tree stand hunting or still hunting both has its advantages. i use a tree stand when conditions a right, such as when the leaves are dry as corn flakes, frozen ground when it is hard to move through the deer woods without making noise . where i used to hunt in wva on public hunting areas i always look for likely escape routes such as brushy hill sides, brushy hollows leading to swamps or laurel thickets. this method has worked well for me in the past. scouting the areas before before the season starts to find these areas helps when installing your stand. i have harvested several nice bucks using this meathod. when there are a lot of hunters moving around in the woods when noisey conditions exsist try this tactic. tree stands are not for everyone, but it adds another weapon to your deer hunting bag of tricks. by the way, west virginia is one of the top deer hunting states in the country. if you ever get the chance to hunt wva you will be amazed at the number of deer per square mile.stonewall jackson public hunting area, burnsville dam W. M. A in lewis county & barton,s ridge public hunting area near hinton are all great areas to hunt.

I'm going to unlock and see how it goes. I don't think it has to be an argument - could be a good discussion of hunting techniques and what works in different areas.

Not sure about the reference to New Zealand, but both methods can work in North Idaho. I tend to be a stand hunter myself, but have killed 4 or 5 deer in the woods while still hunting. On the open plains where I hunt with my f-i-l, spot and stalk is most productive.

Not much tree stand hunting out this way (at least south of the Clearwater River). Even up north in the whitetail woods I haven't heard of much tree stand hunting. That's not to say people don't take a stand, it's just on the ground, but mostly still-hunting when after whitetails, and spot and stalk for muleys. Or, stalk and jump for both! For the most part, we don't have the big deciduous trees dropping trainloads of leaves, but we do have some thick ground brush up north.

What has worked fairly well is to put a couple people on stand, then have several others make a drive through the thick stuff. Works on muleys, whitetail, and elk. Need to be practiced up on the offhand running shots for this though.

Over the years I've deer hunted from tree stands,ground stands an still hunted.
Most of my kills were from the ground stand.
Although I personally did'nt do too well from the tree stand,I think that it is the best way to kill deer.
lthough it requires a great deal more effort,still hunting is the most rewarding(for me),because every hunt is a good hunt,and some are great,even if you don't kill anything.
Things like walking into a herd of does and walking up to a sleeping fox are never forgotten..
You don't have a chance for this,from a tree stand.
I'm sure that a lot of folks reading this will not care abbout merely seeing things;it's getting game that counts.There's nothing wrong with that.I just have a different point of view.
Frank

I only occassionally hunt from a tree stand. And when I do sit in one it is rarely more than the first and last hour or so of the day. I have nothing against it, I'm just easily bored sitting and waiting. I guess I have hunting ADHD. I look forward to long slooowww walks in the woods. I like the variety of scenery. I also like the freedom to scout around and have a seat wherever I come across an area with good sign. Having said that, I did shoot a doe this year from a tree stand, first time I've harvested a deer from a stand now that I think about it.

I don't see many still hunters where I hunt. Most hunt from stands. And they do tend to see more bucks than I do, so it is hard to argue with their use.

MikeW

A tree stand is a great use when you are "calling" deer. For instance if rattling antlers or using a grunt call. The buck that responds to the calling is looking for you and if he doesn't come boldly and sneaks in often he can come in undetected by you. If you are in a stand elevated then when he is close and in thick cover you might be out of his sight and scent zone. Tree stands are safe too as your shots are mostly down toward the ground.
I have combined both methods of hunting in swamps at times. Tree stands can be difficult to carry or install at times. I have stalked thick swamps always moving slow and focusing on the surroundings for deer until I would get to a good place to call. Instead of a tree stand I would have tree climbing spikes like linesmen use and a belt. This is easy to carry slung over your back with your hands free for shooting. Get to a spot that you can survey and slip them on and go up a tree. Call and if no response come down slip them off and stalk to another location and repeat. You can cover a lot of ground in a day and sooner or later a deer will respond. Hopefully he will be what you want to shoot.