Climber or Blind?
 

Im currently hunting from a large ladder stand, but last weekend I had a guy set up about 50ft behind me. Im not sure if he is going to be there permanently or not, but its not my property so I cant tell him to hit the road.

Needless to say I need something more readily movable. Im thinking a climber, so I can go where ever I want, including public land. Then again I have a nephew that keeps bugging me to take him hunting, so a blind would be better suite. Ive never had a climber, nor used one, so Im afraid they are more work than they are worth. I love the height of a treestand, but the ease of ground hunting. I really dont want to purchase both.


Are climbers worth the money? Dick's has a Gorilla Stealth XT on sale for $159.

Or should I buy a blind for ease of us, and I can take my nephew on the few occasions he wants to go?

Climbers are a good tool to have. An alternative to a pop up blind is a roll of camo burlap. It might take a little more time to set up, but you should be able to brush it in pretty well.
I'm wondering if the other guy even knew you were there. It doesn't make sense to set up that close. I had a guy do that last year during gun season. He looked right at me before plopping down on his bucket. Out of spite I kept moving around, coughing, and I even made a phone call. He soon left. I had a horrible toothache, so I was not in the mood for some jackhole to come near me. It was opening day, so a toothache wasn't gonna' keep me from hunting. The phonecall was to my fiance telling her to schedule a dentist appointment.LOL
Back to your question. The burlap is inexpensive and you could take your nephew the day before you plan on hunting and show him how to set up a blind.
Good luck

I hunt a lot from blinds and climbers. If you get a climber get it light. If you get a blind make sure you have enough room to shoot a bow or gun and be prepared for awkward shots sitting down. If there are plenty of climbable trees I would use a climber. It keeps you out of the line of fire on public land too!

I like the climber, lots of versatility versus a fixed stand obviously. Just need to make sure you are nimble enough still to lug the extra 22-28 pounds of stand around in the woods. Not too fond of blinds up here in Wi because I utilize public lands as well as private lands and there is a stipulation here now that the blind must be covered in a set percentage of blaze orange....

I would get the climber. I sold my Summit classic (steel) to my cousin last year and I bought the new Summit Viper SD. It's identical to what I had except its Alluminum and 7 pounds lighter. I bought mine on eBay for $240.00. But if your on a tight budget, you can get the Viper classic for $150 or so.

I love my alpha max by lone wolf. seems the most compact and lightweight out there. Very easy to set up and move while in the tree to adjust the seat height.

All I generally hunt out of is a climber. Love'em, but they have their advantages and disadvantages like anything else.

I'm Seeing more 50 foot distances from the advertising
 

From the increased sales of permanent type stands and many hunters not staying in "hunting" shape, I see a continuing problem.

I see more hunters congregating in 100 yards from a trail or road. More hunters in a small area, the advantage goes to the deer to scent and pick up the movement of hunters.

But I don't need anyone to agree with me. As long as I hunt my way, hauling, for longer distances, a climbing tree stand into and out of the woods, where a tree stand is necessary, I do it my way.

If you are hunting public land I would defiantly use a climber,keeps you out of the line of fire.Climbers now a days are very easy to use.

I just bought the API Crusader....I have yet to use it, but from all that I have read and heard, it is an awesome stand. I have never used a climber but my brother-in-law swears by them. For me, I think the choice of moving to different areas to hunt will definitely be beneficial. I can't wait to try it out!

I have the summit viper ss and love it. I do occasionally get in a ladderstand from time to time but not with a bow, only a gun. I love ladderstands when im in a rush to get in and out the woods and when i know the area is a good spot for shooting a gun long range(for the rut especially). But, I love my climber for mobility, especially on new land or different times of the hunting season. I use my climber 90% of the hunting season! well worth the $250. Now a blind(up to $100) is worth the money also, very mobile and can hide well in the woods. Also great for taking a partner with you.

