© By Othmar Vohringer
Keeping you treestands in good shape:
How safe treestand hunting is depends not only on wearing a safety harness and using a quality stand but also on the maintenance of the stand. It all starts by carefully reading, understanding and following the owners and operation manual accompanying each treestand. Before each use and after the hunting season ends inspect your stands for wear and tear, especially the attachment belts, buckles, chains and cable. If you see a crack in the frame have it fixed by a manufacturer recommended professional. Worn parts should always be replaced with factory recommended parts. After the hunting season closes wash and repaint the stands and lubricate all the joints and moving parts; this will go a long way to avoid creaking and popping noises. Store the treestands in a dry place such as the garage or garden shed until next season. Purchasing a treestand is an investment that can greatly enhance your deer hunting success so keep it in good working order and you will get many years of use from one of the greatest inventions in deer hunting.
Conclusion:
Each of the different stand models I described in the previous posts has its advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, a serious treestand hunter should own at least several hang-on stands, a climbing treestand and a ladder stand. This stand arsenal permits the hunter to pre-select several stand sites and quickly change locations from one stand to the next without any delay to wherever the deer action is. Owning several different stand models gives you the opportunity to use stands in a wide variety of situations and that often will make all the difference you need to be in the game.
No matter what stand model or brand you choose safety is of paramount concern. Each time a human leaves terra firma he or she is in danger of risking life and limb. Unlike birds we have no wings that take us safely back to earth from lofty heights. Treestand manufactures supply a safety harness with each treestand and they should be worn each time we hunt from a stand. Most of these safety harnesses also function as a lineman climbing belt or can be easily converted to one.
While most hunters these days wear a safety device once they are in the treestand, many hunters fail to realize that Falls from stands or climbing to and from one account for seventy-five percent of all hunting related accidents. From that figure more than eighty percent of accidents occur when climbing to and from your treestand. The rest of the accidents occur by careless use of the stand, malfunction and disrepair of the stand, ladders or safety equipment. By remembering a few simple common sense safety rules accidents with treestands can be greatly limited.
Treestand theft prevention:
It is an unfortunate fact of life that we share this planet with thieves and hunting is not excluded from it. Each year hunters head to their stands in anticipation of a good hunt only to realize that the stand has gone. There are several ways I have found that work really well in securing your stand against theft. One way is to never leave a stand in the woods. If it’s practical take the stand down after hunting. However, I am well aware from experience that it is not always practical to remove the stand after each hunt.
First no matter what color the stand is I’ll repaint them with a camouflage pattern resembling ASAT camouflage. This makes the stand next to invisible not only to deer but just as important to other hunters too. I observed hunters walking right under my stand and never notice anything. Heck, there have been times, before GPS, when I scratched my head looking in the treetops for my own stand. In addition I lock all my hang-on and ladder stands with a good quality bicycle chain to three. Ladder stands are not a big worry for me because I only set them up in the really thick stuff where most hunters wouldn’t dream to go.
If you use your ladder stand in the more open areas chain the stand to the tree with up to three heavy-duty steel chains and sturdy quality padlocks. The goal here is to make it as hard as possible for a treestand thief. The harder they have to work to get what they want the less likely it is that your stand will be stolen.
Once I installed my hang-on stands I remove the climbing sticks. Again I want to make it as hard as possible for a crook to access my stand. Somehow I don’t think that a thief would climb up a tree or go home to get a ladder just to steal my stand. It only takes me a few minutes to set up my climbing sticks and be ready to hunt, so it is not a big deal for me to take them down after each hunt and transport the sticks in and out of the woods.
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Climbing Stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Ladder stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Tripod Stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands, Ladder Treestands, Tripod Treestands
Friday, September 04, 2009
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Choosing The Right Treestand… (Tripod Stand)
© By Othmar Vohringer
Tripod Stand:
This is not a treestand in the strictest sense because no tree is needed to set it up. The tripod stand is a self-supporting unit, but since it is listed under “treestands” in hunting goods catalogs and permits the hunter to get above the game I have included them here too. A tripod stand is the perfect choice to hunt brush country, marshes, corn and bean fields. This stand will get the hunter above the vegetation and lets him see into the thick tangled brush, corn and reed stems. Also here in British Columbia where we often glass large overgrown cut blocks for mule deer I have often thought that a tripod, set up on the edge of a woodlot, would come in handy.
