jbarron
BANNED
I started out with a Tree Lounge many years ago. After a close call when the stand slipped, I purchased a Summit Goliath and never looked back. I my opinion, the Summit is much safer, easier to get set up, and just a better stand.
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Climber stand don'ts
- Thread starter Waddams
- Start date
I have one old original Brent Hunt Whitetail Convertible that will stick to any kind of tree, I've climbed hickories in it many times. It's getting so old that I don't much trust it any more, though.
jiminbogart
TCU Go Frawgs !
I've always figured the pine was the #1 most dangerous tree. I hunt out of a pine as a last resort.
The top of a pine will break off in a good wind. Add 250+ lbs cantilevered off of it 60' up and I get concerned. That doesn't stop me from hunting out of one, but I still get concerned.
I'll take a slick bark tree any day.
RipperIII
Senior Member
they do tend to sway a good bit with a little wind...but i've never felt the need to get up above 30'...in fact I've had deer literally run under my platform at about 10' off the ground when i climbed a tree that tapered more than i had anticipated.
jiminbogart
TCU Go Frawgs !
The higher the better for me.
I'd hunt on top of a water tower if I had one and it was in a good spot.
Used to have a buddy in a club in the 80's that hunted out of a saddle 90' up in the middle of a cutover. He actually took a 100' tape up the tree and measured it. He looked like a little orange dot up there. He would see more deer than anyone.
Roadwarrior
Member
Since we keep bringing up the Tree Lounge. Put me in the camp of loving them. Hunt in them exclusively for rifle season. Prefer smooth bark trees over anything with a flaking bark. Number 1 treestand tip, know your stand and its limitations. Practice and practice till you know when something doesn't feel right. I follow this for safety harnesses and tree stands
Doghunter11
Senior Member
Any of y’all ever hunted out of a gunslinger? Probably the most comfortable stand I’ve ever hunted out of I just couldn’t get used to leaning out away from the tree, if anything broke you better be tied in or you are headed to the ground.
RipperIII
Senior Member
I've been known to take more than a few naps in my climber...strapped in of course...nothing jumps starts the ol ticker like waking up from a deep snooze staring straight down 30'...
Wifeshusband
Senior Member
Waddams, I think you better come get my River's edge. In my prime I weighed 215 and could dance on it without it moving. I'd hate to see you get hurt.
Wifeshusband
Senior Member
60 feet up? You don't need a safety harness, you need a parachute.
treemanjohn
Banned
Never climb an unknown tree in the dark. Scout your tree in advance. Make sure nothing dead is near or hanging over you
dixiecutter
Eye Devour ReeB
^that. Dead trees and limbs = bad news. Don't extend yourself too far trying to break a twig that's in your way, that will make it shift and dump you. Pines are awesome, just noisy. Sweetgum is the best out there. Any tree will work once you get the teeth locked in good, which I do by sawing them left and right a little bit. Hickory is just asking for trouble, and the noise is insane. I strap the top half to the tree- so if I stand up for a while, I don't knock it off with my lard butt. Leverage and tension hold it to the tree- when you stand the tension isn't there. If you're limbing a tree on the way up, cut close to the trunk: in every case a climber will easily slide up and over limb-stobs that will absolutely halt your trip back down. Put a little cloth booty or whatever you can find over your idler wheel on your bow, when you raise and lower it, that wheel won't go into the mud and trash. Learn to distinguish between ivey and virgina creeper or else, lol. For a buttressed tree, you can start your stand and a very steep angle if you learn to stand on the braces the first few reps up the tree. If your stand is pointing downward on the outside bellow level- trust me- go to the ground and start over in a new hole setting. If you have it higher than level, that sucks but it's doable. Just have to remember, if the platform aint level, it will be weird when you're standing. I prefer the balance i get from being perfectly level. If there's ants, size them up- if there's too many, you might as well make other plans. If you pack in a stand like I do- might as well bunjee most of your clothes to it. No sense getting all bogged up getting to a place youre about to sit still half a day. Also with getting bogged up- if you practice with your stand, and you know exactly where youre headed (which tree), you won't have those meltdowns running all over with a flashlight trying to find it, or fussing with your stuff trying to set it up: get good at it. Lots of guys have thise meltdowns before daylight, then swear off their climbers forever. I bought one from a melt-down guy once lol. Those are the guys that leave their climbers on the tree all year!
