In the 11-minute YouTube video below, Bill Winke, host of “Hoyt’s Bowhunting Whitetails,” explains his answer to the common question: “How many deer stands do you need?”
Here’s what Winke wrote when posting his video:
“Every season I have to ask myself whether I have enough stands up for the various winds that I expect to hunt that fall. Often, the answer is no, and I realize that there are going to be days when I will be putting up stands during the season or sitting out for lack of options. I am in the same boat again this year, especially regarding the non-prevailing wind directions. In this episode, I discuss how many stands you need, and just as importantly, how long you need to rest stands between hunts.”
Winke’s advice is outstanding and his video is well worth your time. In my opinion, the No. 1 reason bowhunters fail to get shots at mature bucks, especially on private ground, is not being smart in their overall strategy. As a rule, they don’t have enough stand sites prepared prior to deer season, and those they do have prepared are all set up for the prevailing winds. This forces them to overhunt certain stands, not giving the stand time to rest between sits, and even hunting a certain stand when the wind is wrong or iffy.
As you’ll learn from Winke’s video, it’s best to have half of your stands set up for prevailing winds, and half for other wind directions. And his advice is to have two stands for every two consecutive days you plan to hunt. So if you have a 3-day weekend bowhunt planned, you should have six stands from which to choose.
In my opinion, it’s a huge advantage to have these stands placed and prepared well before deer season begins. Everything from trimming shooting lanes to securing a bow hauling rope and Lifeline rope. Doing this work during the season is possible, but you risk alerting whitetails with your ground scent, noise, etc.
As Winke explains, the goal is pursuing whitetails in a way that they don’t know they’re being hunted. And the first step in achieving this goal is having a smart deer stand strategy.
