still need help with PA public land treestands
 

are climbers legal on public land?


i ask because on page 32 of the book it says
"It is unlawful while hunting or preparing to hunt to 1) damage any tree on public or private property by constructing a treestand or using a portable device to climb a tree..."

now does this mean all climbers are illegal, or climbers that damage trees are illegal?

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

i think that it means the screw in steps......but to be on the safe side....dont hurt a tree

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

well yeah i wouldnt. i have an API climber that doesnt hurt a tree in any way, i'm just unclear on that wording.

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

They mean the screw in steps and the climbers that have those knarly teeth that grip and dig into the tree while climbing are not allowed on state game lands, state parks, or state forests. You also cannot use or build treestands that are permanent or left for long periods of time in those areas, which I don't think will be a problem because it'd just get cut off and stolen anyway. Basically they just don't want you doing harm to the trees. Regular newer aged climbers rarely have those damaging teeth on them anymore, though. Some of the really older ones used to come that way though. Using climbers isn't illegal though, just damaging treestands of any kind are illegal.

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

iused a loggy bayou climber on state game lands years ago. it had rubber grips where it came in contact with the tree so it wouldn't hurt the tree.

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

hm. i think mine might qualify as "gnarly teeth". thanks.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/bkalbach/0824072139.jpg?t=1188006214

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

I could be wrong, but this seems pretty subjective and ultimately is up to a DNR officer to enforce.

Sure, a cop could pull you over for going 27 in a 25, but isn'tthe more effective and greater good done by nabbing those going 45 in a 25? The same is true here. Yes,if a DNR officer really wanted to give you a hard time about your climber, he probably could find damage to the bark of just about any tree you climbed with just about any climber-even state of the art ones. But I think the overall goal is to stop people from screwing 20 steps into a tree or building 3'x3' weather treated platforms out of 2"x4"s.

It seems to me that if you bring back out everything that you bring in on the day of your hunt, you don't screw or nail anything into a tree, and the damage to tree isn't blatantly obvious to anyone passing by, you're probably ok.

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

Keep in mind that damaging trees would also exclude clearing shooting lanes. Not sure I could hunt any of my stands without a little trimming but even that would violate the law. Sorry to say that I trim anyway.. A man's got to do what a man got to do. If they really wanted to bust the old nads they could..

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

So to further the debate...Are Bow Hangers and Umbrellas illegal since they are screwed into the tree?

RE: still need help with PA public land treestands
 

I believe so.