TEN THINGS NOT TO DO WHILE ON DEER STAND

Many claim they have been on stand all day and not seen a thing and yet they know that there are deer in the area. Remember that deer have far superior hearing and eyesight than either you or me. Especially me! I have the average eyesight of a guy closing in on sixty years of age, in other words, not as good as it once was. My hearing, however, is even worse. I have about 50 % hearing of what any average person has. I therefore find that I do not hear deer until they are almost on top of me. I therefore have to be especially careful on stand. Here are a few tips I have learned over time and by trial and error.
1. Don’t fidget! Even the slightest movement can alert deer if they are in the area. Constantly moving your hand or boots is a sure way to warn deer off your location.
2. Don’t fall asleep! This should be obvious but I often find myself in danger of this. If you snore, you obviously don’t want to be caught sleeping.
3. Don’t rattle candy wrappers! If you absolutely need candy while on stand, take it out of the crinkling wrapper before you head into the woods. You will be surprised how far this strange sound travels.
4. Don’t sit in an uncomfortable stand! If you aren’t comfortable on stand you won’t sit still. Make sure you can sit relatively comfortably for long periods in your stand.
5. Don’t get so involved in your book that you forget to look up once in awhile! If you must read, take a book that is less exciting than your favorite spellbinder.
6. Don’t forget to turn off your radio, cell phone or any other electronic device! These modern conveniences often have the annoying habit of going off just at the wrong time.
7. Don’t drink excessive amounts of coffee, tea or caffeine laced soda! This is only going to create bathroom calls. This will translate to excess motion.
8. Don’t eat supper in stand! If you really must have a snack, make it a quiet, non-aromatic food that will satisfy the urge and yet won’t alert the deer to your presence. Again, package it in soft wrappers.
9. Don’t clink and clunk around while on stand! Avoid letting your binoculars bounce against your gunstock and any other type of unnatural noise occurring. Metal on metal, plastic on metal, etc. are all going to tell deer that something just isn’t quite right.
10. Don’t forget to shower before going on stand! Use scent free soap and try to wear fresh scent free clothing. Forget the aftershave and cologne, although I had one hunting friend that insisted it was his aftershave that attracted so many deer.
Noise and scent are the two biggest enemies of the deer hunter. You must take precautions to deal with each of these. You can not totally eliminate them, but you can minimize them. Even a carbon suit is not going to eliminate all odors. Just because you think you are real quiet, don’t believe you are fooling the game. While coyote hunting we find that these animals can hear a mouse squeak at a couple hundred yards. That is far superior to our hearing. Cut down on the visual, audio and scent you bring into your hunting area and you should see dramatic effects.