RE: would you have gotten down??
 

I would have gotten down and been pissed at myself later for doing that. I' ve had similar situations where I ' thought' I could do this or ' thought' I could do that. Then afterwards I realized I wasn' t thinking at all and the best course of action would have been to stay in the stand. Always stay in the stand.

You may have made him nervous but you definitely didn' t spook him. He' ll be back, just be ready again next time.

RE: would you have gotten down??
 

I' ll go against the grain here...Partially...If I was hunting out of a fixed position stand I would have attempted to get down for sure. Climbing out while using steps or a ladder is pretty darn quiet if you are trying to be. A stiff wind was blowing. That' s another thing in your favor because the woods are noisy. This is going to help tremendously in case you do make some noise while descending from the stand. The other thing, you are hunting with a gun so the chances of stalking into position is a lot higher than with a bow. Plus the ground was wet. Good stalking conditions with the moisture and wind. With the above conditions, I would have gave it a go. Nothing to lose really. You didn' t get the deer anyway so go for it next time I say..

Flip side...If hunting out of a climber, that would be another story unless the wind was blowing really hard and even then the chances of spooking the deer are much greater I feel. Jim

RE: would you have gotten down??
 

Well that' s the reasons I even considered it in the first place. I was going to go on a little still hunt in the begining, but fear of being shot by one of the orange people that tend to invade my property drew me to my stand. When I thought about it, it was a perfect situation for still hunting. The only difference was I had to climb down a ladder first. The ladder stand is as solid as a rock and makes 0 noise getting in and out. top that off with the fact that i have a tendency to see about 1 buck during gun season and it throws your mind into fits. Strike that......usually 2 bucks. 1 while on stand and one that' s running about mock 12 that by the time I get my gun he' s a distant memory. But I suppose like the others said percentage wise staying up would be the thing to do. Boy what a nice 10 pointer though. ;alkjg;lakjg;lakjg;lajg;lakjg;lakjg;lajg. That round sure does go to him.

RE: would you have gotten down??
 

Situations just like this is why I never leave home with out my Inspector Gadget Helocopter Back Pack(silenced for hunting). That along with my specially equiped Bat-Belt and he is in the freezer. I have the number if you need it.JJ

You did the right thing. He maybe back later with no thoughts what so ever that you exist.

Good luck.

RE: would you have gotten down??
 

I do very little gun hunting if at all but if and when I choose to, I don' t like treestand hunting because your confined to the little platform, I' d sooner be on the ground where you can move for a clear shot, one step left or right is sometimes all it takes.