"Bad" Stand Locations?

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Have you ever put up a stand in a "cant miss spot" only to have it fail you miserably?
I moved one today that was on an inside field edge on a ridge that falls into a creek.
If I posted a satellite pic many would pin that location as stellar. It has as good of oaks dropping now and every year as you can find. Double funnel conditions with a creek and a field. No bait.
I think it was in place for five seasons and I never saw a buck past a yearling in numerous morning and evening sits.
The only excuse i got is that on a calm cool evenings the thermals sink into the bottom. You can feel the cool temperature air dip.
But for morning hunts it is flawless.

But man I moved the epic fail into a perfect location. LOL.


Anyone else get stuck with a stinker of a stand that should have been a slam dunk?
If so did you figure why it sucked?
This misery would love some company :)
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
Have you ever put up a stand in a "cant miss spot" only to have it fail you miserably?
I moved one today that was on an inside field edge on a ridge that falls into a creek.
If I posted a satellite pic many would pin that location as stellar. It has as good of oaks dropping now and every year as you can find. Double funnel conditions with a creek and a field. No bait.
I think it was in place for five seasons and I never saw a buck past a yearling in numerous morning and evening sits.
The only excuse i got is that on a calm cool evenings the thermals sink into the bottom. You can feel the cool temperature air dip.
But for morning hunts it is flawless.

But man I moved the epic fail into a perfect location. LOL.


Anyone else get stuck with a stinker of a stand that should have been a slam dunk?
If so did you figure why it sucked?
This misery would love some company :)
On a regular basis.....or normally what happens to me is someone else slips in there when Im not there and kills a good one.

Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk
 

kilerhamilton

Old Mossy Horns
It will pay off the last over head moon in October - mid November.

When the deer are chasing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

buckshooter

Old Mossy Horns
Have you ever put up a stand in a "cant miss spot" only to have it fail you miserably?
I moved one today that was on an inside field edge on a ridge that falls into a creek.
If I posted a satellite pic many would pin that location as stellar. It has as good of oaks dropping now and every year as you can find. Double funnel conditions with a creek and a field. No bait.
I think it was in place for five seasons and I never saw a buck past a yearling in numerous morning and evening sits.
The only excuse i got is that on a calm cool evenings the thermals sink into the bottom. You can feel the cool temperature air dip.
But for morning hunts it is flawless.

But man I moved the epic fail into a perfect location. LOL.


Anyone else get stuck with a stinker of a stand that should have been a slam dunk?
If so did you figure why it sucked?
This misery would love some company :)
Absolutely ! Last year we put a ground blind up inside of the woodline on the edge of a power line that had a great looking food plot. The powerlinon was used on a regular basis by tons of deer.

Had a perfect entrance and exit route plenty of cover etc. I just knew one of us would score a nice buck there , either coming off the plot right at first light or staging in the woods checking the plot for does in the evening.

It was one of those " it just don't get any prettier than this " stands.

Didn't have a single encounter with a deer. Go figure ?
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
well
It will pay off the last over head moon in October - mid November.

When the deer are chasing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
we'll not know for this season (moved it) but in the past that's exactly why the stand was positioned as it was.
never encountered a chasing or searching buck.
But thanks for the input.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
My best turned worst stands are every creek bottom I’ve ever set up in, and those field corner or funnel stands that are just too exposed or too far from bedding cover. The sign tells you it’s a slam dunk, but it’s lying.
yep- sans cameras that lying sign exposure has been our (deer hunters) achilles heel. Still is mine I guess.
 

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
Yep, I have a quad stand that I put up on a smaller food plot. Wind is almost always in your face and great cover from where it is located. Natural funnel by the river and have tons of daytime activity. Had it there for 3-4 years and have never killed a deer out of it. Never seen anything while hunting out of it.
 

Matty

Six Pointer
Contributor
Have you ever put up a stand in a "cant miss spot" only to have it fail you miserably?
I moved one today that was on an inside field edge on a ridge that falls into a creek.
If I posted a satellite pic many would pin that location as stellar. It has as good of oaks dropping now and every year as you can find. Double funnel conditions with a creek and a field. No bait.
I think it was in place for five seasons and I never saw a buck past a yearling in numerous morning and evening sits.
The only excuse i got is that on a calm cool evenings the thermals sink into the bottom. You can feel the cool temperature air dip.
But for morning hunts it is flawless.

