Stand Placement

[MJB]

What are some of the things you consider.   When it comes to stand placement ? My buddy and I seem to be disagreeing allot about this lately. Trails, rubs, scrapes, food ,cover. Let's hear it.
Thanks,
Mike

[Bud B.]

A well worn trail. If it's like where my stand is located, the deer have an almost bare dirt trail in pines.

Trail camera it to determine the times it's used. I haven't had to camera the trail I have covered. It's used at all times of the day and night.

Good luck.

Bud

[MJB]

Bud,
Exactly the kind of information I'm looking for. Here are a few pics from last year. Well worn  sandy deer trail with rubs along the creek in a hollow. It leads to a THICK power line area above that are fields of corn.
 
 
 

[Rob W.]

Food sources with fresh droppings. I use a climber most of the time and move to the hottest food source.

[Bud B.]

Just keep in mind that some deer might head across that creek after being shot....do it before it gets cold.....Brrrrrr.  

[karrow]

find food source then find beding area and then look for natural funnels in between the two. trails are great, and dont be scared to move a stand once ouve hunted it a few times

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by Bud B.:
A well worn trail. If it's like where my stand is located, the deer have an almost bare dirt trail in pines.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx2    
Keep looking, they're around somewhere and wherever the deer are, there will be well beaten trails and droppings everywhere.

Ron

[Pat B]

Early season is food and bedding. Setting up between the two and you have a good chance at a shot.
 We would creat a food source by planting iron clay peas and/or soybeans 2 weeks before opening morning. By opening morning they have sprouted and the deer have begun to eliminate whatever sprouts. Mornings and evenings are prime times to make meat!
 Within the month the prerut will begin in earnest and the patterns change.
 Acorns are beginning to fall here in the Southern Mountains of Western NC so a good white oak tree or grove of trees will be ideal for early season as will grapes and other early fruits.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

find their bed and find the food. Look for a natural funnel between the two and set up with the wind in your favor.

Come time for rutting I like to hunt over a hot scrape (within 45 yards or so). Also agree with not being afraid to move a stand. I have this little hot spot that I have hunted for years and I leave a stand in the same tree year round and hit it about four or five times in early season then I hunt the same are out of a climber and set up within 20 to 50 yards of the lock on. It's kinda funny watching the deer move through and checking out my lock on while I'm perched a good piece away and get to bush wack'em. I call it my decoy stand LOL

[adeeden]

Myself i concentrate entirely on funnels. preferbly ones that contain edges of two or more different habitats. cut overs beside mature woods etc. And most importanty you have to have the right wind!

[Night Wing]

Sometimes when I bowhunt from natural ground blinds, the prevailing wind direction is the most important factor for me since scent control is of great importance.

[MJB]

Great information guys. Please keep it coming. Anyone post a drawing or pic of a funnel that pertains to hunting ? I have an idea natural corridor ? So I can relate it to my hunting area.

One wood lot has plenty of droppings. And borders soybean and corn. A few trails but not heavily used dirt. We hunted this area last year setup in the wood lot. Was after dark till they hit the fields. Heck they might of bedded in the corn. Possible ??

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I'll take topographical features over trails just about any day of the week.. However if you read the topo right, the trials will be there.. Some areas the trails are not as defined, as the deer just move through an area without actually following a single trail. Hence my preference for land features over trails.

[hitman]

Wind no.1 and food and bedding areas.

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by MJB:
One wood lot has plenty of droppings. And borders soybean and corn. A few trails but not heavily used dirt. We hunted this area last year setup in the wood lot. Was after dark till they hit the fields. Heck they might of bedded in the corn. Possible ??

Now you're gettin on em... If they're not hitting the fields till after dark then you need to get back into the woods aways and try to figure out where they're bedding. (without spooking them). Be careful not to disturb the area more than neccessary as you look for the bedding area(s). Sounds like multiple crop fields so they might be alternating or using many different trails to enter the fields rather than just one or two primary trails. In this case, there may not be trails that are "dirt bare", but there still should be plenty of droppings. If you walk the edges of the fields, you'll find where they're entering and leaving. Follow a few of these trails back into the woods and you'll likely find several good places to set up.

Ron

[lpcjon2]

In the heat,by water. on a trail- outside of a curve in the trail. any natural or man made funnels or fence and hedge lines.

[Mechslasher]

the water treatment plant in my town did me a favor last year.  they bulldozed about two acres of land between their fence and the railroad.  this left two small strips of land the deer can travel through to a large hardwood groove.  i have two stands covering both trails.  checked both yesterday and the deer have paths beaten through there already.  the second pic is my ground blind looking over my favorite place to hunt in the early season, kudzu!

 

 

[MJB]

Mechslasher
Thanks for the pics. Greatly appreciated.

[JLeMieux]

If they're hitting the fields late, try to backtrack their trails until you find the bedding area. Once you find it back out and find where a few trails converge. Hunting the fringe of bedding areas can be productive but must be done with caution. Both edges and terrain/topography can be productive as well. Look for saddles and creek crossings being used. One area I hunt has a lot of steep ridges with deep draws. In this area I try to find benches between the ridge and bottom that aren't too wide open. Draws/bottoms can be productive, but be careful of swirling wind.

[adeeden]

I don't have a picture but I can describe my favorite funnel/edge combination for you.

Take a sheet of paper and draw two lines on it making four equal squares.

The top left square is 15 year old pines. the top right is mature hard woods. The bottom left is a hay field. The bottom right is a timbered area that is very thick.

Theres a fence that seperates the top sections from the bottom sections with an open gate just to the right of where the lines intersect.

A perfect funnel with 4 different edges and it's also an inside corner!

Strangely there's seldom any rubs or scrapes right at the sweet spot. but there is always large rubs and scrapes starting 50 yards away. However that gate holds the key to all the deer movement in the area. It's simply amazing the number of deer I have seen from this spot over the years. Sooner or later every deer in the area will come through it! I only hunt it when the wind is from the west or south west and do my best to not over hunt it.