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How early do you hang your stands?

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How early do you hang your stands?

Postby wawhitey » 03 05, 2017 •  [Post 1]

Ill be treestand hunting starting sept 1st. Should i wait until mid summer to hang my stand for any reason? Or could i hang it in late april when i go in to put new batteries in my cams? Will spring rains make it squeaky and rusty? Will bears chew up my seat the same way they mess with my cams, just cause theyre jerks? Im not worried about theft where ill be hanging the stands, so lets leave that out of the equation. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but treestands are a new thing for me.
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Re: How early do you hang your stands?

Postby Swede » 03 05, 2017 •  [Post 2]

Fabric is susceptible to sun damage over time. The seat can be recovered or replaced on most stands. The strap should be replaced every few years if left out for long on stands with a fabric strap. I set up my stands four to five days before the season starts, but have set them up and set there as soon as I finished. I try to be quiet and not disturb things as much as possible. It is impossible to not make some metallic sounds, but I try.
I would say it is fine to set up in April, but not important to. I don't know if it will cause it to be noise prone. I know guys that leave theirs out year round. The Forest Service gets complaints about them and may take them down. If they leave a note saying they picked yours up, don't ask for it back. You will be ticketed and will not get the stand as they are holding it in their evidence locker.
Those stands get creaks and squeak over time, and need to be taken down and cleaned up, but they aren't. I set my stand in a nearby tree and ignore the old one. The owner of that stand and I work together on setting that water hole.
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Re: How early do you hang your stands?

Postby stringunner » 03 05, 2017 •  [Post 3]

If the stands are hung and attached to the tree with ratchet straps, I would not leave those out, maybe hang in july at the earliest. I have used stands like that and those ratchet straps are prone to sun wear and squirrels and I wouldn't trust them. Also I have had some that have gotten squeaky as well. I now have Mil. M100's with chain brackets. I will start hanging those chain brackets in July at spots I know I want to sit. In July I also prep trees and areas. I will hang the stands when I go to hunt then opening weekend.
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