We are in deep STex - we make zero effort to sneak in quietly. Why? Because our LO corns the senderos on a regular basis and the deer hear the noise and it draws them in. So when I go hunt a stand I feed the corn on each sendero in my RTV, pull it into the brush, walk to the blind and as soon as daylight hits I am covered up in deer. I know it does not work this way in many other areas like Central Texas but where we are it is an attractant.

TOMMY!Tommy! Tommy can you see me, Tommy can you feel me, Tommy!

Down south they park under their stands. Deer down there will eat out of your hand. Up north you park anything on the property and spook off most of the deer.

Deer in your part of the world are very accustomed to foot traffic….

I walk until there is meat on the ground. If you walk to your stand often enough, the thought of the noise you would otherwise generate with any type of vehicle becomes quite obvious. And it becomes even more obvious when you're sitting in your stand and can easily hear the sounds of distant hunters on their ATV's. "The more you walk, the more you see."

Parking far away is way overrated. 100 yards max for me but normally less than 25 yards.

Depends if I’m carrying my cooler or not

We leave vehicles at camp. Hardly ever spook deer walking in. I think it makes a huge difference based on what is usually on the property. Our place is empty undisturbed 90% of the time so driving through scares them pretty good, while walking in is very quiet and with brush we have seldomly do we spook deer. If our deer were at all use to vehicular traffic would likely be different.

We park at the gate. My son walks about 250 yards to his blind and I walk about 600. Rarely bust deer walking in early season, but it happens. I think it effects the deer way more in late season when the foliage on the mesquites and other trees has dropped. Does parking near your blind hurt your hunting. Who knows!! You don`t know what you busted out ....... You just don`t. I see deer react to the 4 wheelers that are about 250 yards across the fence all the time. Some just raise their heads and go back to eating and sometime a single deer can cause the rest to hit the brush. It`s more important to get there early and stay late, than whether you walk or park near blind.

For those of you that park very close or next to your stand do you also dismiss scent control?

No. My cigar covers my scent.

Gotta play the wind 100% of the time.

It eliminates your scent and also muffles the sound when you pop the top on the keystone light can


In all seriousness you will never beat a deer’s nose. Won’t ever happen. They will have a tolerance for human scent, say if you are 100 yard out and they catch a whiff they probably won’t be overly concerned about it. Move in to 30 yards and they catch a face full of Jim Bobs BO they are out of there and taking every other deer with them. Hogs are even worse. Pigs are the most intelligent animal we have.


In most, not all , but most properties, access your hunting are via a vehicle is the least intrusive way to get in.

If your walking in and hunting along the way that’s one thing, but if your just casually strolling along the road you are making just as much racket as you would be driving in and also adding a human element to it the vehicle doesn’t have.

We had this same “discussion” awhile back on walking in vs driving. Ed would drive his old Ford ranch truck and park 50 yards from his stand. Always came and left about the same time. He said to me don’t you think deer can hear you or smell you walking in. Of course they can, that’s not the point. Then what is your point? I told him the deer at the top of the ranch had patterned him to a T. Well then what is the point? I said I tell you what since you just got back and there weren’t any deer, would you mind if I go back out and hunt your stand? Be my guest. Walked in from the back side was in the stand 30 minutes when a solid 8 point was pushing a doe. I shot the doe and let the 8 walk. LoL I don’t think he believed me on the buck. Deer are a lot smarter than you may think. Especially when you come in their backyard.

A vehicle has human scent (you're in it) along with a lot of other scent that will alert deer. There's no point in taking scent control measures on your person if you're in a stand with a vehicle next to it. What vehicle makes less noise, has less scent, less reflective surface, less motion, etc. than an average hunter that walks?

Agree. My stand location.........one good buck killed from it over the years. I wanted the spot when I heard that the previous hunter parked his Ranger 100 yards behind the blind right on the road. Had to drive right through a travel route and close to bedding area to park close. I park a long way, walk in staying on soft ground quietly. I come from a different direction depending on morning/evening. First year and the two next years I've killed mature trophy bucks. Ya'll have seen the pics.

Depends on the terrain and the vehicle, but I do typically park at least a couple hundred yards away. Closer if there's a hill inbetween me and the blind for instance, or if I'm driving my Tahoe vs a Polaris. My Tahoe is quieter.

Some chests are really puffing up on this thread.

^^they always do. I think the main reason this forum exists is so guys can puff up their chests. Pretty much human nature.

I approve of this message. ^^

Well if you’re in a closed cab vehicle it certainly has less human scent than a person walking.

And what other scent alerts deer on a vehicle? Rubber tire scent? Grease scent? Maybe they are alerted to Castrol 10w-30?

There is no point in taking any scent control measures period whether on foot or not other than bring mindful of the wind and not walking where you think a deer will cross. You can’t beat their nose, period.

I used pertnear's uncle's onion idea last November and shot a nice hill country 11pt. buck. Wind was going right to him and he just paused for a couple of seconds with a "Dam, that guy likes onions," look on his face, but I believe it helped.

Did you use yellow onion or white onion? Uncle Joe wasn't specific. Gee, I'm gonna have to try it myself!