lounge chair in the sky!

[ozy clint]

well after alot of door knocking without success i have had to resort to hunting a property that i have rifle hunted for many years. there are fallow deer there but they are very skittish and nocturnal. there are clearings and there is bush, very thick bush. even with a rifle you work hard for a deer there as they don't enter the clearings until about 30 seconds before it's too dark to shoot. this means it's virtually impossible to stalk them with a bow.
so, now that i'm a trad bowhunter that needs to be close to things i'm going to try ambushing them on a trail back in the bush. so i thought i'd make a climbing tree stand.....just because i can and because i need one to get close to a deer on this place!

being a boilermaker by trade i had no trouble knocking up the frame, and being handy on a sewing machine it wasn't hard to make all the cushions.

the frame is aluminium, i used motorbike chain for the 'wrap around the tree part', and after a trip to the rubber shop for some foam i made up some cushions with some green canvas i had. then i canabalised my old backpack for it's harness. now i have a very portable stand.
i must say it works great, is comfy and it feels as safe as a house

so far it has cost me about $AU85. that's for the paint and foam from clark rubber. i haven't got the bill from work for the aluminium yet but i get it at cost price, overall i think it will be a worthy project. i figure i'll be ahead when i shoot the first load of venison out of it.

only problem is i've got to stay awake.......man it's comfy!

[Ragnarok Forge]

Nice looking seat.  Hope you make some meat soon.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Good on ya, Clint!

[magnus]

Way to be creative. Please make certain to always wear a safety harness!

[raghorns]

Very nice work...always a good feeling when you make it yourself. Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Sharpster]

Very Nice Clint...very nice!  

I see you put some heavy teeth on the grippers but take it from a guy who's used climbers for 30+ years, don't go up those leaning trees. The stand will want to swing around to the low side and... well, it can get ugly fast. Use a safety harness and keep us posted. Thanks,

Ron

[ber643]

You might just have a "baby" there. You might want to get a patent on it - before it's too late - just in case.

[PowDuck]

Good job! Looks like an API Grand Slam copy. I love mine. Wish I had the backrest. Awesome!!

PS:1:  Tie a rope between the two pieces so when you drop the bottom part by mistake you're not left stranded up the tree with only the upper half (Experience talking here.)
2: I see you put rubber straps on the bottom half to put your toes under when climbing. My experience: take 'em off and just turn your toes out and hook them under the side braces.

[JJB2]

Like PowDuck said, tie them together.  Don't want to be stuck up a tree!

[JJB2]

Like PowDuck said, tie them together.  Don't want to be stuck up a tree!

[maineac]

Good luck with it!

[Stone Knife]

Nice job on that stand, wait till you get older if you think you'll have trouble staying awake now.  

[ozy clint]

sharpster- you may notice the holes in the tree grippers. they are there so i can use a ratchet strap around the tree when i'm setup. they get used for strapping the 2 platforms together when it's on my back. that yellow strap is one of them.

powduck- i have already done point 1 and point 2 i have figured out already.

i went for a hunt on sunday arvo. i found a scrape so that made my decision on where to hunt very easy. i caught a fleeting glimpse of a buck at about 40m. i heard him thrashing somes trees for a while then that was it. next time maybe....

 
 

[Dryfired]

That's very clever Clint, impressive work! Hope you get onto those deer.

[treetoppredator]

Nice build on the climber!
I love to see pics of hunting ground in places different from what I'm used too. Always makes me wish I could afford to go on a few hunts in different parts of the world.  Good luck with that setup over the scrape, hope that it produces for ya!

[Mudd]

Good job!!!

God bless,Mudd

[PowDuck]

Originally posted by ozy clint:


powduck- i have already done point 1 and point 2 i have figured out already.

i caught a fleeting glimpse of a buck at about 40m.    

Nothing like experience.

So if I come hunt where you are do I have to compensate my range estimation for the metric system?    

[cacciatore]

Clint,you are a well of ideas!

[stickem1]

That is a great looking stand! Way to be creative. Good luck on getting some meat out of it.

[Randy Morin]

That is sweet Clint.  Good-on-ya!!!
Good luck with the wary deer.