How would you rate these factors in setting a bow stand?

[regulat0r]

Im curious to see what factors you think are most important for stand site selection. Rank these factors that make up your decision. For information/conversation sake...please dont simply answer "all of them"...add a little insight into your answers...

*not in order

-food sources

-cover

-trail cam pictures

-physical sign (tracks,rubs,scrapes)

-funnels/pinch points

[fasteddie]

Trail cam pictures and actual sightings are my # 1 .

Physical signs 2nd

Cover 3rd

funnels / pinch points 4th

food sources last ---- the crops are usually gone and the deer are traveling to an unknown source

[deerpassion]

well i happen to look for food first to get a general idea as to where to look first for sign, especially for early and then late season.... then sign is obviously a close second(but number one once you find it) then trail cam pics, then the thought process and evaluation begins on which tree am i gonna set in and with the most cover i can get away with and what variety of winds am i gonna be able to get away with in this spot.... then if i've found a few spots thats cool, but then i key in on pinch points and funnels for the rut ( but mostly these spots overlap with good sign from the first part i mentioned) so its all about getting out there and surveying the land, only way you'll b successful

good luck for u and me both!

[wooly]

-food sources-

This is probably the most important of all in my book. Early season preferred hard and soft mast crops let me choose pinpoint ambush locations deer concentrate on pre rut. Post rut is obviously another good time to target a food source. Regaurdless of all other factors that influence deer movement, their need to feed is one that can't be ignored in order to survive. That said, very rarely will I hunt right at the food source itself.(see cover)

-cover-

Like everyone, I enjoy seeing and watching deer while I'm on stand. Generally, the more the better! A typical stand in the open forest may see many encounters that fullfill that requirement, but lately my stands are located closer to the cover especially on evening hunts in hopes of catching "maturer" (lol) deer durring legal shooting time on their hooves and off to the food source. I tend to not sit these stands all day. Any unfavorable change in the wind can and will alter any patterns a buck has established in a core area.

-trail cam pictures-

Love to get good bucks on cam especially when it's not just a one time ordeal. Knowing you have a good buck that calls any piece of your propperty home is the starting point for any solid game plan to hunt him effectively.

-physical sign (tracks,rubs,scrapes)

This one I probably pay too much attention to when rub and scrape activity begins to increase. Now instead of falling into a rut and hunting the sign exclusively, I'll hang a cam untill I see a pattern worthy of hunting. Not all that often I see good day time activity around rut sign as most will take place under the cover of darkness. If I hunt a new propperty, I can't think of a more exciting place to set up than some fresh, hot sign!

-funnels/pinch points-

Yep, lots of steep ridges here with food sources at the higher elevations and bedding thickets down below. A nice bottleneck between the two can produce at any time but I prefer the morning sits here! Funnels between bedding area thickets can be hot all day long when bucks are scent checking and cruizing for does.

[wdswtr]

The only one not mentioned. Wind is my number one factor in stand placement. All the others are great but if the wind is wrong they are not so great anymore.

[erussell]

Unfortunately most of my spots are open woods. If the oaks have no corns on them then Im pretty much at the mercy of the deer when it comes to when they will be traveling through. I try to pick the best pinch points or funnels with the most sign on them and with the most doe on my trail cam and hope a good buck is cruising along looking for doe while im there.

[erussell]

The only one not mentioned. Wind is my number one factor in stand placement. All the others are great but if the wind is wrong they are not so great anymore.

Probably one of the most overlooked aspects of stand hanging WDS!! Also how are you going to access the stand without spooking the deer is another good one to.

[ncountry]

Depends on the the part of season. I will go with funnels (and of course wind direction is always #1) esp. during the rut. The last few years I have been hunting unfamiliar ground during early November on 1000s of acres of public land. I used the common hint, seen in most hunting mags. for using topographic maps and aerial photos.I would pick out likely funnels and camp out till noon. So far this has been working great (knocking on wood). . 50 yd wide funnels that can be covered with a bow are hard to find though.lol

[SamHardy]

We'll be setting the trail camera’s in July to start capturing photos of the great bucks of 2012, but for now there are a lot of food plots that need taken care of and planted before mid July. i would go hunt it if the aerial photos of the farm you would hunt look good. I would go in November and hunt funnels and pinch points. the hunting pressure is very high there and the deer should be on the move with the pressure and the rut, you could kill a fatty.

Sam

[NYbuck50]

1.)WIND

2.) cover

3.) food

[WNYBuckHunter]

Ok, so heres my opinion on this. All of those factors are equally important to me when I am deciding on a spot for a stand. The first thing I look for is food and cover so that I can determine where possible pinch points and funnels are. The next thing I do is look at those possible pinch points and funnels for physical sign to try and determine how often they are used. Next, Ill set out a cam on an area 50 or 100 yards along the trail from where Im thinking of putting my stand. If I then see deer using the funnel or trail, Ill find the right tree or spot to put my blind based on the predominant wind direction.

Alot of the time, Ill keep an eye on deer activity through the season and keep it in mind when hanging stands for the next season.

