hardcastonly

Im rather curious, how many of your gentlemen regularly use a climbing tree stand?
and do you feel its huge asset ?
theres certainly large areas in the southern united states with the strait trunk type type of trees and the intermittent open areas where deer feed,
that make the use of an elevated stand and its far greater visual access into the surrounding brush, a noticeable advantage.
in many areas theres network of dirt access roads so you rarely will need too back-pack a climbing tree stand over a 1/2 mile from a trail access,
to find a decent area with a suitable tree to use.
find an area with good feed or terrain features that mandate the deer travel through the area to reach feed,
water or bedding and cover or avoid hunter pressure, and your odds increase/

many areas I hunt in mid and northern florida look similar to this, with a decent revolver you can in theory control access too,
about a 200 yard diameter circle,in any direction,or about 6.5 of an acres, if you have the ability to consistently hit a deer vitals sized target
swap to a rifle with a 300 yards range, in any direction, and you in theory control access of over 50 acres, Ideally youll want to get 15-30 feet of elevation

Champlain Islander

Many years ago I bought my first climbing tree stand. It was a baker and it worked as promised but was a real gut buster due to the design. It wasn't safe as compared to more modern climbing tree stands. I never fell with it but I know quite a few people who did. I finally decided to scrap it and it was turned into a fixed stand at my camp. Years later I bought a Summit Viper climbing stand. I am 70 and still use it every year. I have several lock on stands along with climbing sticks and would rather use my Summit climbing tree stand. I feel more secure in it and it is way more comfortable and I can sit in it all day if needed. The design makes it easy to pack in and set up quietly. Climbing is easy since all you do is sit down and then stand up using your legs rather than arms and abdomen like with that old Baker. I will add, I never use it without wearing my HSS full body harness attached to a safety lanyard with prussic knot. I slide the lanyard up as I go and down as I descend. I am always attached to the tree.

hardcastonly

yeah, I own three commercial climbing tree stands ,
(all but one purchased dirt cheap at yard sales)
I was not all that impressed with any of them, yet they all work reasonably well,
and all had unique features I liked,
Having an extensive engineering back-ground..and having a good deal of fabrication skills ,
and a MIG welder ,and a MILLING MACHINE, access in my shop,
it was not particular difficult, to design and fabricate a custom,version that incorporated most,
of the best features, of those tree stands, in a single custom tree stand.
a well designed climbing tree stand must be sturdy, rock solid stable,
and comfortable too use for hours at a time, and yes that safety harness is mandatory.
a fall from 20-30 feet , from a tree stand, if your 71 like I am could be really nasty
I'm certainly not suggesting I have designed and use anything exceptional but it has the features I feel are desirable,
the best feature is the ability too get 15-30 feet off the ground and have a comfortable safe seat, too unobtrusively
observe the area you survey or theoretically control access too with the weapon you select to use,
the height gives you a major advantage in what can be observed, over stands at ground level

grinder67

I use a summit viper everytime I hunt deer for all the reasons already stated. I will add that many years ago I showed up in the dark at my lock on stand location only to find someone had stolen it. With my summit I am either standing in it or its on my back, not to many people brave enough to try and steal it.

hardcastonly

yeah you unfortunately can,t leave a stand un guarded, too many people seem to think,
any un-occupied stand was just casually abandoned and free to take!
I also had a stand stolen once that was left out over night and chained and padlocked to a tree,
lesson learned, too many low life scum.

Champlain Islander

I lost my then favorite lockon to theft many years ago. It was my lucky stand and I think we all know how that goes...LOL I was really upset and never had a problem before. Now when I leave a stand in place I lock them to the tree with a double loop 3/8 aircraft cable and a combo lock. It could be cut off but would take some pretty serious effort. It is a chance I take but the risk reward is tolerable from my way of thinking.

Timbrhuntr

I stopped using a climber years ago when I found I could get up a tree just as fast with 4 light sticks and light hang on. Plus there is pretty much no tree you can't get into straight on not.

hardcastonly

if your mechanically inclined fabricating one of dozens of climbing tree stand designs is not all that difficult,
if you have a welder and a drill press and an engineering back ground its even easier

Bocajnala

This!


I still have and use my summit. But a hang on and climbing sticks opens up allot more options, and once you've done it a time or two it's at least as easy, and maybe easier.

And these modern stands and sticks are so light


-Jake

Champlain Islander

I agree but if I am going to spend the day in stand I want my summit. It is so comfortable and I can even take a cat nap in the thing with no worries if so inclined..LOL..