for the past few years i've bowhunted outta' 16' metal ladder stands i had made by a welder/hunting buddy. i really liked the stability and comfort of the ladder compared to hanging stands.. my ladders are well-built, but very heavy and super awkward to set up. turns out this is actually a blessing, b/c i leave 'em out all year w/o any problems w/ thieves (too much work to steal!)..

i'm interested in taking the ladder design a few steps further....

i have 4-5 areas on my family's land that are natural funnels and would be excellent spots for permanent stands.. we have a lot of osage orange trees to build permanent stands in (i.e. 6"-8" galvenized screws can be used in osage orange w/o killing the tree)... i'm looking for the ultimate stand ideas to build this spring and hunt outta' for years...

i'd appreciate any and all info, ideas, thoughts, etc.

I like the lone wolf stand with the tree steps, you put them up just about anywere, they are fast and easy to put up and quiet.

I personally don't like building permanent stands in trees. I feel like I'm not concealed enough from the deer, and it seems you can never build one that doesn't squeek or make some kind of noise. I really don't like ladder stands either. I like to get up in the branches of a tree where I have ultimate cover (I get restless and move around a little more than usual).

I usually just go with lock-ons of some sort. Like Quazar said, Lone Wolf makes a great lock on. I build most of my own lock-on stands that I want to leave up. I have a great, simple pattern that I use and they are comfy. There are a lot of good lock-ons out there.

I haven't built a permanent stand in about 15 years.