Original:GregH
The one part of your step that I do not folow is getting there 2 hours before daylight. I like to get there 10 minutes before shooting light. The reasons are that there is less time for my scent to disperse, most times I can see a bit better and get to my stand without bumping deer and most of all, it won't kiil me to hear something and not know what it is!! [:-]
I am not advocating this on all stands, just the ones that are dangersously close (100-150 yards)to the edge of known bedding areas that I will only hunt a couple of times at most when the conditions are right and its during the rut.
It is arguable that maybe these areas should never be hunted at all inrespect to honoring sanctuaries, but right or wrong I have been hunting these a few times each season.
Keep in mind that our country is fairly openso slipping in right before daylight or even after daylight without bumpingis precarious at best in that deer can be traveling through a corridor by as much as 250-350 yards away snd certainly from 100-200 yards from me and still see/hear me.
Hopefully most of my scent concerns are taken care of by waiting for the ideal weather conditions. My hope is that I'll get there before the complete nocturnal deer that may show up 1 hour before daylight but then later in the morning, I will catch himas he gets up to browse or becomes enamored with a doe, etc..
This is my thought process even though I may be wet all over, but it will be something different. All I know for sure that I have not had much sucess in NOT bumping deer trying to come into these areas from 1 hour before orat daylight. But I welcome any suggestions.