What Do You Look For?

What all do you look for in area before you decide to hang a tree stand there? I might hang a stand this year and want to make sure I put it in a possible productive area. All suggestions greatly appreciated.

I look for several things.....I like to find areas of travel between bedding and feeding. Especially if these areas show past rut activity (old rubs, etc). If there is an isolated oak that happens to fall in the area where the deer are travelling between their main food source and bedding area. If ther is a pinch point on this travel route, then bingo! Hope this gives you a place to start.

Yes, that is very helpful! Thanks for the input. Blacktail, unlike whitetail deer are very difficult to pattern. I will definitely keep an eye for old rubs.

I find it's tough to hang sets pre-season on public land. I find scouting & hanging the same day or next few days is more productive. When scouting I'm looking for the best possible deer sign I can find - early season that would be tracks, trails, & droppings later in the season add in buck sign - rubs & scrapes. Mr. Warren puts it the best, you’re looking for sign that you just can't walk away from & it makes you hunt it.

I generally start my scouting around creeks close to cut overs. Walking the creeks you can find crossings & then follow those trails to feeding areas. If they are traveling to a feed tree I'll setup on it but if they are headed to a field or open area that indicates night feeding I'll back track & setup elsewhere. While following these trails usually you will find terrain funnels & that's where I'll setup to catch them in the daylight headed to their night time feeding spots.

Hope this helps you some, as I'm speaking of what works for me on Southern Whitetails.

I've never found a bedding area! I've found where deer have lain down in the snow once but never consistently in the same area.
What I look for is active travel routes. Like Cbigbear I like to follow creeks and look for crossings and in my area we have stone walls that go for miles out in the woods even though swamps. I like to find where these are broken down deer will easily cross rather than jump so they tend to use these areas more.

Thanks guys, appreciate all the input. Most of the area I hunt in shows the deer moving to and from feeding areas. This being fields and some cut units that have been recently logged. Water is so abundant, it's hard to find crossing areas.

Deer love recently logged areas because of new growth. New growth means food. Walk the transition area from woods to logging area and find the trails the deer use. Walk the trails back about 50 to 100 yards or so and find a spot for your stand.