But man I moved the epic fail into a perfect location. LOL.


Anyone else get stuck with a stinker of a stand that should have been a slam dunk?
If so did you figure why it sucked?
This misery would love some company :)

Sounds like a great midday stand if there is thick cover nearby. Did you ever sit it 10-1400? Late OCT - early NOV I would trade both the morning and evening sit for just the mid-day sit.
 

wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Ive got a stand on the edge of a field that runs along a creek, thick thick cover just across the creek from me. View from my stand looks like something you'd see on a hunting show. Its the worst stand Ive got on my whole place.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Sounds like a great midday stand if there is thick cover nearby. Did you ever sit it 10-1400? Late OCT - early NOV I would trade both the morning and evening sit for just the mid-day sit.
Mornings until 1 during what i thought was prime time.
And many all afternoon/evenings.
But i doubt i have ever been in the stand from 1 till 2 pm. That must have been when they came by. :)
i understand your point thanks for the feedback.
 

Matty

Six Pointer
Contributor
Mornings until 1 during what i thought was prime time.
And many all afternoon/evenings.
But i doubt i have ever been in the stand from 1 till 2 pm. That must have been when they came by. :)
i understand your point thanks for the feedback.

Nah, sounds like you had it figured out! They can’t all be good stands! I’ve had several that should have been great and just never worked out...and a few that were “throwaways” and were unreal.
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
Too many times to count...from sure fire “big buck” sign that must’ve only been night movement because I never saw deer.

Too many other times when I just knew the 100 acre thicket was Where they were bedded to discover later deer were bedding total opposite direction and approaching opposite what I thought... kind of screws my approach and favorable winds plan
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
It would be interesting to see what a camera would capture. I have seen places that were not approachable, the deer always new I was there. They there were the places I learned to walk long distances into. I saw plenty and killed a good one or three. Drive any vehicle and stop within a 1/2 mile of the place you would not see a thing. Keep riding by and not stop all was good.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
i found the misery i was looking for to make me feel less bad.
The october 2003 DD&DH mag ( i recycle the old mags every year) had a tale entitled the Stand Of Lost Hope..
Same five year waste in one place then he moved the stand and proceeded to screw up on deer every way possible for more seasons. I would be afraid to climb that stand, :)
I feel much better.
The one mantra in deer hunting that has proven true for me is the one about the first time you sit in a stand being the best.
I shoulda bailed way before now on this dud,
 

DBCooper

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'm betting more stand sites would be great............if hunters didn't over-hunt them.....or, hunt them at the wrong time.
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
I chuckle every time I see an exposed stand in a tree. A smart deer that frequents the same area on a daily basis is going to remember it and notice the trunk got awful fat midway up, especially a lone tree without limbs.

Besides over hunting, I think bad stands are a result of not brushing in or breaking up the silhouette. Many hunters don’t walk deep into the area away from their stand and turn around to look for it. For me just a blind skirt doesn’t cut it. I tuck my stands into as much cover as I can using trees that will hold their leaves for a long time. These are just a couple of my examples of breaking up a ladder stand and box blind. I have a whole bunch of stands set in various ways and not a single one looks like the last photo I pulled from internet.

E29F9271-C635-4904-96F7-28B93C4BF8DA.jpegE7C5A1ED-35BF-4942-A945-22449666282E.jpegECDC08A4-BAB8-4FBE-8D46-B6BC0E902B87.jpeg
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My stand on the creek up at the Rock is usually a good muzzleloader season stand but after that it is a toss up. My field stands are usually always good in the evenings but they also a toss up in the morning
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
My stand on the creek up at the Rock is usually a good muzzleloader season stand but after that it is a toss up. My field stands are usually always good in the evenings but they also a toss up in the morning
I have little confidence on morning field stands.
Except for the next three weeks. :)
 
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