I've been hunting with climbers for a long time and, for most situations, are the best way to go in my opinion. Find a good spot, scout a good tree and get as high as you can and still be effective.

Lugging stuff in and out is not much fun and definitely makes you weight conscious of everything you carry. A good climber weighs about 20lbs so take that into consideration, especially if you knock one down.

Although it’s very tempting I wouldn’t recommend leaving a climber in the woods, even if it’s locked up. I’ve had two stolen from me off a private farm that bordered public hunting lands; one time it was locked up and the other it was not. I guess I thought the first time was a fluke and finally woke up after the second.

Hunting on the ground is th emost logical choise. When hunting on a piece of property u dont know confining yourself to one spot isnt always the best choice. Take the first day to sit next to a tree and see how things go.

I hunt all public land as well. I hunt off the ground & use natural cover for concealment. Blowdowns, trees, rocks, etc.

If you are considering a tree stand then I would not do a ladder stand - to heavy and to much time to set up, could not imagine doing that in the dark. Put your Dad in the ground blind, and you climb the tree, two cables around the tree and up you go. Make sure you have a harness, makes no sense to climb in and out of stands without one.

I'm trying to convince him about the ground blinds. He's scared or thinking he's going to get shot where someone won't see the blind and shoot if they see a deer nearby.

get yourself a climber treestand. www.sportsmansguide.com has a sale on a guide series climber right now for $75. looks legit. get as high as you can. 20-30 ft

I have hunted public land most of my hunting career. I only used a treestand twice and both times had shots at deer, close. Killed one and the other one was 10 yards away but my powder had got wet in the muzzle loader so I let him walk after snapping 3 caps and dropping my capper! I usually find a blow down or other structure to hide myself in. I killed a 7 point one year sitting in a hollowed out log with only my head and shoulders above the log. The reason we hardly ever used stands is because we hiked about 2 miles in every morning. We got in front of everyone one else and most never hiked that far up in the mountain. The further you go off the trail on public land the better off you will be.

Take some blaze orange vests with you and hang them in some trees about eye level around your blind. 2 will do, 3 would be better. As long as they don't flap in the wind I don't think deer will mind. And wear blaze orange when you walk in and out. I put an old white haired man in the scope one morning thinking it was the rump of a deer. I don't know who it scared more me or him. I bet he wears blaze orange now!

I agree with staying grounded,atleast for the first day. If you expect alot of other hunters, get in early!! Try to put yourself in a deers escape route cuz' they'll be using it!! But don't restrict your sight. I try to stay in the woods as long as possible so that when the midday quitters leave the woods they might bump some deer my way. Watch your scent and wind direction cuz' they'll be on high alert! Good hunting!!!

And I can see that you're very keen on the idea now too!LOL! That happened to my old white haired grandpa too! BE SAFE FOLKS!! KNOW YOUR TARGET AND BEYOND!!!!!