Need to fix the problem of sticking out like a sore thumb in the tree stand this year. Had the idea of just screwing in some 2x4s on either side of the stand and hanging some netting but that's the best I got. Missed out on a few deer last year just because we were too easy to spot. What have y'all done to stay hidden in a tree stand?

Do any of yall ever use any of those accessory kits? How do the deer respond to seeing a big box like that in a tree?

I make it a point to pick a tree that has natural cover near it so that it doesn't stick out so much. IMO, any tree that's out in the open will look even more obvious if you try to camo it with a few fake limbs or other coverings. I look at the entire as a whole when choosing a tree and pick the spot where the eye has more to compete with when trying to single something out.

Except that 6-8 weeks after you put the camo up they will be used to it and just think the tree filled in. I agree that natural cover is best but that's not always an option. OP, just make sure that whatever you put up will not only provide some camo but will conceal movement as well.

Try camo netting. It works well. I've used it on a blind on the side of a hill. It will rattle during high wind. Sounds like leaves rustling.

Make sure your backdrop is concealing you, with the right camo you can be invisible if you don't fidget. Shot a lot of deer less than 10 yds with a longbow, never knew I was there even after the shot had many take a few steps and look around. I also use cover scent and clothes are washed in hunter soap kept in scent lock bags year round.

Go buy a manikin from the mall, put a camo t shirt you’ve been sweating in on it and put it in your stand. By the time hunting season starts they will be used to it

It's all about getting some cover between the stand and the deer.

I just wear leafy camouflage. I've had deer look right at me with nothing to break up my outline other than the tree trunk. They look right through me like I'm not even there.

The picture of that stand would never fly with me. Your back drop is the sky from that view and that is what gives you away. Any movement from that stand will be seen, backdrop is way more important than having anything in front of you. Not being a know it all but have spent thousands of hours hunting from tree stands and have been "busted" too many times.

This^^^^

I have a spot for a ground blind that's about 15 yards away from the edge of a food plot that you would think is well hid with plenty of brush around it. In fact, I have to shoot between small trees to hit deer in the plot. And yet, every season I can tell that deer are able to pick it out of the surroundings.

It's been said the best time to hunt a stand is the first time you crawl into it. Common sense says that's because deer were not expecting you to be there. I'm convinced that mature bucks are somehow able to recognize any man-made objects quite easily. It's why some guys feel that staying mobile and changing stand sites often is better than trying to stay with a single site that you think is well hidden. Sure, does and lesser buck can get used to something rather quickly. But old bucks don't get that way by being fooled with fake leaves and spray paint.

This past season I took a nice buck from that ground blind. However, it was cold and very late in the season when food was much harder to find. It was also during the middle of the week as I watched him walk into the plot at the opposite end trailing a doe. I suspect that old buck had no other choice but to be there.

What kind of tree stand are we talking about?
I use a lock on. I use the trees natural cover. Only remove the limbs I need to, if any. I also make sure I have a back drop and not sky lined.
If a ladder stand or tripod, camo burlap does pretty good or you can cut some cedar limbs and tie wire them around your stand. Of course, this is all for bowhunting. If you're gun hunting, just move your stand back another 75 yards.