Getting picked off

[Slickhead]

do you get busted more on the ground or in a tree?
I've gotten busted a few times in my stand over the last few years.

May be the lay of the land but it seems deer just see me up there.

[dirtguy]

In a tree stand you can see deer that are relatively far away and realize that they busted you. On the ground, you might never see the deer that come within say 100 yards and then veer off.

I'd say we generally get busted more often on the ground whether we realize it or not.

[smokin joe]

In my opinion:

The deer first see you as a lump that they normally don't see in that location - and they know what they expect to see. If you move before they have accepted you, or disregarded you -- well, you are busted because you moved. Once they accept you as nothing important to them, they will disregard you and you can move.

Pay close attention to their body language. You will notice that there is a point when they decide they are, for the most part, safe. You have to stay completely still until that point. Of course, if there are multiple deer they won't all relax at the same time.

Remember, a deer is a prey animal, and their eyes are made to pick up and interpret movement. They don't have the ability to reason out what you are if you don't move. So, don't move until they disregard you.

[Bill Carlsen]

Tree stands are popular for a reason. The most important thing is your ability to sit still, IMO, assuming your are taking reasonable scent control measures. From the ground I have found that DB blinds have given me a distinct advantage over natural blinds as long as the deer are used to seeing them. On the other hand I have taken several at very close range after just finding a good looking spot and sitting there the first time. There are so many variables. Some ground blinds I have sat in are better than a tree stand and visa versa. It's all a chess game, isn't it?

[Michael Arnette]

I have been using a gillie suit in the tree this year and haven't been picked out yet, normally it is several times a year in a tree. I've been sighted every time on the ground jut have been able to make the shot before the reaction

[Michael Arnette]

Originally posted by dirtguy:
In a tree stand you can see deer that are relatively far away and realize that they busted you. On the ground, you might never see the deer that come within say 100 yards and then veer off.

I'd say we generally get busted more often on the ground whether we realize it or not.

I'd have to agree

[degabe]

My brother painted a feed sack the same brown as his camo and hung it in his stand. He left it up there year round and just took the stand down. After the first season they never even looked up. He did this on his own land so no rules were broken.

[reddogge]

Originally posted by degabe:
My brother painted a feed sack the same brown as his camo and hung it in his stand. He left it up there year round and just took the stand down. After the first season they never even looked up. He did this on his own land so no rules were broken.

Heck of an idea, especially when the leaves drop.

[kleine]

I had a nuecence doe one year that new where my tree stand was and would bust me every night . So one night I brought a diaphragm turkey call and gave a little tree call in my stand and then she was perfectly fine about me being there.

[old_goat2]

I use decoys and don't move till they see the decoy, then you can almost jump up and down in your stand

[Zwickey-Fever]

I tend to hang my stands in trees with more then one trunk. I stand 99% of the time along the tree and never move until I know that I can without being busted. And you're absolutely correct David about using a deer decoy, (for me, a doe decoy works better then a buck decoy, except in the rut),. Deer come in eyes glued to the decoy. A person can get away with a lot.

[Shadowhnter]

Id say its probably dead even for me in the air or on the ground for picking me off out right without me moving. Its tougher to get drawn on the ground because you have to (or should) wait for a perfect time, which often does not come. So often we try to "make" it happen, when we really should not even be trying to draw. We have to be more ready to let them go by on the ground to keep from being busted. There is no doubt more shots come about from being in a tree, but having lots of experiences can still take place on the ground. The patient hunter is the one who will be more richly rewarded in the end.

[Friend]

Struggled for many years getting picked off from the ground.

Have continuously refined my own ground setups.

Have not been picked off in the last 150+ hunts.

[Stumpkiller]

I definitely get busted more while still-hunting than from a tree stand.