By You secured your annual hunting lease for the 2017 deer season months ago. Your hunting lease insurance coverage is in place, your gear is ready to go, and now you are just waiting for the October start of the bow season. What’s left to do? Just one thing: finding the right spots for your tree stands.
The tree stand is the ideal hunting location for bow hunters who want to be up high enough to get a clean shot but still low enough to get down quickly in the event of an accurate shot. How high you place a deer stand is another topic for another article. In this post, it is all about location in reference to feeding spots.
Keep in mind that the best place to find that big buck or beautiful doe is wherever the animals feed. Feeding time is the most effective hunting time because deer are stationary and a little bit more at ease. With that said, here are the top four tree stand locations for deer hunting:
1. Along the Edge
On feeding areas bordered by a long road, deer have a natural hesitation of circling downwind. Any deer that normally traverses the length of the property along the edge are more likely to go from the upwind to the extreme downwind position before cutting across and heading back again. Anywhere along this edge is a good option. The further downwind you can be, the better your chances of spotting a decent sized buck.
2. On a Ridge
Trees on the edge of a ridge or ravine make ideal spots for tree stands. Why? Because of the way air naturally flows. Air traveling through the treetops extends beyond the edge of the ridge for a distance before dropping off and following the line down into the valley below. Deer will not catch the scent while approaching the tree (as long as the tree is downwind) and any air that does pick up the hunter’s scent will go over the heads of the deer before plunging over the ridge. This geography offers the perfect ‘scent vacuum’, as it were.
3. At the Hub
Hunters with an annual lease are smart to go scout the land for several weeks prior to the start of hunting season. Where you find multiple trails converging at a single entrance point into the feeding location – otherwise known as a hub – is a good place for a tree stand. Choose a tree as close to the center of the hub as possible. Then locate the stand high enough to get a clear view of deer coming down each of the trails.
4. At the Corner
Seasoned hunters know that bucks looking to feed tend to enter fields at the corners. Those just cruising by prefer to go around corners and be on their way. If you can find two trails that intersect at a corner – one cruising trail and one entry trail – you will have found the sweet spot for bucks. Find a tree right on this corner and set up your stand.
The American Hunting Lease Association recommends that all deer hunters have some sort of insurance protection. Moreover, hunting lease insurance coverage is absolutely critical whenever a lease is involved. Hunting insurance protects hunters, their guests, and landowners against most liabilities.
Now that you know about choosing the best tree stand locations, it is time to put that last piece in place before bow hunting season starts. You only have a few weeks left, so get out there and start scouting as soon as you can.
