ORIGINAL: superstrutter
Sometimes it just happens. I think all of us have been busted. It will happen again. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Not questioning the way you hunt, but 13 or 14 feet is not very high for bow hunting. I personally don't like being less than 20 feet while bow hunting. Preferably 23 to 25 feet if possible. You did say you had good cover though, so who knows. You weren't swatting mosquitoes, were you? I have been busted doing that before. Thank God for Thermacell now.I can't believe deer season opens so early there. Is there a particular reason why? Too many deer? South Carolina seems to have very liberal hunting seasons. Just a side note, if you come on here wondering why something happened, you have got to expect many different responses. Nobody is questioning your hunting knowledge or capabilities. There are many knowledgable hunters on this forum and they are just trying to help. Some are here to bash and start arguements, but most are not. Good luck, I'm sure you will eventually score.
Here are my thoughts about that.
Hunting here in the SE we hunt mostly planted pines. If those pines are being grown to use aspoles instead of paper they are left to grow very tall. These pines are genetically altered to have very few limbs so you can reach as high has 30ft before coming to the first limb.
If these pines have been thinned it means that the area can be open with exception of other farious types of undergrowth and trees that are only 12-15ft tall. So, if you climb 20-30ft what cover do you have? You are sitting there in the wide open like a sore thumb.
Another situation. Say you are hunting a rather thick spot where the canopy really thickens after 15ft or so. So, if you climb 20-30ft up a tree all you can see when you look down are treetops.
Over the years I have learned to let your surroundings dictate how high you climb. I've been 30ft up and got busted, but I have been 10ft up and had deer sniff my treesteps.
For the rest of your questions. No, I wasn't moving at all. I seen the doe coming from a distance. And from being a member of this forum for a few years I've come to notice that lately anytime you say anything negative about someone else's favorite product the bashing starts. Just stick around and you will probably experience the same.