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Should You Move Your Treestand During The Rut

October 24, 2023/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Heath Wood

The whitetail rut is a magical time for deer hunters. As the woods echo with the primal calls of rutting bucks and the scent of deer pheromones fills the air, it’s hard not to feel the rush of excitement. However, this period presents unique challenges for hunters, and one of the most debated questions is whether you should move your treestand during the rut.

In the modern era of cellular game cameras, it is more common than ever before for a hunter to receive information that a target-specific buck, or buck movement in general, is prominent in another area than where they are hunting. This data often leads to the hunter wanting to pack up their gear and make a move.

Does it spook deer to move a Treestand during the rut?

Moving your treestand during the rut can indeed create disruptions that may spook deer. The heightened awareness and sensitivity of bucks during this period mean that any disturbances are more likely to send them fleeing. However, there are ways to mitigate these risks.

Plan Ahead: If things don’t go as planned and you anticipate moving your stand, scout and prepare well in advance. Know what your hunting area looks like and where other stand areas could always be. When you have decided that making a move will increase your chances of getting within shooting range of a mature buck, not having to search the area can minimize the amount of noise and scent associated with the move.

Use Proper Stands and Equipment: Use equipment designed to get into position easily and quickly. A stand setup such as the Hawk Helium Pro Hang On with the Helium 20” Sticks can be ready and in place quickly, minimizing your time and presence when setting up or relocating your stand.

Time it Right: Choose the moments when deer activity is lower, such as midday or during lulls in the rutting action, to make your move. Another great time to move a treestand is during a rainstorm or when the weather has minimized deer movement. The rain also helps wash away any human scent before returning to the area to hunt.

When should you make a move on deer during the rut?

Understanding the different stages of the rut is crucial for deciding when to make your move. The rut can be broken down into three main phases: When to make a move can be determined in the same manner that one would decide hunting times.

Pre-Rut: Bucks are becoming more active and establishing their territories. This phase is an excellent time for treestand adjustments due to bucks making rubs and scrapes, which give hunters a visual of where their stand locations should be to get a buck into close range.

Peak Rut: During the height of the rut, bucks are most distracted and often less cautious. This is when you might consider staying put in your existing treestand location. Because bucks are pursuing does, they will likely be on their feet throughout the day. There is almost enough risk during this time of the rut to say, don’t move your treestand at all.

Post-Rut: As the rut wanes, deer behavior becomes more predictable. This is another good time to relocate your treestand. There is not as much as a free-for-all of bucks running around like they have no clue that you or any other danger is near. Moving your stand near a food source during the post-rut is a good idea because bucks want to re-stock food and energy after losing so much during the rut.

Best Equipment To Use When Wanting To Be More Versatile

Portable treestands are a game-changer for hunters looking to make swift treestand adjustments. Options like hang-on stands and ladder stands offer mobility and flexibility.

Hang-on stands are lightweight and easy to move, but you’ll need a compatible climbing method like sticks or steps. As mentioned earlier, The Hawk Helium is a great lightweight option for hunters who prefer playing a chess-like game of making moves until they are in the proper position to get within close range.

Ladder stands, though not as portable as the others, are sturdy and provide comfort, making them a good option for longer sits during the rut. A ladder stand such as the Hawk 20’ Big Denali 1.5 Man SLS Ladderstand is lightweight and easy to get into position, often by one or two hunters. The larger seat area of the Big Denali makes sitting all day during the rut more comfortable, which keeps the hunter focused and ready for action longer.

The decision to move your treestand during the rut is complex and is often considered risky by hunters who want to harvest a mature buck. Still, with careful planning and execution, it can be a game-changing strategy. Whether you choose to relocate or remain in your current position, understanding deer behavior during the rut and the best time for adjustments is crucial. Embrace the challenge and adapt your tactics to maximize your hunting experience during this exhilarating time of year.

3 Critical Factors To Remember When Hanging Treestands For Bowhunting

Bowhunting Hot Weather Bucks

October 6, 2023/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Heath Wood

With the first day of fall already passed, one often looks to cooler weather, pumpkins, and the changing colors of the leaves, not to mention cool sits in a tree stand while bowhunting.

