NavyRedneck

Nope (to the boots question). I've been wearing leather boots that I've had for 10 years. I never use them for anything else and I keep them covered in mud and scent killer. If I'm not hunting/scouting in them, I keep them in a paper bag in my truck.

Thanks for all the responses. My next hunt on Sat evening I moved to a different treestand that me and a friend use. It's about 3 miles away and is in a really good location. We hunt it a few times a month. I got in the stand about 2.5 hours before sunset.

I do all the same stuff that I usually do and used baking soda toothpaste. I also climbed this tree as far as I could possibly go, probably about 30 feet.

About 30 minutes before dark I hear breathing from behind me (downwind from me... of course). I hear 24 or so distinct breaths. I'm not sure if this is inhale or exhale or sniffs or whatever. I'm new (this year) to deerhunting but I'm pretty sure this is a deer. I don't move and the deer moves to a different spot but same level of sound and does the same thing.

5 minutes later I hear the same thing and closer (ie the sound is louder) with some twigs cracking before the breathing started.

10 minutes or so go by and we are now at sunset. I can hear breathing from what sounds like right below my stand. It's more of a snort now butthe deerdoes it at least 12 times. After this point the deer leaves and I don't hear anything else. (I say this is right below me but I'm pretty sure if I

I didn't move the entire time because I know the deer was looking for me. I had some doe urine up ahead on a tree as that was the direction I had planned for the deer to come. I'm guessing the deer circled to approach the clearing from downwind and that is how the deer smelled me.

I've talked with some friends and they've never heard the breathing thing, just 10 to 12 snorts when the deer finds them. This is a deer, right? And this is from him smelling me, also, right?

I'm gonna give the second area completely up to my buddy who usually hunts it. My thought right now is to leave the first area alone for a week and then move my stand to a different location along the same deer path and then use raccoon urine as a cover scent for the tree and surrounding bushes. I will then only hunt it with the wind in the right direction. Thanks again for all the advice.