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Anyone use a ladder stand AND a saddle?

Was the buck he shot a loner or in a group of deer? A gut pile does not mean human, it means something died. A group of deer that all of the sudden one of their buddies dies raised concern. There are a multitude of variables. I just know I have seen way too many deer check ladder stands before entering fields or walking in the woods. I still hunt them, but as the season grows I start flanking them. I also like the idea that was originally brought up of hunting above them.
We forget this is their backyard and they notice subtle changes....If your neighbor is sitting on their porch when you come home you notice them. They might not raise concern to you. If one day you come home your neighbor shoots at you or your buddies, you will definitely notice him sitting in his porch everytime after that and proceed with caution until the threat is gone.
 
I shot a 147" 9 pt. from a saddle on top of a ladder stand in 2022. My ladders are left up year round. All I do is loosen the straps after the season to give the trees room to grow over the summer. I've had bucks walk between the ladder and the tree so I can say with certainty, they don't associate ladders with hunters unless sloppy hunting convinces them ladders otherwise.
 
Loopwing said:
Was the buck he shot a loner or in a group of deer? A gut pile does not mean human, it means something died. A group of deer that all of the sudden one of their buddies dies raised concern. There are a multitude of variables. I just know I have seen way too many deer check ladder stands before entering fields or walking in the woods. I still hunt them, but as the season grows I start flanking them. I also like the idea that was originally brought up of hunting above them.
We forget this is their backyard and they notice subtle changes....If your neighbor is sitting on their porch when you come home you notice them. They might not raise concern to you. If one day you come home your neighbor shoots at you or your buddies, you will definitely notice him sitting in his porch everytime after that and proceed with caution until the threat is gone.
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It was following does. They actually came by me (not far away) after he shot. Was it those same does the next days? Can’t say for certain.

I’d have thought all the human scent from gutting and dragging and what not, only 30 yards away from this man-made metal object in the forest, would be alarming enough for them to cast a directional look my way if they indeed held ladder stands as suspect.
 
I do, but I'm losing confidence in the safety of my old ladder stands. I'll probably junk them in a season or two. When my daughter gets old enough to hunt with me I'll pop up a few two-person stands. I'll install bolts in my own trees - I'm more interested in firewood than lumber but probably wouldn't bolt an arrow-straight oak.
 
I've seen it both ways so I can't put my finger on what it is exactly. I think it has to do with the general disposition of the deer you have. If they are getting hammered by folks, then they will be extra paranoid. If they walk by that stand and never have or witness any negative consequences, I find they don't pay them much attention. On stands that get heavily hunted, and deer are killed in the presence of other deer, I think they quickly associate that with danger. We had one guy in our club that would ride his side by side up to the base of his stand and step off the running board onto the rung of his ladder stand. Then he would get down and leave 30 minutes before dark. I witnessed all this from one of my spots about 250 yards away several times. He would run deer out he never saw and then I could see them skirt his stand with him in it. He was always complaining that he never saw any deer, lol.

On the other side of that, I killed one of my best bucks early in my bowhunting in a little valley of hardwoods that was easy access, had a ladder stand and an old box ground stand in there and the little draw had been thoroughly shot up the day before by one of my friends' squirrel hunting. The sign under that white oak was just too good to pass up and it paid off. I took a climber in before daylight and set up. The buck was traveling the edge of the valley up against the pines. I was able to call him past me and get an arrow though him at about 15 yards.
 
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