I recently experienced unseasonable weather in my home state of Missouri; I woke every morning and immediately checked my hunting forecast on my Hunt Stand app. Sadly, the forecast eluded several days of temperatures in the mid-eighties to low nineties for a daily high. The truth is, during the early season, typically the last of September and into early October, the weather can still feel summer-like, no matter what season our calendar shows. Do not let the last hot days detour you from hunting; the bucks are still there.

A few years ago, I saw a mature buck regularly appear on my Stealth Cam Fusion cellular camera. Because his summer-like pattern was routine, I jumped at the chance to get in my tree stand when the wind direction was favorable, even with temperatures reaching nearly ninety degrees. To prevent bumping any deer out of the area, I was forced to get into my stand around 2:30 p.m., when the blistering sun was bearing directly down on me for the first couple of hours of being in my stand. When the sun finally made its way behind the tree line, my comfort level began to increase, and so did the deer movement. As planned, at 6:25 p.m., my hit list buck entered the field, then a short time later, presented me with a broadside shot at twenty-three yards. I made a successful shot on a mature, five-and-a-half-year-old buck. Although I had to do a speedy recovery and quick processing hours later due to the heat, I would do it again in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.

Early-season bowhunting can often present much warmer temperatures than desired for deer hunters. However, summer patterns and bucks not yet thinking of the rut can produce some of the most significant hunting days when pursuing a mature buck. The question it comes down to is, how bad do you want it?

In The Field Scent Control

Of course, when hunting in hot weather, you are going to sweat more often, and you are going to stink fast. That is if you ignore scent control.

A complete regimen of scent control that features washing clothes in Scent-A-Way Detergent, showering with Scent-A-Way Soap and Shampoo, and spraying all hunting gear and your body with Scent-A-Way Odor Eliminating Spray is vital. A must to keep human scent under control—staying scent-free in the field while hunting becomes the most fundamental part of staying invisible to a deer’s nose in hot weather. When hunting hot weather, I often carry my Scent-A-Way Spray so that I can randomly spray down while in the stand to help eliminate any odors that have been created while sweating—another fantastic product to use while on the stand is the Scent-A-Way Field Wipes. The wipes help eliminate human odor from exposed skin, and the wet wipes can feel refreshing and cooling when forced to hunt in unseasonable warm weather. Paying attention to wind directions and the extra details of staying scent-free can help keep you invisible to a buck, even when he is in close range.

Last Minute Success

Sitting in the stand until the last minutes of the day is typical for the best deer movement during an evening hunt. During my mentioned hunt, I was hunting from the Hawk 20’ Big Denali 1.5-Man SLS Ladderstand; because of the larger seat and the extra comfort when sitting for extended periods, I was at ease, even in the higher temperatures. Hunting from a more comfortable tree stand or an elevated blind can help tremendously when trying to sit restfully until that last light when deer movement is often at its peak.

There are many reasons why peak deer movement occurs at the last light during the early season and on hotter days. The first reason is that deer are still commonly in their summer feeding patterns at this time. They feed during the last hour of daylight, then continue moving throughout the night before returning to their bedding area early the following day. The second is the most obvious: it is too hot! Deer move during the last few minutes of the day because it is much more comfortable for them to do so.

A Drink In The Shade

We have learned when to hunt and how to stay scent-free when bow hunting in hot weather. Now, let’s discuss the best early-season setup.

To be in the best scenario to shoot a mature buck, staying cool and comfortable remains the most critical factor when it is hot. However, it isn’t just about the hunter’s comfort level when getting a big buck into archery range. Deer need to be cool and comfortable, too, and finding a spot where that is most likely to take place will provide the best shot opportunities.

The ideal hot weather hangouts for mature bucks will be in wooded, shady areas where temperatures feel a bit cooler than when out in direct sunlight. The most ideal locations are in the bottoms of a deep ridge or underneath the heavier canopy of trees. Another excellent stand location for early season and hot weather is near a water source. A stand set up near a pond, creek, or river will more than likely produce a lot of deer movement when hunting. A mature buck may steer away from specific food sources or other areas where deer sign has been found. Yet, water is a must for survival, making a water source stand setup one of the best early-season hunts available.

In conclusion, hot weather should not deter dedicated bowhunters from pursuing their passion for chasing mature whitetail bucks during the early season. By prioritizing scent control, staying in the field until the last moments of daylight, and strategically positioning yourself near cool and comfortable deer hangouts, you can increase your chances of success even when the mercury rises. Bowhunting in hot weather may come with challenges, but as my experience has shown, the rewards can be well worth the effort. So, don’t let the heat keep you out of the woods; embrace the opportunity and make the most of those early-season days. After all, the pursuit of the elusive mature buck keeps us coming back, regardless of the weather.

3 Critical Factors To Remember When Hanging Treestands For Bowhunting

August 4, 2023/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Heath Wood

You found a spot where deer signs and movement are ideal for hunting, but is your treestand in the right tree?

Many hunters spend the offseason studying their scouting apps, such as HuntStand, trying to narrow down the right spot to hang this year’s stands. After finding a good spot location, the fine-tuning efforts of scouting begin. Many hunters use their trail cameras, feed supplements, and spend a lot of time on foot, looking for the signs of where their next trophy buck is spending the most time.

As the season progresses, the number of deer signs, such as scrapes, rubs, and well-traveled trails, begin appearing, allowing hunters to gain more knowledge of where the best locations to get within bow range of a trophy buck could be. Hunters often find suitable locations yet never succeed because their stand is in the wrong tree. Many are guilty of finding a well-used scrape or high-traffic travel route and rush to place a stand in the nearest tree. When it is time to hunt, they sadly realize that they are not in the right spot due to many factors that could have been avoided if they had considered a few details of their stand placement.

Wind Direction

One of the number one mistakes many bow hunters make when hanging their treestands is wind direction. It is vital to consider if the wind direction will be in your favor, where deer will most likely enter and exit the area, what the thermals will be like on morning hunts versus evening hunts, and if there is any reason to cause deer to travel downwind of your stand location. All these factors should be considered before choosing the proper stand location.

Better understanding the most likely scenarios, including human scent being the primary concern, helps lower the chance that a deer will be spooked by the hunter and ruin their stand location during the middle of the season.

Enter And Exit Routes To Your Stand

Having the wrong entry and exit routes to and from your stand location can ruin a hunt quickly. As with wind direction details, many factors must be considered before you hang a treestand. Will your scent be blowing downwind of where deer are most likely staying? Are you crossing any travel routes or walking near scrapes or rubs? Having a deer smell you or where you have been before the hunt begins can devastate a hunter’s game plan.

Another critical factor, besides avoiding being smelled, is not being seen also. When walking to your stand, can deer see you? Are you silhouetted? Do deer avoid specific areas because they know you are headed there?

Once an excellent place to hunt has been secured and an excessive amount of deer signs has been found, the next step is to learn as much as possible about the surroundings and how every move the hunter makes before and after the hunt will affect the chances of success.

Are You Concealed After Getting In Your Stand

Sunlight and cover are some of the most critical factors in determining the proper time to be in the tree hunting. After determining where the wind directions will be and what side of the trail, deer sign, food source, or water you need to be on, next is determining if you have enough cover and where the sun will be hitting you at specific times of the day.

Nothing is worse than waiting for an hour or two after daylight, knowing that a deer will walk out at any moment when suddenly you realize that the sun is peaking through the timber and shining directly on your stand. If you make any sudden moves, a deer will most likely pick you out of the tree. Hence, add sun location to the list of factors before you hang your stand. For the best concealment, ideally, you want the sun at your back during the peak movement times. When the sun is behind you, a deer can look in your direction without having the ability to pick you out.

Sunlight can be critical to staying concealed while in the stand. It is vital to wear a complete setup of camouflage, including a facemask and gloves to hide all exposed skin. However, camouflage cannot work to its maximum potential without mother nature’s help. It is vital to have plenty of cover behind and around you, to prevent deer from seeing your movements. Remembering what your area will look like in different parts of the season is vital. Often, hunters assume their stand site is well concealed when they hang them in July or August while leaves are fully grown. Unfortunately, later in the fall, when leaves have changed colors or have begun to fall to the forest floor, the stand site is now left in the wide open. To prevent being seen later in the year, cut branches or use larger trees as a backdrop instead of only relying upon leaves for cover.

