Climber left in woods spook deer?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Reid15
23-Oct-16
I have a climber that I leave in the woods sometimes (locked to a tree). I have a trail cam video of a spike buck that spooks/jumps just as it reaches the tree with the stand at the base of it. My question is, would you expect this same reaction to a newly placed tree sticks/fixed stand combination?
From: Bake
23-Oct-16
Probably. I doubt it's the stand that spooked him. I bet it was residual scent
From: sticksender
23-Oct-16
The scent of a complete stand left at the base of a tree seems to spook deer much more than steps in a tree. I see deer approach and sniff steps, but rarely spooks them off. But I've watched does come unglued and bolt the instant they pass through the scent stream of a stand left on the ground or at the base of a tree.
From: LBshooter
23-Oct-16
Well he spooked not because of the stand but from your residual scent left behind. I would assume the more times they see it the mor they will get use to it and maybe your scent. They will connect your scent to the stand. Now they might freak out when they come in and they don't see the stand.
From: Paul@thefort
23-Oct-16
Spray some fox or raccoon scent on or around it to hide any human smell.
From: PAbowhunter1064
23-Oct-16
This is what happens when you leave a climber in the woods...you piss Bigfoot off, then he pushes another tree on top of said climber. Don't piss Bigfoot off.
From: r-man
23-Oct-16
lost a few stands like that , thankfully they was wooden ones
From: APauls
23-Oct-16
Take the seat home with you. It's most likely the largest scent "carrier."
From: GregE
23-Oct-16
Ouch on the squashed stand.....
From: Will
24-Oct-16
PAbowhunter - glad you were not in that stand when that happened :)
On the other hand, those summit cables are strong - a dang tree fell on the stand and the cable on the hand climber does not look like it broke through the stand. I always thought that was the weakest part of my stand (I love my summit), my mind is now changed :)
From: eddie c
24-Oct-16
when I owned a climber and left it in the woods over night, I pushed it up the tree over my head just on the off chance the scent of it wouldn't be as noticeable.
From: PAbowhunter1064
24-Oct-16
Will - What happened to this stand definitely made me take a different stance on hunting during really windy days. Had I been in that stand, I surely wouldn't be here to post the picture. I was super impressed with the strength of the cables as well. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine on here is using them, and some of the padding, on his Summit Open Shot now. As for me, I replaced this stand with a new Summit Viper SD...and I never leave the woods without it now! :-)
From: MW66
25-Oct-16
Here's a tip. Place the stand as high up as you can extend your arms so that a deer cannot smell it directly. When you arrive at your tree, you can still lower it without much noise.
From: Reid15
25-Oct-16
Thanks for the feedback guys. Moving the stand above eye level and taking the seat along makes a lot of sense.
PAbowhunter - I had something similar happen at one of my favorite hunting spots. Luckily my stand was spared.
From: JRW
25-Oct-16
I used to share a small 5-acre woodlot with a local guy who hunted it every now and then. He used to leave his climber at the base of a tree right on the edge of a trail 20 yards from my stand. The last deer I killed on that property I had to shoot over his stand to hit (obviously he wasn't in it at the time).