[Woodsman20]

Interesting thread and topic and there a are a lot of good answers and there is no RIGHT one because I think it depends on the goals of every hunter and the land they have access to.

For me the #1 condition is that there is a buck in that area I want to hunt. Preferrably and in order this comes in the form of me physcially seeing him. Then probably trail cam pictures and friend sightings depending on their knowledge. Lastly it would be physcial sign - (First Tracks - Big Buck Tracks especially fresh, Second - Big Rubs - fresh ones, Third Scrapes and during the right time of the year but they are over-rated in my book.)

Getting to this point, while it sounds easy is extremely challenging, but if you are fortunate this is half the battle.

Next for me is to understand the terrain. Where is the cover and possible bedding areas? What is the food source? What are the transition routes to get from and too? Are there any obvious funnels, pinch points and likely set-up points? I try to perform an analysis of the likely core area of the one I am after and often times set-up a couple stands trying to intercept him.

Now comes the stand placement strategy. Focus is on predominant wind direction first if possible. Someitmes there may not be a tree to set-up in so you need to understand when you can hunt the "off-ind" stands and how you will get in and out of the stand. Soemtimes during the season I'll tweak the spot and go in with a portable and set-it up and hunt out of it that night. I minimize the cutting of lanes, scent and distrubance in the area. Trail cams at this point are placed in spots that are easily accessible even if I know they may be at night I can still figure where they come from and where they are headed.

Multiply this process by 20-30 because you can not hunt the same spot every day. It's a lot of work but it is part of the fun. Throughout the years some spots are just good and I set my stands up there every year or tweak them slightly.

Again good thread and interesting to read through.

[First-light]

-physical sign (tracks,rubs,scrapes)

-funnels/pinch points

-food sources

-cover

-trail cam pictures

[bubba]

First I use the wind as a factor. Next is location between bedding and feeding areas as well as access to the stand with the least amount of disturbance. I do use trail cams, but I find by the time I am in a stand to hunt, the patterns have changed due to the change in feed such as cut corn fields they no longer utilize. I try to set my food plots to accommodate my stands rather than the other way around. In other words when I find a good stand place, I put in a plot to help the deer move the way I prefer. Another factor I take into consideration is cover for my stand. It needs to be well concealed.

[NFA-ADK]

I have not been up in a stand in years but when hunting the things I look for to get a good set up are:

1: Big tracks!!!

a: If I find what appears to be a buck, I follow untile I can not any more... Noting everything possible from food eaten, scrapes to rubs and resting/sleeping area's in deep cover. If he comes onto doe tracks that is my spot regaurdless of the area, food or cover. This has helped me more than once and is my most favorate way to hunt in remote area's

2: Sign post: rub scraps etc. Have to be fresh or I will ignore thinking it was a one time travel route to a destination. Then I want to kown the destination and where he came from... I will not ignore if more than one track exists at what appears to be differant times or deer. (Travel highways are key if I find bucks tracks in them even more so.)

3: Doe and excessive tracks: Where I hunt if you find doe, the bucks will follow if rut is on or a doe is in heat. Many times I key on this as they are much easyer to find then finding a bucks tracks with limited amounts of deer and even less time to scout. They tend to be in smaller area's than the bucks roam from what I have seen making patterning easyer. Staying hidden and undetected on ground level is another issue in itself. But it is so much fun!!!

4: I key on the area's I track doe or bucks that have a narrow funnel or draw if possible. Making at bare minimum at least a sighting of them possible.

5: Terain and aireal maps, VIP info for exporing new area's I have not hunted or been to.

.

While cover and food sources are very importiant, I tent to ignore much of this due to the fact that the area I hunt usually has both to varing degrees. No food plots or farms for miles making food a resource I have trouble keying in on... My biggest disadvantage is not knowing the forest as well as I would like and finding food sources is always a challenge for me. That is something I have been working on and hope to improve every year. I know beachnut, cherry, apples and oaks pretty good but a expert I am not... And so many other food sources exist I find this part of my hunting perplexing and overwhelming.

If I had private property trail pictures would put it all together... State land is so vast I would have trouble determining where to put them up and the expense of 10 or more cams does not thrill me... Yet the price keeps droping making this experiment enticing...

Note: This is a deep woods point of view and will not work as well in high populations of deer as roaming the woods might scare off potential prey more than is needed. (I am sure I scared off more deer over the years than was seen.) This type of tracking is almost impossible unless you are allowed to tresspass or have an excessive amounts of land. Making a 1-5 mile tracking job possible. When you are familiar with the area you hunt this is not needed as much to FIGURE out the patterns.

I keep a mental record for the day and try to put as much details into the log book as possible. As the log book changes from year to year I try to key in on area's that consistantly have the most deer in it and the best sign's. They do change from year to year yet I find the same doe pattens exist unless a excessive blow down, flooding or microburst changes the terain... While they do not keep the same exact pattern every year the core area remains the same.

I have a area where I missed a buck(long time ago) that has excessive doe sign, cover and a funnel. Yet in my experiance it is a travel "pass through" area and is utilized at first light mainly. If I bring a stand this is where I would put it to avoid detection and scent...

