Those quiet mornings

[MattMan81]

Am I missing something when setting up in the morning? Opening morning the ground was wet and dead calm. I picked this oak tree with really flaky bark. Not the best choice. But I feel like I made way to much noise. Setting my steps the bark cracks. Had to adjust the platform to get it just right. Lots of rubbing on the tree. Seems like I made way to much noise. Do you guys think the deer write this off as animals? Or does it make them nervous? How far through the woods do you think it carries? It was my first dark set up. So I fumbled a little. I known that. I was hunting the private I always hunt, but trying to find the right tree in the dark is very over whelming to someone like me who has some OCD with picking the right spot and set up. I can't just climb a tree and deal with it. Looking back now I should have went out and did a few pre sets. But how do you guys do it out on public when your just headed for an area?
I know the more I do it, the faster and quieter I will get. I should have practiced on more that the one tree in my yard, as they all are different.
My take down was quieter and quicker by the 4th real time I came down from hunting.
Is that it? Just more practice and real world stuff and it comes easier and quieter? Still not sure about picking a tree. Hard part is if the next time I'm down there hunting in a week or two, the canopy will have changed from the leafs falling and such.
So got any tips to help me quickly pick a tree and any way to quiet up that bark cracking sound from the sticks.
Maybe not hunt super high on an AM set? Quicker to get up I guess. Less noise. What else for us new mobile hunters.

 

[Exhumis]

Is this your first set of the season? If so it’s to be expected, you’re a bit rusty. Sound traveling in the woods is hard to predict too many variables. But generally from what I’ve seen animals won’t freak too much if you don’t sound like a rhinoceros and it doesn’t take too long. Lots of animals climb trees and it’s noisy. If I’m headed to a place I haven’t been before in the dark I’ll switch over to a white light for a second to see if I have shooting lanes. I generally look for trees that are basketball sized. Got myself in trouble last week, picked a tree too big and my RR strap wouldn’t reach all the way around. Oops. Ordering longer straps to fix that issue. I try and stay away from trees that have shag bark and they’re noisy. You’re gonna have a little nose when you climb it’s inevitable. Just remember smooth is fast. Slow and methodical. Focus on your climb and it’ll come together.

 

[Razorbak66]

What I actually told my young buddy’s this morning sometimes it’s not always good to go in the dark when you go to a area that your not sure of 100% unless you have a preset or you put in a bright eye before hand so you know what tree your gonna use. it’s sometimes better to go in at first light where you don’t need a headlamp as you can see and be more aware of your surrounding and it automatically makes you go slower and quiter and plus with our saddle setups were not in a race to get in a tree and hunt even though we can get up quickly. I one stick a lot now days I climb up and wait a minute and look before I go the next step and repeat and I can get to 20ft and have my platform and gear up in under 10 minutes without making any noise as I’m not fumbling around in the dark. I do the same steps when I do a afternoon hunt Slow and quiet. Something to consider unless you got a preset

 

[Weldabeast]

I try to pick the tree 15-20yds from where I expect the animals that has the best cover to help hide me
I rarely go above 12-15ft high as our canopy is pretty dense and low to the ground. Any climbing method gonna make noise. Slow is fast...

Once u are comfortable and have more experience with ur gear it really is nothing to change trees if u didn't choose the best 1 in the dark....

Obviously we want as little noise as possible but if it's just bark scraping noises I don't think the animals mind it so much...sometimes it seems to make them curious....other times not so much.

I eliminated all the metal components that I could from my climbing method and that really quiets things down.

Slow is fast

 

[WannaBMonkey]

We try to be as quiet as we can but sometimes there will be some of the noise you mentioned. Yes practice will make it better but probably never totally eliminate some noise. As long as it's just some rubbing and scraping and not metal clanking, etc, it's not that much different than some of the sounds they hear occasionally anyway. To put your mind to rest I'll tell you a story about what happened for me once. It was gun season and I was Bowhunting from the ground. I walked into an area, picked a spot between three big cottonwood trunks and was just going to stand there as long as I could before the cold temperature drove me out. I got pretty sweated up on the walk in since I was dressed for standing. So I didn't think I would last long. It turns out I didn't have to. I was pushing leaves, snow, twigs out of a spot to stand with my feet so it would be quiet when I had to reposition should a deer come along. All of a sudden, I saw antlers coming my way through the cat tails at a pretty quick pace. I ducked down behind a fallen tree as the buck came within ten yards. But I couldn't move. He turned around and started to calmly walk away. A thirty yard quartering away shot presented itself just before he would have caught my scent. The mule kick said all I needed to know. Shortly I was getting all sweated up again, gutting and dragging. If I hadn't made the noise I made clearing a spot, I never would have got that shot. He thought it was another buck making a scrape in his territory! His need to investigate my noise was his undoing. So, maybe don't worry quite so much about the inevitable rubbing and scraping sounds you might be making.

