I much prefer sitting up in a tree -- have a blind, but I don't use it all that much.

Still hunt

for rifle hunting, yes. still bow hunting is a huge challenge and there has to be many factors in your favor. my vote goes for the treestand.

So... it's not a viable option then?

Under the right conditions, it can be effective. However if those conditions are not present, it would have a much smaller chance of success than stand hunting.

Definitely treestand.

It's a lot better in a ground blind because of the fact that you get closer to the animal, and it's more challenging, sitting in a tree stand is effective for killing the deer yes, but it's not always about the kill. Ground blinds will show how good of a hunter you really are...

In my younger days all I hunted with was a climbing stand.Now a ladder stand works and so does my ground blind.

Or as is sometimes the case with me, how NOT so good a hunter

But I would say to set up your tree stand on public land without alerting the deer and hunt the same day would be pretty challenging too.

I used to have a cheap climber and to say the least it was a pain to set up in the dark having to move pins to the right holes and getting it attached to the tree. I hunted with a Lone Wolf last year and it was like night and day. Instead of pins it just a clip you adjust. Plus, when I scouted I found the tree that I wanted and went up the tree to my designated height. Then when I was done, I marked on my stand where the cables should be so when I went to set up in the dark, I knew exactly where my cables should be to get up the tree. It took all the guess work out.

I've learned that I should have gone with one of the top of the line model of stands and spent the extra $$$ from the beginning. With the lighter weight and being much easier to use, it would have been well worth it!