Ok guys... looking for insight here. I'm used to hunting private property where leaving stands hung year round is no issue. Now that I'm hunting oublic land, I'm thinking of going with a lightweight stand/tree step setup.
When you hunt this way, are you going in bare bones (i.e. no backpack or limited gear)?
Looking for specific setup examples here. Thanks in advance!
Chris
I will admit I use to be WAY caught up in the gadget phase. Any and everything you could ever "need" I took. Now I take the bare minimum , except my bow/arrows if it doesn't fit in my pocket I don't take it.
FYI a small folding saw helps when taking a climber or light tree stand into new woods.
I usually pack all my gear in... camo strapped to my backpack/fanny pack. I'm thinking of stuffing my pockets and packing it all in strapped to the stand.
Also considering muddy sticks and bloodsport stand for public land.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Small fanny pack and my summit open shot and im good to go
Have you looked at a Guido's Web? I think they may be a great answer for public land hunting. I actually bought one but since all of my hunting is done on my own private land with multiple prehung stands in place I found I just didn't use it. I have it listed in the classifieds here.
Here is a link to a thread with some good info about the Guido's Web.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=123176#000005
You may want to check out a Primos bowhunting vest with a Summit Open Shot or LW Handclimber
Don't need much to deer hunt. Small fanny pack with knife, flashlight, deer drag, whistle, couple paper towel, and a granola bar. In my pocket is film canister of milk weed seed to check the wind and around my neck is a grunt tube. Depended on the time of year, may have a pair of rattling horns. Always have my safety harness and for a stand, my Lonewolf climber is hard to beat.
I know it's foreign to many newer hunters as they have always hunted from trees, but consider a ghillie Suit and a Hammock Seat or just sit on a stump. It's amazing how close you can get to a deer this way.
These guys all have great ideas. I have had all the tree stand options (e.g., tree saddle, guidos web, lw climber and lw hang-on). I think the most practical is the lw hang on and sticks or climb paws. With bungees, they pack tight and you convert your stand into an Alice pack or pack frame. So now you can bungee clothes and other gear right to the stand. Also, I've become so efficient with this method that I can be up a tree way faster that I can with a climber. IMO the guidos web is super comfortable but is too heavy (10#) to have on your back while installing sticks. Plus, I never found a suitable platform to rest your feet once you arrive at hunting height.
The only way I have hunted- even on private ground- for 20 years. Always portable an on the move. Once you learn it, you can slip up just about any tree you like in under 10 minutes. You never have to repeatedly enter the woods until you are ready to hunt a spot. Ltwt hang-on, LW sticks, set up as a backpack (good shoulder straps, padded hip belt) on my back. I do not carry sticks stacked, but separated on a foam block which means no noise and low profile. 18#-with hip bet is hardly noticeable. All daily gear is in a turkey vest in the same pockets from year to year. As I climb a tree all the items I need are in easy reach in the same place every-time.
Hunted with 3 dozen different guys in the past 12 years. EVERY guy I take must hunt this way. All continue once they realize how easy ad efficient this is. Too- it is economical as you only need ONE stand!
Dan in KS
Thanks for the insight guys! The only part I'm getting hung up on is how to hang my bow/ gear oncei get into the stand...
Are you all carrying bow hooks up with you?
KSdan, id love to see a pic of your setup!
I would say scout the land before yu go and know what you will need to bring.
I either use my ghillie suit or.... I bring my Lone wolf climber and strap a small backpack to it.
Your question about the bow and stuff. I usually have 2 bungy cords around my stand. I stretch one around the tree and hang my quiver from it. I put my pack strapped in under my seat and my bow sits on my lap unless I get lucky enough to have a branch in front of me.
Limit what you bring and stay mobile.
I'm the same as a few others light weight hang on with LW steps. I use a small day pack and bungee it to the stand when carrying As far as hanging gear, small bow hooks are always in my pack one for my pack one for my bow they are cheap and weigh nothing ....
Small fanny pack and Lonewolf Assault hang-on stand.
Always have a couple hooks for the fanny pack and bow.
Check this thread out,
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=123634#000010
KSdan with some great info. I use a LW sticks/stand, black diamond rock climbing harness and my extra gear in a Kathy Kelly pack strapped to it all. Less than 20 lbs and I can go where ever the sign takes me.
I hunt this way 99% of the time.
I put up and take down every sit. For any stands under a mile I us a lone wolf hang on (not their little one)that goes on my back, my pack hangs on my stand (so my stand is sandwiched between my back and my pack). Then my gorilla climbing sticks go on my shoulder. From the time I reach the base of my tree to the time Im sitting in my stand hunting is about 6 minutes. same with take down.
For stand sites that are over a mile I use a saddle and a set of plastic strap on steps and it all fits in my pack.
I hunt 99% state land.
Here is another trick that has worked good for me over the years if you want to leave a stand up.
When you find a stand site that has proven itself and you know you will come back to a few times a season leave the stand up there with a cable lock and take the sticks down. most people wont go thru the trouble to bring thier own climbing stuff to get the stand and they can see the cable from the ground and know its not worth the effort.
For these stands I use cheaper stands. You can get good hang on stands from the sportsmans guide for 30 bucks. They are great for those spots you want to leave one out all season.
This shows my set up. What is NOT in this photo is the hip belt that I attach to the stand (it is one of those large padded type).
The set up is about 6" thick. It also allows me to tuck a vest or even a light jacket between the sticks and the stand.
Again- KEY to this set-up is I am always wearing a turkey vest with all the stuff I need in various assigned pockets. I actually have a lot of small items in the vest. I use screw in bow holders for hanging the bow and the vest. I usually hang the vest on the opposite side of the trunk, then use a bungee to hold it tight- thus no bulk in the tree.
