Contributors to this thread:
I've been doing a lot of reading as you all have recommended in my previous thread, they were saying to have your climber the opposite direction of where you think they are going to come from? use the tree to block any movement and to also get a better shot at the deer. Do any of you use this technique? thought it was odd and unique. i figured you'd want to see anything coming
Not me, can't even imagine sitting in a tree facing the wrong direction intentionally, get a sore neck really quick that way.
Yeah I'd hate sitting the wrong direction. Even if u believed in that theory u can stay still until the deer walks past u then draw and shoot not sure there's any advantage sitting wrong way. Doesn't sound right to me
Unless its a climber that faces the tree.
I've done it, and it's helped. In those spots where the trees are all bean poles and there is no canopy... especially if you dont like to get super high... it can work. You just stand up, lean agast the tree with one shoulder, and you can look where you expect deer to dome from pretty smoothly without issue.
I would never place my stand to face the sun, or, with the probable shot location to my right or back. Any branches/saplings I cut for shooting lanes, I place to the back of my stand.
You have no shot if the deer is head towards you, quartering towards you.
Facing the direction the deer come from, you need to be able to see them. I've had many occurrences turkey hunting where deer have come right to me and never saw me because I was facing them, my back to a large tree, and I wasn't moving. The movement is what they will pick up first.
I try to pick a stand location where I have some cover. My current stand has a large hemlock in front and to my left and a large pine directly in back of me. Both trees give me cover, especially when the deer are more than 40 yards out.
The bad thing about this is I can't see deer until they are close, so I have to hunt every minute like the deer is just beyond my view, which means limit movements and noise. The good thing is, the deer come in calm.
So to me having some natural cover to break up your silouette and therefore your movements is the key.
One other thing - I do a lot of still hunting, and there have been times where I was caught right in the open with no tree or bush to hide me, and have had deer walk right past me, as long as they were up wind and I didn't move.
