RE: How to Hunt a Pine Thicket
Pine thickets are very hard to hunt. If there are logging roads in there, and if it is legal to hunt them, find an area where the deer are crossing and set up there.
Another very good spot would be any fire breaks, fence lines and creeks. These areas are usually funnel areas and you will see more deer there.
If you find ANY hardwood areas, that should be a very good spot also. Especially if it is the only hardwood area on a large piece of property!
Other than this, be ready to hunt from shorter stands (as you said, if you get up too high you just lose visibility), and you will also have much shorter shooting lanes.
Since you will probably be closer to them, scent control and wind direction will be even more important than usual!
Pine thickets can hold good deer, but sometimes you might swear that there are no deer there at all. If the deer are not moving much, (and in most pine thickets, they don' t HAVE to move much) you' ll have a hard time seeing them! It is very important to be able to hunt them hard during the rut, because that may be the only time that they will be moving much. Good luck!