Overusing a stand

I've found tree stands can be and often are overhunted. If I hunt a stand in the morning as well as in the afternoon, then I won't go to that stand the next day. If you hunt from the same stand over and over again, the deer wise up to what you're doing. You're leaving scent going to and from the stand and on and around the tree as you climb up and down. Particularly when hunting trophy whitetails, the less exposure they have to human odor, the better you odds are of taking them. The more exposure the deer have to human odor, the less chance the hunter will have to bag a specific buck. Deer wise up to a hunter's movement patterns quickly. The only advantage the archer really has for taking a smart deer is to be in a spot where the deer doesn't expect him to be. Therefore the more times a deer smells human odor, the more likely the animal will be to avoid that area. Consequently, the mores times you hunt from the same stand, the less effective that stand will be in producing a deer.

Not being alert in the stand

Many outdoorsmen brag about how long they sit in their tree stands waiting on deer to show up. But if the hunter is in his stand either asleep, daydreaming or not hunting (actively trying to see and take a deer), then the length of time he spends suspended between heaven and earth has no direct bearing on his success as a bowhunter.

Many good bowhunters make the mistake of staying in a tree stand when they're not hunting. When you catch yourself falling asleep or not actively looking for deer, the best thing you can do is leave the tree stand and come out of the woods. When a sportsman's hunting, he should be hunting. When he's resting, he should be resting somewhere other that the woods. Often during those rest times is when a deer is most likely to appear. If the hunter is not alert and anticipating seeing a deer, he's more likely to shoot too quickly or inaccurately, or make noise and spook the deer.