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[bob1sh]

What Exhum said about smooth is fast^^

This is my first year hunting, bow hunting, deer hunting, saddle hunting in general so I was practicing climbing and setting up 2-3 times a week since May. I’ve sat 6 times now since our opener on September 11th and I’ve learned that going into a spot blind for 2 of those sits has turned out exactly like you mentioned. Since it is my first time at everything I’ve just learned I need to really slow down and give myself more time. 4 of my sits have been after work/evening sits and when I find myself rushing I really have to slow down. I’ve also learned now when I get setup in a blind spot and see everything from up in the tree and realize I’m not in the best spot I can be in, I’m going to move. Both of my sits in blind spots in the dark, I got up and saw the area better from up in the tree and in the daylight (obviously) and didn’t move and regretted it the whole time. The whole purpose of this stuff is mobility so I’m going to readjust next time.


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[fbwguy]

Nature is not quiet. Listen to bird, squirrels. Hear the acorns falling and limbs dropping. There is a big difference in the way we make noise when setting up, but being aware of the type of noise we make is vital. Like previously stated, metal clanking an obvious No No, but rustling and natural tree sounds, no big deal. If you make a big bad noise, stop and listen, pause before continuing. One noise is not a deal breaker but numerous close together could end it for the day

 

[sureshotscott]

But how do you guys do it out on public when your just headed for an area?

I try to avoid heading for an "area" in the dark. Usually I have a tree picked out in a daytime scouting session. Figure out a way to mark a trail that doesn't look like all the other markers you see out there already. Then capture video of what traversing that trail looks like and review it the night before the hunt.

 

[Jtaylor]

If I go into new area I'm not familiar with in the dark, I just plan on sitting on the ground. I'll cyber scout prior to that to hopefully set up in a good area. I carry a comfortable light kayak chair to sit on because the more comfortable you can be, the less movement you'll make. If you find you're in a terrible spot once it's daylight, you can always have your saddle gear with you and move to set up in a more favorable spot.

 

[muzzypower]

Ive had plenty of bucks come into racket in the woods. I think they think its a fight or sparring. Used to come into my old climbers routinely. Dont sweat it

 

[kyler1945]

The noise you made probably made no material difference on whether or not you got an opportunity to kill a deer.

If you are worried about it though, slow is quiet. You’re just gonna get up there and sit on your butt for hours. No rush. Just pretend your wife is trying to find you in the woods, and if she does you have to go home. I would imagine that’s proper motivation for most married folk.

 

[RainingBlades]

Doesn’t stealth strip sell bark silencer? Personally I figure I’m going to make noise so I hurry figuring there’s no way I’m getting in u detected anyway. The faster you go the more minutes of slice you get.

 

[elk yinzer]

Clanging, banging, knocking sounds carry far. Scraping sounds, fabric noise stuff like that I feel bowhunters get way too worked up about. They seem loud on a quiet morning but even dead calm those noises don't carry very far and they are natural as there are coons, squirrels, a lot of tree climbing animals.

 

[MattMan81]

Ive had plenty of bucks come into racket in the woods. I think they think its a fight or sparring. Used to come into my old climbers routinely. Dont sweat it

That's what playing in my mind. I'm focused on setting up quietly. Make a little noise. Big buck comes in down wind, and quietly sneaks away and I never knew he was there.

 

[davesonic444]

When possible i plan my 1st few sets to coincide with some windy days like 7 to 10 mph for cover noise. I hunt a private property of 200 acres with 3 other guys. So i do everything i can for an advantage.

 

[EricS]

Just be as quiet as possible. If two squirrels chase each other around a tree trunk you can hear that from a long ways off. Coons make a pile of noise. I try to eliminate all metal sounds and just try to minimize the rest.

 

[raisins]

Quiet mornings are tough. Use any natural noise to your advantage. If the wind is blowing or a squirrel going nuts, then wait for that noise to set a stick, etc. When you set your sticks, pull the bottom out and then slide down slowly. Don't stomp anything down (including platforms) or step onto anything that hasn't been set. Having said that, it is better to make a little more noise to get everything just right than to half-butt it and then make noise later/continually as a result. Also, if enough time passes after a noise, then deer will often conclude that the noise maker is also gone. If deer never traveled anywhere they've ever heard a noise, then they'd be boxed into a corner.

Early season is better because the foliage and grass cover absorbs/blocks sound. Certain land forms are worse for carrying sound if there is a lot of direct space not being blocked.

Noise falls off with the square of distance, so if you are 1 yard from the source of noise, then a deer 50 yards away only hears 1/(50*50) of that. So, things sound way worse to you.

Go slow. I've been climbing trees with sticks for a while (was a stand hunter for many years), and the fastest I've ever gotten up a tree (starting from scratch, run and gun) safely and quietly was probably 15 minutes (includes getting stuff ready at base and setting up bow holder, bow, etc at height). I have no idea how people can go from walking up to a tree to hunting in 5 minutes. I usually take 20 to even 30 minutes because I'm controlling everything and trying to be as quiet and safe as possible.

Carry a hand towel to bury your face in if you have to cough, sneeze, blow your nose.