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early in 01-11-2009 06:10 PM
Screw in tree steps?
 
I need help in remembering who posted (quite a while back) about the Cranford tree steps? I bought a bunch of them and they work very well. They're quiet, super easy to turn in, and very secure/sturdy. Can someone help out here?:D

Cougar Mag 01-11-2009 06:18 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
Several of us use them and would not use any other screwinstep! I've used them for as long as I can remember(rod step is my model), Greg/Mo, Rob, and others I can't remember.

early in 01-11-2009 06:23 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: Cougar Mag

Several of us use them and would not use any other screwinstep! I've used them for as long as I can remember(rod step is my model), Greg/Mo, Rob, and others I can't remember.
Yes, that's the type I bought. Thanks.

Cougar Mag 01-11-2009 06:25 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
The rod steps are bulkier to carry but as you said, they are strong and easy to screw in.

Greg / MO 01-11-2009 06:57 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
Yep, Cranfords all the way baby! :)I use the folding model and I've also got 50 or so of the detachable ones as well. I've tried almost everything else out there, and there's simply NO comparison. None.

Shimmeringleaves 01-11-2009 07:04 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
I use the rod step version and I agree with all of you...nothing else compares...period!

MeanV2 01-11-2009 07:06 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
I've used Cranford steps longer than I can remember. Most of the time I use the fold up detachables.

Quick & Quiet in a stand!;)

Dan

early in 01-11-2009 07:07 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

Yep, Cranfords all the way baby! :)I use the folding model and I've also got 50 or so of the detachable ones as well. I've tried almost everything else out there, and there's simply NO comparison. None.
Yep, now that I give it more thought, Ibelieve it was you Greg, who first mentioned these awesome tree steps way back. I thought it was Rob/Pa, and even PMed him thanking him for the advise.He must think I'm nuts!:D:D Those detachable steps are great too. Simplyturn inthe screw head, and remove the step. I'd love to have them in all of the treesin my various spots. They could get costly, but talk about versitility!;)

MeanV2 01-11-2009 07:16 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: early in

ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

Yep, Cranfords all the way baby! :)I use the folding model and I've also got 50 or so of the detachable ones as well. I've tried almost everything else out there, and there's simply NO comparison. None.
Yep, now that I give it more thought, Ibelieve it was you Greg, who first mentioned these awesome tree steps way back. I thought it was Rob/Pa, and even PMed him thanking him for the advise.He must think I'm nuts!:D:D Those detachable steps are great too. Simplyturn inthe screw head, and remove the step. I'd love to have them in all of the treesin my various spots. They could get costly, but talk about versitility!;)
Expensive? Yep!! I ordered a couple hundred of the screws and just the screws are pretty pricey.

But O So Handy!!

Dan

hardcorehunter 01-11-2009 09:56 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

Yep,I've tried almost everything else out there, and there's simply NO comparison. None.
I disagree...Lone Wolf sticks with Utility Constriction ropes(UCR's), Summit bucksteps, rapid rails; ANYTHING is better than screwing in a treestep...that is from the old days b4 safety harnasses and back when my bows were shot with fingers as releases weren't invented yet. No comparison to the labor of screwing tree steps in and damaging trees, not to mention screw in steps are not allowed on public land and are also a gr8 way to piss off a landowner when he sees screws in his tree. It takes a tree 40-50 years to get old enough to hunt in and then some guy comes along and screws in steps which could possibly kill it or open it up for disease; just doesn't make sense to me. I respect the woods too much and I like to leave the woods the same way I entered it....minus the dead deer I take out with me.;) If you guys like bows with 80% letoff, releases, A/C/C arrows, safety harnasses, fast and quiet bows, and all of the other modern bowhunting tools, then I suggest you get out of the dark ages and get into a simpler and more woods friendly climbing system.

hardcorehunter 01-11-2009 11:28 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
Alright..where is the hidden camera..u guys are playing a prank on me, right? Screw in steps?!?!...are you guys taking me jackalope hunting too? Alright..where is the camera?[8D]

Cougar Mag 01-12-2009 05:42 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
HCH, I agree the Lone Wolf sticks are hard to beat when wanting to be mobile and used with the LW hangons, but as for screwinsteps ya can't beat Cranford Ezy Climb steps and I can leave my steps in the tree. I ain't about to leave my LW sticks in the tree for fear of getting them stolen. I still use my Cranfords a lot each season, probably more than my sticks.

