deer always are most comfortable when hunters are in the woods. If you find a remote area with fresh deer sign and hemlock and laurel cover, or within a young forest thicket or forest with a full understory, you've found a place to make an opening-day stand. For the best coverage, you should be off the ground and on the thicket's downwind edge to take full advantage. Once you've scouted out such an area, the best thing to do is stay out of it, after you've selected your stand tree. I scout with a tree stand on my back, which allows me to finish all preparations in one visit. Climb your selected tree and pick a height and direction that give you the best coverage. But make sure you'll have some When the pressure is on, deer head for thick cover. A remote thicket with fresh deer sign is a good place to make an openingday stand. Your best bet might be to get off the ground and stay on the thicket's downwind edge. 34 cover - evergreen branches or other tree trunks to hide your form. Always wear rubber boots - and consider using a cover scent - when you scout to avoid tipping off deer. Don't touch or brush against anything. Leave your trail camera at home and don't bother making mock scrapes or shooting lanes, because they might draw other hunters and because you're supposed to be setting on fresh deer sign and keeping disturbances to a minimum. It makes no difference that you don't know what deer - or bucks - are using the location. You'll learn that as soon as you start hunting it. But if deer are using the area, figure does still have the potential to draw bucks.