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Pine Trees

J

jgleas114

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Messages
255
Over the weekend, I made last minute hunt. I found the perfect location in a pine tree. Needless to say I probably blew everything that was headed my way out.

Keep in mind I one stick. The bark that fell and broke off on my way up was so loud. Also trying to exit quietly was a nightmare. Getting my line out of the tree was so noisy. I ended up just leaving it in the tree and getting before I left the next evening.

Any pointers? As of now, my plan is to avoid pines.
 
jgleas114 said:
Any pointers? As of now, my plan is to avoid pines.
Click to expand...
That’s my pointer. Hunt the ground if pines are where you gotta be, or find the nearest deciduous tree. I have one pine set, it’s a sappy barky mess but it’s got an old wooden platform in it that overlooks a small food plot. If that platform wasn’t already built I’d have a ground blind instead or set in one of the less desirably placed cherry trees nearby.
 
If it's in a good spot consider doing a preset for rope climbing. I've got one that's about 25 feet or so up. Gets me even with a hill. Sweaty mess putting it up but it wasn't too bad SRT up to hunt it. FWIW I like the Garda foot loop from JRB and a friction hitch, even a prusik will work ok
 
Must be a Red pine. Very scaley.
We hunt them up here quite a bit.
They are everywhere, millions of acres papermill lands.
After season go climb it and descale the bugger!
Just use your hands and rub.
Any tree I climb I know I wont be back too soon so if there is a branch on the tree or one near the ground hindering a shot I go ahead and deal with it then and there.
Man I need to retire so I can get back to spending serious time out..
 
I shot my buck out of a pine this year. 3’ diameter old pine with tons of dead branches. Had to cut a couple on the way up (dead pine branches are soft and quick/quiet to cut) but three sticks was plenty and I had tons of cover.
 
I have one pine and I hate that I have to be in it but it’s a must hunt rut spot. Grounds not an option you’d barely shoot 5 yards but the pine has 2 smaller pines behind it for cover and gives a great vantage point out to the hardwood flat and across to the swamp. It’s a pre set and I use my old 11mm ropes when I hunt it so I don’t trash all my everyday use ropes. It’s also the only tree I’ve ever worn knee pads in when I hunt. The bark isn’t bad when you set the tree up in the spring and get all the flaky stuff off ahead of time
 
I hunted a pine Saturday evening for the last hunt of general firearm season. Shot the biggest doe ever at 30 yards. I took my time one sticking up. Locking the stick into place before stepping up. I would also slowly apply pressure to the aider and let the standoffs sink into the bark. I cammed my mission down about 5 times to get away all the loose bark before it was hunting time. I had 5 does around me from 5-30 yards when I took the largest at 30 yards. They never knew I was there until the shotgun went off. Pine trees aren't bad, they just aren't ideal.
 
Climbing pines and attempting to be quiet i go really really slow....try to break off the big flaky bark by hand. Once set up I precrunch all the bark my knees or foots will contact. Pay close attention for any nubbies on the back side of the tree that will catch ur rope and make u have the climb of shame. I don't like climbing them either but almost impossible to get away from them around here
 
I guess it depends on the pines. I like white pines and I love hemlocks. I have a whole darker tone of camo when I'm tucked in a hemlock grove dusk or dawn, especially after it rains. Like deer magnets. I do have a few pitch pines and that bark is loud.
 
I climb them quite often from necessity. We have a few quadrillion of the things around so they get hunted. I go slow and try not to crunch the bark too much. I haven't had the problem with pine sap with 2TC. The ropes don't break through to the sap layer. When I used a climber that sap got all over everything. Sometimes I think that bark crunching sound calls in deer. It used to happen all the time when I used a climber.
 

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