RobinAim Low 01-12-2009 09:24 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: hardcorehunter

No comparison to the labor of screwing tree steps in and damaging trees...
Then you haven't tried the Cranford one piece screw in. They go in so easy is it ridiculous. There simply is not "labor" involved. Yes, I have some Lone Wolf sticks so I can compare.I would put them at pretty much equal effort and time to get from the ground to hanging the stand.

Also, I have seen several forestry guys postthat there is no perm damage associated with screw ins and no one shouldfeelbad for using them in any tree type. Actually, a couple of them went into much more detail than that withsome technical names of the tree's layers and such, but...can't say I remember that stuff.

LKNCHOPPERS 01-12-2009 09:52 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
I have used screw in tree steps for years and they are hard to beat. I have climbing sticks too but i rarely use them because they are bulky and a pain to carry in. I can pull out the bottom 4 or 5 steps and nobody can get in my stands or mess with them. Yeah they can bring their own but that is not likely. My favorite treesteps were made by DeerMe, they screw in easy and are coated. I don't think they (DeerMe) are around anymore soI will have to check out the Cranfords. API and Gorilla tree steps are not easy to screw in, I really don't like those. As for the holes in the tree, I have been using some of the same trees for years and they have not died or become diseased. If you stop using the tree the holes fill in in a year or two. Just my observations over the past 20 years or so of using tree steps.

Sooner State Hunter 01-12-2009 10:24 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
Never tried the Cranford's, the cheap one's work great once yourough 'em up a bit with a dremel or file. I use my LW sticksto huntnew areas, thenif I like what I see, I set up a couple trees with steps.

Greg / MO 01-12-2009 10:40 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
Who's in the dark ages?!?

Screw-in steps do NOT kill trees, nor have ANY of the landowners whom I've hunted on cared. There's too many scientific studies and research at our disposal to say otherwise. The ONLY way I could see someone caring was if they were going to veneer out a big walnut or oak, but that's not the woods I'm typically hunting. If I were worried about that, I could simply lug in my LW sticks or my Summit Bucksteps or haul in a climber, all of which I have at my disposal and more -- which serves to give my statement that none are as easy to use as Cranfords some pretty good validity. ;)

http://www.bowhunting.net/eMagazine/Articles/KarenCranford-002.html

TEmbry 01-12-2009 10:57 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
If anyone believes in the products they personally use the most, it HAS to be HCH.:D Not that it is a bad thing, it's awesome having confidence in your setup. Confidence breeds success....but man, it is what he uses or nothing.

BUT, like Greg said...unless the trees are going into furniture, you aren't harming them with screw in steps, as long as you don't leave them there forever....even then the tree often just grows around them.

HCH, we just aren't used to the Cranfords obviously. I too LOATHE screw in steps, they are a freakin bear to get in, take forever, make you sweat profusely...and the cheap ones you get 2-3 trees out of before they are duller than a blunt hammer. I use them for presetup sites, and that is it. Even then, if I have a stick ladder at my disposal, it is going up instead. easier to setup, faster to setup, safer to climb IMO. Downside is weight packing in, but who CAN'T pack in 25 lbs once a year? I also found that the preconceived notion that screw in steps are the cheaper alternative is badly mistaken. I can get a 20' stick ladder for $35 bucks. That gets you 3' off the ground with LW, probably 10-12 feet with screw ins.....by far the cheapest way to go....maybe not the best, but by far the cheapest.

Greg / MO 01-12-2009 11:24 AM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
Trevor, this statement would change...

