Treestands?
06-03-2005, 05:31 PM
#11
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Athabasca Alberta Canada
Posts: 353
RE: Treestands?
Cowboy
Outfitters up here use wood tree stands like you want to build all the time
15-20+ up
wooden ladders made of 2x4 or trees
planking for the decking
YES the stand is going to need to be checked over very carefully each year
I would even go one step further and put chain up around each support brace and lag bolted into the tree so if a screw or 2 let's go on one side then chain will not let the brace collapse
I have even thought of making one that is floating like above with only the chain holding the braces so the platform does move with the tree movement. Know what im saying?
Outfitters up here use wood tree stands like you want to build all the time
15-20+ up
wooden ladders made of 2x4 or trees
planking for the decking
YES the stand is going to need to be checked over very carefully each year
I would even go one step further and put chain up around each support brace and lag bolted into the tree so if a screw or 2 let's go on one side then chain will not let the brace collapse
I have even thought of making one that is floating like above with only the chain holding the braces so the platform does move with the tree movement. Know what im saying?
07-18-2005, 03:43 PM
#13
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Winston Salem NC
Posts: 356
RE: Treestands?
My partner and I use nothing but home built stands with wood. We have used them year after year with no problems. We check them out each year and haven't had any problems. There is nothing like riding a stand between two trees when the wind is blowing. I have major stories to tell about building them so I will try to keep this short...yea right.
First year hunting...we get all excited about adding bear to our hunting list. We drive up the back side of a local mountain...find a good spot and build a "stand" between two trees. The ladder consisted of 2x4's nailed to the tree leading up to the stand which was two 2x6's nailed on either side of two trees with a 2'x4' plywood base. We stood there or sat on our 5 gallon buckets and waited for bears. Problem was we were too close to a road and got peppered by grouse hunters.
Second stand was up the revine from the first. We found four trees that would make a good stand. Two trees were real close together so we nailed 2x4's between them for a nice ladder. We always use 2x6's for the platform and plywood for the base. We nailed a 2x6 railing around the sides so we didn't walk off. We covered the base, the railings and the trees with carpet to cut down on the noise. Only problem was the stand was not quite level and leaned down hill. We went up to hunt one day and some....people....shot, yes shot, the stand out of the trees. They stood there and shot the 2x6's till the stand fell to the ground.
The third stand was similar to the second one but it only had three trees. This was a great location because the bears would only come in from one direction due to the cover. The stand was 20' in the air but level to the bait because the trees were on an incline. I was hunting one time and had a large blackie come in and stand 10 yards away and look and rock and look and rock back and forth to see if I was in the stand. It was unnerving because the stand had claw scratches all around it from where they would climb up in the stand and look around. Our 5 gallon buckets had teeth marks on them. I used my 20 yard pin and hit the fat layer just above the spine. I removed the pin after that. Somebody turned the hill into an animal refuge so we had to leave...
Our fourth stand had running water...well water ran between the stand trees. This one is 25' in the air with a stream running behind it too which is a good cover sound. We were finally getting the stand design down when we built this one. We just didn't have the building part down pat.
Lots of laughing when I think about this one. Think George of the Jungle. The north tree was a cedar with lots of climbing limbs all the way up. The south tree was bare of limbs untill the top. We wanted the stand 25' up so I climbed up 30' or so in the cedar and roped the other tree. I attached a rope seat to this rope that my friend sat in and proceeded to fly over to the south tree...about six feet away. Yes George of the Jungle SPLAT!!! We had already attached the 2x6's to the cedar so he attached the free end to the other tree and had something to stand on...2" of wood 25' in the air. We attached a second 2x6 to the other side then laid 2x6 floor joists and then a plywood base. We extended the base around the south tree to make a landing to stand on when you climbed up the ladder...Oh yes...the ladder. We had premade the ladders in the garage before leaving. We took 2"x4"x12' and attached 2x4x12" rungs between them. We secured them to the tree with 2x4's running beside the tree and attached them to the sides of the ladder. I ran those up the tree and secured them as I climbed up. I yelled out to Gary and told him that on the next stand we need to build the ladder first and then build the platform. He agreed and we did on our next stand. We have had three LARGE men in this stand. The seat goes between the trees and has a back and a storage area behind the seat for your gear. The platform measures 4'x6'. I took my first bear off of this stand two years ago, 2003. The stand was built in 1994.
