First Experience with Climbing Stand
12-01-2009, 07:48 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 78
First Experience with Climbing Stand
Hey guys I am hunting a nice buck and he is out of range for my nice box stand. I bought a climber so I could be mobile and possibly get closer to him for a shot. I have been wanting one for a while, but just now pulled the trigger.
I am having a problem with getting all nervous while climbing. I can climb around 15-16ft then I start getting butterflies. Once I get turned around and sitting then I am fine and I love it. I am getting a little depressed about it because I want to go higher, but I feel like I just cannot make myself do it.
I use a harness the entire time and I can tell that it will hold me if I was to fall. It is something about the climb that scares me. When I sit I am okay, but when I stand I get the butterfly feeling again.
My climber is a Summit Titan.
What are your first experiences with your climbers? I absolutely love it, but I also am scared of it. I really hope that I will get over this fear, as I can see many many uses for this stand.
One more thing... I was really tired when I got to the top the other morning, I was actually sweating pretty bad. Luckily the temperature wasn't too cold that day. Do you just pull your coat up and put it on after your climb? My abs were killing me a couple of days after my climb, good workout!
I am having a problem with getting all nervous while climbing. I can climb around 15-16ft then I start getting butterflies. Once I get turned around and sitting then I am fine and I love it. I am getting a little depressed about it because I want to go higher, but I feel like I just cannot make myself do it.
I use a harness the entire time and I can tell that it will hold me if I was to fall. It is something about the climb that scares me. When I sit I am okay, but when I stand I get the butterfly feeling again.
My climber is a Summit Titan.
What are your first experiences with your climbers? I absolutely love it, but I also am scared of it. I really hope that I will get over this fear, as I can see many many uses for this stand.
One more thing... I was really tired when I got to the top the other morning, I was actually sweating pretty bad. Luckily the temperature wasn't too cold that day. Do you just pull your coat up and put it on after your climb? My abs were killing me a couple of days after my climb, good workout!
12-01-2009, 08:00 AM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 675
Yeah, I get nervous sometimes. That's just part of it. You'll gain confidence after you do it a few times. Make sure you pick a good healthy tree. I don't suit up completely until I'm up there. Sometimes I'll even wait a few minutes until I cool off a bit to keep from sweating.
The best part about climbers is the mobility. A few years ago, I climbed a pine near the top of a hill. There was a long food plot about 10 feet wide and 150 feet long that ran straight down the hill. It was a Saturday evening. Just as it got dark, I saw two does cross the very bottom of the plot. I wasn't ready and didn't get a shot. So Sunday evening I climbed a tree at the bottom. They crossed right behind me. I didn't get a shot but I also didn't make a noise. They had no idea I was there. It was a long week, but I took off Friday afternoon and climbed the right tree. One of them came back along the same path. She was delicious.
The best part about climbers is the mobility. A few years ago, I climbed a pine near the top of a hill. There was a long food plot about 10 feet wide and 150 feet long that ran straight down the hill. It was a Saturday evening. Just as it got dark, I saw two does cross the very bottom of the plot. I wasn't ready and didn't get a shot. So Sunday evening I climbed a tree at the bottom. They crossed right behind me. I didn't get a shot but I also didn't make a noise. They had no idea I was there. It was a long week, but I took off Friday afternoon and climbed the right tree. One of them came back along the same path. She was delicious.
12-01-2009, 08:01 AM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Pensacola Florida
Posts: 326
taha. well welcome! I only use a climber on my property. I love it because you can get any tree on any trail or bedding area, etc.... I mean whos gonna build a shooting house right in a bedding area???? So I like it for that. I don't go to high either maybe 12-15 ft. My brother will go up 20-25 but Hes just stupid. We should probally where safety harness's but there a pain in the a$$ to me. To bulky. Hard to move around in.
12-01-2009, 08:19 AM
#4
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: chatsworth,ga
Posts: 36
Heck just do what I do and sit on the ground. Now you have to cover your scent more but it beats gettin all nervous and sittin there afraid youll fall out the whole time. I used to hunt climbers and still do but very little. I fell outta a ladder stand when I was 19 from about 12ft up and landed right on my rump...boy did it ever hurt. Since ive just got on the ground if I can find a good cover spot were I can hunt.
