Entry & Exit Strategies

Much attention is given to perfect tree stand setups, placement, or even height in hunting magazines, blogs and forums. While these are all certainly important, one of the most important aspects of hunting is often overlooked. Determining the best entry and exit route is as important, if not more important, to your success in the deer woods this fall. A truly great stand is made by your ability to get into and out of it without alerting deer. So here are a few tactics we use to get in and out of our hunting locations clean and effective.

Use Existing Cover

Great deer hunters use cover to their advantage when approaching or exiting their deer stands. Pull up your Huntwise app and get an aerial view of your area, then head out to get some boots on the ground, well before the season starts. Look for things that might provide natural cover for your approach. 

Cutting through a field of standing corn to cover you entry/exit

Standing corn, Egyptian Wheat and tall grass are all great options for sneaking in and out (they provide great cover and allow for quiet movement) but our favorite terrain by far are creek beds and ditches. They allow you to stay low and out of sight and often pull your scent down low. Plus, they are typically damp (which means a quieter walk in) and, if there is flowing water, you won’t leave a ton of ground scent. 

Plan Ahead and Stay Dark

Entry and exit points take some thought ahead of time. It’s critical to be patient and to move deliberately when you're getting into and out of your stand. Stick to walking in dead zones if possible - areas with no food or cover (less deer travel through them). Visualize a mental map not only of the route you’ll take but the steps you need to take as well. We prefer to go in and out as silent as we can if it’s possible. However, a heel-toe gait while pausing at irregular times has proven to be pretty effective as well - you end up sounding like a deer walking through the woods. 

Walking to your hunting location without a headlamp has its benefits.

Over the past few years, we’ve also used headlamps less and less, choosing to “go in dark”. If you let your eyes adjust to the dark before entering the woods, you’ll be surprised by how well you can see. On cloudy moonless nights, this isn’t an option however so we’ll elect to go with a very dim red light pointed directly at our feet. 

Get Creative

Sometimes conventional methods just won’t do and you’ll need to get creative. A kayak can be a deadly weapon in your arsenal, for example. Not only do they allow you to get into places many people won’t go, they don’t leave any ground scent and allow for a virtually silent commute. 

Here we used a few kayaks in Northern Michigan to slip into an area only accessible by water

We’ve also found success in having people drive up directly to our tree stand in cars or ATVs. It may seem extremely counter intuitive and in many cases maybe it isn’t right. However, often deer don’t associate the sounds and sights of a motorized vehicle with the same level of danger as a camo-clad dude sneaking through the woods. In our experience, when a car or a ATV rolls up, deer will clear out but come right back in when it leaves. 

Finally, don’t rule out simply running to your stand.  Hear about Jared‘s patent-pending “Buck Run” on our recent episode with Mark Kenyon.