Stand Placement Advice

[deke33]

Hey all, I have an opportunity to hunt a piece of private land in the Midwest for the remainder of the season. Plan on getting out 5 or 6 times before gun season is out (ends 11/30).
I am looking for some help for where everyone thinks would be the best spot to put a stand. Obviously good scouting is crucial, but it’s a couple hours away and I won’t have a chance to scout it on site until this weekend. I wanted to see if y’all had any input at first glance on where the most promising area would look to be just based on geography.
Here is the property, it is the large parcel (over 100 acres) in the middle of this image (land owner names scrubbed out of respect for the privacy of the landowner allowing me to hunt):

My initial thoughts are that I should set up on the south side of the small field in the very northwest corner of the property, as it looks promising (more secluded, creek running through the woods right there, woods on the east side of that field create a funnel from the large tract of woods on the property to the north) and setting up on the south side gives good visibility, and I’ve been told prevailing winds on this property are out of the NW, but wanted to get community input as I don’t have a ton of private property experience like this.
Really appreciate any help y’all are able to offer!

 

[wildwilderness]

draw a border around the property you are talking about. Also mark your parking spots and access points.

rifle or archery?

That will affect your stand sites.

Is baiting legal?

Which direction in the predominate wind?

Where are suspected bedding areas?

What crops are currently planted? Where?

provide that and you may get useful tips.

 

[deke33]

Thanks for the reply.

It is the property outlined in yellow. Blue P is parking, the purple line is the only road into the property.



For now I am looking for a spot to hunt out the rest of rifle season.

Baiting is not legal.

My understanding is that prevailing winds are out of the northwest.

Unsure as to suspected bedding. I am going to go do some on site scouting this weekend. Just trying to hone in on some likely movement patterns before then to narrow my areas of interest down.

Everything on the highlighted property that isn’t trees is/was soybeans. I’m told the fields were all harvested about a month ago.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[wildwilderness]

Find out where the deer come from. Morning s they should be out in the field so sneak into the stand through the tree.

Most recommend only hunting evenings, walk to your stand down wind of where they come out through the middle of the field to not spook anything

 

[Panhandler80]

I’d spend at least one evening from the truck / on foot from access point with glass

 

[Macchina]

I do a lot of "walk in for the first time" hunting as well (hiking into a deep spot in public). Having the fields makes this much easier. You have to be able to get to the spot without spooking any deer in the field, and of course check the wind before you head out.

If you're headed out in the morning, I would go for spot 1. You may blow out 1 field but not the other.

If going out in the afternoon, you could walk the field to spot 2 or 3, depending on the wind. You'll want the wind blowing into the field as the deer will come from the cover in the evening. So a West wind is spot 2, an East wind is spot 3:

 

[blastro87]

I do a lot of "walk in for the first time" hunting as well (hiking into a deep spot in public). Having the fields makes this much easier. You have to be able to get to the spot without spooking any deer in the field, and of course check the wind before you head out.

If you're headed out in the morning, I would go for spot 1. You may blow out 1 field but not the other.

If going out in the afternoon, you could walk the field to spot 2 or 3, depending on the wind. You'll want the wind blowing into the field as the deer will come from the cover in the evening. So a West wind is spot 2, an East wind is spot 3:

I agree with this setup, especially for earlier season and post rut when bucks are still focused on food source. This scenario as you said, gives you options for wind direction...For a rut hunt, personally I would disregard the food sources and focus on pinch points. And from what I can see here, to the left of #1, anywhere in that drainage is a fantastic pinch point / funnel for bucks chasing or cruising for a hot doe. Spend the early part of the season figuring out how the deer use that pinch point, and hunt it only when the wind is right. Put a trail cam in that area early season, then wait till rut and youll get pics of bucks you never knew existed. Might take a couple seasons to really learn the property and the deer on it, but man imho I think that funnel is dynamite set up for a rut hunt. Not what kind of distance is between that small field and the larger one??? But very well might be able to cut a few shooting lanes and hunt that transitional cover while still having good shooting opportunities into the field itself (assuming your gun hunting and comfortable with shooting long distances)

 

[Hackleback]

The NW corner where the three large arms (creeks) come together caught my eye. A lot of "it depends" standing crops, wind direction, food sources..... all play into this. Getting out on the ground and finding real use is a must.

 

[stanginthe11s]

sw tip of that peninsula on the bottom. the one you're looking for will come out down there as it gets dark.

 

[godwinmt]

It's getting pretty late, but is there any corn still up in adjacent parcels, or any nearby hay fields? Those seem to be the food sources of choice at the moment if you can find them before it's covered in snow.

Hunting that first area marked 1 above is an easy first step into the property. Do a couple easy evening hunts and see what you can see for obvious sign. I'd also look for anything that will naturally funnel deer. Walking that creek from east to west, you should be able to see the main travel corridors across it, as well as through the little wooded sections which would be good areas to target. Start close to parking, and work your way around as you learn more about the property.

Don't set your hopes too high getting going right away, but after a few days you'll start to figure out how areas of the property tick. It took me about half a dozen sits in the current property before I started to see how things moved, and really the first year before I could start to put together really intelligent ambushes on the property. A light hang on stand and sticks is super helpful at that stage where you can sit a different area each sit and learn learn learn.

The advantage you have as well is that it is rifle season, and a 200 yard arc let's you cover a great deal of the open areas. Find a good tree to put a stand in for the day to overwatch an area with your rifle and a good shooting stick and enjoy!