Where I live (Central Wisconsin) the deer are noctournal. It seems the only real chance I have at bagging deer is to bait them and hope they come right before dusk. Does anybody have any other ideas? I'm surrounded by creek bottoms and pine tree plantations with some middle oak staging areas but the deer are noctournal for the most part. Big bucks right in our backyard with bait though.

Another question is, when night comes, and I have to get out of my stand, there are usually deer there (too dark to shoot). I tried waiting them out but after an hour or so they still don't leave the area. I end up spooking them every time this happens. Any suggestions on that one?

Thanks

there's no easy way to get out of your stand when hunting over bait. I read in bowhunting magazine where Bill Winke a well known bowhunter would lower his bow to the ground and bounce it in the leaves to try to scare them off but that isnt fullproof either. Another way he's used to scare them off was to take a sling shot with him and some rocks and shoot at the deer or the ground in front of them, which worked really good and they didnt pose it as human threat.

Good idea but still the only way really is to spook them, which is bad for future hunting.

I should have somebody come walking through the woods down a trail at a set time so I don't have to spook them from my stand.