15 ft ladder stand

[sweet old bill]

I purchased a ladder stand and found a spot to put it, the location is next to a corn and hay field, I have 3 travel trails coming together in the corner of the field.

My question is what is the best way to get the stand upright and leaning against the tree ?

Can the ladder sections  just be put together, then one person ( the old fart )by taking the seat area of the stand and then walking to the tree lift and walk it upright  ? or does it take 2 or 3 people ????

[Whip]

Two people for sure.  One just need to hold the base of the stand steady to make sure it doesn't walk away from you as you start walking it up from the other end.  And also to hold it at the base as you climb up to strap it to the tree.

Don't ask me how I know that it is very critical to safety to use two people!          
Ladder stands are very safe once they are up, but they can be pretty dangerous to erect if not done correctly.

[Stone Knife]

When I'm alone I use the base of a tree to hold the end while I walk it up. The best thing to do is get some help to stand it up, my wife will go out on occasion with me to lend a hand.

[Kevin Lawler]

I've put many of these up. Some with my son helping and some by myself. The best way is to assemble the stand and have someone stand on the end where it goes in the gound while another person walks it up. When I am by myself I have used the base of the tree and a little bit of it sticking in the ground to keep the bottom secure while I walked it up. I have on a few occasions had the base dislocate as I was doing this and the top of the stand teeter back down to the ground so be careful.

[ksbowman]

I put them together on the ground with the base against the tree.Then tie two lines one on each side of the seat platform about 15 feet in length, start at the end (top) and walk it up like you would any ladder.When you get it stood walk the bottom out about 6 feet from the bottom of the tree.Now grab the lines and cross them behind the tree and tie them to the ladder about 5 feet off the ground and cinch the ladder in very snug towards the tree.Then carefully climb the ladder and before you get to the platform put your ratchet strap on at the bottom of the platform and tighten it up very snug to the tree.If your stand does not have linch pins to secure the ladder sections together, drill holes thru the the slip joint connections in the ladder in your garage at home and install the pins in the field prior to erecting and you won't have any unexpected suprises getting in you stand some morning!  Ben

[Barry Wensel]

I do it very similar to ksbowman above but I also rachet the stabilizer bar to the tree before climbing up. That way the bottom is sunk into the ground, the mid section is racheted to the tree and the top is strapped to the tree by the crossover ties before you even start to climb to rachet the top securely. Plus, I have my fat brother do the climbing to test it. bw

[Pat B.]

As I'm starting to get a bit long in the tooth I've changed my methods of tree stand hunting a bit, right or wrong! Since I had a nice assortment of hand-on stands I elected to use them. However, instead of using normal means of climbing the trees I've started using 20' extenstion ladders that I've bought from Lowes or HD.. With the base of the ladder about 4-5 feet from the base of the tree I just extend the ladder up to the height I want then let it lean against the tree trunk. I tie the ladder to the tree about mid way up and again at the top. With the ladder secure it's pretty simple to hang a stand and getting up and down is safe and easy. I did paint the ladders and have had deer within inches of them and pay them no attention at all. I do have the privilige of hunting some private land so can leave these up all season. I don't have a fat brother to test mine though!

[KELLEY40]

I put all pieces together and grab hold seat section and walk it up.Be carful if it starts leaning one way or the other it go's in a hurry.

[SteveB]

What Barry said.

I usually replace the croosover ties with longer ratchet straps.

And I NEVER hang one myself anymore - as safe and careful as you are, the 1st time up until the top is tied is the most dangerous time.

Steve

[twisted]

Just siting here reading this thread and had an idea come to me would a pinning system that bolts to the stands legs at the base work to hold it so it wont move while standing it up
what im thinking is a sleeve that welded or bolted to the stand legs that has a pivot point in it weldided to a piece of tubing "pipe" that allows to to drive a steel stake though into the ground i dont own a stand yet but just my 2 cents lol

[SOS]

For one man set-ups, I use a 25lb bag of birdshot (any weight will do) with a strap and hook it to the bottom rung of the stand.  For normal stands, this usually is enough weight to balance it as you walk it up the tree...hope this helps.  

And the hint about the two straps to cross behind the tree and tie on - A1 advice.  Used that for the first time last year - really firms up the ladder as you climb it to rachet the seat to the tree.  Steve

[Dick4bows]

A friend and I put up a 16 ft double stand in about 20 minutes.  If you can get a 4 wheeler close enough, tie a rope through a crotch of the tree and pull it up with the vehicle.  One man to guide it and the other driving.  Dick

[BobW]

Many stands have a removable mid-ladder brace.  I would think you could use it at the bottom of the ladder to stabilize it while you walk it up.  Then re-attach at a mid-point brace.  Still best to do it with someone.  I used to bring the wife along for a walk on late summer days just to have someone there to make the 911 call should things just not go right.