Although trees are great for providing shade from the heat, they can also make rain and snowstorms last longer. Well after the clouds have passed, dripping water will continue to rain down. A good open space is always the best location for setting up any tent. Also, before setting up your tent, clear away straw, leaves and other debris that would be inside the tent. It may look like good padding for bedding down but can be locations for insects and vermin to stay hidden inside the tent.
If the M-1950 you are setting up has a floor, it can make erecting the tent easier. The canvas floor allows you to pull the sides taut without pulling them too far or not far enough and allowing the tent to sag. When erecting the M-1950 with a floor, start by pegging each of the six corners. You can then insert the center support post to raise the tent roof. Finish off by pulling the guy lines attached to each of the six "wall" corners and the tent is up.
If the M-1950 has no floor and your tent interior will use the bare ground for the floor, try to find a location reasonably clean of stumps and rocky outcroppings for your tent. Also, not having a floor means water can come into the tent. Avoid setting up the tent on a slope with higher ground to the rear. If setting up the tent on a slope is unavoidable, use pine straw, sections of wood or stones to secure the uphill floor edge and make it as watertight as possible. The objects will also deflect oncoming water away from the lower edge of the open tent wall.
The best way to stake out the M-1950 tent with no floor is to go around the tent staking each corner sequentially. Pull the tent wall taut and stake a corner. Remember: A 360-degree circle divided by six is 60 degrees. Try and make each corner 60 degrees at an angle from the previous stake.
Once you've gone all the way around, you can then insert the tent post and stake out the tent wall guy lines.
