Schobs

i was wondering if any of youwrap any of your stands in burlap? We make just about all of our stands, and usually wrap em in felt from my dads paper company then paint em. but i was hoping to get something more camo for my bow stand and found some real nice lookin burlap on cabelas. i tried wrapping it in plain old burlap last yr and painting it, then stapling it to the wood of the stand, but the burlap fell apart and then off of my stand. any suggestions on a better way to attach it? any other materials? i was also considering goin to the fabric shop and just pickin up some regular camo fabric, wool or cotton, i dont know. thanks for the help

~Schobs~

uncle matt

There's no way to get away from it - burlap just rots away when it keeps getting wet and exposed to the elements. I suggest using natural camoflauge and replacing it seasonally. Get some pine branches somewhere and use some bailing wire to attach it. It willdry up, brown and need to be replaced eventually.

Find someone throwing out an old artificial christmas tree and those branches will last a long, long time.

wayomic

Three of us have built stands and all use burlap or canvas for the sides.
Mine lasts the shortest time since I'm under pines and hemlock and it stays damp longer. The main thing in using cloth is placing it so that it doesn't wick moisture and stays damp. (and Red Squirels seem to love it) But even mine lasts a couple of seasons. My brother and father both have had the same burlap on thiers for 4 seasons now but their stands are in the open and exposed to a fair amount of sun and wind so tend to dry out very quickly. On mine, I leave a small gap between the floor and the wood strip that the burlap is attached to so that water fro rain or snow on the floor will not draw up into the cloth. Also, we back ours with some dark colored canvas or cloth since the burlap is so loose of a weave. We get cheap drop-cloths and spray them dark grey on both sides with a latex paint. It seals the cloth againt moisture and stiffens it also, but not enough that you can't foldit up to carry to where the stand is being built.
Another thing, instead of spending $$$ on burlap from Cabela's or a similar store, I get mine from Walmart, the day AFTER the seasons is over, when they put everything on sale. That way I can get a roll of material for $5 instead of the $15-$20 that it is before the season (or what Cabela's and the like sell it for year round)
I still will add some natural camo to augment it, breaking the hard lines at the edges, but it's not 100% nesc.

kevin1

Something wrong with planting some honeysuckle around the base and training it up and around the frame of the stand ? Chicken wire or fence fabric makes good trellising for the vines and is much more durable than burlap . BTW , deer browse honeysuckle all year round , don't move when they approach ...

buttonbuckmaster

Sounds like something to trip on to me. I don't camo my stands, I just try to pick a tree with a backdrop to break up my outline.

teamster284

camo a stand on corner of fence row over looking feild and travel route. i use camo burlap from gander mountain, and it is gone in a season. not that expensive so no big deal. the wind and rain / snow take its toll on that stuff. but wroks great. i am on a 3ft by 3ft wooden platform in a seat up to my shoulders camoed so even if i move a little deer dont pick it up out of that stand

hardcorehunter

To camo my ladder stands I use zip strips and pine boughs.
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2Poppa

I probably should have camo-ed my aluminum ladder last year but didn't. A large buck came thru every morning just at first light. I thought at first it would spook him...

Sure enough here he comes and he never looked at the shiny aluminum. I never shot him because he wasn't a monster...

Personally, I would stay away from fabric and use camo paint.