1:physical sign (tracks,rubs,scrapes) Key for finding deer in remote area's and sometimes requires a lot of hiking with excessive staring onto the ground. Extreamly draining...

2:funnels/pinch points - Key for a close clean ethical shot.

3:food sources- My biggest downfall is locating them!

4:cover- This is excessive where I hunt, so many places to hide out... I am keying in on swamps more...

5:trail cam pictures (I have not used them.) I feel this is key to putting the whole equation together.

Love the topic!!!!!!!!!!!

Note that I liked woodsman20's post. He has a great view IMO!!! If I live upstate and was able to scout more that would be my method... I think he hit's the nail on the head!

[G-Man]

#3 Acessability!!!! stand is no good if you spook every deer iin the woods/field to get to it ! it must have a good entrance / exits so you remain unnoticed. #2 funnel / pinchpoint if there is sign on the property and game is there they will go through this area! 1# Cam photos/ physical sign/ reliable source, the game you want has to be there in order to get it!

[dave6x6]

My best stand locations have most of these elements in one pretty package and thats what makes them so great but a good stand in my opinion will never be great without the ability to access it undetected. Especially if your after mature deer. That said, i would take a pinch point/funnel #1 and would put sign as my last priority. I know there are going to be mature deer on the property so my goal is to not wander all over the place chasing tracks and rubs. Stay patient and let them make a mistake. Food is also pretty far down on my list simply because in farm country, it's everywhere. (and i'm the food plot guy. LOL) As for cover, It plays a huge roll in my absolute killer stands but only because it has the accessability and the pinch combined with it. If you can find a pinch, 75-100 yrds downwind of a bedding area, and can access it undetected, you will see bucks at any given time during the day, Guaranteed..

[Doc]

The very first thing that sends me to select a stand location, is past activity that I have witnessed over the years. For example, there are traditional bedding areas, there are rut areas that have been established for decades. There are changing food sources that I have noted over the years, that simply need to be timed, re-verified or re-discovered. In a couple of locations, I have simply discovered that deer filter through a specific piece of woods for no real apparent reason. Having hunted the same grounds for years is a heck of an advantage.

Having said all that, there is still the constant re-verification process, because over the decades things change, and it is always important to keep knowledge evergreen.

[sweet old bill]

all those items make good awareness of were and when I would put a stand up. But the wind seems to me to be the one item a lot of hunters forget. That why I have several stands in the area ( now ground blinds ) due to bad leg. I have one stand in the early season looks like a herd of cows use it daily, but can only be used when the wind is out of the west. Otherwise as the deer come down the hill to feed they smell you... so I check wind each hunt day to make my mid up were I will hunt. I also have a 4 inch piece of dental floss on the bow string that tell me when I am in the stand is the wind changing.

[Doc]

When thinking about the wind, don't forget those pesky thermals that can switch directions on you right when the sun drops over the hill. Those should also become a factor in stand placement.

[phade]

IMO only one person really responded in the correct fashion...he started off with the right response - it depends on the goals of the hunter and the ground before ANYTHING else. There's a big difference between shooting any deer or a mature buck...or the top lot on a given parcel.

Next, I want to be sure there is a buck in the area I want to hunt (if I want mature bucks).

All of the other factors have a role...wind, access, location, bedding, travel, etc. So setting a stand in my opinion:

1. Hunter goals/Property access

2. Buck that I want to hunt and that is huntable based on scouting details

3. Access - Entry/Exit

4. Wind and sufficient cover for particular set

5. Everything else...

[nyantler]

The only one not mentioned. Wind is my number one factor in stand placement. All the others are great but if the wind is wrong they are not so great anymore.

Took the words out of my mouth... this would be my # 1..

[DIDNTCATHING]

Wind..How many times has a monster hung up on you?Bet he winded ya..Cover/bedding area..early season I have found that the big ones are more predictable..bedding to food back to bedding area..sign aka rubs tell me which way he travels..and last is moon phase..Full moon big ones seem to move alittle earlier than previous..I get to my stand earlier..In the rut well it's a coin toss...

[wdswtr]

Wind..How many times has a monster hung up on you?Bet he winded ya..Cover/bedding area..early season I have found that the big ones are more predictable..bedding to food back to bedding area..sign aka rubs tell me which way he travels..and last is moon phase..Full moon big ones seem to move alittle earlier than previous..I get to my stand earlier..In the rut well it's a coin toss...

Imagine how many you never got to even see cause he smelled you first. Wind still my #1

[dave6x6]

You guys have kinda got off on the wind thing and we know it's all important but it doesn't seem to be what the original poster was looking for. I took it as, if you had a property to hunt and you had these 5 factors, how would you rate them when deciding a stand site. Not necessarily the stand position(down wind) but the site itself and why. I'll rank mine again based on the property i hunt which has all these. For me

#1- pinch/funnels

#2- cover

#3- food

#4- Trail cam pics

#5- sign

Assuming i can have the wind in my favor for all these.