deer stand arrangements

[willis smith]

i have some land on the north santee river and last week i was walkin down my dock with buck shot and out past the tree line is like a 4 acre field of cushiony salt grass and if a deer walks out the only way it is safe is blending in. well anyways i walked down the dock and a nice 8 piont jumped out of the grass it was bedded down and i shot it but couldn't find it.(this is not where my stand is). well last weekend i got in my stand which is literally 400 feet away from where i shot the eight that got away and i shot a 100 pound doe. the thing is from where i shot the eight and doe it is sepereated by a tree line.(if i am at the end of the dock and walking back i walk through the marsh field then go into the tree line, and once i am 50 feet in the tree line my stand is there were i shot the doe and where the stand is it is surrounded by cypress trees so you cant always get a good shot.) my question is do i have a better chance of having my stand face the field or having it in the hardwoods where i cant see through the woods very well.(but the deer will somtimes stay in the hardwoods cuz they think they are safe.) so do yall think i will see more deer in the marshy field where they bed down at night( i usually see deer there earlyearly morning or middle of night) or hunt in cypress hardwoods where it is hard to see through trees. alsoright now i have to hunt with a shotgun using 12 gauge 2 3/4 00 buckshot because my dad says a rifle is too dangurous out there but if i am in a stand what does it matter the bullet will hit the ground. anywaysis it worth it to buy a rifled barrel for my shotgun and use slugs, stay with buckshot (cuz i did kill a doe with buckshot last week but it was real close), or beg my dad to use my .270.

P.S. i no all of these questions may sound confusing but please tell me what yall think i should do.

[wtnhunt]

If you are asking which direction to face your stand, think the answer would be in the direction you most expect to see deer. Have a few spots here where the deer can and do come from any direction and you never know which direction you may get a shot off on, and in those situations it is best to set it in a direction facing where the most likely shots would come up.

On the shotgun, buckshot is not legal here so that is not an option, if it was I would opt for slugs over shot for deer, especially in a situation like you describe. Luckily our gun season allows us to use rifles, and I typically hunt with my .270.