Where should I put my stand
 

I just got back from hunting in Ogemaw county MI. I didn't see anything on my property after hunting for 4 days. My question is that my property backs up to state land and I could try hunting there but I am not sure where I should sit. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.39...z=16&t=h&hl=en That is a map of the area I am looking at. Just to the north you can see two little ponds and that is where my house is. So I am shooting for something to the south of it that is walking distance. As you can see there are a lot of open areas and some good cover. But I don't know how to pick the best spot so can you help?

You're probably going to have to scout it. Find their bedding areas, food sources, water, trails, rub lines, ect.

While aerials are great hunting tools there is no substitute for time spent on the ground.

Can't be said much better. Look for scrape lines, rub lines, bedding areas, natural funnels, and food/water sources:s3:

How much hunting pressure does the public land get west and south of you? As the above posters have said, getting down and dirty on the ground is a necessity...but I do use aerial maps to at least figure out the general area I want to scout.

My thoughts (and I'm nooooo expert by any means): I am intrigued by the boundary line area between the private and public land to the southwest of your house location. It looks like the thickest forest is to the south and west of your property, correct? If that parcel is hunted at all, I'd figure out where the hunters are and where they're coming in (most likely from the west and south) and I'd scout the boundary areas of your property on the west and south for deer sign.

If the public land is hunted I'd think they'd push deer your way in those general areas.

I dunno...I've always loved scouting those transition areas where one type of tree/vegetation butts up against another (like, say, a young clear-cut area of aspen or brush slicing up against a hemlock swamp or something). Those can serve two purposes: easy travel (and browse) for deer as well as having secure cover that can easily be accessed by the deer in an emergency.

Yeah south west is a group of really dense grouped pines. I don't think a lot of people hunt the area close to our place as I don't hear a lot of shots and have not seen many people in the area. I am going back tuesday to see if I can find some sign. Just hoping to narrow down some areas from the ariel view. Thank you for the help