By the way, my picks for the best treestand locations are in order of my favorite places to hunt because my chance for success will go up greatly if I find them. Sadly, these don't occur in every place that I hunt, but I will go out of my way to find them if they do!

Treestand Location #1. Beaver Dams. Yeah, you read right! Beaver Dams are some of the best deer funnels you can find. But not any old Beaver Dams will work. The ones I have the best bet with are the ones that are on deep creeks with few places for Deer to cross. It also helps if there is a reason Deer want to cross the creek, like going from a bedding area to a feeding area.

I truly believe Deer hate crossing Beaver Dams, but it's either that or get wet. While Deer are excellent swimmers and their hollow hair will keep them warm even when wet, they still will avoid swimming if given the chance. So if you know of a creek with Beaver Dams spaced a ways apart, scout them good and look for Deer crossing!

Treestand Location #2. Saddles in long ridges. When I'm hunting in Mountainous areas like the Ozarks or Quachita's, I look for long ridge lines with a saddle in them. Unfortunately in these two mountain ranges, when you find a saddle, it generally has a freakin' road in it! But there are a few...if you look hard enough.

The saddle doesn't have to be very deep either. There's one place in Northern Arkansas that the elevation change in the ridge is only about 10 feet. But that slight saddle is enough to funnel those Rock Pile deer through it year after year!(at least every year I've hunted there, I can't speak for the years I'm not there...:D)

The best way to find them is by using a topo map and following the ridge lines and taking note of elevation changes. You can also use Google and use the Satellite photo's to find saddles, but the smaller ones are harder to see if the photo's were taking in Spring and Summer.

Treestand location #3. Fence crossings. If you hunt in an area with a lot of fences, then you should be looking for places where Deer cross them. One of my best stand locations is a fence crossing where an old tree fell across the fence and broke it. The landowners on either side have no cows in these pastures so neither are worried about getting the fence fixed. If you want to know the truth, I think both are waiting on the other to fix it. That's okay by me, as my Titan Ladder Stand is 30 yards away and this crossing has supplied me with Deer sightings every year!

If you're not lucky enough to have a tree fall where you want it, there are ways of making a better fence crossing. What I've done in the past is cut brush and put at every crossing where I didn't want the deer to cross. I then found a place for a stand and took some para cord and tied it to the top strand of wire and then to the bottom strand. I then pull the two as tight as I can forming a v at the top wire and an inverted 'V' at the bottom, giving the Deer more than enough room to jump over or crawl under the fence. Obviously this works with a barbed wire fence, a web wire fence is totally different, you may only be able to pull the top down.

Whatever you do, make sure you ask the landowner before doing any of these modifications!

Treestand location #4. Finger ridges. Take your hand and lay it flat on a table or other flat surface in front of you. Now spread your fingers wide and pretend these are finger ridges coming off of a main ridge. The hub, the center of the back of your hand, is where you'll want to scout for a treestand location. This is where most of the Deer will pass through in mountainous areas. Sometimes it may only be 2 or 3 fingers coming together at the Hub, sometimes it's more. If the "Hub" is also a nice Oak flat full of acorns, then you might just be sitting on a honey hole! These are definitely places you want to check out and put a treestand if the sign indicates Deer activity!

Treestand location #5. Strips of brush or trees extending out into fields. These can be Golden! Normally, if you have trees or a line of brush extending out into a farm field, it's because there is a draw there. It could also be because the ground there always stays wet. Whatever the reason, if you can find a place like this, look it over real well! Chances are Deer are using it to enter and exit the field. Bucks will especially like these areas during the Rut.

My favorite place to put a treestand in a situation like this is normally right at the 'base' of the draw or brush where it begins at the field edge. If the wind allows me, this setup will catch any Buck that is scent checking the field or waiting for Does returning from the field and using this strip as a travel path.

Treestand location #6. Treelines. Speaking of treelines, if you can find one connecting two sections of woods or other Deer habitat, you've probably found you a Deer super highway! My buddy lives in the same house he grew up in. About 200 yards across the pasture behind his house is a treeline about 75 yards wide that runs for about 1/4 mile. It connects a huge area of woods on the South side with broken woods and grown up fields on the North side. There are cow pastures on either side of this treeline and the cows do a good job of keeping the grass down.

Where do you think a Deer that wants to go from the South woods to the North section will travel? That's right, the treeline! It's also a good place to intercept a Buck that is traveling through the Countryside looking for a hot Doe. It's not unusual to look out his back window in the early mornings or late afternoons and see Deer walking along the treeline.

