Watercraft open up areas that might be difficult or even impossible to reach on foot or with a land-based vehicle. (Shutterstock photo)
January 14, 2025
By Josh Honeycutt
Deer season is far from over in many states in the Northeast. In New Hampshire and Vermont, the season doesn’t close until Dec. 15. Connecticut and Massachusetts remain open until the end of the year. Pennsylvania bow- and flintlock hunters have until Jan. 20. Delaware is open until Jan. 26, while Maryland is open until Jan. 31 for bowhunters. Heck, the last day to hunt Rhode Island’s Zone 4 isn’t until Valentine’s Day. In short, opportunity still abounds, but with deer now having been pressured for months, it’s also a good time to think about how and where to get into and out of the woods.
PRIME ACCESS ROUTES Without question, good entry and exit routes are crucial to preserving the quality of a hunting area—both now and for the future. Of course, a good entry route that keeps deer from seeing, hearing and smelling you as they move in and out of their core area can look different from one hunt to the next.
Access routes can be by land or water, each can vary by ideal mode of transportation or tactical approach and the right option for one situation might not be correct for another. Therein lies an important pillar in the foundation of deer hunting: Hunters must read every hunt as its own. Don’t be afraid to abandon the norm for the exception. Sometimes, it’s an unorthodox method that gets the job done.
With that in mind, here’s a guide to outside-the-box ways to access hunting land and treestands that you might not have previously—or seriously—considered this season.
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1. ASK FOR TRESPASS PERMISSION Most public-land properties are bordered by tracts of private land. Oftentimes, this poses major access challenges for those who can’t cross the private tracts. Even if you can’t get permission to hunt a private property, you might receive rights to walk through it to reach a chunk of public ground.
2. FLOAT A BOAT Water access is one of the most undervalued options available today. Finding a back-door entry and exit route can catch even the savviest of big bucks off-guard. Using a boat, canoe or kayak to navigate can also get you into areas few (if any) other hunters are targeting. Easing quietly onto a bank and taking a short hike to a stand location is a surefire way to tag a good deer.
3. USE A DECOY Walking with a 2D decoy is a common tactic in the West. It’s especially common for stalking within range of pronghorns. That isn’t the play here, but it works well for hiding your profile from whitetails. Therefore, on private land only and where no other hunters are likely to see you (and potentially mistake you for a game animal), a large 2D bovine cow decoy can shield your visible profile from onlooking deer. Montana Decoy’s Big Red Moo Cow offers a great way to keep deer from seeing your human form as you ease your way to your stand, plus it packs away easily once you reach your destination.
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By late in the season, deer will often pattern hunters. Consider hitting your spots mid-morning and leaving before dusk. (Photo courtesy of QuietKat) 4. RIDE WITH A FARMER On private land where farming operations take place, deer are quite used to seeing tractors and other farm machinery. Therefore, riding with a farmer in whatever mode of transportation deer commonly see is an excellent way to hide your approach. The farmer drops you off at or near the hunt location and/or picks you up after the hunt. It’s an awesome way to prevent deer from realizing they’re being hunted.
5. GO STEALTH MODE Hunt near a golf course? Take a golf cart to your blind. Hunt on a horse farm? Ride a horse in, tie it up out of sight until after the hunt, then ride it back out. Need quiet but dependable access? Buy an e-bike. There are many options to consider that can shield you from whitetails’ eyes, ears and even noses.
6. WALK A ROAD Walking down the side of a road can be another great play. There are fewer branches to step on to alert deer to your presence, and your ground scent is left along a roadway rather than through part of the farm you’re hunting.
7. WALK A DITCH OR STREAM One of the best access routes is along a ditch, drainage or shallow stream. Of course, a lot of hunters avoid these because it requires getting muddy and/or wet. It might even mean wearing hip waders, depending on water levels. Be careful, of course, and don’t wade water that’s too deep or swift. Ditches, drainages and streams are excellent for minimizing or completely hiding your profile, eliminating ground scent and reducing sound during the approach.
By late in the season, deer will often pattern hunters. Consider hitting your spots mid-morning and leaving before dusk. (Shutterstock photo) 8. GO AT ODD TIMES morning hunts, most hunters walk in about an hour before daylight and depart around mid-morning or lunchtime. For afternoon hunts, they arrive around after lunch or mid-afternoon and depart right after legal light ends. To keep deer from patterning you, consider heading into the woods around mid-morning and heading out before dusk every once in a while.
9. CALL A DRIVER The evening hunt just ended and you can’t get out of your blind or stand without risking spooking deer. Arrange for someone to pick you up in an ATV or truck. The driver will ease the deer off during the approach, and you’ll be able to slip out without them spotting you.
10. TRY A SOFT PUSH If the above is not possible, consider something even more outside the box. For example, bark like a dog, howl like a coyote or make some other natural sound to push deer out of the area.
CHOOSE WISELY The nature of your hunting property will impact the type of access—orthodox or unorthodox—you use. Most of the above options can be used on private lands. Not all are options on public ground. Of course, study the property type, property layout and other factors, and choose accordingly. Select the right access type for you and boost the odds of success in key situations.
This article was featured in the December/January 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .