The 10 Factors of a Great Stand: Why No Spot Is Perfect—and That’s Okay
Every bowhunter wants the perfect tree stand.
Perfect wind. Perfect cover. Perfect access. Perfect shot opportunity.
After decades of hanging stands in everything from prairie cottonwoods to thorn-covered locust trees, Eddie Claypool came to a realization that simplifies everything:
Perfect stands don’t exist. Great ones are compromises.
The difference between success and frustration isn’t finding perfection—it’s understanding which factors matter most and how many you can realistically get right.
Why Stand Selection Is So Hard
Tree stand selection is difficult because it’s never just one decision.
You’re balancing deer behavior, wind, terrain, access, concealment, shot angles, and human limitations—all at once.
Every choice improves one factor while hurting another.
Experienced hunters stop chasing flawless setups and start asking a better question:
“How many things can I get right here?”
The 10 Factors That Define a Great Stand
Eddie often said there are at least ten factors involved in picking a stand location. Rarely do all ten line up—but when five or six do, you’ve found something special.
1. Travel Corridor
The foundation of every great stand is movement.
Not where deer stop. Where they pass through.
A stand placed on a consistent travel corridor benefits from predictability and forgiveness. Even when conditions aren’t perfect, deer still move through.
Without movement, nothing else matters.
2. Wind Advantage
Wind determines whether a stand is huntable at all.
A great stand keeps your scent out of the corridor, accounts for thermals, and allows safe entry and exit.
Bad wind doesn’t make a stand challenging—it makes it wrong.
3. Concealment (Not Camouflage)
Deer don’t key on patterns—they key on outlines.
Great stands break your silhouette, put cover behind you, and allow movement without exposure.
This is why bushy, ugly trees often outperform clean, straight ones.
4. Access Without Alerting Deer
You don’t just hunt the stand—you hunt the walk to it.
A great stand allows quiet entry, minimal crossing of deer travel, and a safe exit after dark.
If deer see or smell you getting in or out, the stand burns fast.
5. Shot Opportunity
A stand isn’t great if you can’t kill deer from it.
That means clear shooting lanes, manageable angles, and ethical shot windows.
Many stands fail not because deer don’t pass—but because hunters can’t shoot.
6. Height That Fits the Situation
Higher isn’t always better.
Sometimes height helps scent control. Sometimes it skylines movement. Sometimes lower setups offer better concealment.
The right height depends on cover, terrain, and visibility—not ego.
7. Tree Structure and Stability
Comfort and safety matter.
A great tree holds a stand solidly, allows quiet movement, and provides natural cover.
Eddie hunted some dangerous trees in his life—but he never confused bravery with intelligence.
8. Forgiveness for Mistakes
No hunter is perfect.
Great stands absorb small errors like minor movement, slight wind shifts, and delayed shots.
Poor stands punish every mistake.
Forgiveness separates one-time luck from repeatable success.
9. Pressure Tolerance
Some stands can be hunted repeatedly. Others are one-and-done.
Knowing the difference is critical.
Travel corridor stands tolerate pressure better than hotspot stands. Bedding-area stands tolerate almost none.
A great stand matches how often you plan to hunt it.
10. Your Ability to Execute
This is the factor most hunters ignore.
A stand might be perfect for someone else—but wrong for you.
Consider your physical limitations, comfort tolerance, shooting confidence, and willingness to sit all day.
The best stand is the one you can hunt correctly.
Why Getting 5 or 6 Right Is Enough
Eddie often said that if he could get five or six of these factors working together, he felt confident.
Seven or eight was rare. Nine or ten almost never happened.
But those five or six—combined with patience and timing—killed a lot of deer.
When to Walk Away
One of the hardest lessons experience teaches is restraint.
If access is bad, wind is wrong, cover is poor, or shots are unethical, forcing a stand usually costs more than it gives.
Walking away isn’t quitting.
It’s protecting future opportunity.
The Real Skill Isn’t Hanging Stands
It’s judgment.
Judgment tells you which factors matter most today, which ones you can sacrifice, and when a “good enough” stand is actually great.
That skill doesn’t come from gear.
It comes from time.
The Takeaway Most Hunters Miss
The woods don’t reward perfection.
They reward understanding.
And once you stop chasing the perfect stand and start stacking advantages, your success becomes repeatable—not accidental.
