movement in tree stands
 

If you physically move your body in a treestand, minus the sound does this spook deer. I know they could smell or hear you, but concealed up a tree it would seem hard for them to be able to see you.

NO movement is movement up a tree or on the ground and its one the main things deer look for and get alerted to, they have very good eye sight that detects even small movements, and after decades of hunters using tree stands, deer have learned to look up in trees for hunters! all the more so in spots the hunters use over and over again, or same stands that are there yr round!

Sometimes a deer can see your eyes move 20 feet up.

Other times you can move all over and they aren't bothered.

Your best bet is to hold still. Make your movements when they aren't looking.
-Jake

Basic hunting etiquette. Don't move. Now deer might not be able to see small movement through extremely thick brush like a turkey. A deers eyesight works like this: bad depth and colour perception but they can see shapes and movement well at a wide angle. If you have to move, move SLOWLY.

As soon as the woods are bright enough to see, I keep watch in all directions. No sudden movements. I would miss deer slipping through if I didn't keep watching 360 degrees. I rarely hear them first unless multiple deer or the deer are moving quickly.

Making fast movements on the ground or in a tree stand is a sure way to get busted by deer. They see you most times before you see them. I have killed many deer that were looking at me before I shot them, just freeze and move nothing but your eyes until the deer looks away or starts to feed and then slowly raise you weapon to shoot. When a deer stares at you they are trying to figure out if you are a threat, if you stay still they will eventually get back to what they were doing before they spotted you.

If you can't move, you can't shoot, simple as that.

Try to move slow and smooth - pretty much everything in the woods moves, especially if there's breeze.

Keep in mind, if you can see their eyes, they can see you. But slow smooth movements will be less of an "alert",

Disagree, you are better off waiting until the deer looks away rather than moving slowly. Slow movement is still movement and the following is not true on a calm day, " pretty much everything in the woods moves, especially if there's breeze." There as many calm days as windy days. Patience is a much better choice.

Good advice.

Most of the advice given to you was good. Those of us with a lot of experience with deer know that if you move when a deer is within bow range when you see a deer's eye and its head is up it will see you moving. If the head is down feeding you can get away with a bit more but not much. Its best to wait until the deer looks away or gets its head behind a tree.
If a deer looks up at you - freeze. I try not even to make eye contact. If you move the jig is up and the next thing you're likely to see is a tail.
If the deer is staring at you, bobbing its head up and down, left and right its trying to figure you out. If it picks up its leg and slams its hoof on the ground its doing 2 things. 1, trying to get you to move and 2, alerting any other deer in close proximity that it sees something but not quite sure what. If it snorts at you that is a definite warning that your aren't supposed to be there. This us usually followed by a rapid retreat or a stiff legged walking away stomping its feet with every step. Your choice here but be forewarned this deer is on full alert and will jump your string. Best thing is to wait it out and see if it calms down.
If the deer wags its tail to the side you're just about "out of the woods". That's a sign that it is calming down and you don't pose a threat. The deer will start to go about its business and just might give you a good shot if you follow the above advice.

There's a few other things I've started doing, some maybe just luck/coincidence, take all with a grain of salt:

- In a stand bowhunting I MUCH prefer to shoot standing, so I slowly stand as soon as I can, even with the deer way out there.
- Move while they are moving, my theory is when they are moving it's harder to pick up other movement.
- Like Bronco said, if they are looking at you FREEZE, the "head bob" think is them trying to figure you out, depth perception isn't a strength for them and the head movement helps.
- I try to not make eye contact, something about predator/prey relationship. I will usually divert my eyes to the side, or stare at the ground under them, but don't lock eyes. That seems to trigger a run off.
- I've also started not moving after they look away. I swear once they think you are there, they try to trick you, they will start to feed and snap their head up, start to look away and snap the head back, I swear they are trying to trick me. Once they see me, I don't move until they are either walking or I can't see the eyes at all.

They definitely know about eye contact. I never make eye contact anymore. Never look directly at them.

-Jake

I most always move in slow motion. Move when they are head down feeding. I also try to move with the breeze or when they are walking. I always figured they would have more trouble hearing me when they are making their own noise.
Basically, I change my whole rhythm and try to slow way down. I've been busted enough times jerking my head around, I've learned to overcome the urge. I missed a trophy buck doing that once, got excited, and turned my head quickly.
There is definitely some correlation between actively looking for game and passively (lazily) looking. They can sense your tension I think. I'd spent a couple of weeks sitting a spot with good Deer sign, never saw a thing until I fell asleep and woke up with 14 Deer thirty yards in front of me.
Basically IMO if you try to see everything in all directions you will see little or nothing.

every place is different, every situation is

a rutty buck on a does trail will rarely look up or be alarmed, an old nanny doe with two fawns will be alert almost always ... in Arkansas, deer look up all the time, rarely do they look up in Kansas

if its a calm day, move very slow but very windy days you can swat mosquitoes and not be seen

They look up anywhere they've been hunted from treestands.
I got into the woods late one afternoon; too late to put up a stand and get up into a tree. So I settled into a brushpile on the ground. Shortly after that I had 2 fawns come out of the swamp and start feeding around my brushpile. One was close enough that I could have poked it with an arrow. Suddenly they both got nervous and ran back to their mom who had just come out to join them. She walked past me at 20 yd. looking up, scanning the trees. She never saw me, but she was looking.