Tree stands

[misterwhisker]

what kind of tree stand do you have?

[CountryHart]

I use a summitt climber and an API lock-on. I like the lock-on best actually except for putting my steps on the tree. During rifle season i usually strap it chest high and just hop up on it. Good padded seat and i can stand and move without makin rackett. I hunted out of wood stands for ages but got scared of tannic acid eating the nails up and end up fallin.

[biga]

i only use ladder stands pretty much all the time after a friend died in an accident with a climber slipping on him and he hung upside down and suffocated. then a week later i was in a hickory in my summit viper climber and the cable broke on the bottom half as i was climbing and i had to bear hug the tree and slide down [that hurt :sad2:] i threw that stand in the scrap pile and sold my other climber at an auction... i have been a ladderstand or ground hunter ever since! :smile2:

[kennylee]

I have used all the stands on the list, but the ones I like the most are hang on with climbing sticks. I even took my 2 climbers and made them fix stands with climbing sticks.

After the season I go and get the seats and put them up and loosen the straps on the stands and the sticks to allow for tree growth, and come deer season I go around replace the seats and strap every thing down.

[misterwhisker]

i probably should have added blinds to that list cause i dont take the boys in tree stands, but we do have several blind locations :wink:

[Paraguayguy]

I hunt four farms, two of which are family owned. Collectively my brother and I have 30 plus stands scattered around. All are quality Ladder stands and permanent salt treated stands we build. After a spot has consistantly produced for four or five years we build massive tacky hotel accomodations in the air on four 6 x 6 legs. Definitely big enough to camp out in all day out of the weather.

[biga]

aint much better than hunting than out of a sky box!!:wink:

[jctiger]

I use ladder stands,but my favorite is a homemade
stand with a few boards in the fork of a tree.
We hunt on the family farm and now have every good spot
covered with stands.I just let the wind direction tell me
what one to get into.

[flathead willie]

I use a Grand Slam Climber the most but I have a few chain on stands, two ladders, a couple other climbers, and an API ground blind also.

[DANZIG]

Built one. I much prefer a ground blind (home built with what I find where I am at) but where I am hunting now I have to get some altitude.

I have to have some room to move around, that is all there is to it. The old bod just will not take being in the same position for too long.
My "home built" has plenty of room.:big_smile:

No sense being uncomfortable while you are sitting in the cold, rain, wind, and snow!!:wink::smile2::smile2:

[smhmc6]

I used a climber when I was in the MO ozarks. One stand and you could use just about any oak tree you wanted to use cause they all seemed to be pretty straight up and down. Here in Kansas, the perfect tree is a little harder to find. I've been using hang on stands that I bought from sportsman's guide. Check out their guide gear stands, they are a pretty good deal and I've liked them. I especially like how they have the ratchet straps.

[riverdawg-1]

i've always used climbing stands. i have 3 that i use, but the one that got stolen 2 years ago was my fav. it was a treelounger, comfortable and safe.
chip

[zeboman]

I have a summit goliath , it`s made for the big guys.

[katfish ken]

I have some of all of the above mentioned. Hunting in the Appalachian Mtn. I like the H.S. Strut burlap blind material . I think it comes 56" X 12' find a shoulder strap off an old bag or piece of rope and a couple of bungies to use for carrying and set up purposes.You have one of the most versitile blinds on the market or in the woods. I love hunting out of a blind and the ones you buy are next to impossible to set up in a thicket or on a steep hill side.

[derbycitycatman]

Im becoming more and more of a ground blind hunter. Cold, windy, snowy or wet days are much easier in a blind. I also have a wooden ladderstand, I rebuild it every 5 years whether it needs it or not. I also have 3 metal ladder stands that are seeing less action every year. I dont use the climbers though, ive known two people who have fallen due to foot straps breaking.

[flathead willie]

I have some of all of the above mentioned. Hunting in the Appalachian Mtn. I like the H.S. Strut burlap blind material . I think it comes 56" X 12' find a shoulder strap off an old bag or piece of rope and a couple of bungies to use for carrying and set up purposes.You have one of the most versitile blinds on the market or in the woods. I love hunting out of a blind and the ones you buy are next to impossible to set up in a thicket or on a steep hill side.

I bought two pieces of those this year, the kind with Realtree camo and the holes cut in it to look like 3-D camo. They easily fit in a small camo back pack I got at Wal-Mart for $4. I carry a pill bottle of those bulletin board tacks and a couple small bungee cords that allow me to set up a good blind almost anywhere. The holes in them allow me to dress it up with leaves, branches, ferns, or whatever. I think I'll be doing a lot more ground hunting from now on.

[DANZIG]

I have never had much need for having something in front of me. Just some thing behind me to break my outline. Big tree, small tree with some branches propped up against it, a bush, round hay bail. That kind of thing.

My favorite, and most productive, ground blind was just a 20 " tree on a hillside that I had large branches propped against. Refresh the branches once a year as they rotted, and it was good for at least one deer a year for the 8 years I hunted that property.

