I found an area i am going to place a ladder stand. It is a bedding area. It is a large group of doe that bed in this area. I was thinking this area would be good in the rut. Anyway the area were they bed is it is about half way up a ridge, then about 50 yards from that on the bottom of the ridge their is a small creek running through the bottom. There is another ridge on the other side of that. I have no idea which side the deer come in from... east or west. There are really nice trails coming out of both sides of the bedding area. The eastern direction points toward the creek, the western points going up the ridge. I was thinking about setting my stand about 30 yards from the main area. So i can watch the bed and catch deer crossing through. Or would you suggest setting up on one of the trails leading towards the bed? If so do you have any idea as to which one to use

First, check prevailing wind direction. Alot of people put stands up where their scent blows in the direction the deer come from during shooting hours. You will see nothing all day if you do this, obviously.

During the rut, bucks will walk the main trails and scan for does. They don't like to crawl thru thick stuff at this time of year because they want to cover alot of ground in a short time. Look for main trails that skirt the downwind side of bedding areas because the bucks will scent check for does in the bedding areas. Place your stand on the downwind side of these downwind trails.

Find the main food source. The deer will likely be coming from the food source to the bedding area in the early morning hours. In the evening it would be wise to set up shop close to the food source. Oak trees clustered together or standing corn are a good bet. And take the wind into account.