Treestand location #7. Edges of grown over clear cuts where they meet hardwoods. Another of my favorite spots to intercept Bucks are at the edges of a clear cut that has been cut over several years back and allowed to grow up. Usually years 2 through 5 after a place has been cut, there will be some nasty briars, bushes and crap a sane Man would never want to go into. I usually don't either! Most times I can find a spot along the edge and set up a treestand there. I particularly like to find trails leading in and out of these clear cuts. When the pressure gets hot and heavy, the Bucks know that these are safe places.

If you have permission and you're willing to do some work, then you can make you a Deer magnet anytime you find a grown up clear cut. What I've done in the past is crawl, yes I mean CRAWL into these jungles for about 50 yards and then started cutting a straight path through this mess. The path is about as wide as I can extend both arms. Why do I crawl into these areas? Because if you start at the edge, someone may find it and you're secret hunting spot will be done for!

I make these paths about 100 yards long if I can. Once I've got one straight, I go back to the halfway point and start cutting another bisecting the first. So when I'm done, I have what would look like a "Plus Sign" if viewed from the air. At each end of the 'plus sign' I look for trees to put up a stand. I also try to have a tree near the intersection of each lane of the 'plus sign'. Deer will use these lanes you cut like you wouldn't believe!

The downside is that it can be hard to get into these place undetected, so you'll have to leave early and take it slow.

Another feature that I added to several was to rake away the leaves and crap once I had the lanes cut and then threw down some quick growing Winter seed like wheat and rye. Imagine having such a secret spot that no one else knew about in a heavily hunted area.

Treestand location #8. Habitat changes. Technically, Location #7 above could be considered a habitat change. As could places where the Woods meet Fields. These are generally all good areas to look for Deer sign. Deer are edge lovers! A few places of habitat change that I've successfully hunted over the years include places where wetlands met hardwood forest, Pine plantings met hardwoods and obviously where crop fields met any kind of brush, whether it was a swamp or forest. The nastier the better!

There's a WMA about 2 hours away from me where I hunt a few times each year. It's hilly, some would say slightly mountainous. But there are several places where the ridges come down and meet bottom land. The White Oak and Black Jacks of the hillside meet the Red Oaks and Ash trees of the bottom. Along this edge I've had numerous treestands over the years and nearly always see Deer there. If used this pattern at other places I hunt and can nearly always find deer. Keep this in mind when you're out there scouting this year!

Treestand location #9. Remote fruit trees. I'll have to admit that I'm not real big on seeking out the best Persimmon trees or hoping to find an old homestead with an ancient Apple tree that draw deer from miles around. When I was younger, I did take some Apple trees that I grew from seeds and plant them on our property. I think they lasted maybe a week before something ate them! That was pretty much my attempt at trying to make my own Deer attracting Apple orchard!

But I know others who routinely kill nice Deer at these locations. If you know of some type of fruit tree such as Apple or Pear, it may pay off for you to check them each year for fruit. Persimmons are popular in our hunting area, but I can't say I've ever killed a Buck from one. I've taken a few Does over the years because they'll visit them during the daylight. In normal years, the Persimmons are gone by Gun season so they only provide fruit for a few weeks. They start ripening and falling shortly after the first good frost.

Treestand location #10. Standing corn. This is my last pick simply because Corn is not a crop that is grown that much in our area. The few chances that I have had to hunt it, I found it very exciting. Standing corn is Deer cover and food all wrapped up in one. There's no need for Deer to ever leave the cover of a standing Corn field, but obvioiusly some do just for the heck of it.

I like to bowhunt standing Corn fields by still hunting across the rows. I generally do this on Windy days so that the noise of the Corn stalks cover any noise I make. It's not uncommon to catch the Deer beded down between the rows. Just remember to start downwind.

I've also put up a ground blind about 30 yards inside the standing Corn and watched the edge. This is especially good if the edge of the Corn is a long ways away from Woods. Deer expect trouble from the woods, but for some reason the don't expect it from inside the Corn itself. I will usually cut the stalks in one row so I have a clean shot from my blind out to the edge. Use the cut stalks to brush in your blind and have fun!

So there you have it, my 10 best treestand locations. Hopefully you'll keep these in mind as you're out and about scouting this year. If you find one of these locations, look it over real good for Deer sign. You might just have stumbled upon a honey hole that produces year after year!

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First and foremost, I think the decision to shoot a small buck, or any deer for that matter, should be left up to the individual hunter as long as the deer is legal (* with an exception as stated below). Whether you agree with the game laws or not. But if a spike buck with 3 1/2 inches of hard antler above the hairline is legal in your state and you want to put a tag on him and take him home, you should have that right if you purchased a deer tag or hunting license.

