this particular stand was used exclusively on the same tree for its whole life. i would say the tree was "average", in that it was niether too big or too small...o couldnt give the diameter off the top of my head.
as far as the black spray paint goes, that was put on years ago just to break up the silhouette. not so much for the deer but to hide it from other hunters....

i am at a loss here, really. i could see if i climbed a tree with a radically different diameter, or left it out for a year or two and it froze and expanded, but i REALLY did'nt do anything different than i have all along...

wierd

hopefully summit will share some insight with me.

thanks,
moose