Bowhunting whitetail deer can be challenging. Getting within archery range of a mature buck can be even more complicated, which is why when hunters are talking about treestand placement, every scouting technique available should be done to ensure they are given the most significant chance at a shot when a buck finally comes through. If you thought setting a stand was as easy as finding deer and hanging the stand, sadly, you are mistaken. Instead, spend every effort determining proper wind direction, the course in which you go to and from your stand, and being hidden when you’re hunting, and your chances of success will flourish.

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3 Reasons To Keep Game Cameras Going After Season

January 24, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Hawk Treestands

Over the last few years, my end-of-the-year regimen has become routine. Once the hunting season has drawn to a close, like clockwork, I return to my hunting grounds to take down my Down & Out Warrior Blind and my Hawk hang-on and ladder stands to prevent any weathering or damage that could occur to the seats and straps.

It used to be typical after my stands and blinds had been removed for the season, to shift my focus to predator hunting and the upcoming spring turkey season. That is until I heard another hunter announce that his preparation for the next hunting season began the day after the current season ended, meaning that his work and preparation never stopped. Once I began putting more effort into the entire year, instead of waiting until mid to late summer before I started thinking about deer again, I found my success and overall knowledge of hunting improved.

When trying to manage land and a deer herd, there is always something to do. One could make habitat improvements, plant early-season food plots, and the list goes on. However, one task that has provided its fair share of benefits is keeping my game cameras running for several weeks after the season ends. Below are three reasons hunters should keep their cameras running after the season.

Post Season Inventory

One of the most significant reasons for keeping multiple game cameras in place post-deer season is to take inventory of the deer herd and record which bucks made it through the season. On several occasions, many of the bucks who left the area earlier in the year or were pressured out of the area during the peak of hunting season will return to the area to try to gain a few pounds to help them through the winter. I often begin my supplemental feeding efforts days after the season ends. After the feed has been placed, I set up my Wildgame Innovations Wraith 2.0 Camera a few feet away; then, I leave the area for several weeks before returning.

By obtaining an accurate count of what bucks survived the year, hunters can get a head start on their hitlist for the upcoming season. On multiple occasions, I have also had bucks that I had never encountered before showing up at the feed sites during this portion of the winter. When they decide to make an appearance, I make mental notes and focus my prep work on keeping the bucks I have and attracting neighboring deer for the upcoming year.

Shed Antlers

Hunters should keep cellular cameras to monitor when bucks begin shedding their antlers. When the hunting season is still in progress, many hunters have camera sites where most of the bucks spend time. Instead of taking these cameras down post-season, leave them up as these areas are ideal for a cellular camera, such as the Wildgame Innovations Encounter 2.0, due to bucks grouping back up.

When a cellular camera is in place, the hunter will have a more accurate time frame of when they need to start looking for sheds. By knowing precisely when bucks drop their antlers, hunters can avoid making multiple trips to search the ground when it may not be the right time. Fewer visits to the area can also have more bucks coming into the location because they are not being spooked by hunters who are stomping around the area in search of sheds. Instead, wait until pictures of bucks with no antlers show up, then begin the search. The chances of finding more antlers in one specific area will increase dramatically.

Monitor Feed And Minerals

One of my favorite post-season camera setups includes using my camera over an area where I have supplemental feed and minerals in the same picture frame.

With feed and minerals in place, I can accurately monitor what deer want and need. By having cellular cameras in place, I know when deer are low on feed and need more. The more critical factor is when suddenly, a week or two period will begin when most deer use the minerals. When this period occurs, I ensure I have multiple mineral sites for deer to consume.

This higher mineral consumption typically occurs during January or February and can be one of the most crucial times for bucks to ingest these much-needed minerals. Bucks consuming minerals during this period can vastly restore what their bodies lost during the rut and fall season, which can do wonders for them. The faster the recovery rate, the less stress on their bodies, which equals better antler growth the following year.

Treestand Safety Month | Hunting Your Stands This Year Safely and Successfully

October 3, 2019/0 Comments/in News /by Hawk Treestands

Treestand Safety 101: Tips to Hunt Treestands Successfully

Hunting out of treestands is one of the most popular ways to deer hunt across the U.S. There’s all kind of treestands, ranging from climbing stands to hang-on stands, and ladder stands of all sorts. The most important part of hunting from a treestand though is safety, above all else. The last thing you want to happen is to have an accident because of improper treestand use. Today, we’re going to talk a little bit about treestand safety, and the different safety precautions you can take to ensure a successful trip up a tree and back down every time.

