Greg you bring up a point I often say and some here have heard/ read it. What if the 10th time you hunt a particular stand is the first time the buck your hunting walks by that stand. If your not in it, your not killing him. In your instance Greg, it was the 24th time, not to say that buck didn't walk by that stand when you were not there.

I really think the key is scent control, period though I realize we cannot eliminate it all. Spending time in a stand drops scent molecules and deer can certainly detect them. I place my stands where deer shouldn't be under the stand. Not that the scent doesn't get picked up in the wind.

I have 2 sets in my honey hole. I hunt them hard. I see my best bucks towards the end of the season. Of course the chase/ looking stage of the rut is in.

When it comes to stands, I don't bust deer going in, I don't bust deer getting out and I am a fanatic on scent control My stands have treated me well with 3.5 year olds and even better over the years both seeing or getting.