silentassassin

I am not sure if my post came across as my meaning for him to put the stand right on the trail but that certainly wasn't my intent. I think it goes without saying that you don't place deer stands right on deer trails because you wind up with poor shot angels if you do manage to get drawn.

RTA47

If he is using that area for bedding down he will most likely keep using it. But he will most likely use a diffrent route to move back and forth. -IMO- i would move further back or move to another trail in order to try in pick him up again. Or move out of that area completely and wait untill just before the rut. Slide back in there somewhere and try to keep those doe`s in close. If he is around that area and -IMO- he will be. And With any luck you will have a chance seeing him again

Buck_Slayer

That sounds too familiar, on my way out of my hunting spot me and my buddy caught the glimpse of a big white rack, I stopped dead in my tracks...at first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it was a deer...we sat and stared at eachother for 5-10 minutes and when I crouched he didnt do anything...I looked back up, then he casually walked away...hopefully he's out this weekend

Fieldmouse

I'm one for always going higher. I'm sorry to hear about your near death expirience but I hate ladder stands. I would think diferrent if your hunt with gun or if you hide real well in a Holly or Pine. Lets face it, if you had a gun, he was going for a ride. Deer are real well educated to look up. The big ones survive because they know the routine.

I recommend you invest in a climber and then you can stay portable and mix up spots and trees that your in. If this is totally out of the question then move the stand and try to locate it in some cover off the trail. If your cover is scarce, go with the biggest tree you can find.

finner

I scared a big 8 point out 2 years ago when i climbed down from my stand he made a real big fuss stomping his feet blowing and i thought i would never get a crack at that one again.
I didn't hunt the same stand again i just relocated about 1/8 mile away where i had a hunch he was bedding. 2 weeks later i rattled him in but didn't score on him the bugger cought me off guard and circled down wind of me and booted it across the field talk about a rush i was really bummed also, but thats hunting. but it worked out for me in the end 3rd time was a charm and on the 3rd day of rifle he made a big mistake and came out in the field following a hot doe and the rest was history. dont give up stealthyone you may get lucky and get a crack at him again.!