Hang-and-Hunt Morning Setups on Public Land

[jj554]

I've been hunting mobile on public land where I have small pre-scouted areas in mind to hunt and, in some cases, specific trees to set up in. It's been a challenge trying to set up early in the morning in the dark without having the trees marked with reflectors even when the terrain is well known. I end up stumbling around and making too much noise because the terrain is pretty thick with undergrowth. If I had thought of bringing reflective tacks with me throughout the year, I could have marked trees but that also shows anyone walking through with a flashlight where you are hunting.

How do you guys hang and hunt morning set ups on familiar public land. And for less familiar land where it would be very difficult navigating in the dark, how would you hunt mornings?

 

[ILHunter2022]

This is part of the reason I prefer to go in afternoons if I have an option to do so. I struggle with this also. When I'm heading into a new area, that is.

If you are going to be hunting the area enough, eventually you get used to the spot. But if I'm heading into a new area, I almost always try to go in during the daylight before hand, find a spot, and find landmarks that I can use to help identify it again in the dark.

 

[GA284]

I use a gps along with a few brite eye tacks. I walk a good distance from where I park to most of my hunting spots. Once I get used to a new spot I will remove my tacks. It still amazes me how different a spot looks in the dark !lol

 

[Yoder]

I usually just use my onx way points to find my tree or at least get close. I setup yesterday morning right on the deer trail. I wanted to be 15-20 yards from it, so it's not perfect. I think the best bet is to just mark your tree with tacks. If it's super thick and only one way in, I would start using tacks when I got to that spot, not the entirely way in.

 

[Gthar7]

Onx waypoints help a lot

 

[Macintosh]

Will never be easy all the time. Gps waypoint helps a ton. I hate reflective tacks and surveyors tape, to me its litter and spoils the area for others (very happy to see people pulling these down when done^^!!) so I try to avoid that if I can. I have a few trees I have “marked” because its tough to locate the exact one in the dark. I’ll always pull down after season, but a couple ideas:
-natural colored p-cord tied around trunk—invisible to others, but once at a waypoint it positively id’s the tree if you know to look for it.
-reflective tack at tree-stand height angled straight down at the ground, so its mostly only visible when viewed from directly below looking up.
—my favorite is I will sometimes lean a fallen branch against the tree or hang it from a low branch. Totally natural, no one else ever notices, but I can usually use it to identify it in the dark. I also do this on random stands I find in the woods that have clearly been there for a long time, if I walk by and my hanging branch that I put in the ladder/steps has been removed it generally means someone is actually using the stand.

 

[Long Cut]

Bright headlamp and flashlight are a must. The lights don’t spook deer, I’ve walked up on dozens with a bright LED shined in their face.
Get in early, let the woods settle down and you can have success on AM hunts.

 

[Bigboone1988]

Onx waypoints and tacks on trees. Very hard to find the tree you want in the dark unless it’s easy to identify

 

[Wannabebowhuntr]

I don’t hunt a brand new spot in the morning for that reason, gonna do more damage than good I think. I try to hunt it in the afternoon the first time or get in sometime to scout and drop a pin where you want to sit. Still don’t kill anything so maybe it doesn’t matter haha

 

[LostArra]

Bright headlamp and flashlight are a must. The lights don’t spook deer, I’ve walked up on dozens with a bright LED shined in their face.
Get in early, let the woods settle down and you can have success on AM hunts.

I wish this was universally true.

 

[jj554]

Onx waypoints and tacks on trees. Very hard to find the tree you want in the dark unless it’s easy to identify

Will never be easy all the time. Gps waypoint helps a ton. I hate reflective tacks and surveyors tape, to me its litter and spoils the area for others (very happy to see people pulling these down when done^^!!) so I try to avoid that if I can. I have a few trees I have “marked” because its tough to locate the exact one in the dark. I’ll always pull down after season, but a couple ideas:
-natural colored p-cord tied around trunk—invisible to others, but once at a waypoint it positively id’s the tree if you know to look for it.
-reflective tack at tree-stand height angled straight down at the ground, so its mostly only visible when viewed from directly below looking up.
—my favorite is I will sometimes lean a fallen branch against the tree or hang it from a low branch. Totally natural, no one else ever notices, but I can usually use it to identify it in the dark. I also do this on random stands I find in the woods that have clearly been there for a long time, if I walk by and my hanging branch that I put in the ladder/steps has been removed it generally means someone is actually using the stand.

Good ideas. Marking the underside of branches at treestand height sounds like a good option. I feel the same way about the orange tape tied every 15 feet like some hunters use but I figure they are probably older guys who might not know about tools like onX so I leave them alone in season, lol.

 

[bigbassin]

I always just walk confidently to the spot and setup in my tree with no hesitation.

Then the sun comes up and I see my tree 75’ away.

 

[JCMCUBIC]

onX is very helpful.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

OnX for me. Drop a pin, label it based on tree type. Particularly if there's any forks in the tree. You can also take a picture and add that to your pin label.

Head lamp and that are really all you need.

 

[Rich M]

My old man taught me how to find my way back to stands and such in the dark. Guy i hunt with thinks i can see in the dark. He uses gps…

 

[hunterdanman]

If you have a mapping/gps service that you can add pictures into a waypoint take a pic of the tree pointing at it from a short distance away from the direction you will approach from. Usually the pin will get you within 10 yards and the pic will confirm the specific tree if you are still unsure.

For places you have never been I just guess based on maps andy knowledge of what the terrain/ vegetation is like and use a bright flashlight when I get where I'm going to make sure I'm not setting up where there's no shooting lanes, or a better tree is just ahead.