*And since I mentioned the law, I think having laws restricting hunters to harvesting deer with a minimum antler count is plain wrong. Arkansas comes to mind with its 3 point rule (or is it 4 points per side?). Whatever it is, I believe it's wrong. A hunter should be able to put their tag on any buck they can see the antler on. These types of laws also rob our young and elderly hunters of chances of enjoying the harvest of a buck deer. Which may be the greatest tragedy of all.

The State and other Hunters should not be the ones making the rules telling me whether or not I can shoot a buck with hard antler above the hairline. There have been years where I went home empty handed and happy because I was chasing a few select Trophy bucks. There have been other years when I killed 4 or 5 deer and everyone was a 6 point or less. I was a happy camper both times.

It's the individual hunters enjoyment that spells success. If that means taking a Spike buck, so be it. If that means putting 20 hours a week in going after a Trophy buck only to go home at the end of the season empty handed, so bit it. It's the Hunters choice and that's the way it should be.

I once knew a fairly famous bowhunter in our State who also owned an Archer shop. They guy was always nice to me even when I was a wet behind the ears teenager in his store only spending a few bucks. He was what I considered your average archery owner. Pics of his trophy's all over the place. Which I'm totally fine with.

But one year he'd went most of the year without killing a deer. Even went through the rut and rifle season without killing a buck. Then toward Christmas he shot a small buck with 2 points on one side and 3 points on the other. Nothing real special as far as the head gear went. But this guy's story was he shot the deer because the side with 3 points was rare and he'd never killed a buck like this.

Personally, I thought a little less of him after that. I didn't get the feeling he was being totally honest with anyone. I did get the feeling he killed it because it was getting near the end of the deer hunting season and he wanted to shoot a buck. Which I've done the same thing and I believe it's certainly within the rights of a deer hunter to do so. But be honest about the reason you put a tag on a deer! Heck, there should be no shame saying the season is coming to an end and you wanted to put a tag on a deer!

Okay, another rant here. You guys who go around saying "you can't eat horns" are correct. But don't spout that crap off then when you get a wall hanger in front of you blast the crap out of him. Then proceed to tell everyone what a trophy he is. There's no shame in saying you're a meat hunter or that you wanted to shoot the first thing that comes by. I know a lot of hunters who wished they could kill a buck, any buck, each and every year like some of you do. Be proud of the fact that you're good enough to kill any deer consistently!

I'd also like to call out the guys who hunt high dollar leases or go on nothing but guided hunts and then look down your nose at people who kill small to average bucks. I've often said, and still stand behind this statement, that anyone who can kill a legal buck on Public Land consistently is a far better deer hunter than someone who only hunts exclusive leases or pays to hire a guide. Just because you have the money to hire a guide our lease up half a county in Illinois does not make you a better hunter!

Finally, no one should have the right to tell me, or you, which buck I can shoot. Study after Study have shown that taking spike bucks does not affect the quality of the deer heard. No one should have to ask if it's wrong to shoot a small buck!

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In my opinion, post season scouting is some of the best scouting you can do. In the post season, you can find out if your Buck is still alive and more important, where he's hanging out. Many places either have snow on the ground or will have snow. This can be the best time to follow a Buck and see where he's holing up. In most cases, he'll still be in his hiding/evading mode due to Small Game hunters in his area.

The places he likes to hide, his travel routes and his escape routes will be much easier to find this time of year than when your scouting in the Pre-season. It's also a great time to snoop around your public hunting land and see where he likes to hide or where other hunters are setting up.

I've found more Big Buck escape routes and Sanctuary's by scouting when there was snow on the ground than any other time of the year. Snow almost makes it too easy...almost! And you don't have to worry about things like Mosquitoes, Snakes and Chiggers like you do when you're scouting for deer in the Summertime.

While snow on the ground is my favorite time to scout for Bucks, I've also found good areas for the upcoming Deer season when I was scouting and hunting for Turkeys. Many of the movement habits of Deer are the same ones Turkeys use in their day to day life.

Bottlenecks, feeding areas and loafing areas that Turkeys use can be the same areas Deer use. I've also located new Deer hunting areas when out Turkey hunting. It's amazing to me how much Deer sign you can find in the Spring. The Deer will normally be in their Fall and Winter patterns before greenup and it's just an excellent time to find new areas and to tweak your existing hunting areas and treestand sites.

Post season is also an excellent time to find sheds. With the exception of actually sighting a Big Buck after Deer Season has ended, nothing says that the Big Boy is still alive like finding fresh sheds. You'll typically find sheds in bedding areas and travel corridors.

So take a few days off from fishing or just get out in the snowy woods for a romp of your deer hunting area. I'm betting you'll be surprised at what you find.

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