(Don’t Be!) Barkin’ up the Wrong Tree

Once you find the spot, there’s a lot to consider when picking out a specific tree for your set up. 

By Pat Kolbe, Buck Fever Outdoors

To me, the process of scouting and hanging treestands is almost as enjoyable as hunting itself. There is great satisfaction and excitement in figuring an area out and determining that this is ‘the spot’ where a treestand should be placed for the upcoming season. However, once you figure out a spot, you’ve only completed half the battle. Now you need to select a tree that is going to give you the best possible opportunity for success when that buck of your dreams walks in. There’s a lot to consider - and oftentimes things can easily be overlooked. Here’s a list of things you should be checking off in your head when selecting that perfect tree for your spot. 

Entry & Exit Routes

Quite possibly the number one consideration that must be taken into consideration when choosing a stand site is asking yourself the question of can I get in and how can I get out without letting deer know of my presence. I find high value in good entry and exit routes all season long, but even more so during the early parts of the season. If deer can see you walk in during the early part of the season - you can forget about them coming past your stand that evening. And if you spook a whole bunch of them exiting your set, you can forget about those deer being on the same pattern tomorrow. During the rut you may be able to get away with a little more because of the randomness - but it's still good practice to keep careful thought of how you are getting in and out of your sets. 

Predominant Wind Directions

This is one of the top considerations and factors that go into selecting a tree to hang a stand on for me. Where we hunt in the upper midwest we get predominant Northwest (cold front) or Southwest (warm front) winds in the fall. A vast majority of our sets are hung with this in mind. Set up on the downwind sides of whatever it is that makes that spot, the spot (rub cluster, scrape, trail crossing, terrain feature). This might mean sacrificing something like comfort, height or cover for the tree that you can get in – but there’s one sure way to blow the spot before you ever have a chance and that is for deer to smell you before they ever reach the spot you can shoot em!

Thermals

Depending on if you are hunting in hilly terrain, and really in any scenario with even slight dips in elevation, you’ll have to consider thermals (shifts in air current). Thermals can be quite the in-depth topic, but generally, the warming sun means rising thermals in the morning and the setting sun and cooling temperatures mean falling thermals in the evenings. Falling thermals move very much like water would through your terrain and will suck down to the lowest spot. You need to evaluate each area where you expect deer to come from or what trails they could be using and how thermals could impact where your scent stream comes in contact with those trails. Whether you plan to hunt that stand in the morning, evenings, or both, may determine whether your stand needs to be hung above or below those trails.

Too Much or Too Little Cover

A great spot doesn’t do you much good in either of these scenarios. Too much cover can completely limit your ability to see deer approaching - leaving you scrambling to grab your bow and get off a shot when a deer is now well within range. It also can limit your shooting lanes and deny you the ability to execute a shot as the buck of your dreams walks right on by. Too little cover is obvious, but I’ve come across far too many stands on public land where I’ve questioned ‘how in the world will this guy ever get a shot off in that set-up’. If you stand out like a sore-thumb while hanging your sets in summer - just think of what you’ll look like with all the leaves off come November. 

No Back Cover - Being Skylighted

A lot of people consider cover between the deer and the treestand, but one of the overlooked aspects of cover is your back cover and whether or not you are skylit against the background of the sky. Not having any back cover can really amplify any movement you make while in the tree - such as reaching out to grab your bow or standing up. We’ll work hard to select trees with solid back cover or create it ourselves by rigging branches up in those open cover spots.

Tree is Too Big or Too Small

Finding a big tree to hang a stand from might seem like a good idea because the size of the trunk helps you blend in while standing on your platform, but these trees should be avoided because they pose a safety hazard. Being unable to reach around the tree or having to use multiple ratchet straps to get around the circumference of the trunk can be dangerous. Same goes with hanging the sticks to get up to stand height. We’ve also made some mistakes in the past hanging stangs on trees with small trunks. It can be hard to get away with any movement, more or less going from a seated to a standing position without having that tree shake, sway or move. That’ll catch a deer’s eye quickly and you’ll be watching them run away instead of knocking your arrow. 

Slippery or Scaly Bark

Sometimes the bark of a tree can pose problems. Slippery or tight bark with deep ridges can cause stands to slip or limit the stands teeth from digging into a secure position. Scaly bark, such as that on Shagbark Hickory can be loud and noisy, or even prevent you from getting a completely secure tightening job with your ratchet strap. Avoid these types of trees if you can. 

Too Close or Too Far from Heavy Trails

Setting up in a tree too close to a heavily used deer trail provides a couple of problems. For one, if multiple deer are traveling on that trail, it's just that many more deer that are in very close proximity that could potentially see or smell you and blow up the situation. Second, it creates very steep shot angles that can be difficult to execute and get the arrow placement you’d like. Set up too far away and experience the obvious issues: deer that pass by too far away aren’t going home with you to the freezer.

Ash Trees or Dead/Damaged Limbs

It’s an unfortunate reality, but in areas where the Emerald Ash Borer has taken hold, the Ash trees in your forest need to be monitored for safety if they are suitable for a treestand. The dying trees can change quickly and you need to be monitoring those trees closely. In recent years, we have had to move some of our best sets out of Ash trees because the trees are dead and the dangers of dead branches overhead or worse, the entire tree falling in a storm, is not worth the risk. In fact, any tree that has dead or damaged limbs that would be hanging above the height of the treestand aren’t worth risking. Find another tree in the area.