I NEVER have when I am in the woods during season or not I always hate to make any noise possible. Even in summer or spring when I am shed hunting it feels wrong to me to tromp through the woods making noise. Always like a cat. Anyone else feel like that?

Got several friends that do but haven't picked up that practice yet and probably won't. As others have mentioned, I do draw the bow a couple of times throughout the long sit just to work out any kinks but other than that just sit and wait for the big boy (or girl) to come strolling by.

i always take a practice shot before i get down out of my stand

First off I don`t understand anyone who wants to make anymore noise than what needs to be while hunting? Secondis the scent factor? By shooting an arrow on the ground around your stand your putting human scent right back on the ground in your hunting area?Not good!
Third arrows are to expensive to be shooting at just anything? How do you know that there is not a rock or something like that just under the ground? arrows and rocks don`t mix! The things that an animal depends on for survival is his Ears,nose,and eyes, why help them by shooting an arrow on the ground? (imo)If you have doubts about your equipment or yourself in making a good and ethical shot when its time to go to the stand? Don`t go.[&:]

I don't take a practice shot when I'm hunting. I would think it would make it take longer for the woods to settle down after you got settled in and such. I do draw my bow a couple times to loosen up though. Once I'm on stand, the only thing I'm shooting at is a deer.

Well I don't know how loud your bow is but with mine it's a non-issue. I have shot and missed before and the deer were right under me and they didn't run off so I am not really worried about a deer that is 75+ yards away hearing it and leaving the country. If you are then maybe it's time to think about some new equipment. I understand the not wanting to make noise and I am as concerned about it as anyone. I have even went to the extreme of building my own all welded lock-ons so they made absolutely no noise but IMO the concern over scaring a deer with a shot is unwarranted. It's not like I am shooting right at prime time. I typically shoot as soon as I get in my stand to make sure all systems are go (ie. not hitting close or stand or tree limbs). I don't see how me shooting my bow is going to make anymore noise than putting up my climber and climbing 25 feet.

I actually usually put scent on my arrow anyway but do you really think that an arrow that your fingers touched is going to leave more scent than the scent trail left by your whole body? Maybe I don't smell as much as youbut I have had 100's of deer walk by my arrow stuck in the ground and I have NEVER had one spook from it.
First of all because it's my money and my arrows. Secondly, because I mainly hunt river bottoms and there isn't a rock within several miles. I have only ruined one arrow doing that in 16 years of bowhunting.

Like I said before I don't do it because it's a confidence issue but we could always compare kill totals and total scores if you think I am an inferior deer hunter becauseI shoot a practice shot[&:][8D]

Your joking right?(LMAO)
I have done the same thing silent but with all do respect? I don`t think it was from yourbow being So quite?A none alert deer standing directly under your stand when you shoot sometimes can`t figurout which way the noise came from therefore stand in the same place untill they can infact figerout which way the noise came from? Or with enuff time will most of the time settle back down and go back to eatingor what ever they were doing before.But I assure you it was not the fact that your bow is so quite! I have heard storys of Gun hunters have this samething happen to them lots of times anda gun is louder than any bow made. I shoot a 04-BowTech justice with the hush kit and is far quiter and smoother than any bow I have ever used.
I am sure there are others out there that may in fact be quiter but anyhow they all make some noise to some degree. Just for the record I try to make all my hunting equipment as quite as possable. Whether or not its "more or less:" is not the awnser we try as hunters to eleminate all scent or as much as possable if we canBS. Silentit does`t take much human scent to alert a deer or havent you figerd that out yet? (lmao)Asfar as your body smelling worse or better than mine?With out a doubtthatis the stupidest thing I think I have ever read on here[&:]Well that sounds very childesh[&:] butsilent and your right it is your money and arrows and if you want to take a chance on ruining them them go right ahead. you say you have only lost one? I never lost any or ruined any do to shooting it into the ground? and never will! Sient .Compare kills because you shoot a practice shot? (Come on now silent)I have been strickly bowhunting for more than 24yrs nowAnd hunted with a gun as well with a bow before that. I have taken my share of game in that time big and small to give you a number I can`t I simply don`t know how many deer I have takenYou may verywell have killed bigger but numbers I daubt it!If you want to shoot practice shots from your stand be my guest. But to tell me it doesn`t make any difference? (lmao)[8D].

There is no need to shoot anything until it is dinner time! I draw the bow a few times just to make sure there is no new noise or problems. Other than that sit-n-wait!

exactly!

Oh, I wasn't implying that they couldn't hear it, I was implying that it obviously wasn't loud enough to startle them. I have missed them and had them IMMEDIATELY go back to eating.

So your example is that many deer don't even spook when someone shoots a gun around them but shooting a bow is going to scare off every deer in the woods

I am not discounting the importance of scent control but I used to be fanatical about it and bought the scent lok suits and got dressed in the woods when it was 15 degrees yadda yadda and I have gradually drifted away from most of those practices and I am killing more deer now than ever. I honestly can not ever remember a deer crossing over my scent trail and spooking and never had one spook from and arrow in the ground. It's kind of hard for me to argue with those kind statsYou may think it's an issue but I KNOW it has never been an issue in hundreds of deer encounters. I guess I have just been lucky a couple of hundred times

Well I was actually being sarcastic but my wife says she likes the way I smell

Opinions vary but I appreciate you giving me the go ahead to spend my own money and consequently use my equipment the way that I want to. Bye the way the first post you make about missing a big one because you hit your sleeve or your stand and a limb in the tree with you, I will be the one you hear laughing through the computerbut you won't post about that will you

Congratulations! Have you ever killed a 160+ with your bow? Have you killed more than one 160+ with your bow? Just curious since we were talking about things that we have and haven't done

You must have misunderstood. I didn't say it didn't make any difference. It makes a huge difference. It keeps me from making mistakes when big daddy walks out

So you seriously think that after going through the act of putting up a climber and then climbing 25 ft in a tree and then shooting, that the shooting is the part that a deer is most likely to hear or smell (considering you normally break a pretty good sweat climbing a tree in early bow season)? Seriously? Rotflmao