As the dog days of summer are upon us, hunters across the nation are gearing up in preparation for the upcoming whitetail season. It’s that time of year to make sure your bow sights are on, trail cameras are set, purchase any remaining gear, and spend your evenings glassing food sources in search of a velvet brute to chase this fall. But what about hanging treestands?
We’ve all been there. Temperatures in the 90’s, and humidity is about the same. Your body aches with bug bites and nettle stings. Yet despite these brutal conditions, we flock to the field for final stand preparation every summer. This makes you question, are the dog days of summer truly the “best” time to hang yours? The answer to this question varies from hunter to hunter. Below I will break down 3 of the best periods for you to hang your stands.
Spring Sets: Early Bird Gets the Worm
I’ll be honest, this is a period that I rarely take advantage of. Partly because my brain is focused 100% on chasing hardheaded gobblers in the spring. It also happens to be one of the busiest time periods in my schedule due to important habitat improvements, such as prescribed burning and food plot preparation. There are, however, several advantages to getting those stands in early.
First, and most importantly, minimal disturbance for the upcoming season. It’s a no brainer that if you minimize your presence on a mature buck’s turf that you’ll have a better chance of encountering him in the fall. With a majority of whitetail seasons opening in September/October, the late winter/early spring stand preparation gives you multiple months’ head start. This head start allows time for your disruption to settle, your footprint to be washed away, and for your deer herd to become accustomed to the disturbance that comes with stand placement and trimming.
Spring also makes for ideal work conditions. If you are someone who overheats quickly then this is the time for you! Temperatures are typically cooler than the heat of the summer and bug existence is at a minimum. This makes stand hanging, shooting lane trimming, and entry/exit route maintenance much more bearable.
Another thing to keep in mind, however, is that growing season doesn’t just refer to the period in which a buck’s antlers develop! This also means that the tree your stand is in will grow and the limbs you just pruned for lanes will sprout back over the upcoming months! Make it a priority to revisit those stands at least one more time before the season begins to make those final strap adjustments and to trim those summer sprouts or you may find yourself up a creek without a paddle come opening day!
There’s an old saying, The Early Bird Gets the Worm! Get the hard work done months in advance and you’re bound to have an upper hand come fall!
Summer Sets: Dog Days
Not only is the temperature heating up but so is the drive to get ready for the season. But with the arrival of summer comes busy schedules for some and less than ideal conditions to be hanging from a tree. Yet this time of year can be great for treestand hanging if you’re appropriately prepared.
If summer is too hot and too busy, then maybe this isn’t the time for you. But for some hunters, like me, the food plots are planted, rain dances performed, spring habitat projects have been completed, and besides the occasional fishing trip or golf outing, my schedule typically allows me to get out to the woods. July and August have fields filled with velvet giants and I often head to the timber with a pack full of trail cameras to get the adrenaline flowing prior to the season. This is also an ideal time to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Many times, I find myself also packing in a handful of treestands so that I can get in and out in a single trip. Minimizing intrusion is my number one goal and as opening day inches closer, the more likely a mature buck will catch on to my excessive disturbances and begin to pattern me!
A few important tips to remember when setting up stands during the dog days of summer is to pack plenty of water (if you think you have enough then bring more), stock up on bug sprays and bring as much motivation as you can muster. Even recruit a friend or 2 to distribute the work around. Also be sure to wear a breathable pair of pants and a shirt. Avoid shorts or you will go home itching! Another thing to keep in mind while you’re in the field is to keep your eyes peeled for any current and past deer sign. The later we get into summer, the more defined deer movements will become for opening day. Combine current and historical deer sign to help hone in on potential stand locations, especially as summer days begin to dwindle and early fall patterns become more defined.
This is also a great time to cut in entry and exit routes as the vegetation typically doesn’t get the chance to grow back in time for the season. I utilize the HuntStand Contour Map to find those access creek beds, ravines, and other terrain features beforehand. Once I’ve located these potential routes, it’s time to get boots on the ground and see how well these features will work to hide my presence. Then I’ll get busy and rid them of debris so that I can slip in and out of each stand unnoticed. An extremely important tip to consider is paying attention to the feeding and bedding areas that you pass along your entry route. Taking note of which wind directions allow you to slip past these spots cleanly will undoubtedly pay off big. There’s no use in heading to a stand with a perfect wind if all the deer you planned to hunt smelled you along the way!
