okay , iam sure its happened yo almost all of us atleast once, you know when you out in the stand and the deer never give you a clear shot, and then the sun goes down and legal shooting is over, you wand to exit, but you don't want to give up you location, when you leave,, whats the best way to exit, or atleast with out recking the location for the rest of the season.
I don't know if it's quite the same, but I ran into this situation while bear hunting last year. Had a bear visit my baitsite, and never offered a shot until shooting light had faded. But now that he is comfortable and lying next to the baitbucket what do I do? I figured if I got down from the stand, made myself as unthreatening as possible, and just walk away without spooking the bear I might get another shot at him. The next night he didn't show up until after dark. The two nights following he showed up with more than enough legal light.
Deadeye,
I usually throw the seat cushion down before I exit my stand. I figure the "whop" of it hitting the ground will perhaps alert any nearby deer, but better to have them looking on the ground than up in the trees. If nothing snorts, blows, or moves, I climb down then.