Chapter 6: Methods of Bowhunting
Selecting a Stand Location

• Place a stand in an area where game sign indicates food, travel, water, wallows, breeding sites, or other places where animals appear to congregate.
• Consider multiple stand locations, taking into consideration elevation, topography, and prevailing winds.
• Use a tree stand only in daylight hours, positioning the stand to avoid sunlght that could highlight the profile of your body.
• Use a tree large enough to cover your body outline.
• Place a stand no higher than necessary.
• Select only trees that are straight. A trunk leaning toward you can “push” you out of a stand when you stand up.
• Never place a stand in a dead tree, in a tree with large overhanging dead limbs, or on or near utility poles.
• Place a stand on the back side of a tree if the terrain rises in front of the stand, if there is little cover, or if the prevailing wind often switches direction.
• Place a stand to the side of a trail or travel route but within your effective shooting range.
• Locate the stand downwind from the animals’ expected route.
• Never place stands on fence lines or near another landowner’s property.
• Clear shooting lanes for unobstructed shooting opportunities. Use a small pruning saw or clippers, and nip off only what is necessary. It’s best to have someone guide you from the stand as you do this. If cutting isn’t permitted, tie back the branches and brush with dark-colored cord.
• Select more than one hunting spot to avoid over-hunting one location.

As the height of the tree stand increases, the size of the kill zone decreases because of the steeper shot angle.

Ground Blinds

Ground blinds are makeshift or temporary structures located on the ground that conceal the hunter. They’re made of everything from plywood to branches.

• They should be used instead of a tree stand when you should not be climbing, such as during inclement weather.
• They provide an element of surprise that is lacking with hunting from a tree stand.

You should situate ground blinds:

• Downwind, based on the normal wind pattern during a given time of day, such as morning
• Away from the sun
• Where the foreground and background are safest