I don’t know that I have a single stand placed for archery hunting that is without some kind of what I call a sweetener.  This might be unimpressive if I had only one or two, but I have dozens of stands across five different farms that I plan to hunt this fall.  Two small farms I own which makes it much easier to plan for and implement the addition of sweeteners.  The others, are farms I have permission on or lease.  I have a long history in my hunting life of not owning the land I hunted on, either hunting by permission, using public land, or by leasing.  In all these scenarios (not owning your own land), it is hard to alter the landscape and manipulate it because in each case it requires getting permission and working with competing interests of other hunters.  Or, in the case of hunting public land, there are laws and rules about changing what you find on public lands.  In any event, the stands that I have planned for and added sweeteners to have been by far the most successful.  I know this, because over the years not all my stands had the addition of something to make the stand better.  Something to narrow down buck movement to get them within bow range. 

As I started to add deer attractions or alter the landscape, my success went up.  Not only on a seasonal basis, but on a hunt by hunt basis.  This meant that I saw more bigger deer, and more of them in range.  This was a huge learning experience for me and came out of necessity back when I had very limited time to hunt.  Each time I learned of a successful way to sweeten a stand; I would repeat the tactic if I could at each new stand location…sometimes implementing more than one idea at a time.  Finding the right spot to hang to see a mature deer is only half the battle, getting them in range is the other half. 

What is a Sweetener?

I don’t know when, but at some point, I started calling additions I made to my stand locations sweeteners.  They are that extra touch of work that makes deer want to frequent a stand location a little bit more than the surroundings.  Today I use 5 techniques to sweeten my stand locations and I will combine them any time I can.  They are:  mock scrapes, transition food, fence jumps and ditch crossings, directing trails, and water holes.  Each method will work to improve deer travel near your stand locations…combining sweeteners works to direct deer past you even better.

Transition Food-When I first started planting food plots, I would utilize any and every open space I could find to plant food for the local deer herd.   I would even spend huge amounts of time and money clearing openings in the timber for my “kill plots” because that was what everyone else was doing.  Then I would hunt those plots hard.  This accomplished two things…it burned out the farms I was hunting because I didn’t pay attention to my access and I was bumping deer while on stand, and it made it very difficult to pattern deer because there was so much food spread out all over the place.  Not Any More!

Today the only two food plots I plant are destination food sources that I don’t hunt until late season, and transition plots that are meant to direct deer travel—not feed the deer.  A transition food plot should be located between bedding cover and a main food source; far enough from both that you can get in to hunt and leave without ever bumping deer.  They serve to direct deer travel, nothing more.  This can be accomplished by providing small plots of greens in logical places between bedding and main food.  I can think of many such scenarios where I have planted very small plots of greens, in cover or just on the edge of cover, that deer will visit to nibble on the greens on their way to larger plots or agricultural fields.  The purpose is to offer the deer a snack as they make their way to more preferred food.

Make these transition plots too big or too good, and you risk making them so attractive that deer won’t leave them…eventually they’ll bust you or you’ll bust them as you come and go to hunt.  This is fine if you own thousands of acres of land or have a dozen farms.  Most hunters don’t have that.  Keep your transition plots small and long so that deer work through them and don’t hang around.  Winter rye is a great choice because it grows in anything and stays green into winter.

Mock Scrapes-I’ve seen and read studies where most mature bucks won’t use a scrape until after dark.  While this might be true generically, a properly located scrape in cover, back off open fields and away from any type of human pressure will see daytime activity of all age class bucks.  A well-placed scrape can direct buck travel through an area, make for great shot opportunities, and will help you in collecting data on your game cameras.  I locate mock scrapes within bow range and in a direction of travel I prefer around just about every stand I have.  And, if there are a bunch of scrapes already in the area made possible by overhanging branches, I will remove all the overhanging branches except the one scrape I want left.  This makes sure that any buck using that area has to scrape under the only licking branch there is left.  Making mock scrapes allows me to dictate where the deer will scrape instead of allowing chance to do the work.  I will run cameras on scrapes almost all fall, having only one scrape placed where I want it can also aid in getting a better inventory of local bucks and their travels in a particular area.

Fence Jumps and Ditch Crossings-I like to hunt edges, draws, and fence lines a lot.  It usually allows for great transition areas and great access.  So, if I can hunt an edge and it is combined with a way to funnel deer past my stand it only makes sense that this would be a preferred ambush site.  Using fence jumps and ditch crossings is a great way to do this.  But, all too often there are multiple jumps and crossings available for the deer to use making it all but impossible to narrow it down.  Or, in the case of a fence that is still in great shape or a ditch that has no crossings, creating a crossing yourself is a phenomenal way to narrow travel down.  If I have a fence or ditch crossing with many options for deer, I will block as many off as I can so that they are forced to use the one I have chosen.  This could mean piling up trees and debris to block their path, or maybe it means fixing the fence.  In many cases, I have taken down a good fence in one spot to create a preferred crossing, or tied it down making a jump where I want it.  The point is this…deer love using easy crossings, make your own by altering a fence or ditch, or block off undesirable crossings leaving the one you want to hunt as the best option.

Directing Trails-Creating directing trails is most effective when you are hunting in a thick cover area or in an area where there are dozens of trails covering more ground than you can shoot.  In these cases, creating directing trails can lead deer past a stand site.  This can be easily accomplished in many cases by simply dropping a few trees to block off trails or to direct deer where you want them to go.  The danger is, if the deer go farther away instead of closer.  Piling brush is another good way to direct traffic.  The best way, and probably the most effective is a combination of both blocking trails and by cutting out and spraying your own trail where you want it.  I’ve used this most effectively in very thick cover…I’ll cut out a path no wider than an atv or even smaller, then keep the path clear by spraying with a combination of glyphosate and imazapyr.  If you don’t want to buy imazapyr using just glyphosate will work but it will require multiple sprayings each year.  By cutting out trails in thick cover and spraying to keep them open, deer will pound these easier paths.  Sometimes having several of these man-made trails works best working their way through thick cover…intersect them in bow range and upwind of your ambush site. 

Water Holes-Water is an essential part of a deer’s needs.  However, many times throughout the fall, deer can get most if not all of their water needs through the foods they eat.  Water holes should not be placed on your property just anywhere or where they are easy to build.  Instead, make a water hole to direct deer traffic.  The best luck I’ve had with creating water holes is to place them in my transition areas between bed and food.  If it’s dry out, maybe even hot, deer will seek water after leaving their beds in the late afternoon.  What better way to attract deer and direct their movement but to place one in between bedding and feeding in an area you can exploit.  To me, the best place for this is near a transition area.  Again, keep in mind how you can hunt this water hole before putting it in.  A sunken water tank you or rain fills can be placed anywhere.  If possible, damming up a ditch can accomplish the same.  Locating a water hole between bedding and main food is key!  No sense locating a water source at their main food source because deer were already headed that way…use the water hole as a way to direct deer travel.

A great stand location can usually be made better by adding a sweetener or two.  I like to use the 5 sweeteners described in this article.  Many of my best sets have or use a combination of 2, 3, or even all 5 at the same time.  Imagine a transition area food plot complete with a mock scrape and water hole.  The plot is in thicker cover and access by the local deer herd is accomplished by a fence jump within easy range of a comfortable stand.  Deer leave the plot using a directing trail leading them away toward an evening main food source a few hundred yards away.  Sweeteners can make your hunts more successful by allowing you to get into archery range of more deer more of the time!