xop hang on stand mobile set up in dark

[Aaronmach1]

Going to try my first mobile set up this year. Have always hunted the same fixed positions stands for the last 15 years or more. Just got an XOP air raid stand and 4 of their climbing sticks plus the stand quick connect. I wonder how do you guys get in and set up in the dark? I have cleared one tree and set it up ahead of time but wasnt sure the best way for set up in the dark. Thinking of trying a red headlamp.

[Scratchman]

I think you will find that many here try to not set up in the dark. Grey light seems to sometimes be preferred. When I set up in the dark I usually have a pre-prepped tree and use a red headlamp or not light at all. You can pick a tree in the dark, but in my experience sometimes you might find yourself 20 feet up a dead ash tree.........

[justdirtyfun]

The best way to know how is to do it.

Find out for yourself what is easy and what is hard IN ADVANCE. Take a trial run in your backyard or with a buddy after dark sometime.

[elk yinzer]

Last year was my first year in a hang on. It took me about a half dozen afternoon setups gaining confidence before I tried the hang on in the morning. Just needed to get that routine and muscle memory down. I use a dim red headlight to climb, it's no problem at all. I like to be settled in 30 minutes before shooting time.

[bowfreak8]

My whole life I've been a mobile hunter but have always used climbers. I recently bought a lone wolf assault and muddy pro sticks. My plan is to go to the back yard at night practice. Easier to practice there than in the woods when your feeling rushed to get set up.

[J Gilbert]

I just got my stand and will have sticks in the next week or so, so I'm in the same boat you are. My plan is to practice setup/takedown several times a week in my yard before season arrives, and one thing that I think will definitely help will be practicing on different trees. Most of the time when hunting, I'm sure tree sizes will be different, and there will be limbs and other obstacles- practicing on different trees will help you decide the most efficient and comfortable methods for dealing with the various situations you're bound to encounter

[Jonny]

What helped me the most was setting up the stand on ground level. Honestly try to do it in one swift movement and keep doing it until you can do it with your eyes closed.

Have it on your back like you are climbing, take it off, get the strap ready, swing stand and strap around tree, hook strap and tighten. Bet I did it 100 times and made it tremendously easier up in the tree on one foot.

But practice a dozen full runs before you go in the woods. Seems dumb, but it gets easier each time you do it

[Jackson Marsh]

Practice a lot, use a light and wear a linesman belt which frees both hands while you hang the stand. Go slow and take your time. After hanging the stand a bunch it becomes second nature.

[Lu Rome]

Practice a lot, use a light and wear a linesman belt which frees both hands while you hang the stand. Go slow and take your time. After hanging the stand a bunch it becomes second nature.

Precisely this.

With 3 kids 6 and under, I don't get many evenings out of the house unless one of them is along...so most of my hunts are morning hunts. Half or more of my sets have been prehung, but I'm switching over to a Sit-Drag. I've been practicing in my yard a lot, much to the confusion/dismay of my neighbors....

And prescouting trees ahead of time is a must. They may or may not need trimmed, but making sure you are in the right tree is critical. If I'm in a good area I'll often scout for better trees while I'm on stand. There's always a better tree....lol

Practice safely. Practice a lot.

[Dewey]

I agree with practicing as much as you can in daylight. You want to do it enough that you can do it with your eyes closed. Take your time in the dark especially since mornings tend to be dead calm and noise carries very far. Just like fishing in the dark.....keep everything well organized so you know exactly where everything is. Makes everything so much easier in the dark when your not fumbling around for stuff and makes it much safer while climbing.

[Jhand]

If I hunt in the morning I like to have a tree picked put ahead of time or at least a narrow area to setup in. My first season hunting mobile I went in blind a few mornings only to find the setup terrible when it got light. I use a red headlamp when setting up. Like others have said practicing alot during the day and setting up in the dark will come natural. Just go slow, I like to get in early enough to be setup in the tree well before grey light just so I can go slow and avoid any noise. I hardly hunt mornings outside the rut tho

[Jeff25]

I use a headlamp, I also made a system similar to the lone wolf ez hang hook. I took a synch strap and put a s hook on it. Then tied a loop with paracord onto the back of the casted seat. When I’m ready to hang the stand I just put the strap around the tree and tighten it down, then hang the stand from the s hook on the strap. That way I have both hands free to attach the top strap. Once the top strap it tightened I unhook the loop from the s hook and then seat the stand to the tree and cam lock it. I then usually just loosen the strap and raise it up about waist high and retighten and hang my pack from it.

[MN_DeerHunter]

One trick that has helped me is to put a lone wolf EZ hang hook on the tree in the general area where I want my stand. Then I hang my stand on the EZ hang hook via a small piece of paracord. Because of this I don't have to support the weight of the treestand while I get the top strap secured in the proper position. This, along with using a linemans rope has made hanging a stand extremely simple and I don't burn my arms out/ get sweated up supporting the weight of the treestand. Once you get your stand hung you can shimmy the hook up the tree and use it to hang your arrow quiver or other gear if needed.

Another thing is to make sure that the bottom bolt that connects the platform to the seat base is tightened enough so that your platform stays in the position you move it to. I found it annoying to try to get the strap around the tree while the platform falls forward (this was before I used the ez hang hook).

These aren't necessarily things that help only in the dark, but just make stand hanging in general easier for me

[MN_DeerHunter]

I use a headlamp, I also made a system similar to the lone wolf ez hang hook. I took a synch strap and put a s hook on it. Then tied a loop with paracord onto the back of the casted seat. When I’m ready to hang the stand I just put the strap around the tree and tighten it down, then hang the stand from the s hook on the strap. That way I have both hands free to attach the top strap. Once the top strap it tightened I unhook the loop from the s hook and then seat the stand to the tree and cam lock it. I then usually just loosen the strap and raise it up about waist high and retighten and hang my pack from it.

Jeff beat me to it! lol see its a good system

[Aaronmach1]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I will read through these a few times to soak up all the info!