Do you feel comfortable leaving ladder stands up all year long? I worry that the straps will rot over the winter months or that someone will steal the stands (even on private land) Would you feel better dropping them and leaving them or would you haul them out and carry them back in next year?
I always bring mine home after season. Except for one that is just a bear to haul I take my safety strap and the enclosure,seat and hooks home and leave the rest. I check the straps in the spring or summer for weathering. My other stands are on national forest land and by law have to be removed after season. That said I know 3 guys who take the straps off and stash their stands under some low pines and brush them in and chain them to the tree so no one can steal them they have been doing this for years . If the forestry service finds any stands left up or in the woods they confenskate and sell them.
When the season ends I pull everything. Gives me a chance to inspect my equipment and make ready for next year.
I have probably 15 ladders out, and they stay up. I loosen the straps, take down my safety ropes, and then redo them in August or so. Straps are inspected and replaced as needed. I was noticing the start of some rust on some of the steps, so next summer plan to work on those.
I have three ladder stands that stay up all year and a few hang-ons. Each year I check the straps and add new ratchet straps to them if I think they need them.
However, this year I'm talking all the hang-on stands down. I'm also getting rid of 4-5 Gorilla stands because I no longer trust the bolts and cables. I figure I've dodged problems for 45 years but it is time to stop tempting "fate".
I'm trying to change all my stands to Lone Wolf Alpha II and a couple of Muddy's.
In the early 80's I was officed on a wildlife area in northern Indiana (Kingsbury). We would have a HUGE pile of tree stands we took down that were illegally left up on this public area each year.
Most of the stands were home-made junk and we just had a huge fire (for homemade) or took to the scrapyard the metal ones. From time to time though it was amazing what some folks would just leave behind. I recall we gave people a couple weeks after the season to fetch them.
I have a chain-on that I leave up. The seat is a length of firehose spraypainted gray with rubber liner that is riveted to the frame (original cotton seat is long gone).
Probably going to move it in the spring as I haven't seen a deer from it this year. Patterns do change and you have to adopt.
My ladder stand I move around and use that as a secondary. It's easier to place.
I pull all my stands after season except for one....and its a monster 2 man buddy stand that my son and I use when he hunts. But all the lock ons come down to inspect and get out of the weather...and to keep from being stolen. I put all new ratchet straps on stands when its time for em to go back up.
I do the same as KyStickbow - I pull all my stands except for one also (a two man buddy stand). If I had all ladder stands I would probably leave them but loosen the straps, etc.
Bernie
I just got off a lease where I had a few treestands. I had to cut the chain on both ends on one of them because it has been in the tree so long the tree grew completely over the chain and you could not see it anymore!
Bisch
I leave the seat attached year round on my Canoe stand. :)
The one time I left a climbing stand in the woods the squirrels and whatever ate the seat off and chewed all the parts they could sink their teeth into.
I have a few that stay up for years. A few considerations:
A) Don't expect many big bucks. Or even real long nose does. They get used to that stuff and veer around it. Still fine for meat hunting though, which is my chief concern.
B) Straps will decay and/or get chewed by assorted critters, mainly squirrels. I noticed one chewed through last week that I need to replace next time out.
C) A chain with a turnbuckle is better. Back the turnbuckle out one or two turns per year to allow for tree growth.
D) My stands are mostly homemade, so the plywood platforms have to be rebuilt every decade or so. Most of them are much older than I am, so I've just been in on that the last couple of decades. My dad built them back when he still taught shop in high school.
It goes without saying that this does not apply to public land, unless you are privy to some very unique patches of public land with very generous regulations and a minimum amount of traffic from other hunters.
I take mine down
Its best to have them out of the weather in off season
I normally inspect/paint yearly
Same as Whip
I don't know about ladder stands; they would be a hassle to take down and put up over and over, so I've never used them. However, we do leave loc-ons up on private land all season. I have had several stands go missing, though, so I've taken to putting a strong chain and padlock around the stand, just like a chain-on type locking mechanism, if I'm leaving the stand in place. I really prefer to use screw-in steps and a light, easily attatchable loc-on stand that I take with me. The set-up is in place; all I have to do is climb the steps and strap the stand. I'll have a small nail or something to hang the stand on so I can free both hands for securing the strap, and so the stand goes back in exactly the same place on the tree when I take it down. Screw in steps are fairly cheap in bulk, so if someone takes those I'm not out too much, but stands are expensive.
I take my chain-on stands down because the tree can grow in diameter enough that it tightens the chain and makes it a real chore to remove.
I keep mine out, and have found straps generally last 2 seasons. However, I check them each year just to be sure.
I pull everything out. Some sooner than others. But everything spends the winter and most of the summer out of the woods.
Chippewa wedge lox...leave the bracket, take the stand..really nice system
They are nice, it's a very good system.
QuoteOriginally posted by Whip:
I have probably 15 ladders out, and they stay up. I loosen the straps, take down my safety ropes, and then redo them in August or so. Straps are inspected and replaced as needed. I was noticing the start of some rust on some of the steps, so next summer plan to work on those.
Same as the Whip :thumbsup:
Tracy