advice

A.Gun

So I had my stand in the top portion of a hill slanted up hill. So I faced down towards the field with my back to the woods. Now the field is shaped like a rectangle probobly 400 yards long by 100 yards wide. Every deer I have seen(which I have seen deer everytime I'm on stand) are on the left width walking the 100 yards. So last night before I left I moved my stand for next weekend. I saw a good buck there last night. I figure all the does are there and come november so will the bucks? So my question is...after three hunts the deer have done the same thing, is it ok to call deer animals of habit or am I just jumpin the gun? Basically I will be facing the field, that will be my view...no woods. Never done this before...

shoff14

I think you will be shooting yourself in the foot if you hang your stand facing directly into the field. You can use the tree as cover, or use trees next to the tree your stand is in for cover to the field. Pick your shooting lanes, maybe 3 or 4 lanes into the field. If you are seeing a pattern in the direction the deer are moving. You can move your tree stand 90 degrees from the field away from that movement. Basically you can just peer around the tree, then have your shooting first shooting lane just on the edge of your movement. This way they don't see you and you can raise your bow before the deer gets to the shooting lane.

tclear

Have to agree with shoff on the cover issue. You don't want to be right on the field with no cover to your front. If you can, pick a tree that sits just back off your field and try to make it on a well used run heading into that field. Last buck I took on a farm we used to hunt had a staging area about 40 yards into the woods where he would stand and scrape, browse, chase doe, and even lay if necessary and then only come out into the field right at dusk. Problem was there were no trees big enough to get up. Ended up taking him from a ground blind (very makeshift blind made of fallen limbs). Big boys know better than to expose themselves real early.
As for the creatures of habit part, most deer at this time of year are most definately creatures of habit. Those habits however WILL CHANGE, and sometimes they change quickly. There are many factors that will promote the change (rut, food source changing/being cut, pressure, etc). If you have a good buck that is rountinely running the same route, jump on him right now, because you never know what he is going to do in the very near future. Good Luck!!!

bigfoot_4

I agree with both Shoff & Tclear, Sitting right on the edge is cutting your chances, deer pick out silhouettes pretty quickly. I have done it a couple times when no other option was at hand, but had to get very high in the tree @ 35 + feet. Along with being uneasy at that height your kill zone gets very small. And instead of a deer ducking your shot. All it has to do is dip to get under your arrow if there on alert. Another point I would like to make is moving your stand in the mid day. Moving a stand on or close to a field in the evenings could give the heads up to allot of deer you never knew where there. October is a great time to pattern deer, and until they know the game is on again you can pretty much set your watch to there movements.
One more thing I would like to add. BUCKS can start breading as soon as they lose there velvet. I have killed more than one buck in my close to 40 years of bowhunting chasing a doe in early to mid October. You don't see it often but believe me it is going on. It is not to the intensity of the 7 to 10 days in November here in the north east called the Peak of the rut. But bucks do start to dog does as soon as they lose there velvet when they find a doe that is smelling ripe. I have killed bucks dogging does in Dec. & January. It is like a slow motion of the peak but it still goes on.
So if you have the option set your stand a tree or two in from the edge of the field. This will give you more cover and a chance to scratch your nose when the deer get close. It never stops amazing me how something starts to itch when the deer get near. And the bigger the deer the bigger the itch.
Good luck with your set up.
Shoot Straight !
Bigfoot [8D]