I quit hunting without one years ago. My tick encounters went from daily to zero. I hunt in Lyme disease infested Wisconsin as well as Illinois. Got used to a routine of transporting my blind and gear using my deer cart. Works nice. Great for hauling big toms out too.
Do you suggest just finding a nice area to setup away from other hunters, setup my decoys and blind, then do some calling? I also have a high risk of ticks w/ Lyme as I'm in Connecticut so I have a base layer that is skin tight thats expose keep the ticks from getting under it and permethrin to treat my clothes.