How to Improve your Deer Stands

How to Improve your Deer Stands

By Noel Gandy

Edge, ridge, creek, saddle, funnel, bench, pinch. These are all words that deer hunters begin throwing around when we consider stand placement for hunting whitetails. Many times we nod our head in agreement and decide that this method or that method is the best when it comes to perching atop a deerstand. However, more often than not, time, terrain, or lack of understanding keep us from successfully hanging a killer set. No doubt, gallons of ink have been used for print trying to help savvy hunters even their odds with wary whitetails. A large portion of that space has been and will continue to be dedicated to treestand placement in the deer woods. This ink is being dripped in hopes to provide a very practical look at treestand application and placement.

The Eye in the Sky
Recently, I wrote an article suggesting how a hypothetical new farm needed to be set up for deer hunting. For that writing, and for this, I give the same suggestion: take to the air. Aerial maps should no longer be considered luxury items when it comes to treestand placement but should be considered as much of a necessity as a ratchet strap. Countless maps are available from the free versions and apps that offer very general information to the cost or subscription versions that can potentially give great detail down to landowner names and addresses. Either option is good for getting a general overview of the area for which you desire to hunt.

It’s one thing to look at an aerial map but it’s another thing to know what it is you’re looking at. Be quick to recognize simple things such as field edges, creeks, funnels, and even fence lines. Often times, there are very natural areas to set a treestand and can stick out like a sore thumb. Other times, you might not see the location right away from a map but you can put clues together to give yourself a better understanding of the land.

For years I hunted a farm in central Kansas that always provided great deer encounters. If I had a north wind, I would enter the farm from the south and hunt the southern stand. If I had a south wind I would enter from the north and hunt the north stand. This way, my access would always be into the wind and I could mind my p’s and q’s so as not to bump deer. One occasion, there was a strong East wind which was highly out of the ordinary for the area. My brother and I both decided to hunt the farm, he on the south and me on the north. The only problem was when we each approached our stands we could see one another no more than 100 yards through the woods. This “revelation” quickly made us realize that we had made the farm bigger than it actually was. Due to our access being drastically different we had not taken into account several terrain features that basically had us sitting in one another’s lap. Had we utilized aerial maps up to that point the mistake never would have been made.

The eye in the sky can also help you pinpoint and remember where you had observations and sightings from past experiences that will help you place a good stand. This year I hunted a farm that had a family group of does utilizing a five acre block of trees. I never would have considered hunting this area in the past but because I remembered consistently seeing those does two years ago I took a look at the map and placed a pin. After utilizing aerial maps I realized that a natural funnel between two crop fields came from this tiny block of timber and lent itself to hosting a ground blind in order to catch bucks in transition. Trail camera photos proved that a great buck was consistently checking in on those does near my set. Because of the difficult access I never would have gone on foot had I not seen a diamond in the rough from the air.

A couple more notes about treestand placement in lieu of aerial maps: When considering treestand placement you should always abide by the wind. Allow the wind to dictate where you will be hunting. Aerial photos allow you to see exactly where wind should be blowing directionally before you ever step foot on the property. If you cannot sit in your stand without blowing every deer out of the county due to poor wind direction then you likely shouldn’t sit there at all.

Not only is wind direction important while sitting in the tree but wind direction is also important while accessing your stand location. There, again, is not much reasoning behind blowing your breeze through a deer’s bedroom to get to the “perfect” stand location…that mode of thinking kind of takes the word “perfect” out of the conversation. Take measures to be sure that your entry is stealthy and scent minded. Aerial maps can give you a wonderful generalized idea when it comes to finding places to hang sets and ways to access those sets before you infiltrate the property.

Pick a Perfect Position
You’ve narrowed down the general location that you’d like to place a stand and you’ve even figured out that you have good access to the area: now what? SCOUT! I would prefer to scout for three days and hunt for two versus hunt for five days with no scouting.

What does scouting look like for you? Trail cameras are a major asset but I affirm that boots on the ground and observation are as much or more beneficial when it comes to naming a tree your stands’ residence.

I was recently discussing deer scouting with a television personality and he clued me in on their method of scouting and hunting a farm he’d not been on before. He presented that they would hang “observation” tree stands late in the evening on the very fringes of the ground they were intending to hunt and work their way in to specific trees as the days wore on and they laid optics on deer utilizing trails and such. He called this the “outside-in” method.

This past year I took his advice to heart and was able to take a shot at an opening week bruiser. I sat in the newly hung stand for just the second time when the buck read the script from what I had observed from several weeks of recon. I concluded that this method, was a pretty good idea for the most part.

This is definitely a pie in the sky scenario, though. Say you cannot take several days to scout from the outside- in or either your ground doesn’t lend itself to seeing the deer from afar: what then? Take information from aerial maps that you’ve gleaned and head to the timber. Look for fresh scrapes, rubs, trails, and droppings. Check the browse and see if there are deer feeding in the area. Look for trees that are conducive to even hanging a stand. Sometimes one tree will practically give itself away, other times you will have to search extensively to find that right host for your stand. Always utilize ground cover as well as aerial cover to conceal movement from the tree.

Mobility is Money
One of the most foolish things a hunter can do in the deer woods is refuse to adapt. If you finally get a set hung and you like it, great. However, if the deer are passing by 45 yards out of bow range every day then you are crazy to not move the set. I realize that is not a super popular theory, however, I have seen it work on numerous occasions.

On the same farm in Kansas that was referenced earlier my brother and I quickly came to realize that A.) We were hunting too close together and having two stands in the area really didn’t serve any purpose and B.) The better of the two stands was being bypassed by the bigger bucks as they were cruising. We were seeing plenty of deer. We even had plenty of deer within bow range. However, we watched as several shooter bucks chased does down in the actual ravine that we were hunting instead of on the edges of the creek. This prompted us to move one stand completely out of the area and move the “better” stand forty yards deeper into the woods. This made all of the difference in the world.

I know it takes time to move a stand. I know it makes noise to move a stand. I know it might not be the “perfect” setup when you move a stand. But, I also know that it could make all of the difference in the world to adjust a stand location. Be willing to stay put but also be willing to move.

A couple of final thoughts on stand placement:
Three main things I look for in hanging a treestand are concealment, comfort, and safety. If I’m concealed by foliage or terrain features then I can get away with a touch more movement that might mean the difference between squeezing off a shot or not. If foliage is limited then the height of my stand placement is often the answer. I can get away with less foliage in a taller stand usually.

Comfort is key. When I am sitting comfortably in my stand I can be so much more still, relaxed, and sharp while hunting. If I’m in an awkward position, or have a limb sticking in my back, then I am prone to tense up. Tension in the body leads to a lot of extra movement and noise in the deer woods.

Finally, safety is an absolute. You cannot be comfortable if you do not feel safe. As a treestand fall victim I can say most assuredly that your safety is more important than any deer. Not only does hanging a safe set get you back home to your family but it makes for a much more enjoyable time afield.

Whether you use a lock on, a ladder, a climber, a box, a saddle, a platform, or two boards nailed to a tree limb, tree stand hunting is a wildly popular way to hunt deer in Iowa. Resolve to hone in on an area and try your hand at outsmarting a buck this fall.