When is the best time to hang a Tree Stand?

An often asked question is when is the best time to hang a tree stand for whitetail hunting? 

The best time I have found is late July early August in the mid afternoon or late morning when they are bedded down.by doing it at this time of day you give the area and the deer time to relax if they get rattled as your walking in to complete your current project. When it gets to the awesome wonderful day some call opening day your smell and any other smell will be long gone before you get set up to harvest that trophy you been stalking since spring. While there take notes check out aerial maps and windage(this will be very important come hunting season). Make sure your stand is facing accordingly. One of the best tools I use is what I call an entrance strategy....... which simply means look for a easier and quieter back door to get to your stand with out the slightest detection. Also remember this will be your entrance and exit during the season.

The day that you set a side to hang your stand(s) make sure you have a plan. I heard an old timer tell me once "plan your hunt and hunt your plan" make sure your prepared which means having a survival kit and all the tools necessary and ready a head of time. here are a few ideas of tools you might need...Saw, rope, windage tool, rake, range finder(optional), bow hanger(unless your on public land), water.Completely check all your equipment( bolts, screws, ropes, straps, seats, ladder joints etc). It would be a bad idea to just hang it with out going over your equipment with a safety check. make sure that you hang everything that you will need hung that day because you don't want to continue to go in and out of the area more than you have to. You really shouldn't go back in there unless your checking game cameras or hunting on opening day."To much smell in the woods makes the hunt no good" The last but most important tip I can give you is that you WEAR YOUR SAFETY HARNESS WHEN HANGING YOUR STAND AND WHEN YOU HUNT!!!!!! 

We want you to have a safe and successful hunt regardless of when you hang your stands in July or August. Be safe Good Hunting and God Bless!!!!!

 Written by David L. March sr.
Photos curtisy of 3LM Productions

My first time in a tree stand----Taelour's tell

My first time in a tree stand 

  This was my first actual time hunting in a tree stand, Although it wasn't a long time in the stand it still was a great experiance. I plan on doing a lot more of that this coming season. I thought it was going to be scary, and that I was going to fall out of the stand, but it was really fun and I want to do it again. I am going to rewind a bit now to the start of the day to when I was in the ground blind about a half hour before I went to meet up with my dad David March. I was in an open field on a well used trail by my self in an Ameristep Blind trying it out, and my dad had just poured some Shake N Bait out about twenty yards from where I was. Twenty minutes has past and I was beginning to get cold and when I was about to give up on this area I heard some ratteling and moving going on behind me, so as I went to grab my bow the noises stoped and was gone. I was starting to get mad and frustrated but I didn't let that stop me from having a great time hunting in the woods in my first set up by myself. For the first time I was hunting with out my dad sitting close by( thank God for cell phones).

 so about ten minutes went by of me waiting and calling and nothing happend so I texted my dad and said I'm done and its cold so I'm about to pack up and come towards you, so I got everything packed up and ready to go. As I was walking down the trail and I heard something take off as if I had startled it and it ran away, so I kept walking and as I came around this corner two guys was walking along side each other talking loudly and I said to my self "there goes my chances of getting one today" i could hear my dad say" That's public land hunting for ya". So when I finally got to my dads stand he whisperd down to me " you almost just got shot, I thought you where a deer coming this way" he was joking of coarse. As he got down he said " get in and start climbing"; dad likes the hands on teaching methods. Of coarse he let me use his harness with some adjusting. I was happy and scared at the same time. Now I bring you back to where we first started. As I was climbing up I noticed I was very high so it seemed (15ft) according to my dad. So I locked the stand into the tree and turned and sat down and waited, the air was a little more colder in the stand than in the ground blind While in the stand a couple of times I thought I was going to fall because I was shaking so much. Even though I was nervous I learned alot in my time in the woods, and there is still so much to learn. I learn so much when ever I'm out with my dad. Rather it be survival things in the woods or everyday moral and ethicle things. As a female hunter I encourage fathers to spend time with there daughters rather hunting, fishing, walking anything like that. The outdoors are a great place to explore and connect. Not just for fathers and daughters but families all together. My dad is a serious advocate for the outdoors and involving friends and family in the outdoors. I for one am glad he shares his passion with me and others. My sister and brother have been apart of the outdoors in so many ways and have learned the benifits both food and morally of being in the outdoors. In the words of my dad " Being in the outdoors always brings you closer to God",

I look forward to this up coming hunting season. There will be a lot of time in the blind and in a tree stand. I wonder if Gorilla makes a pink Mossy Oak camo climber?