Hanging Stands

Some of the most common ways to fall from a treestand are not while you’re hunting, but when you’re hanging a stand. Hanging stands can no doubt be more dangerous than hunting from them. When hanging treestands, a lot of time hunters are trying to do it quickly, and for various reasons, it can create opportunities to fall out of the tree if you aren’t using safety precautions. Whether you want to get in and out fast or are in a rush because you’ve got to hang multiple stands in a day, a lot of time you are trying to do it quick. A major tool you should be using is a safety harness and lineman’s belt. A lineman’s belt connects to your safety harness at your waist, goes around the tree and then connects to the other side of your waist. This allows you to lean back and use both hands while hanging your sticks and stand. You simply slide the lineman’s belt up the tree as you get higher, hang a set of sticks, slide it up the tree and repeat until you get to your stand. You never have to worry about holding on to the tree with one hand and doing the rest with the other. We’ve probably all been there, trying to prop up a stand against a branch or your leg or something else. Spend the small amount of money and make sure you have a good hunting safety harness and linemen’s belt, it can and will save you from falling while hanging a stand.

Hunting

Every time you hunt from a treestand, wearing a safety harness shouldn’t even be a question to you. There are so many great hunting safety harnesses out there now a days, and you can get light, comfortable ones that you barely notice. If you’re not wearing a safety harness every single time you get into a stand, you should change that right now.

And to take things to the next level, once you have a stand all set, there are products out there that allow you to be clipped in from the ground up. Hawk Treestand’s makes one of the best out there, the safety line. A safety line goes around the tree above where your stand is and has a thick rope that goes all the way to the ground and you tie it off at the base of the tree. It then has prussic knots where you clip in to. As you climb your stand, you slide up the prussic knot which you’re clipped in to, therefore keeping you attached at all times. Should you slip and fall climbing up the tree or into your stand, the prussic knot will cinch and keep you from falling to the ground. Once again, every stand that you have set and ready for the season would highly benefit from you having a safety line with each setup.

Treestand Safety Conclusion

At the end of the day, deer hunting is something that most of us love to do, and it’s fun for us. We should do everything we can in our power to make sure that when you head out for a hunt from a treestand, that you’ll return safe. People have become seriously injured or even worse because of an accident from a treestand. Taking the necessary steps to prevent this is crucial. Whether it be a safety harness, lineman’s belt, safety line, taking more time when hanging a stand, etc. there are multiple things you can do to ensure your safety when either hanging or hunting from a treestand. Deer hunting is awesome, and we want to be able to experience it for as long as possible. Don’t let an accident take that away from you.

The Advantages Of The Hawk Helium Kickback Tree Stand and Helium Climbing Sticks

June 25, 2019/0 Comments/in News /by Hawk Treestands

The Hawk Helium Kickback Tree Stand and Helium Climbing Sticks

Hunting season might seem like a long way off right now, but you know as well as we do that it will be here before we know it. That means it’s never too early to start planning your hunting strategies or tree stand locations. If you’re lucky enough to hunt private land where you can hang several tree stands ahead of time, you’re probably always on the lookout for new tree stands. The Helium™ Kickback tree stand by Hawk Tree Stands is a great hang on stand to add to your collection, and the associated Helium Climbing Sticks are top notch too. Check out the features and advantages of these two products and see how they could fit into your hunting season plans.

Why Try This Hang On Tree Stand and Sticks?

Although other types of tree stands work great for different scenarios, it’s tough to beat hang on stands when it comes to private property or mobile hunting. You can easily hang a few stands in different locations to allow for hunting in different conditions. For example, you could hang a tree stand on the east and west side of a pinch point to allow you to hunt regardless of the wind direction. Or if a certain location isn’t working out for you, it’s fairly easy to move them around to another site. The other advantage of using a hang on tree stand is that you can utilize large, twisted trees to hunt out of. Climbing tree stands are limited to straight, limbless trees, while ladder stands are restricted to a certain height and may not fit in a given tree very well. But gnarly, twisted oaks with lots of branches are no problem with hang on stands. You just have to navigate the climbing stick sections around the branches, and then you’re set. Check out the Helium Kickback tree stand and climbing sticks below for more information.

