Treestand Locations

Treestand selection is one of, if not the most important aspect to being successful when hunting.  It has taken me a few years of actual hunting and observing to figure out the deer on the property I hunt, but I now have enough knowledge of the deer movement that I have a plan established for this year. 

This blog will take you through my go to stands for early season and the rut, as well as why I am placing the stands where I am.  Here is the legend for the photos:

Red dot - Stand location
Red dotted line - path deer take
Blue oval - bedding area
Yellow box - food source
The top of the map is always north.

Early Season

Early season hunts are difficult on the farm I hunt because of wind direction.  In early October, the wind is almost always out of the south, and a south wind is difficult to hunt on this property.  I do have a few spots where I can play a south wind and knock down a few does.  Shooting does is important to not only manage the buck/doe ratio, but also to get some meat in the freezer and build confidence going into the rut.

The Double Stand

The Double Stand is one of the best spots on the farm early or late, and is perfect for a south wind.  I have a double ladder stand in this location so my wife and I can both hunt together in the mornings.  Below is a map that shows the setup.

This stand has treated me well over the past three years.  I have shot quite a few does in this spot on morning hunts in October.

The Food Plot Stand

In the July 31st weekend update blog I showed the spot where I planted a new food plot, and this area will be where I can hunt evenings with a south wind.

This spot should allow me to have a good early season spot for evenings when the wind is out of the south.

I will hunt these two stands quite a bit the first few weekends in October to try and shoot a 3-4 does. 

Rut Stands

I have 3 spots for the rut that I know will be dynamite.  These stands will not be hunted until Halloween, and the property will sit for a few weeks without pressure before the pre-rut kicks in.  Here is my strategy for the rut!

Ridge Top Stand

I had a stand below this ridge along a creek for the past two years.  I always could see deer moving along the ridge, and this year there will be a stand there.  This ridge follows the edge of the timber and then slopes off into a tight funnel.

The purple line represents the ridge top and the two green lines represent the funnel the deer move through.  There is a large corn field to the south which the yellow box only shots the corner of.  The deer move from there beds through the funnel and then into the corn field.

Tom's Stand

In the bowhunting fitness blog I told the story of my Wisconsin buddy Tom's hunt last fall at LJS Lodge.  To add to the story, I had a stand along a corn field and could watch the deer move from the funnel, and through a small block of timber.  The deer would either walk right past my stand or go west of me.  I had Tom setup west of me the first night and he seen over 30 deer!  We moved the stand two more times before Tim killed his buck.  The spot where Tom killed will be forever known as Tom's stand, and I will share how the deer move through here.

You can see from the aerial photo that this stand is not too far away from the Ridge Top Stand.  The same funnel feeds into this block of timber.  The deer move out of the CRP and deep ravine bedding areas and go into the timber.  The purple line in this photo shows where a shallow ditch runs through the timber.  The deer travel this ditch to get to the corn field to the south. 

Here are some pictures Tom sent me from this stand.

Big rub in the shallow ditch



View from Tom's tree where he killed



View from Tom's stand

The Ridge Top and Tom's stand are the two areas that I will be focusing my efforts early if the wind is out of the north to have a chance at the Big 8 pointer.  This area is where the Big 8 pointer likes to hang out in the early season. 

The Logging Road Stand

This is my favorite stand for two reasons:  1) There are a ton of deer that move through the area, and 2) I shot my buck there last year.

This stand is will work in the afternoons with a north wind or mornings with a south wind.  Below, I lay out the scenario of how the deer came in mid-morning when I shot this big Iowa stud.

The green line represents part of the logging road.  The road curves along the ridge down to the bottom to the north.  The deer follow this to the top of the ridge and walk past the stand at 20 yards.  Most of the deer either come from the bedding area or from across the road in the neighbors crop fields and work their way up the logging road.

I have around 10 more stands on this property that I may hunt periodically depending on the wind and deer movement, but the stands locations shown above are the ones I will concentrate most of my time this fall.

I mentioned a few key things to look for on your hunting property in this blog.  Terrain features like ridges and funnels can help you show where deer move.  Use aerial and topo maps that show these terrain features.  Man-made logging roads are also a great spot to put a stand.  Finally, understanding where the deer bed, where the food is, and the path they take to get from A to B will allow you to be successful this fall.

This is my last regular blog I will post this summer, but I will post regular updates that include what I am doing at the farm to prepare for this fall. 

Muddyhunter