Tree Standing Versus Stalk Hunting for a Buck
Day 2: The Whys and Wheres of Tree Stand Hunting
 Hunting from tree stands affords the sportsman a better view of the woods – even though tree-stand hunting limits a hunter more than hunting from the ground does. From a comfortable tree stand, the hunter can stay quiet and almost motionless for long periods. If a sportsman hunts from a tree stand in the morning, the movement of the air from the ground skyward will keep his human scent well above the deer’s head.  The hunter can stand and move on a tree stand without the deer’s detecting him much more openly than he can when on the ground. He also can rest in a tree stand, merely opening and closing his eyes to take game.
The Wheres of Tree-Stand Hunting:
Saddling a tree stand to the side of a tree does not insure the hunter a shot at a buck. But you’ll find tree stands most effective at some specific places in certain areas, including:
* funnel areas with habitat constricted so that the deer from two large woodlots have to funnel through a small wooded region. Two fields cornering and creating a bottleneck between two woodlots also form a funnel.
* a trail leading either from a feeding area to a bedding region or to a scrape line, a creek crossing or around the edge of cover.
* the edge of a clear cut high enough for the hunter to see down into the thick cover.
* a trail that most of the deer in an area use to go in to and out of a field or another type of feeding area.
*the center of a small hardwood bottom through which deer may meander.
 Hunters often may put up tree stands where they see deer tracks and/or deer droppings. But outdoorsmen can’t rely on just these signs to justify tree stand placement. A deer walks and runs all day, and each deer leaves many tracks throughout its habitat. Deer must excrete regularly when they eat. So, using these deer signs as reasons to justify putting up tree stands may result in the hunter’s spending many hours watching trees grow and seeing very few, if any, deer.
Tomorrow: What Kinds of Tree Stands and How Many Do You Need
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