What I'm doing:
Hoyt cybertech, perfume/dye free detergent, baking soda in wash, sealed container for clothes and boots, scent-free soap and deoderant, Remington climing stand.

Where I'm doing it:
Public land in WI. (now try to form a mental picture here) -The plot is a square 1/3 mile with a stream that runs north/south on the west end. Bordering the stream is athin line of timber where there are a few trails. These trails are 1/8 mile from the road on the north end of the plot. Bordering the timber is pine thickets that stretch another 1/8 mile from there to the east. There's more timber mixed into the pines on the east end of the pine thickets. The pines thenmeet a hilly/grassy area where I've located 2 apple trees and some seeminglylightly traveled trails.Those apple trees are half a block from the road on the north end of the plot. The hilly/grassy area extends another 1/8 mile to the east where it hits private property.

I'm hunting the small funnel that leads to the apple trees(my stand is 200 feet from the apple trees).I'm also huntingthe trails near the thin line of timber mentioned earlier. This iswhere I saw a group of does last year as well as a decent buck. My real concern is that I'm too close to the road which gets a passing car every 3 min or so. However, I think the deer have become accustomed to this because just on Sunday I saw3 does walking parallel to the road not 150 feet from it. What do you guys think about this situation?

I can't form a pattern as to where and when deer are moving most as I've only seen deer 3 times in my last 15 trips there. Should I move further south on the plot and stay as far awayfrom the road as possible?

Also, I know I shouldn't be so concerned about my 0-15 record but I just need some input from you more experienced bowhunters becauseI don't want to continue doing what I'm doing if it's the wrong thing.

Thank you all in advance.

Dont worry about that cars on the road. The deer are used to it. I hunt right by a railroad track sometimes and it seems to me that when the train comes, the deer start to come too. Don't know wut it is but that's wut happens.

the deer may be stagging up back in the woods and moving out a lil later then you want them to i would try and get back a lil closer to the bedding area because if you have sign of deer in that area just arent seeing them then there probally getting there after legal shooting time.Try setting back further in the woods that might help ya

Keep trying........you may just be using a area where the deer use at night. Try some new trails.....and trial intersections. If its not working....change.....maybe that area will better later ing the season?

GoodLuck!

We all have the same problem sometime in our hunting career. It is called hunting for a reason.

Nobody said you'd see deer every time. BUT, if what you're doing isn't working....by all means change it. Too often we find that "Perfect Spot"(at least in oureyes) Then when it doesn't pan out we just can't believe we'd figure something wrong. It can't be us. We're the great white hunters. It can't be us. I'll hunt it again...and again...and again. Well, we talk of over hunting places but surely it doesn't matter here because it's the "Perfect Spot". DUhhhhhhhhhhh... been there done that. Don't be afraid to move Grasshopper. AND for God's sake, you need more than one spot. Move around some.

Yeah I would say you need to move as well... If you have hunted that area 15 times this year, you NEED to move on... Those deer know you are there, doesn't matter how scent free you are... after 15 times you've left enough scent in there for a year... Find another area...

Yep. Gotta have more spots to set up. Be versatile. One of the main reasons I hunt on the ground is, if the deer won't come to me then I can go to them. And I can do itwithout making a whole lot of racket or showing myself by climbing down out of a treestand.

Also, one of the most overlooked sources of scent is the wrist strap on your release, or your tab or shooting glove and arm guard.

Check for trails were the pine meets the timber. This is classic edge habitat, may be able to intercept the deer between feeding and bedding.

This edge is exactly where I saw the decent 120" or so buck last season. And the quotation above is exactly why this place rocks! I didn't even know that one of my 3 selected trees was facing a "classic" habitat.

I will do more scouting on the southern portion of the plot which I haven't yet. As somewhat suggested in a previous post, I'm almost considering doing away with my climbing stand, at least for this plot. Reason is because it's about 40lbs and makes quite a racket setting up and climbing. In fact, I almost want to believe that it's because of my setting up that's put me in this situation. Remember the 3 does I said I saw on Sunday? Well, it was from the parking area sitting in my car, engine off, all quiet with the windows up.

Oh, and I have reason to believe that that 120" buck is still there and hasn't been taken yet. Last year I saw thatfeller once at thepine/timber edge at 40 yards when he spotted me drawing on him. I could've let that arrow fly but at that distance I couldn't risk only injuring him then screwingall chances of ever tagging him. Then I heard him another time coming through the brush/timber/pines... antlers clanking on small brances and all. He winded me before I could see him and turned around.He then crossed the streamand made one loud splash as he did. Well, the reason why I think he's still there is because this year while sitting at tree #3 by the pine/timber line, I heard that same splash. I suppose it could've been a doe but that's not what I want to believe. LOL... Besides, does travel in small groups this time of year and there would've been 3 splashes instead.