The #1 way a deer bust you in the stand, IMO

Its not scent and its not hearing you but its seeing you move. Almost every time a deer coming in on my set up has busted me it was because it saw me moving.

I tackle this problem by doing 3 things. #1 get as high as I can. #2 Place my stand location in some cover. #3 Sit as still as possible during the entire hunt.

Skylining is the #1 cause.
That big black blob sitting in the Pine row.
Hide my friends , like a Predator.

Woodsman69 said:

Its not scent and its not hearing you but its seeing you move. Almost every time a deer coming in on my set up has busted me it was because it saw me moving.

I tackle this problem by doing 3 things. #1 get as high as I can. #2 Place my stand location in some cover. #3 Sit as still as possible during the entire hunt.

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This is true for me, coming from a pine thicket into oaks, there is no telling how long they watch

A lot of time the reason they look at me is cause them smelled then look. Older deer no what a stand is I think also so they look to see. Just because it has never seen h there. Well the next club over it saw someone in one. Some of my thoughts.

Johnny 71 said:

This is true for me, coming from a pine thicket into oaks, there is no telling how long they watch

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That has been my experience as well. I think the key is to set up just in the edge of the thicket to get some cover around you.

If your in a tree it's also good to pick a tree with a little girth to it instead of being in a small tree. It will help with break up your outline vs looking like a large dark mass floating on a toothpick.

I don't disagree with the OP's opinion here. I feel like most of the deer that wind is, we don't see to begin with. Sometimes they blow at a distance downwind. This logic is why I try not to use a climber if I can help it and place a lock on or ladder in a tree that is full of cover....specifically limbs below the stand. I have been amazed at how much closer deer have come and at the amount of movement I get away with from a loc on vs - climber. Now, a climber is much easier to slap on a skint up tree and shimmy up, but it goes back to the old saying "hard work pays off" or "killing big deer isn't easy". Think about how easily we are sky lined from a climber. Nothing between us and a the base of the tree....deer can see far better than we can and we can spot a hunter sitting in a climber in a stand of pines in a heartbeat. Same hunter tucked up in a lock on in between limbs practically disappears.

Derek Snider said:

I don't disagree with the OP's opinion here. I feel like most of the deer that wind is, we don't see to begin with. Sometimes they blow at a distance downwind. This logic is why I try not to use a climber if I can help it and place a lock on or ladder in a tree that is full of cover....specifically limbs below the stand. I have been amazed at how much closer deer have come and at the amount of movement I get away with from a loc on vs - climber. Now, a climber is much easier to slap on a skint up tree and shimmy up, but it goes back to the old saying "hard work pays off" or "killing big deer isn't easy". Think about how easily we are sky lined from a climber. Nothing between us and a the base of the tree....deer can see far better than we can and we can spot a hunter sitting in a climber in a stand of pines in a heartbeat. Same hunter tucked up in a lock on in between limbs practically disappears.

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Very good point. With a climber your limited to climbing until you hit the canopy or bigger limbs off a tree. With a lock on you can place your stand with complete coverage around and underneath You. If you do your homework you don't need wide open space to shot 180 degrees or more around you just a few openings in your cover where you know your deer will move thru. You might not always get a shot sometimes but will pay off in the end. Hunt the wind and conceal yourself.

I've learned to try to rest your gun in the direction you expect to see activity. The less you have to move the rifle to get on target the better. It doesn't always work because deer sneak in from every where. But I used to sit with my gun across my lap, any shot would require a lot of movement of my upper body to get in position. Now I try to sit with my rifle lined up in direction I think I will see deer.

Also, when you do move try to move SLOW. Sudden movements stand out much more than slow ones. Jerking my rifle around as soon as I see deer have cost me more shots than I care to admit.

I have given this much thought through the years. This year I have painted the bottoms of my five Summits matte textured grey with few green contrasts. The idea is that like Military Aircraft blue on the bottom to make it harder for those on the ground to spot you. I hope this works!

I usually only pick camouflage patterns that are lighter in color. No - not ever black in the pattern. It cracks me up when I see camo jackets with black cuffs on the sleeve. The part that moves the most.

I have always been lucky and can find a tree that have neighboring trees that branch up and conceal my shape. I have on many occasions had to move up the tree in a 360 degree rotation to avoid neighboring branches on the way up and down. I am very concerned by being seen. I normally place my stand so that the direction I think the deer are coming from puts me partly concealed by the tree. Not completely because I prefer for unobstructed shot, but as I face the tree I can get a shot to my left front quiet easily. Some people I know place the stand so that the sun is not in their eyes. I have learned not to worry so much about that...I wear a hat with a bill and have found that it only affects me for about 20 minutes.

All this said, even though I get as high as I can (for visibility and sent) I believe that I am busted by my sent and wind changes more than anything else. The key is don't move much.

Woodsman69 said:

Its not scent and its not hearing you but its seeing you move. Almost every time a deer coming in on my set up has busted me it was because it saw me moving.

I tackle this problem by doing 3 things. #1 get as high as I can. #2 Place my stand location in some cover. #3 Sit as still as possible during the entire hunt.

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You may think that, but that is most likely not true. You just more often than not, see the deer that bust you visually. Deer that bust you with their nose, especially mature deer, will just slip back out the way they came without you ever knowing it. Very few deer that wind you just stand there and blow 20 times. Most jus slip off without you ever knowing it.

You could always just sit still. Stands should be placed in some form of cover but it isn't always possible - so just sit still.

Couldn't keep a young guy out of my stand - he's smarter than me. Anyway, deer started watching the stand from up to 200 yards away. Don't know what he did in the stand to alert them so well, but it worked.

I'm more of the mindset that your scent trail in and out of the stand will tell the deer where you are and when you go there. They got good noses and walk around all night long... Plenty of people talk about deer following their foot steps.

I to believe it's movement, I have sat in tripods in the middle of a chop and had deer walk right to me and as long as I didn't move they were fine. On a few occasions they would stop and stare me down waiting for me to move.

I tend to agree. A deer can only smell you if it's downwind, but it can durn sure see you moving from upwind. A lot of times, deer are watching in your direction from a distance long before you ever see them.

across the river said:

You may think that, but that is most likely not true. You just more often than not, see the deer that bust you visually. Deer that bust you with their nose, especially mature deer, will just slip back out the way they came without you ever knowing it. Very few deer that wind you just stand there and blow 20 times. Most jus slip off without you ever knowing it.

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You have no way of proving that.

Hunt in a ground blind, holds in scent, covers movement. Was busted last year a few times, switched to a ground blind, no issues

Woodsman69 said:

You have no way of proving that.

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Good point. If the deer were never seen, never heard, how would you know they were ever there. Just no way to know.

I have had deer, downwind, that seemed to be smelling me or something and were alert but unless I moved they were not sure what or where I was. Same has happen, though only a couple of times, where I made a noise (cough, stand creak, or something else and though again alert they could not pin point what was different/out of place.

I agree with the OP, I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting in a tree and catch a leaf flicker in a light breeze. I see it because everything else is not moving so I have to believe it's the same with a deer. That's probably why you don't see too many deer on really windy days, too much overload for their eyes, nose and ears.

Everything varies with different hunters. I've killed some of my best bucks on windy days. Seen plenty of deer.

I agree, I learned from a friend's dad many years ago, set up on trees with a smaller tree growing right beside it. Usually the smaller tree has plenty of limbs for cover, hides you well without having much in your way. Has worked well with me.