I have used a climber type tree stand since the days of the "Baker" ... that that goes back a few decades now ! Compared to the climbers currently on the market, that Baker was a Widow-Maker ! The advantages of a climber are obvious .... with portability being the chief. The draw backs are the additional pack-in/out weight, a some what limited range of tree diameter, and almost impractical to use on trees with lots of limbes below 15" or so. The danger is the fall risk. Be sure to buy and use a quality fall restraint system. All climbers will come with a system, but some of these are rather cumbersome and tricky to strap on ... and all are "one size fits most". The climbers that I am most familiar with are Summit and Ol' Man brands. These manufacturers have been at it a good while and offer high quality, strong, quiet t use, sturdy products. I have friends that use API brand climbers and like them a lot.

As for a ground blind .... I use a "pop-up" type ground blind that I set up, then brush in. I have two smaller ones and a larger one. THe large one is a Double Buill brand. It is excellent, but large heavy and expensive..

Sucks to buy both, but owning different items to suit any hunting situation is incredibly handy.

In my area, the usefullness of climbers is incredibly limited as we don't have many mast producing trees. My personal favorite is hang-on's, but it's nice having a ladder stand sometimes too. I have two climbers that I rarely use. I hunt all private, so I never carry my climbers in and out. I leave them suspended a foot or so off of the ground at the base of my tree, then simply use it as an elevator when I get there each morning. In the rare instances that I've hunted public ground, I'd use blinds or climbers.

Hunting by myself, a simple chair blind or ground blind (umbrella or fence) is pretty functional, and they're great for public ground for portability and ease of set-up. I used to use burlap in this way with garden stakes, takes way too long.

For more than one person, or for protection against the weather, pop-up and hub-type blinds are fantastic, but they're big, and will take a little time for game to get used to. Unless I have a good spot to brush them in, I like to set them up before season and let them sit. I prefer the hub-type.

If I had to have ONE, I'd say a blind is more versatile than any treestand. There's ALWAYS ground to set a blind on, but there's not always a tree that's climber friendly (or tree-stand friendly at all).

I appreciate the input guys. Im thinking Im going to look into a climber. Right now I have about a 1/4 mile hike to my ladder stand, but if I get a climber I can hike another 1/2 mile or so and get into the really dense woods where (I dont think) many people go because it is so far. Plus the only public land I can hunt on is a State Forest so its 99% trees.


May pick up the climber and then put a blind on the Christmas list...

I have the LW sit and climb and wouldn't use anything else. After you get over the sticker shock you'll be glad you invested in one. It's light weight, super quiet, very secure, and easy to use. It's not the most comfortable stand though.

I think if you can get in a climber early and be quiet you have a much better chance at sucess with a mature buck, to me the only productive way to use a ground blind is to set it up way early and brush it out giving the deer time to get used to it, chances are if you go set up your ground blind today at 2:00 then hunt the rest of the day if your in a spot the deer uses all the time he will notice something is not right and look your blind over as soon as he spots it(usually he wins the staring contest and saves his owen butt! I think a climber is much more effiecient as far as killing especially old deer

I had a Summit Viper X4 (2004 model) that I used for years. It was an awesome climber, very lightweight, but yet rugged. I used it for both bowhunting and rifle hunting. But sadly, I fell into some hard times and sold it along with my bow. :cry:

I've tried ground/blind hunting and never had any success. Deer are extremely wary and have that weird "sixth sense". They KNOW when something ain't right. You absolutely have to be scent free and you and your blind have to be almost invisible.

Anyway, a climber is the only way to go especially on public land and state forests. Never ever ever leave anything on public land - it'll be gone come next morning - guaranteed. :nonono2:

I'd have to agree with you on every point, including the one on comfort. If you think the sit and climb isn't comfortable, try the hand climber. ;) I figure I'm not out there to be in total comfort, though, so the other advantages of my Lone Wolf outweigh the comfort issue for 3-hour hunts (light weight, quiet, secure). It's so quiet that I've had guys set up near me (50 yards once), and I've gotten down out of my tree with my Lone Wolf, and he never knew I was there!

This is what I was going to say.

So, X2 from me.