Helium Kickback Hang On Stand

The Hawk Helium Kickback stand is very solid, lightweight, and comfortable. It is made from durable aluminum to lighten the pack weight to only 10 pounds, yet it is extremely strong (able to support a load of 300 pounds). The platform is large enough to move about and the thick seat cushion is constructed of memory foam to ensure an enjoyable sit on any fall day. Teflon washers help remove any little squeaks between the pieces before they happen, keeping you undetected in the tree. Like the stacking Hawk Helium sticks discussed below, the Helium Kickback stand features Tree-Digger™ Teeth to anchor you in the tree so you can focus on hunting.

Advantages Over Other Tree Stands

Coming in at up to half the weight of other popular hang on stands, the Helium Kickback tree stand can really make a difference when hanging tree stands for mobile hunting or when you face an extra-long hike into a hunting spot.
Staying rock-solid is critical with climbing or hang on stands, and the aggressive teeth on this stand really sink in. By adding a simple strap around the stand and tree, you will stay securely anchored.
At some point, you’ve probably hunted in a squeaky tree stand and maybe even had it ruin a hunt for you. Teflon washers help this stand remain quiet when you shift your weight.

Helium Climbing Sticks

These climbing sticks (to accompany the Helium Kickback tree stand) offer a new level of quality than you’re probably used to with many other products. The Helium 3 Pack Climbing Sticks are constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum to make them super durable and each 30-inch section weighs only 2.9 pounds to make them extremely packable. The steps fold up and the stick sections quietly and securely nest together using Hawk’s new silent lock technology suction cups. They essentially lock together (via these suction cups) without even using any additional straps. But to further add to the stealth and make the setup in the field even easier, we have added a new versa button and silent strap setup to keep them secure and make setup on the tree a breeze. They are very sturdy on the tree too, using Tree-Digger™ Teeth to bite into the bark and stay there.

Advantages Over Other Climbing Sticks

At 2.9 pounds/section, the Hawk Helium climbing sticks weigh on the lower end of most of the market’s options. Yet they are still rated to hold up to 300 pounds.
The versa button and silent strap design allow you to quickly and quietly secure these climbing sticks to the tree without using a noisy ratchet strap.
The dual-sided steps allow more flexibility while climbing than many of the market’s every-other step design. Additionally, each step has rough grooves to improve traction, which is important for stability on rainy or cold days.

Planning Next Season

As you start to prepare for next season, here are some hunting tips to help you make the most of your new Helium Kickback tree stand and climbing sticks.

First, always bring (and use) a safety harness when you are hanging or hunting from a tree stand. There’s always an element of risk when you leave the ground, so don’t take any chances. Connect to the tree as you hang the climbing stick sections and especially when you get to the top to connect the platform itself.
Before you climb the tree, connect a rope from your belt line to each climbing stick section and your tree stand. That way, you won’t have to come down to get new sections each time – you can simply pull a new one up as you go.
As mentioned above, try to find a tree that is wide enough or has enough cover (e.g., branches, leaves, etc.) to hide your profile. For example, you can tuck hang on stands into some ancient oak trees to remain invisible to deer below you. Whereas you would stand out more if you were in a wide open aspen tree.

We think you’ll enjoy the Helium Kickback tree stand and climbing sticks. They have many advantages over other tree stand options, including being much lighter, very durable, and extremely silent. With any luck, they will help you get that much closer to a mature whitetail next fall!

Objectively Looking at Your Tree Stand Locations

May 30, 2019/0 Comments/in News /by Hawk Treestands

Unbiased Ways to Plan Your Tree Stand Locations

Luck certainly is a factor to successfully harvesting a mature whitetail year in and year out. You cannot control luck, but what you can control is the amount of preparation you put into each season. Preparation starts with planning and evaluating your tree stand locations.

Tree stand placement strategies need to be looked at each year objectively. Information obtained from last year and any data you can gather in the offseason should guide your decisions about setting up a deer stand for the upcoming season. No matter if you are choosing a tree stand spot for the first time or are considering moving an existing one, an unbiased approach to selecting and reviewing your tree stand locations will give you that much more of an edge.

