Considerations for tree stand placement v/s time of year

[Big_Holla]

We like to hang ours early. Several of our hang on stands are the bigger sling style seats that require quite a bit of effort to hang. The earlier in the year I can do it the less I worry about making all kinds of noise, sweat and tears LOL! The other benefit by doing it this time is you can also get the limbs trimmed out of the way and prep that stand perfectly. Then you are out of there for several months, long before they would have any inclination that you are poking around that spot during deer season.

The closer I get to October and eventually November the more concern I have that I may be alerting deer to what we are doing. I don't like to do much if any trimming around the stand which can be the biggest down fall to hanging that late. Some stand locations I have made a lot of noise on purpose to run deer out so I can set the stand up without fear they are watching my every movements and others I have snuck into set up quickly and somewhat quietly and get out of there. Hopefully the set-up is followed by rain to help wash away my scent.

As for the actual set-up my main concern is being concealed and having cover. Hopefully the tree I have picked has been scouted back when the leaves were off the tree, that's one of the best times to see how that stand will look in early to mid November. If not or if I have any doubts then we have started using more and more bungee cords to wrap around the tree for adding leafy brush material to the sides of the tree. Just something added enough to break up our outline.

I also make sure I take plenty of pictures of the stand/tree both in the summer and if it's a stand I found when the leaves are off the tree. This way I can look things over and notice things like black straps that stick out, something shiny, whether there is enough brush in the back ground to even deciding which camo jacket/pants combination would work best for that tree.

[blackbeard]

Cover rules for me too, especially for those rut stands you hang 3 months early. I've hung some before then went back to hunt them in November and been like "oh no, this ain't gonna work"' because I stuck out like a sore thumb. I like trees at least as big around as me, or with limbs that are at stand level. Going high (22-25 ft) works most of the time but not always. Double trunked trees are my favorite. It's about that time, the excitement of hanging stands and then waiting for the perfect time to hunt them. I also typically hang most of my stands before or during a rainstorm when deer are hunkered down and all my scent is washed away because no matter if you wear rubber boots or scentlok, whatever, if you hang stands in August or September you are gonna leave tons of scent everywhere. The sweating, ticks, mosquitoes, and chiggers is the part I don't look forward too.