a big climbing stand. A summit titan. I’m old and large so I look for comfort so I can sit all day if need be.
I used the same theory when I hunted in SC. Except over the years in SC I did put up a few ladder stands.
If your not on private or walking in you will want a light weight stand you can carry.
I used the same theory when I hunted in SC. Except over the years in SC I did put up a few ladder stands.
If your not on private or walking in you will want a light weight stand you can carry.
Boarmaster
Well-known member
This, also remember generally speaking best time will be early or late in the day. So the sun will be low. Make sure you aren't going to be looking directly into the sun at the time your most likely to be seeing and taking shots at deer.
Bullshot
Well-known member
I will say that although western hunting has much going for it in relation to eastern hunting - sitting with a bow during the pre and peak whitetail rut is getting up there in excitement with what you might experience with rutting bulls. The action and animal behaviors can be intense in the right spots. Enjoy learning it.
EastTNHunter
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- Jun 13, 2018
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Zombie thread
I had a professional forester who was an avid deer hunter tell me many years age to pay attention to interior edges in the timber. Examples would be old clear cut edges and old fields that are succeding to woodlands. He said they would be buck magnets in November and I agree.
any change in habitat
