1st off I am by no means an expert. I hunt mostly big woods and small woodlots and mostly public land. Any stand I hunt must allow the deer more than 1 reason to be there. I never hunt a lone trail, but rather where trails meet, esp close to a thick area, and hopefully close to either oaks(fall) or honeysuckle(winter) and the stand would always be placed on the downwind side of the prevailing wind. Also those trees are located from mid Jan. thru March. Either me or my hunting buddies have been in my trees the following year the first time(I don't scout preseason) and harvested a deer for the last 3-4 years.