Cousin and I got drawn for some public property for the season and was curious if you thought a ladder stand stood out more to deer on a regular basis compared to a hang on stand. We will be the only ones having access on this 14 acre tract, and every year it’s been like this with new people coming in and out.

I know on leases we’ve had for years, deer don’t seem to care after a while of seeing the ladder, however I was curious if you thought deer on public land that have more pressure might be more observant to a new ladder stand and change their trails compared to a hang on with screw in steps which is less visible.

They will notice it the first time they see it but as long as it doesn't move, have an odor or make a sound, they will disregard it quickly.

I've never used a hang-on with the screw in steps, but one of the largest bucks I've ever taken walked right beside a ladder stand I'd hung about a week earlier. When I say "right beside" I mean I judged the range by the height of my ladder. Too close for my rifle so I went to the .357. Straight down, centered on his spine right ahead of where his neck met his shoulder blades. The shot worked great but it was purely a guess on my part. I'd never dreamed of shooting at a deer from that angle. He went down just like a high shoulder shot, went to his knees like a wet dish towel. Anyway, best of luck and be safe! I threw in that hunt memory because such a shot is a possibility when hunting elevated and I thought I might be able to save you some learning curve that I made a lucky guess at!

This was on private land, and a box blind....But a few years ago, my dad drove a box blind to his lease on a small flatbed trailer. Due to his age and it was only him a nd a friend, he couldn't get it out of the trailer. He parked the trailer where he was going to hunt, and killed a deer out of it the net morning. Later that day, help came to get it out of the trailer. I shot a deer out of it that night and missed one the following morning.

That small of a property you likely don’t have deer living there, They probably just walk back and forth through it.
Find the heavy trails and and set up on a good angle with multiple shots from 20-40 yards out, not directly on the trail.

In 2009 I put up a tripod under a live oak tree. The big buck I was after came out at 90 yards the next morning and immediately knew something was wrong. He turned to leave but not fast enough.

Anytime I move a tripod into a new location, I will wire or zip-tie some brush or tree limbs to the legs for camouflage. I do this especially if I am bowhunting close to a feeder so I can hunt the tripod right away.

If you walked into your living room and some of your furniture was re-arranged or there was a new piece of furniture, would you notice?
Deer will notice, but will get over it if there are no tell tale scents involved!

They will notice but will get used to it. I would put up most comfortable stand type to you asap, brush it in, get out and stay out as much as possible until return to hunt. Got about 3 weeks before archery opener. You should be ok but no guarantees, old mature bucks are old and mature for a reason. Other alternative is since there are trees (you said ladder stand or lock on) get a good safe climbing stand and slip in early on date you hunting (pre scout your tree location). I prefer climbers when have trees to utilize. Of course, safety harness 100% everytime

Setting up any kind of stand, and if you have the luxury of trees and brush you should set up in the shadows trying to leave as much natural brush cover as possible and clearing only any smaller limbs that obstruct your view or arrow.
The less clearing the better and leaving enough brush or limbs behind you to break up any outline where they can see the sky behind you.
Predators ambush from the shadows, so that is what you have to remember when setting up a stand.

X2

Look to the left edge of the picture, just over the deer's back . You can see the popup blind window. I just placed the stand that morning. The deer had to be about 10-15 yards from it because the camera was maybe 20 yards.

This doesn't apply here but I'm convinced mature bucks will avoid box stands and suspect it's because of all the human scents they collect and keep over time. I shot my biggest Mississippi buck from a ladder stand that I placed in an area between two longstanding box stands. Killed him no less than an hour after putting the stand up. The spot seemed like a good place to catch a deer trying to reach a bedding area without being detected by anyone in the two box stands. Turned out I was right because that's directly where he appeared to be headed. They don't grow old being stupid and to a old buck's nose, I bet there isn't anything that stinks more than a heavily hunted box stand.

I’ve had deer walk between the legs of a ladder stand and the tree it was in. First morning hunting out of it. I think it it is in a travel corridor they don’t pay as much attention. If in a bedding area, I feel the deer are more skittish and will pay more attention.

Deer have to live somewhere....the entire property might be a bedding area.

Deer don’t have a parcel map and think to themselves “ well, this place is too small....let’s just use it as a pass thru...”

For a few years, deer would walk under the 15' tripod I mentioned above. It sits on a sendero, well masked by the oak tree. Now, almost no matter their age, if they are walking n-s past it, they will enter the brush 50-80yds away, skirt the tripod completely in the brush, and come out 50-80 yds the other direction. And I only hunt it 3-5 sits per year.

Dan, do you have any idea how many mature bucks get shot out of box stands? Tens of thousands in this state alone.


Deer may avoid a stand because of some experience they had but In and of a stand itself is giving them way too much credit.


I cannot count all the mature bucks I’ve killed from a blind

A box blind for archery hunting is now a fixture in the midwest...just watch any hunting show and they are sticking an arrow in a huge buck or shooting a one with a muzzleoader out of a box blind....lot of the time they move in during the middle of the day and kill a buck that evening in a corn feeder...er uh I mean standing corn or bean field. But yeah those 200" bucks avoided that box stand immediately...

I was sitting in a box blind when I took this picture of mature bucks in the feed pen..there is a box blind about 22 yards to the left of the feed pen.I moved this feeder, put up the feed pen and moved a box blind all in the same day to this location. I had deer inside the pen that evening and all night.


These bucks all fed inside the pen then left and returned after the feeder went off the second time at 8:00 am...then all calmly walked away about 8:40. They were all downwind for 2 hrs from my boxblind I have bowhunted out of for 3 yrs.

I had to stand up and take pics with a 50mm lens when this buck walked under my 15' tower blind in South Texas. Blinds become landscape, just like feeders become habitat to all the deer born after they were put up. They do not know what they are till the hunter associates themselves with the blind. Human scent around the pasture is not different than human scent at the blind. Most hunters are hunting the wind and not going to sit in blind if the wind is wrong. Deer adapt to drilling rigs and oilfield traffic all over Texas. If it is routine they adapt..out of the routine becomes an issue.
I had to wait for this buck to get into a place where I could actually take his picture...he was closer than this before I took this picture. He was following a doe when they walked right under the blind.

STX is right, blinds do become part of the landscape and get ignored once they get used to them.


This is taken with my cellphone from inside my popup in Robertson County. You can see shoot through mesh at the bottom of the picture. 20 yards to the feeder





This is a cellphone picture from a 6 ft box blind in Webb County. That deer is only 12 yards away.

Two things can make a buck drop his guard - a hot doe during the rut and a feeder. I should have noted these exceptions. Remember, there are 28 states where it's illegal to hunt over a feeder.

It's been my observation that most deer aren't on guard until they get near a feeder. The rut well, I'll forget where i was going if something nice crosses my path.

They don’t notice don’t care, biggest thing is some Public has stand placement time restrictions, so ladder stand can be a pain to put up and take down continuously , but same token finding a capable climber tree can be also

Yelp, it’s a natural fear to fear a food source location, and it comes with continual re-enforcement