I take the sticks off when I arrive at the tree. I then put the stand back on my back. I hang 1-2 sticks either on branches or on a small screw in holder so I can grab them as I ascend the tree. I go up the tree ONE time. Set the stand, reattach my safety line, step on to the stand, and pull up the bow. The entire process is easily under 10 min (I have timed myself many times in7-8 minutes!). You get really quick and fluid with this as the season unfolds. I do this easily 25-75 times every season.
(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m252/danrudman/fullfoldedLWtreestand.jpg) (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/danrudman/media/fullfoldedLWtreestand.jpg.html)
(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m252/danrudman/102-0224_IMG.jpg) (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/danrudman/media/102-0224_IMG.jpg.html)
Good hunting
Dan in KS
You all have been great! Very insightful replies.
Ksdan,. Thanks for taking the time to post those pics!
just a thought....
...you could eliminate some of your gear problems ( but admittedly add some others) by hunting from the ground using natural cover...it's a rush!
KS Dan, do I understand you correctly? You carry 2 - 3 sticks and then move them up with you as you ascend. Thus you can climb high with just a couple of sticks.
Isn't it hard to reach down and SAFELY disconnect the stick below you?
I'm a climbing stand guy so trying to understand how to make sticks work without the weight of hauling 4+ sticks around. I appreciate an explanation of how you use your sticks.
Great thread.
Bill
little_feather, on the hooks, I've used for the past 46 years several of 2 or 3" cup hooks from the hardware store. They weigh nothing, take up little space, go into the tree fast and hold the bow and Arrowmaster quiver. If you forget them (and I have) no big deal or expense. I love the little hooks mainly to hold the bow and quiver when first getting set up and organizing everything. Last season I didn't put one in and while getting organized the bow slid off of my lap down to the ground.
Bill, I re-read KSDan's post and the link to my old 2012 post provided by Yohon and got the impression he used more than two sticks. He just hangs two conveniently up in the tree so he can grab them on the way up after he mounts two on the tree.
I hunt mobile probably 85% of the time. I use a Lone Wolf alpha climber and then have what little gear I carry (gloves, facemask, tab) in my Hunters safety system vest. Never carry hooks, I've always liked to hold my bow in my lap.
I use 3-4 sticks. reddogge has it correct.
1) I take all sticks off upon arrival at the tree.
2) I loosen the straps.
3) Put the stand back on my back.
4) I then loosely hang/set sticks 3-4 either in a limb or on a small screw-in bow holder if needed.
5) While on the ground I attach stick 1. I hold it against the tree with my chest while I throw the strap around the tree. (It does not have to be ultra tight as the stick wedges down as you put weight on it)
6) I step up and do the same thing again with the 2nd stick.
7) I then step up on the 2nd and retrieve the 3rd from its hanging place.
8) I proceed with the 4th if needed (I also have a few screw-in steps in my vest if I need an extra step on a crooked trunk or similar).
9) I use a linemans's strap if I can, though most trees I climb have far too numerous limbs.
10) Once on the third stick I have a lineman strap on- I take off the stand and attach it. (Another helpful thing here for guys with shorter arms is to first screw in a tree step near the seat height- then have a small rope loop on the upright of your stand [behind the seat] so you can just place the loop over the step and take the weight off while you attach the strap. Remove the loop once you strap it.)
11) I then attach a safety rope above the stand- and reattach to it before I step onto the stand.
12) Once on the stand I reposition the safety prussic system higher. I screw in a couple bow holders. I place my vest on a hook on the trunk. I pull up the bow. Ready to go.
Notes:
-I have yet to see the value of the hook system on a LW. Even if you use the hook, you still have to use a strap. AND I have heard of guys putting a lower strap on the stand which put force upward allowing the hook to become undone. The stand fell forward when they stepped on!! I would rather trust a top strap- and a lower if it makes you feel more secure (never needed one).
- I do not know about all LW stands- but mine are equipped with a V-bracket at the top (as are most other good stands out there).
Works for me. . . sure there are other ways
Dan in KS
I just picked up an X-Stand sit and climb. Its weight is about 12 lbs. Have been out climbing trees for the past 2 weeks and it works very well.
Disclaimer: I am 57 and this will be my first season in trees. I have no experience with tree stands this is my first one. I wanted something light weight that would allow me to move around on public land. I also picked up a Spider Wire Micro harness (easy to put on and light weight) and a Live Wire decent system (will lower me to the ground if i fall).
This is how I go every hunt when using climber on public land and I always hunt public land.
Same set-up when using loc ons.
I bone and pack the meat out so have to always carry backpack. I just put what's in the main compartment of backpack in trash bag and hide till the next day and put the meat in to pack out.
I'm 67 with a lot of ailments and little over a mile back in the ridges in this pic. So I cut every corner I can weight-wise when possible.
Cold weather is the worst..that backpack is carrying mostly clothes. Pruners, saw, gps, woodpecker drill, bolts, climbing harness and belt are on my waist and belt.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/Pictures/Me/packclimber_zps34194618.jpg)
Thanks for the explanation Reddogge and Dan. I thought maybe I'd been overlooking a way to use sticks.
When I do the math, 4 sticks plus a stand comes out quite a bit heavier than my LW climber.
Bummer because I'm looking for lighter wt, yet portable set up for my 10 yr old son to use, when he comes out with me. 15 - 20 lbs of stand and steps + clothes and gear gets a bit heavy for him. Looks like we'll stay on the ground for another year when we are together.
Bill