Gents, I come to you once again for your sage advice.  First season bow hunting and first season on my new land.  I'd like to put up two stands, to either have two spots to hunt or to have a place for a friend to be while I'm out too.  I've been scouting (thread here) and have located a potentially good spot for one of my stands.  Tree is straight as a phone pole and has great shooting lanes that look to be recently trampled by game.  Question is, where along a hill do you want to be ideally located?  Bottom, middle, top?  Also, how high off the ground should the stand be for bow hunting (assuming heights are not a problem for me). MS Paint cross section FTW:

I go 17-18' but I with that set up you could potentially go up and stay low enough to have the cover of the hill side. You also want to be close enough to the travel lanes as to be in your range.

Using the hill as cover...now I get it.  I thought that perhaps it may have had a different effect.  I was thinking that by the time I got 17'-18' feet up that tree, the ridge would still be above my head.  If they are coming from the larger parts of the woods (other side of the ridge) to hit that stream, my scent wouldn't have to travel very far in a horizontal line to hit the hill.

As far as travel/shooting lanes, it's almost perfect.  Nice fresh sign and no clearing needed.  I'm still becoming proficient with the bow and working on what my comfortable range will be.

Now if they are coming in off the top of the hill that could be a problem if you are close to where that happens - I have that potential problem at a spot on my place. Mine's not quite as tall as your though so I can ground hunt. I use a tree seat & sit just low enough that I don't crest the top of the hill. I'm east hunt to the west so most of the time that works for me. Deer will cross 20yds behind me and I have not had a problem. Gives me about a 20 yd shot down to the bottom so it all works. I'm going to try a new spot this fall for a stand on a property friends of ours own. I'll need to set up on the east side of a draw they have been seeing activity in. Don't see any way to use the hill for background so I'm going to have to see what kind of canopy is there now that the leaves are out (haven't looked at it since winter). You just never know, sometimes I get away with murder and sometimes what seems like a great set up gets me burned.





 

Guess that's why they call it hunting and not shooting.