Is my spot SHOT!

[tom_guy]

I have been hunting public land in northern MN for about 15 years and I have been hunting the same ridge for that long. I went up on Saturday to scope everything out and there is a REA line where my stand use to be. I still want to hunt that ridge so here are my questions, 1. Will this attract alot of hunters, I have never seen anyone else hunt this spor where me and my family hunts? 2. Do I sit right on the edge of the line and hope something comes out? 3. Has anyone ever had a similar situation?

[lichen fox]

Look at it as if someone cut you a huge shooting lane! We've had new powerlines added on our hunting land over the years and while it never really impacted deer movement, it does slow down alot of vehicles that just naturally want to "take a look" down the line that goes off into the wilderness...We have found that it can be quite good sitting right on the "line" with lots of deer sightings...simply because you can cover 3-4 or more trails that cross the powerline cuts...on the downside, if you're not a long-range shooter, there are quite a few shots that may be a bit out of range...We have found better success concentrating on one or two trails that we can cover by being 50 to 100 yards off these huge shooting lanes....If it's public land, keep in mind that it will be a bit of a magnet to "new" hunters to the area, especially if your stand location is within a half mile of a road that other hunters travel...if so, they will stop-look...maybe even take a shot if they see a deer...maybe even get out and do a little scouting of thier own for trails...the key is to try and get more than half a mile away from any roads as "most" first time hunters will be reluctant to walk much further than that the first time they venture out and it also would take quite a marksman to even consider shooting at a deer that far away...Good luck!

[fishingforester]

I used to hunt a large powerline for ~12yrs. It was an established line, not one that showed up out of the blue, so I can't speak to the alteration of deer movement. It did seem that deer would switch their patterns periodically anyway. As stated by The Fox, it was a great shooting lane, but also great for seeing (non-shooter)deer and other wildlife. It was about a half mile trek through a (non-motorized) WMA to get back to this location for the general public, but I was fortunate to have motorized access to the powerline via my parents' land. I agree that for a lot of hunters, the half mile mark is about as far as they want to drag a deer out of the woods. When I hunted there, it was a time where the permanent stand was more acceptable on public land (county land, not on the WMA), so that's what we had, but you could certainly stay on the ground and have success. Every hunter has to realize his/her max range to take a shot, and there can be some long shots on a powerline, but I had a number of deer that were less than 30 yds away,too. Good luck!

[Scott M]

My wife's cousin shot a 12 pointer two years ago where a powerline went through. One of the few places of open space in the midst of trees near the Canadian border.

You might have some lookers, but you take the good with the bad on public land.