Remove the Guesswork for Finding the Perfect Tree Stand Location

The perfect tree stand location rarely falls into your lap, especially on new ground. Hanging a tree stand on a completely new property or in an untouched area on public ground has its challenges. Many times hunters bias themselves by looking at obvious areas and following the crowd. The best stand locations, however, are found by examining areas and putting the information to work.

There are so many technologies available today to the hunter. For example, you can complete 80-90% of your planning and scout from your home computer. Start by using digital aerial photos and topographic maps to analyze a piece of ground. Many times this data is enough to discount many spots before even setting foot on the ground. Additionally, there are often free state-level resources such as habitat layers, parcel ownership, and land use history available. Information like this can paint a more granular picture of where exactly the best tree stand locations may be. Finally, the last piece of your research should entail historical weather analysis. Historical weather when you are considering potential tree stand placement spots provides an indication of wind direction trends. Sometimes this data can put a likely spot either in the yes or no bucket to start ground truthing.

Off-site information goes a long way but at some point, you have to physical investigate potential areas for hanging a tree stand. Even the best-researched spots from home can go bust when you actually go there. What you have actually gained, though, is you have eliminated hundreds of “good” areas before you spend days hiking around. This allows you to be objective when assessing stand sites for whitetails. From there it is as simple as getting on the ground and making sure what you judged is the perfect tree stand location actually holds up.

Tree Stand Locations and the Factors That Keep You Honest

When is the last time you took a comprehensive look at tree stand locations you have previously hunted? Each day in a tree stand is one more data point that can be used to evaluate whether or not you are dialed in on a high percentage deer stand location.

5 Factors For Unbiased Tree Stand Hunting

Weather – Most whitetail activity is dependent on weather. Foraging, bedding and general movements are in some way tied to the weather. Historical observations of deer movement in different stand locations can dictate future activity when you tie it to weather patterns. For example, wind speed and direction determine which tree stands are likely to produce on a given day and which ones are not worth your time sitting in.

Hunt Logs – Real observations over time are your best pieces of data. A tree stand location may have all the right attributes and look good but if you never see deer or the right deer from it, it is time to move on. Write down or use one of the many apps to track observations from each stand you hunt. You can document deer sightings, rut timing, and other accounts that can clue you in on how good a tree stand placement may be.

Trail Camera Data – Trail cameras are your 24/7 hunt logs. Having them deployed in your tree stand locations gives you data when you are not there. This can help you decided when and how to hunt an area. Trail camera images and videos give you the ability to predict, in conjunction with the weather, what stand makes sense to hunt particularly if you are tracking individual bucks.

Past Success – Similar to hunt logs and trail camera data, past success of seeing deer and harvesting bucks are good ways to objectively assess your tree stands. If you have had no success day after day in a stand, it may be time to move or change up to a new location.

Seasonal Site Conditions – Each year is different. Another piece to the puzzle is current year deer sign and food availability. It changes yearly in an area and how it changes can be a major factor in if a stand produces or not. Investigate what deer sign you are seeing at each stand locations. Past success is something to consider but if this year’s mast crop is poor or agricultural crops have changed, deer will modify their patterns. Fresh scat, well-used trails and rut activity like scrapes and rubs are all signs deer are still using areas. Use this information in conjunction with other pieces of intel to hunt the right tree stands.

Stop Making Knee Jerk Mid-season Moves

Putting in the right preparation can be key from making off the cuff changes to stand locations mid-season. There are, however, times when even the best stand locations require a change.

Similar to setting up a deer stand on a new property or analyzing yearly hunting spots, the same methodology has to be implemented during the season. For example, rut activity is picking up nearby and deer patterns are changing related to it. Here you are wise to have a good hang on tree stand or climber to make quick changes day to day. Also, trail camera scouting can help with determining exactly when to make these changes.

In addition, tree stand placement during the rut is one of the hardest times to objectively consider where to put or move stands. Deer patterns during the rut season can be all over the place. Staying put in a tree stand all day is not always the answer no matter how much preparation you have put in. Hunt the moment and use available field information from fresh sign to actual observations to objectively positioning your stands.

Planning next year’s tree stand locations can be accomplished one of two ways. Either you put them back up in the same spot you hunted last year or you refocus your attention and objectively put the odds in your favor. The best stand locations do not happen by chance. Prepare and be unbiased with each tree stand placement.