The last stand we built was about the same as the last one except we built a rain cover. Yes, we put up a plywood cover to protect us. This stand is located close to the WA/ID border. We had eight bears come in on us two nights running before the season opened. I had spotted a nice cinnamon bear that I wanted. They started logging the area two days after the season opened and I never got a bear off of it. [&o] So there you have it...I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the stands. I will try to find some pics and post them.
First year hunting...we get all excited about adding bear to our hunting list. We drive up the back side of a local mountain...find a good spot and build a "stand" between two trees. The ladder consisted of 2x4's nailed to the tree leading up to the stand which was two 2x6's nailed on either side of two trees with a 2'x4' plywood base. We stood there or sat on our 5 gallon buckets and waited for bears. Problem was we were too close to a road and got peppered by grouse hunters.
Second stand was up the revine from the first. We found four trees that would make a good stand. Two trees were real close together so we nailed 2x4's between them for a nice ladder. We always use 2x6's for the platform and plywood for the base. We nailed a 2x6 railing around the sides so we didn't walk off. We covered the base, the railings and the trees with carpet to cut down on the noise. Only problem was the stand was not quite level and leaned down hill. We went up to hunt one day and some....people....shot, yes shot, the stand out of the trees. They stood there and shot the 2x6's till the stand fell to the ground.
The third stand was similar to the second one but it only had three trees. This was a great location because the bears would only come in from one direction due to the cover. The stand was 20' in the air but level to the bait because the trees were on an incline. I was hunting one time and had a large blackie come in and stand 10 yards away and look and rock and look and rock back and forth to see if I was in the stand. It was unnerving because the stand had claw scratches all around it from where they would climb up in the stand and look around. Our 5 gallon buckets had teeth marks on them. I used my 20 yard pin and hit the fat layer just above the spine. I removed the pin after that. Somebody turned the hill into an animal refuge so we had to leave...
Our fourth stand had running water...well water ran between the stand trees. This one is 25' in the air with a stream running behind it too which is a good cover sound. We were finally getting the stand design down when we built this one. We just didn't have the building part down pat.
Lots of laughing when I think about this one. Think George of the Jungle. The north tree was a cedar with lots of climbing limbs all the way up. The south tree was bare of limbs untill the top. We wanted the stand 25' up so I climbed up 30' or so in the cedar and roped the other tree. I attached a rope seat to this rope that my friend sat in and proceeded to fly over to the south tree...about six feet away. Yes George of the Jungle SPLAT!!! We had already attached the 2x6's to the cedar so he attached the free end to the other tree and had something to stand on...2" of wood 25' in the air. We attached a second 2x6 to the other side then laid 2x6 floor joists and then a plywood base. We extended the base around the south tree to make a landing to stand on when you climbed up the ladder...Oh yes...the ladder. We had premade the ladders in the garage before leaving. We took 2"x4"x12' and attached 2x4x12" rungs between them. We secured them to the tree with 2x4's running beside the tree and attached them to the sides of the ladder. I ran those up the tree and secured them as I climbed up. I yelled out to Gary and told him that on the next stand we need to build the ladder first and then build the platform. He agreed and we did on our next stand. We have had three LARGE men in this stand. The seat goes between the trees and has a back and a storage area behind the seat for your gear. The platform measures 4'x6'. I took my first bear off of this stand two years ago, 2003. The stand was built in 1994.The last stand we built was about the same as the last one except we built a rain cover. Yes, we put up a plywood cover to protect us. This stand is located close to the WA/ID border. We had eight bears come in on us two nights running before the season opened. I had spotted a nice cinnamon bear that I wanted. They started logging the area two days after the season opened and I never got a bear off of it. [&o] So there you have it...I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the stands. I will try to find some pics and post them.