RipperIII
Senior Member
x2 on strapping the top to the tree, I carry a good bungee for that purpose
EAGLE EYE 444
King Casanova
Over the past 10 plus years, I have read on GON about all of you "astronauts" that are crazy enough to use "climbing stands" to deer hunt with and some of those are approximately 50 feet or more up in the "ozone layer" and I bet some of them at that elevation could cause a severe nose-bleed even. I have deer hunted for over 50 years now BUT I have never felt the urge to knowingly endanger myself from a physical exertion standpoint trying to climb up so high in a tree and hang on for dear life with one hand while even trying to hold my rifle in the other hand while waiting for a deer to walk hopefully close by for a shot.
The bottom line is that my Father didn't raise no fool and even at my age now, I want to live a long time still.
The real fact is that I have hunted totally by myself especially since I started back hunting in 2010 after NOT hunting at all for a period 10 years prior during my late wife's illness and death. I really do enjoy the solitude of being alone totally with nature and NEVER have to worry about falling out of a deer stand because I went to sleep or made a bad "climbing choice" of a "climbing stand/lock on type etc.
I have 3 ladder stands one is 12 ft tall and two at 10 feet tall and all three of them are as steady as walking on the ground as they are locked onto the tree with a turn-buckle very tightly and then actually locked onto the tree with a chain with a master-lock as well. This 12 ft stands does have my special camouflage fabric around it so the deer can not see me. These stands never move about when I am sitting on them either. The other stand is really a ground blind made with my back against a fairly large oak tree on a ridge as I sit on a 4" thick type seat cushion with my "special" camouflage fabric (double thickness) that is built in a semi-circle and is stapled around the tree behind me and in front of me, this fabric is attached to 2x 4's that are driven into the ground with a heavy sledge hammer around the perimeter of this big oak tree. The height of the fabric when anchored properly is 34" up from the ground and at that level, ONLY my eyes and the tip of my cap and eyes can be seen over the top of this fabric. Over the years, I have had deer walk within 10 feet from me and never see me or be spooked in any manner.
To me, being totally safe on the ground is much more enjoyable as I have even been able to lie down on the ground and actually go to sleep for about 30 minutes or so when I felt too sleepy to keep my head up to watch for deer. This safety aspect is worth more to me than ANY HUGE BUCK that ever walked on this planet. Of course, the only time that I really get serious about shooting a buck is only to replenish the venison in the freezer for my Daughter and SIL as they also love venison and are able to make all sorts of various meals, recipes, etc in the process.
The FACT is WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, one thing that you will never see me do is to hunt from a climber type stand etc because I value my life more than any deer that will ever be on this earth. Heck, most of the time, I don't really hunt BUT I will sit and just enjoy the beautiful outdoors for a while and then maybe lay down with my heavy jacket on and be comfortable as I go to sleep for a while being totally safe. All of the above is done in total solitude for me and I love enjoying nature as such.
That is my story and I am sticking to it !!!!
PS: I also frequently send up a lot of Prayers for all of you GON Members no matter where or how that you hunt that for you to have a safe time while enjoying your woods as well.
The bottom line is that my Father didn't raise no fool and even at my age now, I want to live a long time still.
The real fact is that I have hunted totally by myself especially since I started back hunting in 2010 after NOT hunting at all for a period 10 years prior during my late wife's illness and death. I really do enjoy the solitude of being alone totally with nature and NEVER have to worry about falling out of a deer stand because I went to sleep or made a bad "climbing choice" of a "climbing stand/lock on type etc.
