For those who leave their stands up for several years, you should read a thread on another site from a guy who fell because his chain broke. He later stated the reason was metal fatigue caused by the chain being stretched out over the seasons. Even more disconcerting would be to leave stands up that use a strap. Weather and sunlight can and will damage the material if left out in the elements over a long period of time.

good point couger mag! I am removing my stands every year from now on, I have been lazy in past years about this!

If you are going to leave them in back them out a couple turns at the end of the season,that way you wont need a hammer or a rock to move them and can tighten them to the degree necessary for the new season.It is certainly safer to start new holes every year and I would advise doing so.The same thing needs to be done if stands are left in tree's loosen the chain or strap.I had to cut a strap a couple of years ago to get a stand down because the tree grew so much in a years time.
Lastly with tree steps I would recommend pulling the bottom two or three steps to discourage curious kids who may stumble across your stand tree and want to climb it,especially if you have backed out the other steps a couple of turns.

i was watching a hunting show and if you grow trees to sell some places run metal deteacters over them and if they find steel they wont even touch it .

i would leave them but take them out.
But i do not use them since i weight so much

I use Cranford fold up detachable steps. I leave the lags in all season but take them out at seasons end

Dan

I wouldn't leave them in. I mean, somewhere down the line you ruin a good piece of timber. We have Harden Furniture right up the road from my house. When they run a log through their xray, if they pick up one little piece of wire or metal they reject the tree and tell you to take it away. So a $3000 Cherry becomes worthless. Besides that, not many trees can you count on deer being there year after year. If you rely on "The Tree" you'll end up eating tags a lot.

You are right it most circumstances but I have 2 different stands up where I hunt out of every year going back I'd say 10 years. Every 2 years I take the stand down and reposition it so the chain don't get grown over. Both of these stands every year could produce Pope And Youngers if I could time it right!

Never had a problem leaving them in, now going on 4 years.

If I leave them in I wouldback them out a few turns. Otherwise the tree will continue to grow around them and you'll never get them out.

Always reposition your steps at least every other year. Some trees will actually form a "plug" of sap around the threads. I learned the hard way that this whole "plug" can pull out. Fortunately I had one hand on the stand when it happened and was hanging by one hand. I was able to swing myself around to the next step down and recover but it could have been a bad deal. About 18' up when it happened. I was young and dumb and that one incident gave me a lot of respect for safety.I have since pulled other steps that had to be cleaned with a wire brush because the threads were clear full of rock hard sap. Never leave steps or stands for a period of years. If leaving stands up with straps you should check them Every time. Rodents like to chew the straps sometimes. Better to go to the extra effort than have an accident that may end your hunting forever.