I took my Viper tree stand out this weekend, which I just bought last week, and I had a bit of a bad experience with it that was totally my fault. No one or anything got hurt, thankfully, except my pride.

After reading and commenting and asking a lot of questions on this board about the Viper vs. the Cobra tree stands, specifically about the bar in front of the Viper and would it interfere with a shot, I decided to get the Viper, primarily because of the trouble some were having with the Cobra’s bar lining up with the stops. I didn’t want to go through the aggravation of contacting Summit and waiting for the replacement bar to show up, even though I knew I would probably prefer having no bar in front of me.

Well, this weekend I went out and saw a buck that was uncommon for the bucks in my area because of the immense mass he had to his antlers. I have seen taller tines and wider spreads, but nothing that ever compared to the immense mass that this guy had. I got buck fever and instead of concentrating on the draw and which opening would be best, and that I should watch out for the bar, etc. etc. I was envisioning this guy’s head on the wall. Well, I drew too fast when his eye passed behind a small tree and did not think about the bar, so I was leaned back a bit too far in the seat (I was afraid to stand up for fear of spooking him) and my string hit the bar, knocking it off of my release (I use Scott’s Rhino, so it’s open on one side) and my arrow went sailing harmlessly through the trees, 30 feet above him and to the rear. He bounded off, taking my dreams with him. Hopefully he didn’t spook too badly and may walk through there again.

I should have stood up, I know, especially since I was watching other bucks in the area for the last half hour. Hind sight is great and lessons are learned. I did have the seat adjusted pretty high, and if I had leaned forward just a little bit more, I would have cleared. Are these things that you should have to worry about, though, in the heat of the moment? I'm not sure yet. I did shoot 30+ arrows out of it prior to going out, but that wasn't under the stress of buck fever.

On the positive side, the comfort of the Summit stands is extraordinary, helping me to cut my movement down drastically. Maybe it was so comfortable that I didn’t want to stand up. I also like the bar being there because I can lay my bow across it and not have it resting on my legs the whole time. I am undecided today about keeping the Viper or trying to go with a Cobra. My friend wants the Viper because he uses a crossbow due to an injury to his elbow that prevents him from drawing a bow, and he wants the bar for support. I mentioned to him to buy the Cobra and we’ll swap, but I don’t know if he could get his fat a$$ in the Viper and I’m afraid he may need the Goliath instead.