Alright fellas. I need a little help from some folks that are more experienced than I am. I've owned this land out near Junction for about 5 years now. Every year I've been successful at getting meat for the fridge and the occasional set of horns. However, I feel like I've set this thing up all wrong and I'm looking for some advice. The picture below shows my land. 50 acres, bordered on the North by a road, and on the south by a fence. I have 2 "hills" on the property, with a valley between, and a valley sloping towards the south fence line.



My current set up is in the valley between the 1st and second hills. The stand is marked by the X and faces North. The original reason for this placement is there was a tree in that valley that showed a ton of activity, so it felt like a natural place to stay. I've since added a couple of feeders to supplement.

However, this set-up has 2 big flaws (IMO):
1) It's set up in a valley, which restricts sight lines.
2) It basically means I'm only really hunting 5-7 acres of the 50.

So, I'm planning on moving my existing equipment, and potentially setting up a second set up on the South side of the property.

I've marked 4 spots I'm considering, but am open to others.

A) Near the high point on the south side of the first hill. Idea would be to continue to hunt the existing valley, but hunt facing South rather than north, since most of the deer activity should be coming out of the trees to the South. It's significantly more elevated, giving more line of sight. Hunt areas would be South and South West of the "A". Downside, it's pretty close to the property line, which feels no bueno. I'd also have to walk through the hunting area to reach the blind from the cabin, which risks stinking up the joint.

B) Move west and uphill from the existing set-up. Add an additional feeders near the tree line. Hunting would be North east (into the valley), East to the tree line, and maybe a bit South East up the hill. It's a more exposed set-up, and makes for longer shots, but greater visibility.

C) Additional set up added for the South side. Hunting would be be East, South East and South. This gives a look at the south side of the property which is currently unused. With sight lines to the denser part of the trees. Downside is that my neighbors have a stand straight up the path leading East North East from the "C", so it feels a little closer than I prefer. I could always move this a few hundred yards west, to the other side of the trail running N/S to open up more space, but that might sacrifice some sight into the trees and make the shots much longer.

D) Idea would be to hunt east and South East. Positioned most of the way up the larger, second hill rise. Longer views, but more exposed. Also would be visible from the cabin (marked with a triangle), which I don't love.

So, which set up would be most ideal? I would likely do one of A or B. And one of C or D. Or some other set up, if anyone has a bright idea.

So, the fence is only on the South and it is a high fence. The property lines on the east and west are not fenced.

Corps_Ag12 said:

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Make sure you don't shoot towards a fence line or the neighbors may call the game warden on you.

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haha. talk to the neighbors. they'll at least know you're putting careful thought and consideration into this!

If it were me...always take the high ground. I would have 2 spots, one on each hill that gives me the most country to watch. Then hunt which ever spot has the wind in my face. North wind-south hill, south wind-north hill.

i'm no expert, so take with a grain of salt, but I like C as a secondary set up. utilize the south size of the property that hasn't been used, the high fence on south side means deer on your side can only move in and out those two directions, a hit deer can't go far or to neighbor's property before it drops for tracking purposes. the east neighbor's stand up the trail shouldn't be a concern unless I'm missing something. Is C down range from their set-up?

as for the north side, maybe keep the current set up a while longer for cost purposes unless you really want two new set ups on that size property for next year, but between A, B, and X(existing), I think like A the best. B and D seem like you could be shooting towards your own cabin. what's the neighbor situation on the west side? you definitely don't want to be shooting towards someone's driveway!

EriktheRed said:

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If it were me...always take the high ground. I would have 2 spots, one on each hill that gives me the most country to watch. Then hunt which ever spot has the wind in my face. North wind-south hill, south wind-north hill.

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I like this. My only comment was going to be to have at least 2 stands that you can hunt with different wind directions.

Wind is definitely a consideration as well.

Here is another graphic, a bit closer in.


I think A & C are the best positioned, but both are in the same direction wind-wise. So perhaps B and C might work better for wind options, though I really like the direct South line of the A location into the woods.

For C, the neighbor's stand is noted there, but there is a pretty good distance between (Roughly 1,000 feet as the crow flies, with lots of trees between). Highly unlikely to be an issue, but again, hate shooting into a property line. I am on good terms with them, and would likely talk over the plan with them regardless of which set-up I went with.

The benefit of D is that is is up on the hill and gives great visibility to the edge of the entire wooded area. Problem is obviously that part of that is the cabin/house area.

If you've got the $ have a couple of loads of dirt dumped behind the feeder to stop any misses.

Well take the higher vantage point. But make sure you can see the low. Deer will travel and cross at the low points. So set up to intercept that travel. Dont sit in the travel or you will never stop spooning and educating deer. Also make sure yiu dont have to go thru the well traveled low to get to your stand. That will also educate and blow out your area.

Sooooo..... plan undetected entry to your stand over looking the lowest points.