ORIGINAL: racewayking
I can see 1,3, and 4 but do you really think that 2 is a factor? I have a ghetto hunting tip for another day that might eliminate the issue but I have never seen a problem. I have a bow rope on all my stands at both locations I hunt and haven't seen any issues. The "Mojito Bandito" smells like a tequila factory on weekends and the bow rope on my stand that he always pirates seems to have no effect on deer.
Absolutely. When climbing my stand, gloves on hand, I reach up and grab the 4th step, no lower. I don't want the deer to smell amything more then they have to and certainly not a bow rope that I've handled with my bare hands. I've seen tracks in the mud and snow where deer have backtracked my scent trail to my stand. They've done this while I've been in my stand. I am not going to give them any more clues to my presence than I have to. Call me superstitious.
Stand selection is also a big difference between us as 7 of the 9 deer taken have been from the stands that I placed.