When bowhunting large cut corn or alfalfa fields, I often have a buddy drive a truck or ATV through the field and drop me off as close as possible to my tree stand. On morning hunts, we drive in an hour before sunup; for evening sits, we drive in around 2 p.m. , and I have him pick me up after dark . If deer are out in the field or close by in the surrounding woods, they run off a ways, just as they would when a rancher or farmer drove in any normal day of the week. They are used to farm vehicles.

I have my driver (either truck or quad) park and idle there until I slip out and climb up into my stand. When he drives off, deer will pop back out into or near the fields like nothing ever happened. Sometimes they come back quick or it might take a while–be patient they will come.

With some setups right on the edge of a field, I’ve literally stepped out of a truck and onto the ladder steps that lead up to my stand. How’s that for leaving no human scent on the ground!

It’s better to have deer run from a truck or quad than to have them spook from your hulking silhouette as you walk into or out from a stand.