Summertime can be a busy yet productive period! If your schedule allows it, it’s a great time to get ready for the fall!
Fall Sets – Hang and Hunt
The “Hang and Hunt” method has become extremely popular in recent years. Treestand companies are racing to create the most lightweight, packable hang-on stands while the saddle hunting industry has witnessed an explosion of business over the last few seasons. All for good reason, this method simply WORKS! It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Head to the field during the season, locate the freshest sign, and carry your lightweight setup to the field to sit over it when the time is right. No brainer, right? Sometimes it can be that easy, but more often than not it requires a plan to be well thought out and executed with precision in order to work in the hunter’s favor.
Often, this plan is arranged on the fly but there are a few steps you can take to make quicker and smarter decision making when it comes time to pop up your stand during the fall. Knowing the lay of the land, potential direction of deer travel, and optimal winds are some of the more important pieces to the puzzle. Whether it’s private or public land, knowing the terrain will play a key role in your success as you’re making these prompt choices. Having prior knowledge of any food sources, bedding areas, deer travel routes, potential treestand trees will help facilitate your decision for a stand site and a secure entry and exit route.
The best part about this time of the year is that you are setting up on the freshest sign possible, helping narrow down your efforts. However, the problematic part of this in season method is you simply do not have the luxury of aimlessly wandering, pruning lanes, and trimming out stand locations without educating every mature buck in the area!
Precision decisions is the name of the game and the faster you can find a hot spot, slip a set into a tree, and slink out with minimal intrusion, the more success you are bound to have. I will do everything I can to find the most suitable tree that gives me plenty of shot opportunities without having to trim any shooting lanes this time of year.
Another important key to success is making the first sit count. Nearly every single buck that I have taken while utilizing this strategy, whether in a newly set hang on or my saddle has come on the first sit in that particular tree. Catching an unsuspecting, mature buck before he has an opportunity to even discover a change in his domain is crucial to success. Weather depending, I try to make my first sit during a high-pressure system cold front as deer tend to be on their feet during these weather fronts. Especially as the season progresses.
Lastly, a step that I attribute most of my hunting success to is being aggressive. If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years, the hunting season doesn’t get any longer and while it’s okay to be cautious and many times the smarter option, being aggressive can often generate big rewards. An aggressive move that I see overlooked is hunting stands on marginal winds.
Many times, as hunters, we want the wind to be perfectly in our favor. Understandable when it’s a known fact that a deer lives and dies by its nose. What I have come to find, however, is that when the wind is perfect for you, a mature buck often knows that it is not right for him.
In recent years, I have thrived by getting aggressive during high-pressure cold fronts, post storm systems, and hunting setups with wind directions that are on the cusp of being catastrophic for me and nearly perfect for the buck’s nose. This is where knowledge of the land and trusting my gear comes into play. Though it can end in heartbreak, I have, without question, seen an increase in big deer encounters because of putting myself where a buck wants to be when it makes sense for him.
Conclusion - Do what’s best for you!
Setting stands in preparation for the hunting season is an exciting time of year; something we all look forward to year in and year out and when it comes down to the “Best Time to Hang Your Treestand” it really boils down to when it is best for you. Match your hunting strategy with your available time and resources to create a game plan that will work in your favor. Whether that’s getting prepared months in advance or setting up the morning of your hunt, as long as you conduct quality scouting ahead of time, minimize your disturbance throughout the process, and hunt the spot on the proper day then you are bound to have success!
More importantly than finding the perfect time or perfect placement for that stand is returning home safely at the end of each hunt. Remember, Always wear your safety harness, lineman climbing rope, install your safety line and let someone know where you’ll be in case the worst were to happen. Be smart, be safe, be observant, and be sure to get your stand hung when it works best for you. Best of luck this season!
