By: Blake Anderson
Huntertreestands.com
Before going hunting, one of the first things to do is go out and make sure your tree stands are secure. Trees grow and you may have to do a little trimming or even check your stand to make sure it’s not making any noises with the metal against the trunk of the tree. If the tree has grown you may just want to find a different tree so the tree does not grow around your tree stand and it is lost for an eternity inside of the tree.
Deer do not see very well at all, in fact they can detect movement but do not have clear vision unless it is during the evening hours. Deer also have incredible smelling and hearing senses as these have heightened due to their lack of seeing. A deer has better olfactory senses than dogs do so it is important that you do not have any unusual scents on your body. It is best to not shower that morning before the hunt or use any other type of scents.
You will be putting out scent; sparingly, and as unpleasant as this scent is you will get some on you so there is no need to wash it off until your hunt has ended. Another thing to do to cut down on scents is what ever you eat a couple of days prior to the hunt make sure it does not give you gas. Believe it or not a simple scent of a gassy moment while sitting in your tree stand will cause your deer to not go near you as this foreign scent will set off red flags for the deer. The red flag will likely lead to the deer to simply turn tail and go the other way.
Deer also hear better than dogs so silence is golden when it comes to sitting in your tree stand. You have already checked it for squeaks and rubbing and have inspected your safety equipment. Sitting for hours in one spot is not an easy task for most people, especially for the older and very young hunters. Practicing, for younger hunters is important to teach them how to stay still while sitting in their tree stand.
You want your hunt to be safe and you definitely want to come home with a trophy and get some meat into your freezer. So, no showers, no gassy foods and if you are snacking or drinking coffee make sure your coffee is in a closed container so it allows you to take sips such as a travel mug. Put your snack food either in your pocket or unwrap them and place them in a zip lock bag in your pocket so the foil or plastic wrappers do not make any type of noise.
When your deer comes into your sites, if it starts to stomp with its front leg, you know you have been ‘busted’ and the deer knows you are there as they have picked up a strange sound or movement. This stomping warns other deer in the area of danger. So, if you can get your shot off quickly before your deer warns all the neighbors, you just may soon have a full freezer. If your deer warns the other deer in the vicinity, your hunting day will come to a quick end. So stay quiet and don’t smell! Happy Hunting!