im a new hunter, and im wondering if you guys could give me some tips on good locations. I see good tracks and set up on trails close but im just not seeing deer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My preferred method is to find the food sources first....acorns, corn, apple orchard, etc.. Then I backtrack into the woods about 100 or so yards and set up two stands on either side of a heavily used trail or intersection of trails. With two stands on either side of the trail you can hunt the area provided you pay attention to wind direction.

Hope this helps some.

Food, water and bedding areas are the places I look for when hunting unfamiliar areas. Once I have time to really scout the area I like to find natural funnels to and from those areas. That seems to work well for me.

Funnels, funnels, funnels!

Look for areas of either natural or manmade terrain that force deer into certain travel habits. Whether it be shallow crossings in creeks, fencerows, small fingers of woods that jut out into agricultural fields, or something of the sort. Deer are inherently " lazy" animals and will take the past of least resistance from point A to point B. If you can find one of these spots between a feeding and bedding area, you' re pretty much guaranteed to see some deer.

My vote goes for funnels. I believe they are a lot easier to decipher than the bedding area/food source for a beginner. An easy way to find a good funnel is to walk any fenceline where the deer are travelling. As you go, look for hair on the fence. A good, well-used fence crossing will have balls of fur on the barbs. However, now that i think about it, this assumes that you have barb wire fences where you are hunting.

There are a couple of downfalls to this type of hunting. for one, you have to guess wether this will be a morning or evening spot unless you find the food source in relation to the funnel. also, you could run into a frustrating experience as a bruiser walks right down the other side of the fence...

I agree with everyone bedding areas, food, water, funnels to these things. You can also look for scrapes and rubs now that we are coming into rut.

Anyplace where there is an object blocking thier path they will have a way around it or over it. Find it and you got a natural place that will funnel deer to you. When you are in the woods try to think where you would need to go to find food and water.

Stay in your stand until dark. i know many " new" hunters like to walk out while they can still see without using a flashligh but this could help you.

Don' t set up too close to the trails (stay at least 10 yards off the trail). Deer generally look in front of them to see what is lurking up there. If you' re too close to the trail they will be able to see you from a long way off...probably before you even know they are there. Also, set-up your stand in a tree that offers you some cover. It is very important to sit very still and only look with your eyes and slow turns of your head. Too many guys make the mistake of " craning" all the way around the tree to see what' s behind them. Sit still and let them come to you.

Good Luck Newbie!

thanks for the tips. one more question the land that im hunting is a farmers property and there is a river on it a apple orchard,bean feilds,corn feilds,swamps and woods. so theat is why im having such a problem finding them i think. what is the best way to scout and set up on this terrain

Food, water, bedding, and get in your area early, and stay late.