Distance to vehicle?

nontypical

Ten Pointer
Make sure you’re far enough where they can’t see the vehicle. Also make sure you’re far enough away where the deer can’t hear you close the door. Deer can hear very well.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
There's a lot of variables. Bow/gun. Visibility. It also makes a difference if that vehicle is parked at the road vs. 1/2 mile back.

I've parked mine at the road, walked 50 yards and killed deer between me and the road with a bow. Generally, it would be easier to drive closer in situations with visibility screens and long rifle shots. Drive back in the middle of where the deer are and you are much more likely to cause a problem.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
One of the best kill stands we have on a property I hunt here is 30 yards from the truck. We pull up to a long pole shed and park, walk around to the other side of shed and walk 25 yards down a row of sawtooths and there’s the ladder. Late season when winds change, I’ll climb the first sawtooth with a climber because the deer constantly travel between the ladder stand and the pole shed behind us while in ladder and that tree is literally 5 yards from pole shed. So I’m no more than 10-12 yards from the truck. No way it’d be that easy if the shed won’t where it is.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
If It’s well out of sight I’ll park 200-400 yards away but our land has 10000 firebreaks/ logging rosds


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Buffet Trout

Twelve Pointer
I spent years hunting secluded stands and being really careful walking in and out. Now I like to sit in my truck and listen to the radio while hunting. I see deer all the time...they seldom get closer than 50 yards but frequently peek from 150-200yds. I like to park where they don’t see the door open when I get out to shoot
 

bshobbs

Old Mossy Horns
All depends on the surroundings. I use to pull up into the lineup of tractors and other farm equipment. I'd sit right there in the truck with the door open. Deer would walk all around me. They were use to the equipment being there. I have gone back to my truck while hunting and seen deer tracks walking beside my truck in my foot tracks. I normally park a 100 yards away or more.

While dog hunting I am standing on the dog box.
 

Bean

Eight Pointer
I had back surgery this fall and couldn’t walk far so I was parking my 4wheeler about 20yds from my groundblind. There is a knoll where the blind is so atv was on the back side. Hunted the wind I was suppose to hunt and had no problems. Shot two nice bucks out of it too.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Depends on where the deer want to be and if they are used to vehicles. I had shot a 6 pt early in the afternoon at Butner once and was on the phone as I walked up to the truck. All of a sudden 2 deer took off running that had been eating acorn under the oak at the parking area, if I wouldn’t have taken the primer out of my muzzleloader and not been on the phone I would have had the shortest drag to the truck ever (and I’ve had some less than 100 yards on public).
 

took

Ten Pointer
Contributor
One of our best stands for many years was the shed behind my Mom's pack house; which is in her back yard. Park the car and walk 30 feet on the other side of the barn and sit in a nice folding chair under the shelter.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
I have seen more times than I can remember coming back to my vehicle and 5 or 10 yards in front of the vehicle deer are feeding in the road. the road I had going though my land was mostly grass and we used to scalp it and seed clover. deer would be right in front of the bumper. I dont think it matters most of the time.
 

Moose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I try to be out side the reach of the key pod. One afternoon I was settling in for a little nap in the stand when I moved just right to have item in pocket bump the panic button on the pod and set my truck to honking. So since then I got to be at least outside the reach of the pod.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
as you can see, it depends on many factors

one of our box blinds, we can park the 4 wheeler underneath or leave it in the woods 70 yds away, BUT we are shooting over a 19 acre crop field.....270 yds to one corner and 340 to the other. Most other blinds we are over 100 yds from parking.
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
I was pulled into the gate on Possum Track at Butner/Falls gamelands and sitting on the tailgate eating an orange before walking in for an evening hunt. Hadn't even put all my camo on and had the rifle leaning up against a tree when a deer stepped out into the path only 50 yards away. Even if I'd been ready I wouldn't shoot as it was within 500 yards of a house. This happened more than once at that same place.
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
I'm on public lot so usually don't have issue but I have seen deer even there that were in sight of truck while everyone is lugging climbers up mtn deer 30 to 70 yards away from trucks
 

Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
Back in the 80's was hunting a river bottom up near northern counties and had come out for lunch after a morning hunt. Had my truck facing a oak bottom, and I leaned my rifle up against the rear tire and opened the door to sit down to eat, looked up and there stood a huge buck probably 50 yards in front of truck. Well, I put my foot on the ground to get out and just as I stood up he just eased off....never looked back as I was getting to my gun....too late never saw him again. Killed another 140" later up there in that river bottom, but the one I was looking at thru my windshield that day could have whooped his ass.
 

boomer

Twelve Pointer
I like standing on the dog box. Where I still hunt at I have had deer tracks all around my truck that were not there when I parked it. I think they get use to a truck and pay it no mind.
 

Southern

Ten Pointer
Old timers I know in the mountains never get out of the truck. They park at the bottom and shoot em on top so they roll down the hill to the truck. Deer can be alot like turkeys. Vehicles dont bother them but they are scared to death of a leg poking out from the truck
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Depends on the location. I use to hunt my small farm in Northampton county and literally only had to walk 100 yards from my camper and truck to the stand. I would have deer and turkeys walk with eyesight of truck and camper.
In Rockingham I can't even park an atv within a 100 yards to the stand without spooking them.
 

g3trappernc

Twelve Pointer
Hunting in PA one time as a youngster we had deep snow. Dad and our friend Gerry drove in an access road and parked on the top of the mountain. After a couple of hours I was frozen so I went back to the Jeep. Unloaded and cranked it up to get warm. Had 3 does pass within 5’ of the bumper. Couldn’t get out and loaded quick enough to fill a tag. Deer are strange sometimes.
 
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