Journal entry for Jay Alspaugh first year bow hunter Pt.2

Journal entry for Jay Alspaugh first year bow hunter

  I did the next best thing, sent a broadhead into my target bag. I then found out that my target was stuffed with strips of cloth. I then found out I had to get some new parts for the mechanical broadhead. It was a learning experience for me and now I know the size of the hole it will make. I felt like I was ready to go hunting, I had the practice and the equipment. I went a few times early in the season I would ask others the most important question, “How do you know when the rut is in full swing”? The short of the long answer is when you cover yourself in doe urine and a randy buck sniffs you out. That will be my response to anyone who might ask me the same question. Then of course you have to get out into the woods as many times as you can, covered in doe “scent” to figure out for yourself if the rut is now. As a gun hunter we would use cover scent and be as quiet as possible in the woods. With the rut, you are out there smashing antlers together and buzzing a grunt call. Completely different landscape then gun week. I liked the potential interaction and not just sitting still moving only my eyes left to right. After a few weeks and seeing a few deer and taking one shot at doe I probably learned more in those weeks then I will over the next couple of years. The big take away for me that when I was practicing for months in the summer not one time did I shoot with my gloves on or any of my other hunting gear. See the two pictures, I am man enough to admit my mistakes.
Now I am out at the practice range wearing what I think I will have on out in the woods. The bow is not your only piece of equipment you need to work with, you clothing, boots, gloves, hats, bags and knife are all essential components. You need to know how things work and work together in the environment. The 2014-15 hunting season I was extremely blessed with mentors and friends that provided patient guidance and loving correction. I was able to harvest my first buck with a bow in early November. I think my family, friends and mentors were just as excited as I was! I am looking forward to the 2015-16 hunt. This buck put about 60lbs of free range meat in my family’s freezer. My family enjoyed the “wild” meat.

Journal entry for Jay Alspaugh first year bow hunter Pt. 1

Journal entry for Jay Alspaugh first year bow hunter Pt. 1

  I started bow hunting deer in May of 2014. I started in May because I had never owned, shot or even
held a compound bow prior to May 2014. Knowing that to use any tool required dedicated time to learn the proper technique and function. I had to start way before I even set foot into the woods. My primary reason for getting into bow was to simply expand the hunting season. Allowing only a few days in the late fall for gun season when the weather can be just about anything is frustrating to the “hunter” in me. I spent too many days, weeks and years with the Ohio fall rain/sleet/snow and yes hail. A change is what I needed, my change was to find days where the deer are actually out and about. What does any guy do when he needs a change? Easy, start complaining to other guys! If
you hadn’t figured it out yet, men are problem solvers. So the first response to my complaint was a solution. So I had to complain to a lot guys and I received several solutions. From hunt out west go
for the mule deer to since you are cold and wet anyway just duck hunt. To the duck hunters out there you guys are my hero! However many of the guys in my circle of influence recommended
bow hunting. The common response was you get a longer season, the weather is better and there is the rut. Now, if you only did gun week in Ohio you completely missed the rut. Let me tell you
when the rut is on the deer are stupid. Those guys only have one thing on the brain. I am getting ahead of myself here. I will go back to my sphere of influence, I needed a mentor now that I have decided; yes I am going to bow hunt. I met with David March a few times, he went over the language of bow hunting and helped me get started. David was kind enough to go shopping with me. The shopping was for a hunting bow, so it was cool. Anytime guys go shopping together it should be for weapons, food or transportation. Anything other than the approved three items is out of bounds. So armed with a mentor I purchased my first bow. A Fuel by Bowtech, the guys at the store measured my arms span and setup the bow with all of the necessary adjustments and all of the trimmings. Here is a picture of me on a sunny day in the late fall with my bow. Now in my book this kind of day is way better then breaking the ice of my jacket during gun week. Which I did two days later. So now that I have a bow and everything I need to send an arrow down range I needed to practice and a place to practice. This where things get really personal. Normally I go to the range and do my gun target and practice shooting. As a natural problem solver, I am going to build a range in my backyard. I thought this was a great idea, my wife on the other hand thought this was a crazy idea. She was not sure that putting an archery range out back was the best solution. I assured her that the backstop would stop any arrows and that I would be safe. Now that I have a range to practice on, I needed to come up with various distances to shoot from. My mentor and friend Mr. March said he shoots up to 75 yards. I know my limits and being new to the sport and a lack of space I setup 60, 40 and 30 yard distance markers. My daily goal was shoot 60 arrows a day 20 from each distance. That was fun! I enjoyed the time in my backyard range, my kids would come out and join me. It was a great summer, I was learning some new skills and getting fresh air at the same time. As a side note, I have not lost any arrows in the 14 months that I have been a responsible bow owner. I would like to think it is because I have incredible aim, but really I think it is due to Mr. March getting me started in the right direction. The summer went by and I had to get geared up for the up and coming deer season. Again, back to my friends with the question, “what kind of broadhead do you use”? This is like asking what is your favorite color or ice cream. So many options, I was lost in the sea of broadheads. I decided the mechanical broadhead appealed to me. Because they look dangerous and cool all at the same time!
Even the name evokes fear and power at the same time and they come with “diamond sharp tip technology”. What is not to love about these?! The previous statement is only my opinion and not to be construed that these are the only broadheads to fit your needs. As a bonus the pack included a practice tip. Up until this point I had only been using the 100 grain field tips. A whole new world was opened to me. I wondered just how big of a hole something like this would make in a deer. My target bag did a nice job of stopping the field tip arrows and the bag was only for
field tips. I didn’t have a “broadhead’ target, I didn’t want to go buy one.

