Illini002

I would like advice on what everyone does after it gets dark in the stand. I know when legal shooting time is and I obey by that, but does everyone get down right then, or do they wait until it gets completely dark and then walk out? I sometimes if I get down shortly after legal shooting time, there might be deer very close to me. I wonder if it is better to wait until completely dark when the bucks feel a little more comfortable. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

wimp

I get down when I can' t see. Unless there are deer under you there isn' t much point in waiting longer in the dark.

bubbamoose

If I know the area I' m hunting I' ll wait till I can' t see. If it some place new or I took a long walk getting in I like to be moving on the ground just before last light so I can get my bearing before the trees start looking the same.
B

Two Beards

I will not come down until the end of legal shooting
time. I made a mistake on Nov. 1, ' 96 that I will
never let happen again. For reasons I won' t
get into, I decided to leave 5-10 minutes early, and
also needed to take down my stand that night. As soon
as my bow and bow rope hit the ground, an absolute
monster 12 pointer - that probably would have gone
180+ - came trotting and grunting down the lane I
was on....and then stopped 10 yards broadside from
me to work a branch[][:@][:' (]. There wasn' t much
I could do with my bow on the ground...almost like
it was meant to be....to make sure I didn' t make that
mistake again.

Last night I had deer everywhere around me,
feeding on the edge of a alfalfa field. Even though it was
raining I stayed up in my stand until all deer were gone,
about 30 minutes after last light. Taking my stand down
in the dark while it' s raining isn' t much fun, butI
didn' t get busted and ruin that stand site.

mez

It depends on the deer. If legal shooting hours are over and there are no deer around I get out of there so I spook as few deer as possible. If there are deer around I will wait until they are gone.

JZarr

I' m pretty much in agreeance with everyone else. I will stay until the end of legal shooting light and if there aren' t any deer close then I' ll leave. However, if I' ve got deer near me I' ll try to wait them out until they' re gone and then leave. No use spooking deer if you don' t absolutely have to.

kybuck1

I stay until last light, make sure there are no deer around then I' m out of there.

NorthernMN

Dark. Real dark. Black, can' t see your own hands dark. It is harder to get down and work your way out of the woods but it is better for you hunting spots. I just hate educating the deer. They are good enough at seeing and smelling me. I don' t want to help them by giving away my hiding place.

JZarr

If there' s no deer near your stand at the end of legal shooting light, what is the advantage of waiting until pitch black to come out of the woods? If you' re going to run across deer on your way out, they' re going to see and/or hear you whether it' s light or not. Unlike people, deer have excellent vision after dark.

NorthernMN

Well sure you are at a good possibility of running into deer on your way out of the woods. I just like to reduce the ability of the deer to easily pick me out. Deer have great sight, smell, and hearing. I am sure compared to them we are nearly blind, deaf and can' t smell at all. Just because I can' t see deer near my stand doesn' t mean they can' t see me. They are like ninjas sometimes. I swear they just appear out of no where. When I am ready to get out of my stand even though I can' t see any deer I assume they can see me.