Its that time of year again, the nights are cooling a bit, i’m seeing some orange and reds on a few trees, and hunters like myself begin or continue scouting for stand locations and hanging stands and clearing shooting lanes.
I’ve had a trail camera in the woods in various locations since June and have had success at most locations. Since we are in the northeast particularly Massachusetts we find it difficult to locate large bucks that have a steady routine, due to the fact there is such a disparity between the doe to buck population and the geographic expanse. Most trail cams are situated on deer runs or trails routing a feeding area to a bedding area. With a little time invested in the woods its easy to spot these areas. You’ll often jump deer off the bed midday in heavy cover if your in the right place. Once you’ve found a bedding area continue to scout to determine what the deer in your area are feeding on. In the northeast one of the whitetails most desired food sources is Acorns. Find and stand of oaks in your woods and chances are there are deer that feed there. Corn, apples, or food crops are also indicators that deer are in the area.
Once you’ve scouted your area and maybe had your trail camera in a few locations, its time to hang some stands and clear shooting lanes. This brings me to the question this blog raises. Where is the best or most preferred stand locations? I’ve preceded this questions with a possible answer, or the method to my madness. Many people would say, “put your stand where there is deer sign”. Thats pretty obvious, but you have to ask yourself the question: why is there deer sign in this location? Is it a trail between two destinations, is it a feeding area, a bedding area, a mating zone or just a safe place deer hang out.
As I head into the woods this afternoon to hang stands, I think i’ll take a closer look at this one particular hunting location, and ask myself why exactly am I hanging a stand here? You should ask yourself that question next time you enter the woods to hang a stand or pick a stand location.
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