Your face and eyes in the stand

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cwmoose

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Do you cover or paint your face while in the stand, do you think deer zoom into a persons bright white face and big eyes, or is it more movement they focus on.....or both.
 
I am trying to up my game for next year, I also need to stop fidgeting . I am going to have to build my stand more box like so I can move my hand and feet, with out giving myself away.
 
Movement is the biggest issue, however, I have been bowhunting for 40 years, and I have on many occasions seen deer and bears and moose spot hunters in treestands, I suspect the primary issue is poorly placed stands... the biggest consideration in stand placement is having a good backdrop of foliage to breakup your outline. Also, to be considered are the sightlines of the game based on the path of their anticipated movement... as an example; placing a stand in a tree on a ridge where there is a trail travelling up slope directly toward the stand location... as the deer travel the stand is directly in their view. Best bet is to position the stand where it is out of direct view with a good backstop of foliage and will provide a broadside perspective of the target quarry.

Having said this, most of the time, I take pains to properly locate my stands AND I wear a face mask. I hunted four days the past couple weeks and shot two bucks at 10 yards, neither knew I was around... I also had more than 40 deer within 20 yards and many only a few feet... I wasn't wearing a face mask all week, but one big doe spotted my face... she saw it in her peripheral vision and turned her head quickly and stared full into my face and snorted and bolted... and I was not moving and the stand was well placed... so deer can and do spot elevated hunters... wearing a facemask is easy to do and may help, so why not.
 
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For the past few years, I have used a mask for turkey. This year it began to use facepaint. I am sold on it now for all deer, duck and turkey hunting.
 
Cintax said:
For the past few years, I have used a mask for turkey. This year it began to use facepaint. I am sold on it now for all deer, duck and turkey hunting.
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40 years ago, we all used face paint... it is a pain in the ass... and made it awkward relating to the general public or requiring constant cleanup and reapplication... AND I dont think paint is as effective as a facemask for not just colouration but also for breaking up outline. My choice now is a facemask... easy on/off, no messy cleanup and more effective.
 
I used to use face paint, but found that being still and quiet, while paying attention to the wind direction is most important.
 
Not in a treestand, but I have sat on a stool, on the edge of a field and had whitetails feeding within 20' of me, that couldn't figure out what I was. And they stopped, looked, did the head bob thing. But I didn't twitch and they eventually ignored me and went on feeding.

Obviously, the wind was in my favor.

It was November, and I was wearing all white, head-to-toe, including a white balaclava (which is basically a mask)...
 
Demonical said:
Not in a treestand, but I have sat on a stool, on the edge of a field and had whitetails feeding within 20' of me, that couldn't figure out what I was. And they stopped, looked, did the head bob thing. But I didn't twitch and they eventually ignored me and went on feeding.

Obviously, the wind was in my favor.

It was November, and I was wearing all white, head-to-toe, including a white balaclava (which is basically a mask)...
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Was there snow ?
 
Supposedly, deer have poor vision for colours and stationary shapes but see shapes in motion well and have very sensitive senses of smell and hearing. I was told this when I took up hunting decades ago and everything I have experienced backs it up. I think the reason camo might sometimes help is in the sense that you might get away with small movements and maybe prevent them from spotting you when they get up close and can smell you. Sitting quite and still and using the wind to your advantage are way more important than camo when it comes to deer.

For the poster who mentioned turkey's and ducks, they are supposed to have excellent eyesight so wearing camo and/or concealing one's self in some way is a must.
 
birdinator said:
I think the reason camo might sometimes help is in the sense that you might get away with small movements and maybe prevent them from spotting you when they get up close and can smell you.
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Deer have excellent vision, just fewer colour receptors... and if they SMELL you, they don't need to SEE you... they are GONE.
 
hoytcanon said:
It is not so silly when you have a 12 point whitetail buck staring at you from 10 yards... quite the opposite, I feel silly without it.
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I just can't do I'm still the wool and flannel guy
Move wen there head is down feeding and stop wen the head is up and use the trees and rocks as a bline whenever possible

One stock I did I had to walk a Kilometer wide open in a grassy field on the beach no cover no camo just gumboots blue jeans and a flannel jacket just moving wen the head was down it took forever to get within practical shooting range but it was fun
 
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