Look at the deer

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We loaded the metal tripod stand onto my big trailer and strapped it down. It was early and cool, but I knew it wouldn't last long. It would be a warm day. Clayton and I headed to the club in the High Hills. We stopped once along the way to check the tires on the trailer and our tie-down straps on the stand. Everything was good.

The clubhouse road was wet from a recent rain but was not bad. When I stopped at the gate, Clayton stepped out and checked the road behind us. He looks for artifacts anywhere and everywhere. After a rain is the best time to look. We got back in the truck and headed up the hill.

Near the top, a small powerline crosses the road. Clayton exclaimed, "Look at the deer." I looked but had already driven past the powerline. I stopped the truck and backed up a few yards to look. A big doe was standing about 50 yards away. Clayton took out his phone and took several pictures. I took a picture of him taking the pictures. When I moved the truck slowly ahead, the doe turned and loped away. We always look for deer, turkeys or any other wildlife. It's a treat to see them.

The roads were in good shape, and we eased along to our destination. I wanted to install the stand overlooking a small food plot and an open lane through a stand of big loblolly pines. When I stopped the truck, yellow flies swarmed around the open windows. We ran the windows up and sat there a few minutes to let them go away. Which they did.

I pointed out the general area to Clayton where I wanted to set the stand up, just off the road. Easy access was important. Shade would be a consideration, especially in the early season. We needed to be able to see the food plot and down the open lane. Background cover is also important. We looked around and picked a spot about 10 yards off the road that seemed just right.

Now a tripod stand by definition has three legs, and there were only two of us. It's much easier if you have three people, but two can do it. First, we unstrapped the stand and stood it up off the back of the trailer. Then, we each got on a leg, lifted and walked, turning in a half circle. We let the stationary leg act as a pivot. We rotated the pivot legs and were able to "walk" the stand from the road to our spot.

One of the legs of the stand has built-in steps, and we let that leg face the most obvious direction of access. We had to move the stand slightly forward to get it clear of some overhanging limbs. Clayton climbed up to the seat and looked out at the food plot and the lane. I stood on the bottom step to give it some stability while he was up there. Sitting in the seat, he could tell the stand was slightly uneven.

Clayton climbed down, and I got the shovel from the truck. Looking at the slope of the ground, we decided to adjust one of the legs. Clayton held the tripod leg up, and I took a scoop of dirt out beneath it, then let the leg down in the depression. It looked perfect, and the stand was not wobbly. We would stake it down here.

The legs of the stand have a flat shoe at the bottom with a hole through, for a stake. I had three 18-inch-long metal stakes with a flange near the top. I took a 10-pound hammer and drove each stake through the hole into the hard ground, up to the flange. The flange will give you something to pry against when you need to pull the stakes out, and they keep the legs of the stand from pulling out over the stake. The stand was now set in place and rock solid. It would be a club stand, available for all our members to hunt.

We each climbed back up to get a look from the stand. Clayton clipped a few limbs that were too close, and I tied an orange ribbon to the leg of the stand so other hunters would notice it. We will come back later and fasten camo burlap to the stand and cut a few limbs to add for additional camouflage. When the season opens, we hope that we can sit up there and "look at the deer."

Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.