Ground Blinds
When making a stand from the ground it helps to find a spot that is comfortable enough for a long wait. Because deer do not have good visual acuity, you can be out in the open with something behind you to break up your outline, perhaps sitting at the base of a tree or pile of rocks, without risk of being spotted. However, deer are excellent at picking out movement, so it is important that you choose a seat that is very comfortable. You do not want to be constantly fidgeting while waiting for deer to appear. To make up for the chance of movement giving away the hunter, many people construct some type of ground blind to hide in while on stand. By hiding most of your body behind natural vegetation, or some type of man-made structure, many movements can go undetected by the watchful eyes of game.

Also, many commercially made ground blinds are now available today, to help hide the hunter, plus give him some protection from the environment. These structures are often lightweight and portable, and usually can be set up very quickly. They range in style from a simple stake and camouflage fabric-wrap around system, to fully enclosed structures made with scent-containing fabrics.

Elevated Stands
Another option is the elevated stand, such as tower blinds, tripods, and treestands. Elevated stands have a couple of key advantages over ground blinds. The first is that elevation gives the hunter a broader view of his surroundings. Also, the hunter is often above a deer's normal line of sight, so slight movements can go undetected (like the drawing of a bow). Another potential advantage is that the hunter's scent is often carried above the ground level air currents, thus the elevated hunter may be harder for the deer's sensitive nose to detect, especially at close range. Tower blinds are usually permanent structures that overlook an area that consistently draws deer, such as food plots or an agricultural crop that deer may find appetizing. Because tower blinds are somewhat permanent structures, they can have the advantage of making a hunter's wait more comfortable. Weatherproof, possibly insulated, materials can be used in construction; comfortable chairs and even heaters can be used also.

Tripod blinds are more portable than a permanent tower blind, but because they are still rather heavy and cumbersome, they are usually set up in one place for an extended period of time. Although some models have enclosed seating areas, many are exposed to the elements.

The most common type of elevated stand is the portable treestand. Treestands come in three basic styles; climbing stands, hang-on stands, and ladder stands. They can be hung as low as a few feet off the ground, or as high as 25 feet (or even higher if the conditions are ideal enough to be safe). No matter what type of treestand is used, a fall arrest system must always be worn to lessen the possibility of injury should the hunter fall out of the stand.

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Hang-on stands have the reputation as being the most portable and lightweight of the treestand styles and are ideal for the hunter who may need one stand to take advantage of a variety of tree locations. The hang-on stand is also ideally suited for trees that have a lot of lower branches, or tree trunks that have bends in them, which make them impractical for a climbing stand. However, a disadvantage of the hang-on stand is that some type of portable steps must also be carried, whether they are spike steps, or a portable stick-type ladder. Hang-on and climbing stands are both suited to the hunter of public land, who does not have the luxury of being able to leave a stand hanging in a tree for an extended period of time.

Climbing stands are a little heavier than hang-on stands, but they have the advantage of not having to use any type of portable steps. The main limitations are that the hunter must find a tree without horizontal limbs below the needed stand height, which would interfere with the climbing action of the stand. Also, the trunk of the tree must be fairly straight, once again so that the climbing action of the stand functions correctly and safely.

Ladder stands utilize a sitting platform placed at the top of a ladder structure that leans up against the side of a tree. The weight of a ladder stand limits them from being as portable as a hang-on or climbing stand, however, their stability and safety of entry and exit make them a favorite of many hunters. Their main limitation is that they usually cannot be situated as high off the ground as a hang-on or climbing stand.