You're right. You absolutely can't kill a deer if you're hunting too far away from where they are . . . or will be.

The question is, what separates a 30% stand from the 85% stand?

Everyone knows to look for deer sign as a starting point. Trails, feeding areas, trail intersections, scrapes, rubs, droppings, bedding areas, etc are ALL part of the puzzle and most hunters are piecing these together to pick a good location. But what factors are ones that really tilt the odds in your favor?