Where do I put my stand?

For the bowhunter this is the trick question. It's not where you put your stand but where you put your STANDS! Mongo and Tard use the whack the mole technique in combination with having some clue of the travel patterns of the deer. Whack the mole means having lots of stands to hunt our predicted hot spots and thereby keep the deer guessing.

In our favorite hunting funnel we have seven stands within a five acre strip of woods. The deer can't pattern us because we're never in the same stand more than once a week. For this method the poor hunter must accumulate stands over the years and we highly recommend Rivers Edge Bandit chain on stands for their thick padded seats, chains which make for easy padlocking, and low cost. Farm & Fleet often has these stands on sale for $45

So, that partly answers the strategy part of the equation but leaves out some important aspects of stand location. One very important concept is the funnel. A funnel is anything that directs or constricts deer movement thereby making prediction and concentration more favorable for the hunter. The bowhunter especially needs to work with funnels to get in nice and tight for the killer shot. Saddles between hills, stream crossings, farm fields, connecting cover, blowdowns and human traffic can all act as impetus to direct the deer into tighter quarters. Find these funneling factors in your hunting ground and then set up multiple stands to take advantage of the possible wind directions you will be using to defeat the deer's best defense, its sense of smell.

Something else to consider is that by using the whack the mole technique you are forced to set up before the season and this will greatly aid your ability to sneak in to your hunting location. No banging or scraping from climbing stands or putting up ladders. We think ladder stands would be a good option also but haven't tried it yet. Think sound doesn't matter? Just listen to humans talking half a mile away when you're in stand one day and think of how much more distinguishable your personal racket is to a deer who's life depends on not being anywhere near you.

Another issue is where do you pick for your whack the mole attack. Besides funnels, we prefer setting up in between the deer and their food. This makes it easier to get in unnoticed for both evening and morning hunts without getting close to the beds or kicking the deer up while they feed at night. Expect normal non-rut travel ranges to be about a one to two mile radius depending on food availability.

As for tactics of stand location think probability. Pick the convergence of two or three trails or get near the corner of a field or transition zone. But make sure you don't set up right on top of the suspected travel route. Get back 10 or 15 yards and try to have enough other trees and branches to break up your outline. And try to stay out of their line of sight. Your movement is much easier to spot if they are coming right at you or are on the high ground.

We prefer stands that are between 13 and 20 feet high but we also use local topography to get higher than the deer. If, for example, you set up at 13 feet and the deer travel a little hillock that is 5 feet higher than you you're only 8 feet above them and busted. Reverse it and you beat em by 18 feet.

Wherever you end up putting your stand, consider the location a temporary scouting spot. If you see no action after three or four hunts move or lay off until the travel patterns change in that stands favor. If you see deer moving just a few yards out of range move to another tree so they are in range and nail em!