When Can You Hunt a Stand Again After Killing a Deer?

I have shot a lot of does over the years, and that has given me the chance to watch how other deer relate to dead deer. I have also learned a bit about how long you have to wait to hunt the stand again.

Sometimes they show some alarm at first, but soon curiosity replaces fear when they come upon a dead deer. In fact, they can become so curious that the dead deer serves as an attractant. I even have a friend who will drag a dead doe to a spot 25 yards upwind from his blind or treestand to entice other does to offer a shot as they come into the field. Of course, this only works in areas with a high deer population where the hunters need to apply heavy pressure to keep the numbers down. Mature bucks don't seem this curious.

The impact to your hunting area isn't the result of killing the deer, but rather is the result of recovering it — or at least it can be. As long as you have an efficient way to recover the deer you kill, you can go back to hunting the stand quickly.

The key is to keep the recovery down to one quick, quiet effort. Sneak out after you kill the deer by the same route you would use if you didn't shoot one and wanted to hunt the stand again the next day. Drive in with a four-wheeler or vehicle later and get as close to the deer as possible. Drag it to the vehicle and toss it in without any noise or talking. Just get in and get out quickly and without much disturbance and the deer are likely to accept that activity more readily than if you make a bunch of noise.

The worst case occurs when the deer travels a long way before dying and you have to trail it through a big part of your hunting area. That is about the only time I feel like I am doing a large amount of damage to my stand area as a result of shooting a deer from that stand.