If there are no oak-covered hilltops on your property, then any area featuring several oak trees, or a single "heirloom" tree among some pines will work just as well.

AFTERNOON HUNTS
Much as I love sitting on top of a hill, surrounded by oak trees, that's probably the last place I want to be during a late afternoon hunt. I'll admit to you right now that I can be a stubborn, prideful slow learner. I'm ashamed to admit how many times I've sat in a tree well after dark, waiting for feeding deer to leave. It's been more times than it should have been.

The circumstances were usually something like this: With 30 minutes of daylight left, I would hear the unmistakable sound of deer tromping thorough the woods. A few minutes later, I'd glimpse of three, four, maybe five deer feeding towards me, just out of range, moving slowly and randomly. That would remind me that deer really have nowhere they have to be and no deadline for getting there.

As the final moments of daylight gave way to darkness, those deer would just be getting into shooting range. By the time it was pitch dark, they would be feeding right underneath me. Occasionally, I could wait them out. But more often than not, I would have to spook them before I could climb down.

Of course, just seeing deer is a lot of fun. But if your goal is to actually shoot one, then a better approach would be to intercept them before they get to their feeding area at dark. Obvious enough, but sometimes easier said than done!

That is where a hillside bench comes in. It's not always easy to predict from which direction deer will approach a feeding area. But if that feeding area lies atop a hill, they will almost surely travel along a hillside bench for at least part of the way up.

Of all terrain features, a bench is my favorite. While flats and bottoms can be hit or miss, a bench seems to be a whitetail's consistently preferred route through the woods. The bench can be as wide as 30 to 40 yards, or barely as wide as the trail.

When choosing a site for my stand, I tend to look for the place where the bench becomes defined. It will tend to fade out where the hill gives way to flatter ground and might pinch down very narrow if the hillside gets steep. If you can find the spot where it becomes defined, you'll likely be just far enough from the feeding area to avoid getting treed, and just far enough from the bedding area to avoid getting busted.

Set up above that bench within your comfortable shooting range.

ACORNS THROUGH THE SEASON
Much can be said about acorn production in general terms, but there are very few absolutes. Oak trees with large crowns generally produce more nuts than smaller oaks. Excellent acorn years are sometimes -- but not always -- followed by poor ones.