Placement, wind, strategies: What to consider when it's time to work on deer stands

As the dog days of summer near their end in August, a sense of urgency, along with the cooler evenings, settle down on this archer. Better get those tree stands ready because the bow season for whitetails in NY and Pa. is just a few weeks and a month away.

If we wait too late, and work on our stands those few days before the season, we risk alerting Mr. Whitetail.

But if we can find some time now to start, well ahead of the season opener, our scent and changes to the woods will dissipate and the local deer will calm down from the disturbance.

When choosing a tree for a treestand, one that has a multiple, even a triple or quadruple trunk, is ideal.

In contrast, tree stands that are put up on lone pole trees may seem all right during the first week or so of the archery season, but as leaves fall in early October, the bow hunter sticks out like a road sign.

Tree stands, whether portables or ladder stands, if possible should be tucked into a split trunk, at least a tree with one, two, three or four trunks or big limbs.

These trees work best for a number of reasons: the hunter's silhouette is broken, hangers (for gear) are in easy reach for bow and accessories, and maybe as important as the others, that overall feeling of comfort and confidence can't be denied when compared to a single trunk tree.

When I set a metal portable stand in place and then pull myself up in it for the first time, feeling the sway of the tree, that familiar sensation portends the excitement to come.

"Ground seems a long way down," I think to myself as I look through the wire floor of the two-foot by two-foot folding platform. (Using a nylon safety harness always gives an extra feeling of support and confidence, too.)

Nice.

Sturdy, doesn't wobble.

Has good, natural shooting lanes.

Some need to be trimmed a bit.

Covers the main trail across the ridge at a decent distance.

Not too close but not too far, either.

Those 20-yard shots are ideal.

But before we go wild with pruners and saws, we should take a bit of time and study the winds and consider their swirling patterns.

The realization might sink in that this stand is actually in the wrong location and could be all for naught.

Don't fall into the lazy man's trap and say, "Darn it. What a waste of time. Oh, well, too late to do anything about it, now. Good enough."

Even if we run out of time that day ... the following week should find us back up on top of that ridge, pulling the stand and moving it 20 yards to the other side of the trail so that the prevailing breeze (say, from the southwest) would be in our faces, actually hitting deer on the trail first.

Sure, experienced bow hunters know that either stand could produce deer sightings, but one of the key placement factors, if not the most important, depends on the prevailing winds and thermals. And deer hunting is partly a game of playing those percentages.

Here, our deer are truly wild.

Hard-hunted bucks and old doe remember this game quickly.

Correct placement of a tree stand is crucial.

Mostly our winds tend to prevail from the southwest.

As the days shorten and cold fronts begin to move in from the northwest, our stand selection should factor in that change in wind direction.

And every once in a while, but rarely, a Nor’easter or a storm on the Atlantic will churn in winds from the east.

And finally we need to factor in the complication of thermals, or the normal upslope flow of air in the morning and resultant downslope flow of the air in the evening as the valleys and hollows cool down with sundown.

After a stand is hung, the work is still not finished.

Next comes the pruning of tree limbs for shooting lanes.

Prune the twigs so that a deer coming in has some cover but at the optimal range (20 yards). Make sure there are still clear openings to shoot through, at ideally 270 degrees in and around in front.

A wide clear space in front of a stand is not a good thing, despite what you see on TV or hunting videos.

Shooting corridors, openings between trees and brush that allow an arrow to fly unimpeded, is best. And when a deer walks past, its head is behind a tree or brush, allowing us a better chance to come to full draw, undetected.

Many deer have spooked when a hunter drew back his bow after clearing out too much cover. (Voice of experience here.) What was considered obstructing brush in September was that foliage cover needed for a smooth and undetected draw in November.

And a couple hints about trimming out a stand: Make sure any saplings cut are cut at ground level and best if covered with leaves, dirt or logs. Drag the downed sapling and limbs away. To the side of the trails. Just good aesthetics to keep the area looking as pristine as possible.

Back up in the stand, imagine which direction the deer will be moving, imagine the shot. Fold the seat down and see where is best to hang the bow, so when the deer is coming, there will be a minimum of movement and a minimum of noise from fletching (or vanes).

Practice picking up the imaginary bow, moving slowly and quietly and economically.

But sometimes, no matter how much we plan, figure, and dream, our stands still are not in exactly the right place, or perfectly set on the tree.

Tree stands need to be fine-tuned each year not only for proper placement, but also for safety.

And that only comes with time spent in the stand. Just like our hunting skills, our stands are always a work-in-progress.

Oak Duke writes a weekly column appearing Sunday on the Outdoors page of The Spectator.

This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: It's time to work on deer tree stands