What do you guys think

[ZachD]

So I was looking at some public land that is close to the house to hunt on weekdays and a lot of it is really thick cover that a stand wouldn't be good unless I could cut shooting lanes. I did find a deer trail that went from the snowmobile trail about 20 yards into the woods that led to a small clearing (20 yards by 20 yards) and leads into some cat tails and there is a trail going into them. I found some tracks in the clearing and some droppings. There is one tree at the edge of the clearing that I could put a stand up but the only possible shot is about 15 yards wide if they are coming out or entering the cat tails. Do you think it is worth the sit? Have any of you had a stand that there is a very small shot window? The spot is pretty far from the main parking down the snowmobile trail but the clearing is only 3 yards from the trail but I don't think that people walking by should be too much of a problem. I only saw one small game hunter when I was out and he was a good mile away from the spot. Any thoughts?

[96trigger]

Sometimes those over looked little places are real gems. Did you walk along the deer trail at all to get a better idea of where they are coming from and where they are going?

[benbosh]

I see no reason why you couldn't give it a shot. I have shooting lanes way smaller than 15 yards wide at one of my stands. One lane through the brush is maybe 5 yards and the other about 2 feet between a split in the tree and on the other side of the same tree another 2-3 yards.

[boXCar JiggY]

Ya wont know unless you try. could be one big buck that cruzes thru.

[pikerliker]

I think sometimes in a smaller protected spot like this the deer might be more "relaxed" than normal and might hang around longer or move slower and give you a better shot than maybe a larger open area. You said that there was just one good tree so don't rule out sitting on the ground in a blind or in some cover to give you more shot options.

[nwhunter]

I don't mind smaller shooting lanes, as long as you can have a decent look at what's coming through before it gets there. One of our best stands has 2 small lanes (about 10 yards across each) along a swamp edge but you can at least see/hear the deer well before the shooting lane. I'd think you'd want to avoid catching your first glimpse when it hits the shooting lane?

[hunter322]

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[Swiftswamper]

I like those small thick places. We call those killing stands... SOme of our stands are great for glassing and seeing lots of deer but don't always lead to close encounters. Our small thick areas aren't great for glassing and seeing high numbers but what we see we have the opportunity to drop the hammer on