To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

Well,
A friend of mine is faced with a hard decision...and I thought I would throw it out there for yall to commentinate and opinoinate about.
He is trying to decide between buying a DB Matrix, or a Summit Viper SS Climber.
Here is his likely hunting situation. He hunts primarily in Central New York. As anyone who hunts this area knows, the terrain varies from hardwoods, to fields, to sapling forests, to corn fields. Since he is a on the move kinda hunter, always looking for the best setup, he changes stand positions often.
There is a lack of straight trees in this area of New York too. I myself have gotten annoyed countless times because the "perfect tree" is on a angle that makes mounting it impossible.
Anyway, that is the situation. He hunts almost all archery, and he wants to hunt turkey in the spring, his first season, with a BOW!
Cheers all.:)

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

I would suggest the summit viper ss, and not only because I am buying one in a week. It would just seem to make more sense to me to look to have a stand first, if trees are available.

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

I was in your friend's shoes one year ago (just over). I was going to buy one or the other. I chose the DB Matrix.

Bad move (for me). Wrong decision.

I NEVER HAVE felt comfortable hunting deer out of the blind (only done it 3 times) because:

1) I'm afraid to leave it out....even on the private land I hunt.
2) I'm afraid deer will bust me if it's just been put up.
3) It's heavy as hell to be toting through the woods.

Now....I figured out REAL quick that I also wanted a climber....and I've bought 2 Summit climbers since that time (1 for my son and 1 for me). I used the DB blind exactly ONCE this deer season. I hunted 46 times.

I have the luxury of having MANY trees to choose from, here. That decision SHOULD Have been esy for me. I didn't know any better, then. I do, now.

Jeff

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

Some people prefer using climbing stix with a fixed stand. Lonewolf makes some nice stands that are light weight. Sounds like they don't take to long to put up and easy to pack around. This way he dosn't have to look for the perfect tree. Just take it down and head to next place. I only have ladder type stands. So maybe someone else will chime in and give you some better Ideas

Good luck!

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

I personally would get the stand simply because he will probably use it more.............. although I enjoy bowhunting from a ground blind "on certain occassions". It's a different kind of hunt and very exciting when set up properly.

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

climber.....in the tree is the way to be

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

You can buy two stands for the cost of the DB so money must not be an issue. The DB is going to be strictly for turkey mainly as bowhunting deer out of a blind is just plain tough. I own two DB's(the Matrix & BS5)and they are awesome blinds but at $400 apiece, way too expensive to leave out even on the private ground I hunt. Same day setups are tough with deer accepting a blind even when brushed in. If I wanted a blind for strictly deer hunting, I would getfive $80 ones or makethem with camo cloth and brush it in and leave it all season instead of one DB at$400. I would scrap the climber as my only choice for a treestand as they are too tree specific. Get some climbing sticks and a lightweight hangon that goes in and out with him every night so he doesn't have to worry about thieves and deer getting onto him by overhunting the same fixed stand location.

RE: To climb or to blind...that is the question.
 

This is the first year I have hunted from a tree stand. I have always just made my own blind by using brush and trees around me. You don't even need anything in front of you if you have a good back drop. I set up inbetween two fallen trees this year and the deer came walking right out in front of me and I had a good 35 yard shot. I like hunting from the ground because I can move places much easier. Where I hunt there are not alot of straight trees either so a climber is out of the question. I did see one guy trying to hunt this area with a climber (funniest thing I have ever seen) A guy in a climber about 7 feet off the ground (why not just hunt from the ground?) he couldn't go any higher.