I generally hang a couple of stands in the July/August time frame for the early season. At this point (in my area) the deer have pretty well set their summer patterns and these are the stands that I'll hunt early.

Fortunately, our favorite rut spots are easy to access and they've proven well over the last couple of years. These places we generally hang a stand just before season because the deer do generally frequent these areas until later. About 80% of the time we access these areas with our climbers in stealth mode...

Our late season stands focus on red/white oak groves which generally drop their acorns a little later than the rest of the trees. After the rut subsides we hunt these stands (hung in August/September) pretty much exclusively.