Why have deer stopped coming to my stand?

Three major reasons stands go dry are: your approach allows deer to smell or hear you entering and leaving; the stand is hunted too much; and the stand is hunted when the wind conditions are not the best.

Why am I not seeing deer in my stand?

If you're not seeing deer, you might be reaching your treestand too late and leaving too early. Get settled at least a half-hour before you expect deer to move. That means arriving before first light in the morning, and at least an hour before dark in the late afternoon. For evening sits, plan to walk out in darkness.

How do you attract deer to your stand?

How long should you wait in a deer stand?

During all times but the rut, I like to plan for a solid, 3 hour sit. Because of blocked and hidden access there are certain stand or blind locations that I can easily slip into an hour to two hours before dark, even with deer in front of the stand location.

How often should you hunt a deer stand?

Hunt a stand one time and, on average, bucks will avoid it for three days. Bucks also changed their behavior relative to food plot use in the stand area. At the onset of hunting season, bucks visited the food plots one of every three times the stand was hunted during legal shooting hours.

Three Reasons Why You're Not Seeing Deer

Should you hunt the same spot everyday?

It doesn't matter how good the spot is or how many deer you see in there. By the end of the season, it's not going to be the honey hole it started out being. The more you hunt a spot, the more hunting pressure it receives. Even if you don't get busted, you're still leaving behind scent.

How long before sunrise should you be in your deer stand?

By using the cover of darkness to access your stand, you can arrive and climb preferably, roughly 5-10 minutes prior to shooting light.

Do climbing stands scare deer?

They are not gonna spook a deer unless they are close enough to see you climb or very close to hear you.

Can deer see you in a treestand?

More often than not, a deer will smell you before seeing or hearing you when you're in the tree stand.

Do ladder stands spook deer?

Ladder stands in and of themselves do not spook deer. Deer may be spooked when you first install a ladder stand in the same way that they would be spooked by anything new. However, they will get used to them.

What smells are deer attracted to?

Deer are attracted to the smell of soil as is, but if you want to up the attraction factor, pour some buck or doe urine, or scrape starter into it.

What food are deer most attracted to?

Food Plots

Plants that typically attract deer include red clover, chicory, and orchard grass. Certain high-protein crops, such as peas, soybeans, turnips, alfalfa, sorghum, kale, or corn, are also attractants that the animals enjoy feeding on. Deer like the nutritious nuts that come from chestnuts and acorns as well.

Why do I never see bucks when I hunt?

The more time you or other hunters spend on the property, the less likely you are to see deer, especially older deer. Studies have shown that as hunting pressure increases, mature bucks move less during daylight. They also spend more time in thick cover, where you're less likely to see them even if they do move.

Why would deer leave an area?

Three major reasons stands go dry are: your approach allows deer to smell or hear you entering and leaving; the stand is hunted too much; and the stand is hunted when the wind conditions are not the best. Let's take a look at some data related to the idea that a stand can be overhunted.

What should you not do while deer hunting?

How long does it take for deer to get used to a tree stand?

I think it depends on a few factors, but on average I would say 2 weeks. I have a few over food plots that deer seemed to be used to in a week, but most of those deer were younger deer.

Where do you aim on a deer from the tree stand?

Aim to the side of the backbone (yellow dot). Your arrow will hit the liver, diaphragm, and possibly one lung for a quick kill. Patience will improve the quartering-toward shot angle, so you don't need to rush. The quartering deer will quickly become broadside as it passes your stand.

How high should you be in a tree stand?

Often times 20 feet is the benchmark. This will get you up high enough to be out of direct line of sight for any deer in the area and is not so high that a hunter feels uncomfortable climbing to and getting into the stand safely.

Do deer avoid tree stands?

The data also showed that the more times a stand was hunted, the more the deer avoided it. No surprise here. If, for example, you hunted a stand for 12 hours in any week, your chance of seeing any of the bucks was cut in half. This avoidance behavior lasted for an average of three days.

How many hunters fall from tree stands?

Alarmingly, our tree stand survey found that more than one in three hunters who use tree stands or other elevated devices will some day fall from their trees or the stands themselves, and about 3 percent of those who fall will suffer permanently crippling injuries.

Are climbing stands worth it?

Climbing treestands are great for the mobile hunters. Those who hunt public or private but don't want to be locked down to one spot. A climbing treestand is great for someone who has several spots that they like to hunt, but no budget to place a treestand at each of these spots.

What temperature do deer move the most?

Cold Fronts Equal Activity

Whether temperatures drop from 98 to 76 or 47 to 20, deer activity will rise dramatically. Bowhunting around cold fronts brings consistent success, especially during September and October.

Is morning or evening better for deer hunting?

For the first several weeks of the season, the best time to hunt is the last two hours of the evening. Warm mornings and hot days cause deer to spend more time feeding at night, so by dawn they are bedded down and will be less active during the day. As the evening cools, they'll move around for food and water.

What time of day is best to hunt during the rut?

It also clearly suggests that hunters should get into the woods early—i.e., before dawn—and stay at least until 11:00 a.m. for their best chance of killing a mature buck during the rut.