Mobile hunting or Presets

[Noonespecial]

Presets or hang and hunt every time? I am a preset guy with almost 30 between two properties. I hunt both public and private but no food plots, bait or hunting shacks etc. Just spots prescouted and set up with climbing sticks or screw in steps where allowed. I am asking because I think a lot of new hunters are influenced to think that hang and hunts and only hunting a spot once is the best way. Some of my biggest bucks were taken after hunting a preset spot 3 or 4 times before the buck I was after came through. Heck I watched the King of mobile hunting Dan Infalt shoot a buck in a preset stand over a food plot this year. I’m not bashing him or one style verse the other just want to get some info or stories from hunters that may help others think outside of the box. Only positive helpful info please. Thanks!

 

[Anobody]

You hunt spots to the deer movement stops. Wether that’s once or ten times. Hunt them where they are

 

[Hunter260]

I think your first sit is your best sit, BUT if you don’t get busted going in and out, leave absolutely no scent behind, are undetectable in the tree and meticulous about only hunting in the right conditions every sit can be your first sit.

 

[redsquirrel]

NOTHING beats a preset tree for saddle hunting. Walk in with your saddle, climb up and hunt.

I generally hunt 50/50 mobile/preset. This year I ended up hunting a bit more mobile, maybe 75%. Presets take a lot more time up in the offseason prepping. With a mobile tree you can just go there and hunt when you want, but you might have limitations to deal with. My strategy that I've been moving towards is to hunt mobile while I'm honing in a spot and then once I have it figured out I'll preset a tree in the offseason.

 

[atwoodnative]

I hunt funnels a lot during the rut and I think presets are a good fit for them. The buck you may want to shoot may only pass through that funnel every second, third, fourth or fifth day. So a one time hunt has a low chance of seeing them, which is also confirmed with game cameras. In addition, in the country I hunt, there is not a lot of funnels. I only have a half dozen or so good ones. So that would only mean six days of hunting if I hunted them once. I also hunt public land quite a bit where there is not only other deer hunters, but also duck hunters, upland game hunters and hikers. So deer are a little more accustomed to human scent, and if they vacated an area or went nocturnal whenever they detected human presence, you would never see a deer again. If I was hunting a buck's core area, I would still hunt it more than once, but perhaps not as much as a funnel, and would be more careful to not burn it out. In summary, I think it is a legitimate concern, but it depends on the circumstances. Like most things in life, there is not a one size fits all.

 

[elk yinzer]

All mobile because I like having one set of gear and not sucking up my time managing gear strewn all about the broad area I hunt, worrying about it getting stolen, etc. Also like that my spots aren't apparent to other hunters and hunting 99% public land I hate that we are allowed to leave treestands in trees here as too often it is used as a claim on a spot.

 

[atwoodnative]

It seems there are two parts to the question. One part is whether or not the hunt the same tree more than once. A person can hunt the same tree again and again without leaving steps/sticks/stands in it, and that is what I tend to do with my saddle. Like elk yinzer says, it is nice not having to have gear all strewn about, and there is a risk of burning out a tree. Second part of the question is if you are going to hunt the same tree more than once, what are the pros and cons of leaving your gear on the tree, versus removing and installing each time. I also have trees where I leave my gear in the tree, and like redsquirrel says, it is nice to be able to just walk in, climb up and hunt. I do a fair number of all days sits, especially during the rut, but I also do some sits where I try to fit in an hour sit after work, and in that case, it is nice to just be able to climb and hunt a preset. So same point as I made earlier, different circumstances lead to different tools, and for me there is no one size fits all. Heck, I've got a hard-sided blind on my shopping list for a place to go when it is 10 degrees and 20 mile an hour winds, and I know the perfect spot for it on private land.

 

[Weldabeast]

If it was legal to drill trees here I'd have tons of predrilled trees and I would call that preset.... Not legal here so I'm mobile every hunt

 

[Noonespecial]

It seems there are two parts to the question. One part is whether or not the hunt the same tree more than once. A person can hunt the same tree again and again without leaving steps/sticks/stands in it, and that is what I tend to do with my saddle. Like elk yinzer says, it is nice not having to have gear all strewn about, and there is a risk of burning out a tree. Second part of the question is if you are going to hunt the same tree more than once, what are the pros and cons of leaving your gear on the tree, versus removing and installing each time. I also have trees where I leave my gear in the tree, and like redsquirrel says, it is nice to be able to just walk in, climb up and hunt. I do a fair number of all days sits, especially during the rut, but I also do some sits where I try to fit in an hour sit after work, and in that case, it is nice to just be able to climb and hunt a preset. So same point as I made earlier, different circumstances lead to different tools, and for me there is no one size fits all. Heck, I've got a hard-sided blind on my shopping list for a place to go when it is 10 degrees and 20 mile an hour winds, and I know the perfect spot for it on private land.