I too LOATHE screw in steps, they are a freakin bear to get in, take forever, make you sweat profusely.
... if this one did. ;)

HCH, we just aren't used to the Cranfords obviously.
There's just simply a WORLD of difference between Cranford and anything else out there in that market. Ascending a tree with Cranfords is NO work at all. Quick, quiet, easy and a pleasure to pack in and out. Guys talk about the advantages of being able to screw them in and leave them up for a few months, and they're right -- but I think they're so easy to use that I've used them for my runn'n 'n gunn'n foryears as well.

early in 01-12-2009 05:52 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: hardcorehunter

ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

Yep,I've tried almost everything else out there, and there's simply NO comparison. None.
I disagree...Lone Wolf sticks with Utility Constriction ropes(UCR's), Summit bucksteps, rapid rails; ANYTHING is better than screwing in a treestep...that is from the old days b4 safety harnasses and back when my bows were shot with fingers as releases weren't invented yet. No comparison to the labor of screwing tree steps in and damaging trees, not to mention screw in steps are not allowed on public land and are also a gr8 way to piss off a landowner when he sees screws in his tree. It takes a tree 40-50 years to get old enough to hunt in and then some guy comes along and screws in steps which could possibly kill it or open it up for disease; just doesn't make sense to me. I respect the woods too much and I like to leave the woods the same way I entered it....minus the dead deer I take out with me.;) If you guys like bows with 80% letoff, releases, A/C/C arrows, safety harnasses, fast and quiet bows, and all of the other modern bowhunting tools, then I suggest you get out of the dark ages and get into a simpler and more woods friendly climbing system.
HC, you're correct, you're not allowed to use screw in steps on public land. But, you're not allowed to cut (trimming shooting lanes;))any live growth on public land either. Admittedly I do both. At least I'm honest.:)As you know, I'm an arborist by trade, and I'll tell you that screw in steps won't hurt a tree unless it was done regularly (in/out)to the tree.Leaving them in the tree does absolutely no harm at all to a tree. Like was said earlier, if left in the tree will simply grow over the step.I install support cables in tree's all the time, and lag bolts are used in the process. A hole is drilled, and the lag is turned into the tree.I see these years later, and the tree just grows right over the lag bolt.
The LW climbing sticks are great, and I'll use them at some point later on, but, I can GUARANTEEthe Cranfords aremore quiet than the sticks, and much more compact. There reallyis verylittle effortinvolvedin screwing these steps in. Cranford is to tree steps what LW is to tree stands!;):D:D

hardcorehunter 01-12-2009 06:30 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
LOL..I knew I would wake up Greg from hibernation:D
1. I wonder why the states don't allow screw in steps in the trees if it is in fact ACTUALLY good for them to have the steps screwed in?
2. I don't care how EASY a screw goes into a tree..it isn't as fast as one strap around the tree and instantly you have 3 steps. NO way can 3 steps be screwed in a tree faster than one strap thrown around a tree. One strap eqauls 3 steps to a stick. DARK AGES[8D]
3. Sticks make no noise installing. They make noise touching each other while removing from the stand. Screw in steps make noise jingling against each other pulling them out of a pocket or pack too.
4. A lot of hand rotation movement is made while screwing in a step...could be easily seen by a deer imo..much more than installing a strap or UCR.
LOl...fire away guys...convince me to get rid of sticks and use steps. If I used steps..here are the ones I use. easy and fast to install and laborless.


5. I have a land owner that made it a POINT to tell me that he doesn't want screw in steps in his trees.

hardcorehunter 01-12-2009 07:15 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: TEmbry

If anyone believes in the products they personally use the most, it HAS to be HCH.:D Not that it is a bad thing, it's awesome having confidence in your setup. Confidence breeds success....but man, it is what he uses or nothing
Nah.. I drive a chevy and don't care what you drive[8D] I like chics and I don't care if Germ likes men:D I like Bowtech and I don't care if you like Mathews, Hoyt, or Martin. I like a Short-n-Sweet Truball release and I don't care if you like a Carter, I don't care if I use a LW hangon, a Muddy Hangon, or any other SELF LEVELING easy to hang hangon;as long as it is easy to hang, quiet, and self leveling. I just know what works in my woods and am passionate about perfecting what works in my woods. Screw in steps will not be in my woods...been there done that and have graduated on to better products imo. Glad they work for these other guys though. If we all liked the same thing....it would be a boring world.;)

Cougar Mag 01-12-2009 07:17 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
I have one of those strap on treesteps Don and use it on the bottom on occasion, but there is no way I will use it or more of them as a full set on a tree. They have too much give and free play for me no matter how tight the strap is. Guess that is why I only bought one. By the way, I can screw in a Cranford treestep faster than I can strap on that step.

