stand placement/location

[mrjigger]

I am new to the sport of bow hunting. I keep hearing that I should do some scouting before the season opens. However, there just does not seem to be enough time in the day to do this. What should I look for in a good location to place my stand?

[bigbucks]

Deer, that sounds stupid & obvious, but make sure there's deer there. There should be a fairly well worn trail or two coming from the cover. Try to scan it in that last hour or half hour before dark from a distance to see if they're out there. I'm primarily talking field edge hunting. That's probably the easiest place to start & gives you the best chance of watching deer somewhere, learning when & where they come out. Then try to hunt that spot when the wind is blowing from the cover to the food & you can setup downwind, & out of the line of sight, from the trail they enter the field on. If they come out too late, then move back into the cover aways along the trail, if that's an option.

[BLACKJACK]

MR, half the challenge of bowhunting is doing enough scouting so you can place your stand or ground blind in the right spot at the right time to get a 20 yard shot at a deer. Everytime I'm in the woods I'm scouting for deer sign. When I'm out pheasant hunting, I'm also looking for deer sign. You can either put in the time scouting and have a reasonable chance at a deer or you can just put it up a stand anywhere and stand a good chance at not getting a shot at a deer, your choice. There is no such thing as a free lunch!

An excellent time to scout is in the spring, you can still see rubs and scrapes and trails from the previous fall. For right now, if you still haven't got stands up, take a few hours during midday, hike the land, look for funnels, trails, browse spots, fencelines, think like a deer, they're going to follow the easiest trail if not disturbed. If there is a fence, where are the deer crossing it? A narrow land bridge between two ponds is a good spot. Put up your stand(s) and then let them sit for a couple of weeks. I like to put up many stands so that you don't burn one out. You still have plenty of time, the best bowhunting is yet to come in late Oct/early Dec. Good luck.