I'm hunting with my bow this yr for the 1st time and have no idea how close i should be from the feeder. I was twenty yards last yr but never saw a deer, so I'm just askin is twenty to close or could I get closer. I can group my shots pretty good so thats not an issue, but I'm wondering about noise, scent, moving and drawin back etc......

I've had deer come under my stand...it's all about scent control....

x2

I would think less than 20 would be tough unless maybe you were well brushed in in a pop up.

I am typically 25-35 yards from the feeder and have one hanging stand hunt about 15' above a major trail to water so I can see them from 100-150 but they can pass within a yard of me.

If I'm sitting in my stand and see a shooter, should I shoot sitting or stand up? I think it would be hard to shoot sitting but standing up might give my position away, right?

Sitting down would be better. If you feel more comfortable shooting standing up though then definitely shoot standing up. Try to practice sitting down and get used to it. Sometimes you have to shoot standing up anyway though.

My old ladder stand was 15' up and only 8yds from feeder. Always had deer at feeder, once I had to bark like a dog to get them to leave so I could come down. Never shot less than 20 yds though, deer or turkey. I will say this, if you prefer to shoot standing up, stand up before light in morning and the last 1.5 hrs of light so they don't see you getting up. If your sitting and see deer coming, time your standing up when a tree or brush blocks deers view.

Thanks guys I'll practice shootin from sittin position bc standing 1.5hrs sounds hard. I guess I'll have to get use to it.

Remember shooting from an elevated position at close ranges your arrows will hit high. Practice from an elevated stand.

Thanks the more info the better I'll be...

I sit on top of the deer. Like stated above scent control is huge. Play the wind. You won't get a deer if he comes in down wind. The way I get away with sitting so close is try to figure out where the deer are coming from and sit perpindicular to this trail and the feeder. That way as they are walking towards the feeder and looking at the feeder you are not in the background. You will be in the peripheral vision. I have had tons of deer walk directly underneath me while looking into the distance. I shot mine last year at 3 feet.

Wow, 3 feet...that's gotta be the closest I've heard.

18-20 yards from feeder is ideal!

3 feet!? Why didn't you just stab it?

As already mentioned, how close you are depends upon the surrounding terrain. I dont think I've shot a deer standing up in 3 years. I practice both ways, but mostly I practice while sitting. (Besides, you need to know if you can draw your bow while sitting).

I have mine 17 yrads from the feeder

I have a popup at 18 yards and a ladder stand at 14 yards. I guess we will see how it works Saturday.

Did the thought cross your mind to put a saddle on it and take it for a ride?

Scent control, scent control, scent control.....

Be as scent free as possible, and play the wind to your advantage. Think about wind when you set up your stands. If you get far enough away from the trail or feeder that scent, sound and movement don't matter anymore, then you'll be WELL out of bow range. That's what rifle hunting is for.

Sit down. Chair angle is key.
Practice drawing sitting down, much harder than standing

3'

20 yards isn't too close. Lots of good information on here. Wind is #1 priority. On some stands the deer come from multiple directions. In these cases, I will put the stand about 50 yards to provide the deer greater flexibility and to better utilize the wind. I will chum about 20 yards from the stand and draw the deer from the feeder. Most places I hunt, the deer prefer the chum but it is frustrating when a buck holds up out of range.

Practice from the position that you will be shooting from. Preferably out of the stand or one just like the one you have set up.

Good luck

I hunt out of a ground blind with the feeder 15yds away with far shot on the backside being 35yds.

Blind has been there about 10 years so deer are not spooked by it. Use some coon urine for cover scent and do not worry much about the wind.

X3

Kool stuff guys, I'll let yall know how it goes, and I'm gonna let the whole WORLD know when I get my 1st bow kill......