I have 3 ladder stands one is 12 ft tall and two at 10 feet tall and all three of them are as steady as walking on the ground as they are locked onto the tree with a turn-buckle very tightly and then actually locked onto the tree with a chain with a master-lock as well. This 12 ft stands does have my special camouflage fabric around it so the deer can not see me. These stands never move about when I am sitting on them either. The other stand is really a ground blind made with my back against a fairly large oak tree on a ridge as I sit on a 4" thick type seat cushion with my "special" camouflage fabric (double thickness) that is built in a semi-circle and is stapled around the tree behind me and in front of me, this fabric is attached to 2x 4's that are driven into the ground with a heavy sledge hammer around the perimeter of this big oak tree. The height of the fabric when anchored properly is 34" up from the ground and at that level, ONLY my eyes and the tip of my cap and eyes can be seen over the top of this fabric. Over the years, I have had deer walk within 10 feet from me and never see me or be spooked in any manner.
To me, being totally safe on the ground is much more enjoyable as I have even been able to lie down on the ground and actually go to sleep for about 30 minutes or so when I felt too sleepy to keep my head up to watch for deer. This safety aspect is worth more to me than ANY HUGE BUCK that ever walked on this planet. Of course, the only time that I really get serious about shooting a buck is only to replenish the venison in the freezer for my Daughter and SIL as they also love venison and are able to make all sorts of various meals, recipes, etc in the process.
The FACT is WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, one thing that you will never see me do is to hunt from a climber type stand etc because I value my life more than any deer that will ever be on this earth. Heck, most of the time, I don't really hunt BUT I will sit and just enjoy the beautiful outdoors for a while and then maybe lay down with my heavy jacket on and be comfortable as I go to sleep for a while being totally safe. All of the above is done in total solitude for me and I love enjoying nature as such.
That is my story and I am sticking to it !!!!
PS: I also frequently send up a lot of Prayers for all of you GON Members no matter where or how that you hunt that for you to have a safe time while enjoying your woods as well.
Gbr5pb
Senior Member
I’m getting so old I don’t trust myself a whole lot anymore
Gbr5pb
Senior Member
Friend had several of the tree lounge back in the day. Tried to give me one I put on tree climbed ok turned around set on it. Set wonderful then tried to get down after 30 minutes got back on ground put it back in his truck and told him no thanks
jiminbogart
TCU Go Frawgs !
Some of us ain't too smart.
I was 50' up in a Tree Lounge on a hunt on Clybel about 25 years ago and I actually stood up in the sling seat to get an off hand shot on a deer above some limbs hanging down in my way.
Weren't too smart but that deer ate good.
So actually used my tree lounge on a hunt for the first time. Got up about 15' and was satisified with a first time, lol. Turning around in it is challenging for sure. It was locked in stable though.
It's a load to haul around.
One thing I did learn - don't pour out the fluid from a can of vienna sausages directly under you. At one point there about 20 yellow jackets down there all over that stuff. The didn't come up and bug me though, they stayed on the ground. I waited until last light to get down, temps were falling, and they had gone home.
Getting it to unlock from the tree (an oak) was a bit of chore. It was wedged in tight and I had to be real careful to not lunge up while dislodging it. I didn't want to "jump" my weight up, taking it off the bottom foot platform and accidentally have that thing move.
I can see if being a good one for if you're gonna hunt an area over multiple days. Setting it up, leaving it overnight, etc. I don't think I want to haul that thing around on days where I want to jump around to different spots a lot.
It's a load to haul around.
One thing I did learn - don't pour out the fluid from a can of vienna sausages directly under you. At one point there about 20 yellow jackets down there all over that stuff. The didn't come up and bug me though, they stayed on the ground. I waited until last light to get down, temps were falling, and they had gone home.
Getting it to unlock from the tree (an oak) was a bit of chore. It was wedged in tight and I had to be real careful to not lunge up while dislodging it. I didn't want to "jump" my weight up, taking it off the bottom foot platform and accidentally have that thing move.
I can see if being a good one for if you're gonna hunt an area over multiple days. Setting it up, leaving it overnight, etc. I don't think I want to haul that thing around on days where I want to jump around to different spots a lot.
BOWFINWHITT
Senior Member
This tip has helped me a lot .I purchased a 30' retractable dog leash for my weapon.as I go up it lets out and coming down it retracts.when I get to the bottom I unhook and clip it somewhere on the stand.no more ropes and it saves time at the bottom of the tree .been doing this for as long as I can remember.
