If you find it necessary to do some quick in-season scouting to find a fresh stand site, do it only once, the author advises. Sure, there's always a chance you might bump that big buck you're after, but which is worse: sitting in a dead zone or relocating to a spot with good potential?

I was stuck. The spring before, I'd invested considerable scouting efforts into dissecting a large area of public ground. It was a tough piece, with the absence of a dominant food source, a lack of good pinch points, little terrain changes and numerous potential bedding sites. Still, as spring ended I believed that I'd found a decent number of good stands and a handful that appeared downright great.

Now, already early November, numerous uneventful sits had proven that none of my stand options were winners. It wasn't hard to figure out why. The obvious reason was that the area had received heavy logging activity. The less apparent reason was that the oak-dominated woods produced a bumper crop of acorns, when there'd been almost none the year before. The combination had rendered my spring scouting and stand hanging efforts virtually useless.

It was time for drastic measures. My entire approach to hunting is based on anticipating what the mature bucks want during each phase of the season and then adjusting my tactics appropriately. Since the breeding phase was just beginning, the bucks would be focusing on does. Therefore, I knew that I also needed to key on the does.

LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT SETUP
With the lack of funnels separating doe groups in the area, I knew that targeting doe bedding areas would be the trick. Unfortunately, the doe bedding areas had changed with the changing habitat. Midmorning found me grabbing my bow, strapping a stand to my back and hitting the woods. I knew the does were feeding on acorns and suspected they'd be bedding nearby. Unfortunately, there were oaks everywhere. That meant I'd have to put on some miles.

Having gotten to know the property pretty well that spring, I focused on the largest thickets the area had to offer. Though each held some sign, the first four didn't overwhelm me. That wasn't the case with the fifth. The large tag alder swamp had been much drier the fall before. With easier access to its inner regions, in-and-out trails had been everywhere. But the wet summer had changed that. Now, with the standing water creating a soupy mess, the peninsula of dry land that stabbed close to 200 yards into the swamp had become a primary access point.

That was obvious by the worn trails converging at the base of the peninsula. Nine scrapes and multiple clusters of rubs concentrated at the base and dotted their way out to the point. That sealed the deal. It was swiftly apparent that this strip of dry land was being used as an access point to the islands hidden in the swamp.

A large oak, just out from the peninsula's base, was positioned to cover several of the larger scrapes. Though that didn't hurt my feelings, I knew the scrapes were no longer the primary interest. What made it the perfect tree was that it also covered the entrance trails and a lesser trail skirting the swamp's edge. From this tree, I could cover bucks circling to scent check. I could also cover all the deer using the peninsula.

WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER
I prepped the stand and settled in for the day. Not surprisingly, the day wasn't that great. I saw a couple of young bucks circle the swamp, as well as a handful of very alert does exiting near dark, but no Mr. Big. Though I'd tried keeping my disturbances to a minimum, I'd been forced to disrupt the woods more than I'd cared to. Still, it had to be done, and I knew that this stand would be a good one.

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