Deer hunters typically find themselves on an endless quest for the perfect treestand setup. It’s the tree—the tree where animals die from your arrows year after year.
The treestand places the odds in your favor with wind, access, cover, and visibility more than any other on the farm.Â
And while the perfect treestand setup seems to come few and far between, some places tend to be the locations to hang a stand.Â
Travel Routes
Knowing how a deer gets from Point A to Point B is a huge advantage when it comes to finding the ideal ambush location for your treestand. Regardless of whether it’s bed to feed, staging areas, water holes, or any other daily hangout, you need to know the travel route that gets deer there.
Some will be obvious, while others are subtle and seemingly insignificant. The key is to look closer at the landscape to find the sign that tells you how deer move regularly.
Trails and tracks are the most obvious but also pay attention to rub lines, edge cover, and logging roads.
A trail camera is your best friend here. Use trail cams to quickly gather intel on how and where deer travel on the properties you hunt. Â
Entry/Exit Trails
Entry and exit routes around food plots and ag fields can be the perfect place to hang a stand. And while deer may surprise you from time to time on where they show up in a field, they are often very consistent, particularly when on early or late season feeding patterns.
Remember that deer will often hang out inside the timber until the last light before stepping into these food plots. Your best bet may be to sacrifice the visibility of the field in exchange for shot opportunities at bucks hanging back.Â
Hang your stand near these hot spots with predominant winds in your favor, and be ready when the final hour approaches.
Food Sources
As mentioned above, trails leading in and out of food plots and ag fields can be a prime location to hang a stand. But other food sources demand a treestand when the timing is right.
You better hang a stand when you find deer scat around hot feed trees like white oak, persimmon, or apple trees. But not just any white oak will do. Many hunters hang a stand when they find a tree that’s raining acorns.Â
The truth is, on bumper years, the woods may be full of white oak trees dropping their fruit in abundance. But if you’ll put in the miles on your boots, paying close attention to the sign at each tree, you’ll find the hot tree for that particular day.
Deer will feed heavily on choice trees in one area before moving on to the next. Find out which tree is hot now, and hang a stand.
Water holes
When the timing is right, a water hole can be much like a hot feed tree. Deer need water daily, and where water is limited, a water hole can be a slam dunk to get a buck within bow range.Â
The water hole is the go-to set when things are really dry. If a deer can find water in every mud hole on the property, don’t waste your time here. The water hole set works best when it’s the only drink in town. Again, pay attention to wind directions when hanging your stand to maximize opportunity at deer in bow range.Â
The off-season is a great time to get in the woods, identify the hot spots mentioned above and get some stands in place. Boots on the ground scouting is a must to identify these locations and fine tune the exact tree where you need to be hanging out.Â
The time is now! Put boots on the ground, trail cameras on the trees, possibly install a water hole, and hang your stands.
The season will be here before you know it!Â
