Hunting deer from an elevated perch in a tree stand is an effective way to hunt. Under most conditions, being off the ground gets your scent out of reach of a deer’s incredible nose. And, by keeping you quiet, a tree-stand vigil increases the odds that you will hear the deer before it hears you. There is a downside, however. It is sitting in one place and in one position for long periods. This is not easy, even for the most dedicated and patient hunter.

How long are you good for in a tree stand?

For me, two hours is about the limit. I know a few hunters who make a day of it! They bring books and a big lunch and just tough it out. This takes patience, but an all-day deer vigil on a high tree stand overlooking a busy deer run is a sure-fire way to fill a tag. This past fall, during the bow season, I sat motionless for two hours in my stand that overlooked a well-travelled game trail. Getting fidgetty, I decided to break the monotony and silence with a few doe bleats. While rummaging through my daypack for the doe call, a doe came pussy footing down the trail unknown to me. Murphy’s law. She heard me before I heard or saw her. If only I had been patient and still for a little longer!

Hunters have different ways of making time pass in a deer stand. There is a pleasing “time-out” aspect when you sit motionless in a tree in the woods. A good contemplative time. Perfect for thinking through problems, saying a prayer, or simply soaking up the fresh air and the sounds of silence.

Although dozing off in a deer stand is not recommended, sleepiness can come on a tree-stand hunter, especially about mid-morning when the sun’s warming rays begin to filter through the trees taking off the chill. More than once the tug of the safety harness has reminded me that there are better places than treestands to catch up on sleep.

Nature’s call can also present challenges. I have noticed that bow hunters, especially, are fanatics about controlling body scents. The die-hards shower before each hunt, hang their clothes outside and spray down with a heavy covering scent. A number of bow hunters I know carry a personal urine bottle or even a Ziploc bag . They are scrupulous about not befouling the woods with human waste of any kind. If you ask me, this is over the top, as they say. But the proponents of the carry-in and carry-out ethic will no doubt find this behavior worthy of plaudits.

By the way, I have good news for all tree-stand hunters who have been punishing their bladders for years and putting off nature’s call for fear of spooking game. According to biologist Dr. Karl Miller with the University of Georgia, human urine does not contain anything that will spook a deer any faster than fox or coyote urine. Human urine does not contain human scent in a way that deer have come to recognize it and associate it with danger. It merely smells as urine, quite possibly no different than a coon or fox, and based on a recent test, it may be even closer to deer urine! A scrape test was performed using doe, buck and human urine. Buck urine got the most positive response. A scrape with doe urine got less attention than the one with nothing in it at all and all urines got some kind of positive response. The four biologists who conducted the study went away convinced that human urine does not spook deer.

There is anecdotal evidence as well. This issue drew a lot of discussion recently in a bow hunter’s online chat room. One hunter, who had been taught never to drink a lot of coffee or eat spicy food before hunting, decided this was all another hunter’s myth. He deliberately relieved his bladder on a buck scrape beneath his tree stand. Ten minutes later an 8-point buck visited the scrape, sniffed for a few minutes and then walked casually away, not the least bit spooked. A number of bow hunters in the chat room discussion go so far as to claim that they believe that human urine can actually attract a buck to a scrape and get his dander up!

Well, enough “potty talk,” as my granddaughter puts it. But still another tidbit of knowledge, based on science, to stow away in the deer hunter’s toolbox.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal and has written his first book, A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is paul@sportingjournal.com.

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