Had a couple "friends" try to snake me on that spot but they could never spot the blind. Oh, I am sure they saw it, just never realized what it was.:wink::big_smile:

[ncfowler]

I have a area that my son and i hunt, over 100 ac. we have several tree stands one of them is a dbl stand where we have our deefeeder and blocks out. I also have a doghouse pop up blind i use quite regulary in a area i don't feel a tree blind would be safe, Flood plain area, I have been real productive in this area it is a narrow spot where the deer funnel through or go up the hill into my son's tree stand, We have been moving stands around all year so not to have the deer spooked from any one area, and my deer feeder timer went out last week so this week looks like i will be hand spreading the corn till i get it back form remingtion, this is the 3rd time the timer went bad not a happy camper here.

[katfish ken]

I bought two pieces of those this year, the kind with Realtree camo and the holes cut in it to look like 3-D camo. They easily fit in a small camo back pack I got at Wal-Mart for $4. I carry a pill bottle of those bulletin board tacks and a couple small bungee cords that allow me to set up a good blind almost anywhere. The holes in them allow me to dress it up with leaves, branches, ferns, or whatever. I think I'll be doing a lot more ground hunting from now on.

It is amazing how close deer will get if you have them set up right. The ones I have are burlap material and you can see right through it. I just roll mine up and use 2 bungees and a shoulder strap off an old purse my wife thew away to transport mine. On cold windy days they make a great wind break as well as blind. There has been many days I would have been sitting at the house if not for that feture.

[flathead willie]

It is amazing how close deer will get if you have them set up right. The ones I have are burlap material and you can see right through it. I just roll mine up and use 2 bungees and a shoulder strap off an old purse my wife thew away to transport mine. On cold windy days they make a great wind break as well as blind. There has been many days I would have been sitting at the house if not for that feture.

I shot a deer with my bow a few years ago from less than 10 feet. I draped the material over a blown down tree next to a trail where deer entered a heavy thicket. It was so close, the deer kicked dirt and leaves in my face when the arrow hit her. LOL

[katfish ken]

I shot a deer with my bow a few years ago from less than 10 feet. I draped the material over a blown down tree next to a trail where deer entered a heavy thicket. It was so close, the deer kicked dirt and leaves in my face when the arrow hit her. LOL

Don't you love the rush of close encounters like that. It's a rush like most wouldn't believe.:wink:

[Kansas Tree Rat]

I hunt most of the time from a Lok-on Limit. It is a super light (less than 7 lbs.) strap on. I rarely ever hunt from the same tree twice in a season. Most of the time I use what I once heard called the pearl harbor technique. I slip in with my stand on my back, pick a tree, climb it with screw in steps and hunt. I find I see far more game the first time in a stand than any other time. I have also read that a very high percent of record book deer are killed the first time a stand sight is hunted. The only problem with this is that it is not very practical to hunt mornings as it sucks hanging a stand in the dark. I also have 3 ladder stands and a couple of hang ons that I set in tried and true locations but even those only get hunted once or twice a year.
My pack straps to the stand and the stand acts like a pack frame. I then wear the stand on my back. With the stand, pack and 8 double fold steps (I can set 20’ up any tree with 8) plus the other misc stuff I carry, the whole outfit weights 26 lbs. I have covered a whole lot of miles with this on my back. When I find the place I want, up the tree I go.

[bownero]

The stands I have are the Lone Wolf Alpha hang on and the API Lock On. Also I own a Tree Lounge Climber and a Double Bull TS1 blind for turkey hunting. I prefer fixed stands for easy carry in and the ease of attachment to the tree. I always use a body harness and stay in contact when climbing up and down the tree. This is a must for safety!

[dust777man]

I use climbers and ladder stands.

[Bowstalker]

I have tried them all and find the Tree lounger to be the safest and one of best for comfort.

[Poppa]

I have tried them all and find the Tree lounger to be the safest and one of best for comfort.
I have always liked the looks of the tree lounge. I have seen the videos.
But I am a big man and my back is old and stiff and I think I would have
a hard time getting turned in the sling seat when I got to the point up the
tree I wanted to hunt. I use grand ole man vision and rivers edge gators
climbers and king kong gorilla lock-ons.

[plainsman]

I was given a ladder stand, but I 'm considering getting a climber or clamp on. The reasons are that the ladder stand is awkward to haul very far out into the woods and its noisy. I tie the 3 sections together and the top seat/footrest together and wear it like a pack. Clamp on stands are lighter so thats what I like about them, and I think a climber would be easy to use, but heavy to carry around.

I also use un occupied stands others have built. I found a really nice one just like a blind. Most of the time I'm just sittin on a log or walking around tho.

[cdog]

i prefer climbers for the comfort of an all day sit, if i can find a tree in the areas i hunt, but the stuff i ussualy hunt is so thick it is hard to find a tree suitable for it. I now use ,for most of my hunting a lone wolf alpha fixed stand. i like to hunt different locations frequently so the e-z straps that i have a few of are fixed on trees i hunt. I just go in put my stand on the hook, strap it on the tree and im in there. the stand only weighs 12 pounds.