Gorilla Stands?

[Huntrdfk]

I replaced the cables on all of my gorilla stands last year, two years ago cables gave way on a three year old stand while I was in it. I had been in the stand for an hour or so, I had been sitting, I went to stand and the ne t thing I knew I was hanging from my harness.
Even though I replaced cables on all of my stands, (4 of them), I think about that day every time I step onto one of them.
I Am much more comfortable when hunting out of my Lone Wolf Sit and Climb.

David

[Coach Jones]

Damn guess I better get to work on my cables.   I currently use about 12 gorilla stands and another dozen Rivers Edge.   Some of my Gorillas are 10-12 years old.

[Tony Sanders]

So far myself, I have had pretty good service over the years with Gorilla stands, with no problems. But sometime ago Ryan Rothhar came on Tradgang about some safety measures he took with his hang on stands. What he did was added chains to his hang on stands. I followed his advice, and went about installing galvanize chains on just about all of my hang on stands. I then painted them green with Hunters green Rustoleum paint. For me it certainly brings an added measure of safety and peace of mind, especially since I had a fall from a treestand some years ago, thank God with no injuries. Believe me, you can not be too carefull.Here are a few pics of one of my hang on stands with the chains installed.


 Tony

[awbowman]

Thank you Tony.

[Huntrdfk]

Tony, I see in those pictures you left the cables on, and did not use those holes to mount the chains too.......did you drill new holes in the platforms and supporting brackets? Any reason you left the cables attached?

David

[Tony Sanders]

Yes David I did drill new holes. Since the cables was not rusted out, I left them in place as sort of added support vice or versa.

 Tony

[Fletcher]

Thanks for the pictures, Tony.  I noticed your strap was loose.  Do you just use ratchet straps to hold the stand up?

[Tony Sanders]

Hi Rick. Yes I have 3 ratchet straps attached to the stand, which do not show in the pics. The lose strap is the one that came with the stand, and I don't think it do a good enough job of securely attaching the stand to the tree. Thanks for noticing.

 Tony

[JDinPA]

Tony,
Thanks for the pictures, they help a lot.
You said you used galvanized chain.
What was the rating on the chain you used?
What was the rating on the hardware you used?

I would prefer to replace the old cables with new cables. I would also prefer to replace the cables with fixed length cables. I don't want to trust my crimps.

If I can't get replacement cables made up (the links above timeout) I will use chain.

[Tony Sanders]

Joe, if memory serves me correctly I think the rating on that particular chain I used is over a 1000LB. Also I don't know the exact rating on a 5/16 grade8 bolt, but it is fairly high and I think it is quite adequate for my purpose.

 Tony

[meathead]

With a little searching you should be able to find plasti-dip or heat shrink tubing that will quiet those chains down.