Hunting Season Preparations

While many of us have different rituals and preparations for the coming hunting season I've found these following steps to be very helpful. Although not a self proclaimed know
it all in hunting world. I have done these things for years and it has brought me success. I trust in old school ways and have put my own twist on them. Grand father told me " if you find something that works stick with it... if it ain't broke don't fix it" here are some simple things that I have found to be true and worked for me.

If you shot archery
1) Practice Practice Practice. Find different ways and positions to shoot from. I stand, sit, kneel, crouch and if you have enough room or in an adequate space shoot from your blind. Come up with different scenarios in your mind that happened the season before that could improve your accuracy the up coming season.

2)Heart rate and Breathing control..... Try running if your able to about 20-40 yrds (or at least till the heart is pumping)  then back to the bow stand grab your bow draw then fire. What this does is when your adrenaline is pumping from that giant buck walking into the kill zone you will be able to control your breathing and the obvious shaking from the nerves being stimulated. Do this as much as possible. Remember practice makes perfect.


3) Let's talk cover scent  ........... I try my best to air my clothes out at least once a month. Because although you might have the high dollar scent bag or totes some way some how the smell through out the summer from heat and the humidity gets in there. So what I do is air them out pop them back in the #VacSeal bags with a fresh dirt scent dryer sheet. Then by the time hunting season comes along your clothes and gear are ready to get out there with you on opening day.

4) How about your Health... During the off season one thing I try to do is walk/hike as much as possible. Closer to season i try to put the exact weight of what i usally carry in my back pack. Then as we get closer to season like around end of August I hike with my climber not a long way just enough to exercise and stay comfortable with the weight I carry into the woods. Which brings me to my next point....

5) What goes into your back pack. In my back pack I usally carry a little Bible( there is no other place better to read your word than 20' up a tree.... 20' closer to God) I also make sure i have a first aid kit. Now most people might say this is over kill but I like to bring along a few tools that I might need for a quick bow repair. However i would rather have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. I alos like to have a little bit of candy( halls, jolly ranchers etc). one of the most important things you can have is a Pee bottle. if you drank coffe that morning or water eventually it's gotta come out. Speaking of water I always ALWAYS have two bottles of water. 1 bottle for drinling and the other bottle for rinsing hands, knives and even after you fielddress your harvest. Which brings me to the next item GEAR. In my pack I bring not 1 but 3 knives including the one I use to fielddress my harvest, The other two are just incase knives(protection, cut rope or what ever) again rather have it and not need it than to have it and not need it. I also pack a lighter, compass, whistle and a reflective item( mirror or polished aluminum) anything for survival. I always make sure my cell phone has a full charge on it. I also carry my side arm( Ruger 9mm). Last but not least I make sure my hunting license and tags are up to date and in a water proof package.

Now this is just my opinion of what to do to prepare for the hunting season. My list continues but I picked out some key elements that would be a great starter for you. One thing that is very important is to create yourself a check list and keep refining that list. If these ideas here seems like something that could help you in your preparation for a succesful hunting season  GREAT. However if not please remember one thing " I would rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it"
Good luck and God Bless. If you have any questions feel free to comment. Also check out our Youtube channel March's Outdoor Adventures and also our website Click here

Hunting Clothing and Gear Needed

Please share!!!!!!!!

We really need more women's and kids(teen) sizes

If you have any un-wanted hunting clothes or just some sitting around taking up space let us know and we will take them off your hand. This is all to help get women, children or military vet ready for the up coming season. For more details Contact David March or Jason Veselica or message us at marchsoutdoor@yahoo.com. Check out this video here for more info

Special People in our lives

Light Reading With Terri Kovalcik, Junior Hunters: http://youtu.be/C7KovTdtrbw This is a great Vlog by our friend Terry. Not because she mentions us in the vlog but because the information she has is really informative and helpful. Please take a look and comment on this post as well as the video. Thank you and God Bless.

MOA Promo

2014 Deer and Turkey Expo

Check out our website

We have finally updated our website. There you can find our DVD season 1 and various game calls we support. Take time to read through the rest of the blogs we have posted. We are also starting our annual hunting clothes drive. If you have gently used and unwanted hunting clothes or boots that are in the way we will take them. All clothes received will go towards a new hunter and or military vet that are wanting to go hunting this upcoming season. Any size, any camo pattern will do. Thank you in advance for your help whether you shared the post or donated. Remember....... If you take a kid fishing or hunting you never have to hunt or fish for them in the streets. You can find out more about Team MOA and March's Outdoor Adventures by clicking the link below.

marchsoutdoor.webstarts.com