I included “hunting a spot only once” because it seems most hang and hunt people prefer that method.

 

[atwoodnative]

I'm here in Montana and on some public land (depending on agency) we can use bolts, so I did predrill a half dozen or so trees and that is really nice. It is kind of a cross between preset and being mobile. If you drilled 30 trees, you could hunt for a month straight and never sit in the same tree twice, but at the same time, the holes are drilled, the shooting lanes are cut, and the tree is ready to go just like a preset. And you only need one set of gear. One issue I did have is that the holes would sometimes get ice in them (sap from tree or rain would get in hole when above freezing, and then freeze when below freezing), so I would have to bore them out with the hand drill again. Like I said, I only did six this year, but plan to do more next year. I just checked my hunting diary and I had 53 sits. 23 were from hang-on/ladder stands; 20 from a saddle with bolts whereby I removed my bolts and platform after the sit; and 10 were from sits where I left the bolts and platform in the tree when I planned to go back to the tree on my next sit. However, a couple times I wanted to change my plans to go back to that tree on my next sit, but since I had left my bolts and platform in the tree, I had already committed myself. So I'm not sure I will do that anymore. Either that, or buy a second platform (I have enough bolts for two trees) in case I change my mind.

 

[Topdog]

All mobile because I like having one set of gear and not sucking up my time managing gear strewn all about the broad area I hunt, worrying about it getting stolen, etc. Also like that my spots aren't apparent to other hunters and hunting 99% public land I hate that we are allowed to leave treestands in trees here as too often it is used as a claim on a spot.

I’m 100% with elk yinzer on this, since I have been more mobile my success on mature animals has gone up, my family owns a lot of private property that I can hunt too and once or twice a year I do and will sit in one of the tree forts on the property, but 99% of my hunting is public and there I am always mobile. It’s not for everybody and I respect that but it works for me.

 

[Patriot]

Presets are money for mornings. That’s my experience. Mornings are magic certain times of year. And it’s sometimes a chore to get out of bed early and keep grinding when you done it 6 mornings in a row. But if i know I have a good preset waiting for me that I can use to be set up quick in a great spot it really motivates me to get up and out at zero dark thirty.

also I love to scout and set up on fresh sign. Can’t do that in the morning. Morning presets for the win!

 

[Tony]

I have never shot a buck buck on a spot I sat more than than once. Doe yes, as long as you don’t freak them out, they seem to come back. I used to be all mobile saddle hunter hung ho, got burnt out because it is a lot more work than most think, and I just did all my scouting on the go. If I’m doing that now, I just bring a 2lb tripod seat and my leaf suit.

I used to anguish over “is this the right tree, can I shoot over there, oh shot I walked over the best deer trail, should I just trim that branches). Don’t have that hunting from the ground.

This year I’ve been scouting since the season ended and I’m getting a bunch of presets together, not screw ins, but marking trees and cutting shooting lanes. It’s so much nicer to go to in the mornings, and it’s nice of your carrying all your gear on your back to have a destination.

I used to think mobile public hunting was scouting with a stand on your back and setting up where the sign sent you. But these guys that really get it done (infant and eberhart). They seem like they they know exactly where they are going when they go there based on their previous scouting.

 

[eightballwoody]

Your at such a disadvantage hunting from the ground where I live. The underbrush makes visibility very difficult. You really need to get in the air to see. It would be nice if deer always traveled down a 10 lane highway, but they don't. And they move like spiders. Very stealthy. I've tried listening for them many times and gave up because they just don't move like a bull in a china shop. Now I use my thermal monocular and have them spotted long before they get close to me. This makes more sense in the air though I can still pick them up through very heavy foilage.

 

[Tony]

Your at such a disadvantage hunting from the ground where I live. The underbrush makes visibility very difficult. You really need to get in the air to see. It would be nice if deer always traveled down a 10 lane highway, but they don't. And they move like spiders. Very stealthy. I've tried listening for them many times and gave up because they just don't move like a bull in a china shop. Now I use my thermal monocular and have them spotted long before they get close to me. This makes more sense in the air though I can still pick them up through very heavy foilage.

How sporting of you!

 

[DMTJAGER]

Your at such a disadvantage hunting from the ground where I live. The underbrush makes visibility very difficult. You really need to get in the air to see. It would be nice if deer always traveled down a 10 lane highway, but they don't. And they move like spiders. Very stealthy. I've tried listening for them many times and gave up because they just don't move like a bull in a china shop. Now I use my thermal monocular and have them spotted long before they get close to me. This makes more sense in the air though I can still pick them up through very heavy foilage.

Have to agree 100%
Unless my choice is bow hunt from the ground or not at all I will NEVER ever bow hunt from the ground willingly again. If I want to suffer that level of self inflicted emotional suffering and heart ache I might as well take up dating coke addicted strippers