hardcorehunter 01-12-2009 07:21 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
lol...my sister is prettier than yours. I think those staps could not even be cinched up real tight and still not slide down a tree as the weight of your body is going to lock them on. I have used them a lot and I just cinch them down and go...I feel safe. Like I said..different products for diferent folks

Greg / MO 01-12-2009 07:48 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
LOl...fire away guys...convince me to get rid of sticks and use steps.
Nah, that wasn't my purpose... they've both got a time and a place. Heck, even my Summit Bucksteps have a place. Rarely, but they do have one. ;)

LOL..I knew I would wake up Greg from hibernation:D
It's called a five and a half hour drive home from the ATA with LOOOONG stretches of interstate and nothing to do. Had to see what the natives were up to. :)Heck... now that the season's almost over and I need to seriously get back to work and spend more drive-time behind the wheel for work, I just may show up a bit more again. I need something to do with all that time on the road. :D

Seriously... you mentioned the Muddy Creek products or whatever their name is. I saw a new stick Todd Pringnitz is helping those guys come out with that I REALLY liked. It incorporated a rope sort of like you put on yours, but it slips into an ascender-type holder like they use in mountaineering, albeit it's sideways so the rope can wrap around the tree and then easily slip in that. One good quick tug locks it in. VERY slick little system.

Also, when the step is lowered, another on the opposite side comes down with it. Allows the person to always have the right step out and not have to flip the ones on the LW back and forth to figure their footing out correctly; also gives the user a level platform on which to stand to hang his stand at the top.

I'll most definitely be buying a set of those when they come out.

hardcorehunter 01-12-2009 08:12 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

LOl...fire away guys...convince me to get rid of sticks and use steps.
Nah, that wasn't my purpose... they've both got a time and a place. Heck, even my Summit Bucksteps have a place. Rarely, but they do have one. ;)

LOL..I knew I would wake up Greg from hibernation:D
It's called a five and a half hour drive home from the ATA with LOOOONG stretches of interstate and nothing to do. Had to see what the natives were up to. :)Heck... now that the season's almost over and I need to seriously get back to work and spend more drive-time behind the wheel for work, I just may show up a bit more again. I need something to do with all that time on the road. :D

Seriously... you mentioned the Muddy Creek products or whatever their name is. I saw a new stick Todd Pringnitz is helping those guys come out with that I REALLY liked. It incorporated a rope sort of like you put on yours, but it slips into an ascender-type holder like they use in mountaineering, albeit it's sideways so the rope can wrap around the tree and then easily slip in that. One good quick tug locks it in. VERY slick little system.

Also, when the step is lowered, another on the opposite side comes down with it. Allows the person to always have the right step out and not have to flip the ones on the LW back and forth to figure their footing out correctly; also gives the user a level platform on which to stand to hang his stand at the top.

I'll most definitely be buying a set of those when they come out.

Todd told me about those sticks but I have not seen one yet. Can't wait. Finally LW has some competition it sounds like. The market has been theirs in the sticks and it shocks me as there are a lot of bright inventors out there. One of the features should be a rubber or vinyl factory spray applied for total quietness. LW says they are "Your silent partner" but metal stacked on metal on the back of your stand isn't going 2 be quiet. I would also like to see an upgrade in other super lightweight metals like bicycles have incorporated. Aluminum bikes don't cut it 4 the hardcore bicycle guys, and they gladly spend the $$ to lighten up their bike, and I would too on my sticks. Just like me and countless others that just spent $75 on UCR's to make our LW sticks lighter and better. Technology is there and it just needs applied. There are a lot of us hardcorebowhunters that will spend $$ on the best product available. $800 bows, $400 ground blinds, $200 archery sights...the list goes on.

Greg / MO 01-12-2009 08:18 PM
RE: Screw in tree steps?
 
I agree on trying some new construction material.

I heard someone say that the patent runs out in a couple years on the LW platform and I later confirmed it with a friend at their booth. It'd be REAL interesting to see a space-age, lightweight material in a fully molded model like exists in the current LW platform... say something in the five or six pound range? [8D]

I'd pay several hundred dollars for one that I'd take in and out with me each time for run 'n gun sets...


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