Scouting out bulletproof whitetail setups: targeting areas where everything comes together

Anyone who bowhunts on a regular basis can relate to how important it is to find stand locations that feel almost bulletproof. Nothing is ever guaranteed in hunting, but I’m referring to those areas that put you within 30 yards of primary deer movement while not being detected by scent or sight before a target deer presents itself.

These locations are sometimes few and far between, especially on landscapes where does and fawns can seemingly come from any direction. They may not even exist on some properties. But if you can find them, these hunting locations can be vital to success if you’re targeting an older buck on public or pressured private land.

Let me explain one setup I recently found that seems to fit this description. 

Identifying this location started on the morning of Nov. 2, 2022. I was set up over a creek crossing where I’d shot a buck on the opening weekend of the 2020 bowhunting season. It seemed to be a good funnel for cruising bucks during the early rut period, too, but that November morning showed me that bucks were using the area differently now that they were looking for does.

I saw three bucks and a handful of does and fawns that morning. The bucks – two 11⁄2-year-olds and one that was a year or two older – all used the terrain the same way. They came from the west, cut north across the corner of an open beanfield, then entered the woods in order to move along the back side of a small bedding area with the wind in their faces. 

You know you’ve found an advantageous perch when you see a pattern emerge with multiple bucks using the landscape in the same way. That’s why that hunt was a success without ever releasing an arrow, and why I was so eager to get back there and scout this spring.

This area has multiple trail systems that deer use. But it’s not as simple as just moving my saddle setup to a tree closer to that bedding area. I needed to find the perfect spot within those trail systems that would allow me shot opportunities without getting blown at by an unpredictable doe.

Spring is the best time to find these spots. Trails and prior rut sign are easily identified right after the snow melts and before spring green-up.

I went back to the property in mid-April and walked the route those bucks took on Nov. 2 on the back side of the bedding cover. It’s an area of thick brush low in hilly terrain that’s between the field edge and a creek. It’s also adjacent to high bedding points to the south. 

The creek is a key ingredient. Entering through it allows me hidden access to the tree, and it also does a great job of funneling deer movement. The banks are nearly vertical in many areas, with 15- to 20-foot-high bluffs. Deer travel typically along both sides of a creek bank, and any kind of gradual decline into the bottom often serves as a crossing. 

I’m always trying to find intersections where trails come together, where I decide if I can get away with hunting in that exact spot. 

In this situation, two trails intersect within the creek bottom that will give me shots to that intersection, as well as to the trail along the bedding area the bucks took last November.

Now perhaps the most important factor: What will the wind do down here? I found by dropping milkweed that with a south-southwest wind, my scent generally pulls down into the creek bottom and moves with the water to the river. I’m in the clear if that stays consistent. 

RELATED STORY: Spring scout for whitetails and reap the benefits in the fall

I have a tree ready to climb into with my hunting saddle this fall that feels like it checks all the boxes – bedding area near a food source, an intersection of trail systems, hidden access, and a terrain feature that funnels both deer movement and the wind under the right conditions. 

A lot of factors make this a prime hunting spot, and that’s why these setups are so important to find. Think about where you hunt. Is there an area that might fit this description?

Look for thick security cover that pressured deer will bed in and feel comfortable moving around in during daylight. There are almost always small openings or paths that will funnel movement.  

Get in there and look over everything long before the 2023 season ever starts. What does the wind do? How can you access the area without blowing deer out?

Maybe it’s a spot you can hunt only mornings by entering under the cover of darkness. Maybe it’s a tree you hunt only once or twice a year before deer are onto you. I seek out areas with water access in multiple states and find that often allows me to hunt areas over and over.

Slow down and answer all of these questions. Prepare a tree, or hang a stand. Then stay out.

When the right time of the season comes, execute your plan.

If you do not have land management control over the properties you hunt, this is the No. 1 way to tilt the odds in your favor. Scout hard and create detailed strategies. Then adjust accordingly if what you observe during the hunting season tells you to do so.

Build up multiple locations over time and then keep executing the game plan in the fall under the right conditions.