If possible, I' d recommend hunting the edges. Even
big timber has to start and end somewhere. There
has to be another food source they are using,
regardless of the mast crop. Deer will not use
browse as a main food source unless they absolutely
have to, such as with deep snow - as it has little
to no nutritional value.
If you have trouble locating a popular food source,
find a well used funnel they are using; creek crossing,
fence crossing, or the top or bottom of a deep erosion
ditch. I, personally, prefer these type of stand sites
over food sources. I' ve taken a couple real nice bucks
at the top of deep ditches that funnel deer by my
stand
.
I think one of the reasons a lot of hunters like hunting
food sources (at least open grain fields, like we have
here in the midwest) is because they usually
see
a lot of deer. That doesn' t necessarily mean they tag
a lot of deer. Some of my better stands don' t produce
many deer sightings, but when they do, they most
often offer a shot opportunity[:-].
TB