Help with stand placement
 

The place I'm hunting opening morning is located in a creek bottom with many ridges fingering down into the creek bottom. My question is should I hunt in the creek bottom or pick one of the fingers that lead to the creek. I read an article in Bowhunting World that if you hunt the side of a ridge leading to a low area your scent will be more likely to be above the deer in the low area with good scent control. What do you guys think?

RE: Help with stand placement
 

Well there are "many ridges"? Hmm, well that doesn't tell us a whole lot, but if it was me I would hunt the creek bottom. All the ridges lead to there instead of just picking one ridge.

RE: Help with stand placement
 

Just remember, morning thermals go up.....So, any deer above you are potentially up wind. You wouldn't happen to have a map, would you?

RE: Help with stand placement
 

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.69942&lon=-91.35475&s=48&size=l&u=4&datum=nad 27&layer=DRG

See if this link works...Im hunting where the red crosshairs are.

I appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Matt

RE: Help with stand placement
 

I would find the "easiest" way up one of the ridges and hunt near that. Deer tend to use the less restricted way up hills. The only thing that you want to watch if you are hunting the creek bottom is that the deer will be at eye level with you half way up the hill... So stealth is of importance when hunting lower than the deer.

RE: Help with stand placement
 

Pick a finger and hope you got the right one.

RE: Help with stand placement
 

What's in that small field to the east? I kind of like west of your stand, just below the "K" in Plank.....there is a draw that comes up right there, and a couple of points dump into that spot.....How far to the west can you hunt? There is a killer point to the west, where the creek forks. Also, on top of the ridge, just to your north and a little west, where the 1279 foot marker is.....That would be a good spot to I think. A couple of draws meet at the top of that ridge right there.....Good morning spot due to the rising thermals.....

You've got a tough spot there bud.....It's gonna be pretty difficult to determine w/out walking it...

RE: Help with stand placement
 

I agree with you on all of those spots but the walk from camp to where the red x is is about a mile, so it would be a haul through some thick terrain to go farther west. Too bad its public land otherwise id have a 4 wheeler.

RE: Help with stand placement
 

You know better than me because I have no idea how the brush is laid out, but here is a suggestion based on the map provided.

Hunt where this red X is:

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.70219&lon=-91.36791&s=48&size=l&u=4&datum=nad 27&layer=DRG

I don't know what kind of set up you'll have but you have the ability to look back over three drainage areas and one being the major intersection of the creek where you'll be in a perfect ambush spot far enough away to not intrude and high enough up to look back over the other two drainage ditches. Just based on this topography map, it seems that the red X would be an awesome morning spot. If you can locate the nearest food sources, they'll probably be traveling between the food and their bedding areas, I would think this offers the best ambush spot. Just one knucklehead's opinion.

RE: Help with stand placement
 

Look for a bottleneck in one of those fingers that the deer are using