Observation sit, how close is too close?

[Horn]

I've done lots and lots of scouting, and have several spots I'm going to try hunting this year, on public. I would like to get in a few observation sits leading up the the season, I have a couple cameras out but I'm pretty sure there's a bigger picture to see and some vantage points I could probably see that picture from but I'm concerned about being to invasive only a month out.

So how big is a "spot"? How close/far should my observation sit be from said spots?

Thanks!

 

[Hall17]

I hunt mountain country so if I did observation sits I feel like I’d have to get pretty close. I rely on sign from scouting from September throughout the season. sign tells me what I need to know.

if I had some property with fields it would be nice to watch from a distance but for me that just simply is not the case. I personally would not want to get too close to early

 

[Still Kicking]

I don't worry too much about getting too close. I have spooked a bunch of whitetails and they may stay away for a few days but usually return. Find a ridge and use your binoculars. Good Hunting!

 

[josh9284]

Stay out of the beds and you'll be fine.

 

[Bdwilliams]

If the season is still a month away, will the intel you're getting now still apply? Would just going in and looking for sign, maybe moving a camera or two, be better?

 

[Weldabeast]

If the season is still a month away, will the intel you're getting now still apply? Would just going in and looking for sign, maybe moving a camera or two, be better?

Regardless if what is seen matters or not a practice climb and sit isn't a bad thing at all...maybe the changes to the gear over the off season have some unforseen hiccup...that climb and sit may save a headache first hunt

 

[Bdwilliams]

Regardless if what is seen matters or not a practice climb and sit isn't a bad thing at all...maybe the changes to the gear over the off season have some unforseen hiccup...that climb and sit may save a headache first hunt

True, but you can do that in the yard. If you're after intel, get intel. Don't get me wrong: there's nothing bad about watching deer and confirming suspicions on movement, but a lot can change between August and September. It's possible, maybe even likely, that the observation sit offers more closer to opening day.

 

[raisins]

I hunt mountain country so if I did observation sits I feel like I’d have to get pretty close. I rely on sign from scouting from September throughout the season. sign tells me what I need to know.

if I had some property with fields it would be nice to watch from a distance but for me that just simply is not the case. I personally would not want to get too close to early

same here....i would have to be within 100 yards of a spot to see anything and i'd consider it too close.....on wv public land, there's either no fields or no bucks use them during daylight (except maybe when they lose their mind during the rut)

 

[boyne bowhunter]

For observation sits I typically sit in spots where I can see some distance like leeward edges of young clearcuts. I don't typically hunt these edges as they're generally too open or create too long of shots but the deer will be there since there is some cover and lots of browse. It works pretty well for taking inventory and determining possible entrance and exit routes from the clearcuts where I can slide back off the edge a bit come season and try to catch the deer moving in and out of them in the early season.

During season I often sit back from bedding or food sources just far enough to see them (I may be in the more open woodlots) just watching and observing where/when activity takes place before moving in when conditions are right. I know it would be a long shot to actually shoot something during these sits but the intel is often worth a "wasted" sit.

 

[Horn]

After both Intel and practice. I feel like my cameras, they way I put them anyway, only see very specific spots. There's more too these areas, I've been and seen sign ( browse, trails/tracks, droppings) to make me believe there's more going on than I'm getting pics of.

Thanks for the advice so far, and I think i will move at least one of my cameras this weekend.

-unrelated but I haven't got out to the trail I asked about in a different post

 

[Hall17]

For observation sits I typically sit in spots where I can see some distance like leeward edges of young clearcuts. I don't typically hunt these edges as they're generally too open or create too long of shots but the deer will be there since there is some cover and lots of browse. It works pretty well for taking inventory and determining possible entrance and exit routes from the clearcuts where I can slide back off the edge a bit come season and try to catch the deer moving in and out of them in the early season.

During season I often sit back from bedding or food sources just far enough to see them (I may be in the more open woodlots) just watching and observing where/when activity takes place before moving in when conditions are right. I know it would be a long shot to actually shoot something during these sits but the intel is often worth a "wasted" sit.

Spoken like a guy who hunts 80 days a year haha. We all just live vicariously through you

 

[Horn]

Just an update. Went out to the spot tonight, didn't end up climbing/sitting - i tried a new entry and found great sign.. too great not to grab a camera and move it.

I asked this question because there's so much sign I'm not sure where to act on it ( rookie for those that might not hang out all summer here). Well worn trails, droppings and browse like spilled spaghetti, two locations nearby no less! All does I'm quite sure, but I'm in it for meat and does will work for me, for now anyway. This is why I'm wanting to get up a tree for a better vantage point, to try to sort it out.

I also want to acknowledge that the deer may or may not be there in 5 weeks or whatever it is until 10-1, I do appreciate the advice very much. I'm finding sign and deer, more consistent now but since last fall. I bet I got snorted at 10 times tonight, had eyes on deer twice. I took a whole year to scout/practice, I'm it ready to get to it!