12-01-2009, 08:21 AM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Warren MI
Posts: 450
I was extremely freaked out the first time I used one. when I got to 20 ft. and started to get settled in I noticed that I had the seat mounted wrong so while holding my bow in one hand and trying to fix the seat in the other the top section dropped to my feet, that just about made me swallow my stomach!!. you will get better with each use.
how do you like the titan? I am looking to have one of those for next season.
how do you like the titan? I am looking to have one of those for next season.
12-01-2009, 08:27 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: New York
Posts: 132
see i hunt in new york near lake erie and some of those trees get pretty high and the highest i will go is 20 or 25 30 is to high for me i know some guys who go 30 and they have more guts than most so you have to get use to the feeling of the climber cause the titian has that bar so you can sit on and climb up so i would try and get use to the feeling of being up in the air in the climber.
12-01-2009, 08:29 AM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: ne bama
Posts: 6,340
in this case getting scared is probably a good thing it tells me you still know what can happen if you get complacient with the safety aspect of what a climber can do to you
as for getting tired try taking smaller bites while climbing, use a sit and stand climb method, you may be using arm and leg, set on the bar and pick your feet up 6" to a foot then stand on the lower platform and raise the upper portion to where you can sit comfortably on it, keep repeating, i still use my climber religiously, nothing compares for mobility
the fear factor and the height, first pick a sutable tree, i prefer larger trees, and avoid scaley bark hickory....set your climber at as steep an angle as possible on the base of the tree, this angle will decrease quickly as you climb, a steeper starting angle will ensure that when you are at your desired height your platform(s) will be flat to slighly tilted torward the tree...tie a known lenght of pull up rope or use a "strapper" that is 20-25 feet look straight at the tree, the only thing you might want to look down at is your lower platform to ensure it is secure against the tree.. pick a good tree around your place and practice, it'll get where its like second nature..
and kudo's to you for being smart enough to wear a saftey restraint, if not for your own sake to keep your family from having to tube feed you..for people that don't like them i'd suggest a hunter safety system vest, i have used the seat of the paints design for years and it was a pain, but i promised my family that i would always wear it, and i did, but this vest the deal though for ease of use and piece of mind
as for getting tired try taking smaller bites while climbing, use a sit and stand climb method, you may be using arm and leg, set on the bar and pick your feet up 6" to a foot then stand on the lower platform and raise the upper portion to where you can sit comfortably on it, keep repeating, i still use my climber religiously, nothing compares for mobility
the fear factor and the height, first pick a sutable tree, i prefer larger trees, and avoid scaley bark hickory....set your climber at as steep an angle as possible on the base of the tree, this angle will decrease quickly as you climb, a steeper starting angle will ensure that when you are at your desired height your platform(s) will be flat to slighly tilted torward the tree...tie a known lenght of pull up rope or use a "strapper" that is 20-25 feet look straight at the tree, the only thing you might want to look down at is your lower platform to ensure it is secure against the tree.. pick a good tree around your place and practice, it'll get where its like second nature
..and kudo's to you for being smart enough to wear a saftey restraint, if not for your own sake to keep your family from having to tube feed you
..for people that don't like them i'd suggest a hunter safety system vest, i have used the seat of the paints design for years and it was a pain, but i promised my family that i would always wear it, and i did, but this vest the deal though for ease of use and piece of mind
12-01-2009, 09:13 AM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Frederick MD USA
Posts: 300
12-01-2009, 09:27 AM
#9
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 78
Thanks for all the responses. I have only hunted it 3 times, but I can say that each time I get a little more comfortable.
As far as the Titan goes, I don't really have much to compare it to. I cannot imagine one being much better though. After I get settled into the stand I absolutely love it. I just wonder how I have managed it this long without using one.
As far as the Titan goes, I don't really have much to compare it to. I cannot imagine one being much better though. After I get settled into the stand I absolutely love it. I just wonder how I have managed it this long without using one.
