Found out yesterday that the Hand Auger works great for the tree stand screw-in footsteps, at least on cottonwoods. Dunno about harder wood. It's also advertised as doubling as a hole-maker in hard ground for your turkey decoy stake. So definitely pleased with that $8 purchase.
And thanks, swampdog & others. I was using the thicker steps like the ones on the right in your picture. They are sturdier and thus preferable to me. At least on a soft tree like a cottonwood, the T-auger worked like a charm to get a hole started enough (say 1.25") to allow even the large steps to finish drilling in by hand turning the rest of the way.
Here's another question. If I'm out in the woods and am touching trees here and there with my hands, either accidentally or to help myself up a hill, my scent is planted there, and obviously a deer can come along and smell that. My question is, at what point is that no longer a concern, time-wise? How long does it take before the smell particles are so diluted that the deer can no longer detect it? I guess it would depend on whether & how much it rains, but in general - A day? Two days? A week? Two weeks? Longer?