By Josh Boyd
The month of November is undoubtedly an intensely exciting time to be afield in pursuit of whitetail deer. As the emergence of the rut signals the beginning of perhaps the most thrilling days of a deer hunter’s year, every moment spent on stand is fraught with anticipation.
With the sound of every crackling leaf and broken branch, we sit at attention in our treetop perches, awaiting the appearance of the beastly buck that we imagine to be lurking just beyond the next hillside.
Much of what makes the rut magical is, that at seemingly any moment, a buck of epic proportions can materialize within range. The pure unpredictability of the where, when, and why deer will move during the rut keeps a hunter on their toes.
Unlike what is observed during other portions of season, bucks can be found moving about in search of receptive does at virtually anytime during the day. It is not out of the question, nor uncommon, to catch a mature buck slipping through transition areas from one doe bedding area to another during the noon hour of a cool November day.
For this reason, many hunters choose to stay afield in their treestand for the entire duration of the day. However, while this prospect seems like a wonderful way to spend the day, the successful execution of this task is often more difficult than one might anticipate.
An all-day sit on stand is nothing less than a daunting undertaking, best classified as a feat of endurance. An individual is tested both mentally and physically, as one hour turns to twelve, and you ache from the extensive duration of your sit. However, when adequately prepared in strategy, you can make the best of your day-long endeavor. The following are three key considerations for all-day hunt success.
Ensure Physical Comfort
As humans, we are naturally creatures of comfort. Show me a hunter who is highly uncomfortable, and I will show you a hunter who will be retreating for their truck in short order. Ensuring your physical comfort is perhaps the most vital consideration that one should make when preparing for an all-day sit on stand.
When preparing for an all-day hunt, it is a worthy rule of thumb to pack clothing in excess of what you anticipate needing. By tucking an extra layer of clothing into your pack, you are better equipped to ward off the undesirable effects of autumn’s often frigid temperatures, should you feel as if your core temperature is beginning to drop.
You can always take off a layer of clothing, should temperatures rise above what you had anticipated. However, you cannot don an extra layer, in the event that you become chilled, if you do not have the needed clothing in your possession while in the woods. This is where adequate planning and forward-thinking can save the day by preventing early departure from the stand.
In addition to packing adequate clothing, it is also advisable to thoroughly consider your treestand arrangements and the level of comfort that its use facilitates. When sitting all-day on stand, cheap economy stands with limited seat size and inadequate cushioning can often become unbearable as your day afield becomes lengthy.
If possible, while still being conducive to quality hunting, choose a stand site for an all-day sit that facilitates comfort to the utmost practical level. Spacious ladder stands, or XL model lock-on stands are more often than not top contenders when a choice must be made as to where to base your day-long efforts.
Ensure Against Boredom And Mental Fatigue
There are several tactics to preserve your sanity, should deer movement become dreadfully slow during your day-long vigil. At times, when entertainment is hard to come by, and your thoughts begin to turn toward a late breakfast at the local diner, you must break the cycle for the sake of preserving your efforts.
Have you recently found yourself engrossed in an attention-grabbing novel or hunting strategy guide? If so, then packing your book of choice with you to the stand can serve as a potent boredom busting tool. A paperback book fits nicely into even the most compact daypacks and can provide hours of entertainment on stand should your hunt turn stale.
Are you not much of a natural bookworm? No problem. Most every hunter carries a built-in source of entertainment with them on every outing. Modern smartphones feature internet capabilities that can be used to surf the web, should the lack of deer sightings during your next all-day sit become unbearable.
However, been spared during the modern technological era by cell phone usage while on stand, than by any other factors combined. It is advisable to meter internet cell phone usage to no more than what is absolutely necessary to fight off the grips of boredom. Many opportunities have been missed by hunters that were overly engrossed in their web browsing activities, thus limiting their woods wise awareness.
Set Goals And Reward Yourself Accordingly
The easiest way to accomplish any sizeable feat in life is by breaking such an activity into a series of smaller goals, that upon completion, create forward progress within your overall agenda. The same holds true when trying to endure the rigors of a twelve-hour sit on stand.
This can be put into practice by setting yourself timed goals while in the stand, that when completed, are rewarded by eating a lunch that you have packed, or alternatively, a snack during other intervals. The thought of setting a time in which you will reward yourself with lunch or a snack, upon successfully reaching, is often a valuable strategy for making it through the day.
For example, you could set your initial goal for remaining on stand until 11 A.M., thus rewarding yourself with lunch at that time. Upon the completion of your 11 A.M. goal, you can now set a similar goal for a 2 P.M. snack break. Although seemingly inconsequential, this strategy can often be all that it takes to power through the most difficult portions of your sit.
In It For The Long Haul
The old expression “you can’t kill them on the couch” applies to more than sleeping in on opening morning. By forgoing hunting the midday hour, you can be missing out on your golden opportunity to fill the family freezer. By satisfying these key considerations for achieving all-day persistence, you will be well on your way to bagging an odd hour buck.