Tripod stands are very heavy and take considerable time to set up. As the name suggests the tripod stand consists of three legs, one of which serves as a ladder to access the stand. At the top of the tripod a platform is installed and a seat. The better models feature a swivel seat affording a 360-degree view of the hunting area by simple swivelling around on the seat- a bit like an office chair. Tripod stands can be prone to tipping over in windy conditions or if the hunter suddenly shifts his weight from one to the other side. It is therefore advisable to add additional anchoring to the stand. This is simply achieved by attaching ropes at the point where the three legs meet under the standing platform and then tying the ropes onto metal or wooden spokes that have been driven into the ground around the tripod. Some manufacturers deliver an anchoring system with their tripods while others offer it as an after market product. Either way I strongly recommend using an anchoring system to improve the safety aspect of a tripod stand.
Portability:
Like the ladder stand the tripod too is not portable. The stand comes with many different parts and needs to be completely assembled. This takes time and due to the weight of up to 100 pounds and the consequent bulkiness, depending on the model, two to three people to assemble and set up. I never owned a tripod stand but at the drop of a hat O can think of at least two occasions where I wished I had one. One was in a cornfield that was home to some very large bucks and the other place was a cattail marsh that was the home to very large and smart buck.
In the next post we will look at maintaining a treestand to keep it in good working order and how to prevent treestand theft.
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Climbing Stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Ladder stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands, Ladder Treestands, Tripod Treestands
Tripod Stand:
This is not a treestand in the strictest sense because no tree is needed to set it up. The tripod stand is a self-supporting unit, but since it is listed under “treestands” in hunting goods catalogs and permits the hunter to get above the game I have included them here too. A tripod stand is the perfect choice to hunt brush country, marshes, corn and bean fields. This stand will get the hunter above the vegetation and lets him see into the thick tangled brush, corn and reed stems. Also here in British Columbia where we often glass large overgrown cut blocks for mule deer I have often thought that a tripod, set up on the edge of a woodlot, would come in handy.Tripod stands are very heavy and take considerable time to set up. As the name suggests the tripod stand consists of three legs, one of which serves as a ladder to access the stand. At the top of the tripod a platform is installed and a seat. The better models feature a swivel seat affording a 360-degree view of the hunting area by simple swivelling around on the seat- a bit like an office chair. Tripod stands can be prone to tipping over in windy conditions or if the hunter suddenly shifts his weight from one to the other side. It is therefore advisable to add additional anchoring to the stand. This is simply achieved by attaching ropes at the point where the three legs meet under the standing platform and then tying the ropes onto metal or wooden spokes that have been driven into the ground around the tripod. Some manufacturers deliver an anchoring system with their tripods while others offer it as an after market product. Either way I strongly recommend using an anchoring system to improve the safety aspect of a tripod stand.
Portability:
Like the ladder stand the tripod too is not portable. The stand comes with many different parts and needs to be completely assembled. This takes time and due to the weight of up to 100 pounds and the consequent bulkiness, depending on the model, two to three people to assemble and set up. I never owned a tripod stand but at the drop of a hat O can think of at least two occasions where I wished I had one. One was in a cornfield that was home to some very large bucks and the other place was a cattail marsh that was the home to very large and smart buck.
In the next post we will look at maintaining a treestand to keep it in good working order and how to prevent treestand theft.
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Climbing Stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Ladder stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands, Ladder Treestands, Tripod Treestands
Choosing The Right Treestand… (Ladder Stand)
© By Othmar Vohringer
Ladder Stand:
As the baby boomer generation grows older these stands have become very popular in recent years. While not so long ago one had to look far and wide to find a good quality ladder stand, these days every treestand manufacturer offers a variety of models. Some ladder stand models are so roomy that they can accommodate up to two hunters, which is great for the father introducing his child to hunting.
The ladder stand is quite heavy and in most cases needs two people to set up. It’s also hands down the safest stand a hunter can use due to the fact that the stand remains in contact with the ground at all times. Because of that the stand is also easy to access and descend. Some of the better models, especially the ones designed for two people, are very comfortable to sit on with padded seat and back cushions. Ladder stands have an almost limitless application as long as there is a tree strong enough to lean a ladder against it will work for a ladder stand.
The downside with ladder stands is that they are very visible to deer and other hunters and at an average weight of 40 pounds plus the bulkiness they are not exactly easy to transport. However, in areas that have dense undergrowth and brushy trees where a hang-on or climbing stand would not work well a ladder stand will be perfect. These stands are also perfect for hunters that have one or two “hot spots” that produce deer every. On such places a ladder stand can be set up and left as permanent stand. Also hunters that are not very agile and need a stand that is easy to get in and out of will like the ease and comfort of the ladder stand.
Portability:
As mentioned earlier the ladder stand is quite heavy and bulky, plus it takes considerable time to put it together and set up. Considering all these factors the ladder stand is not what I call portable by any stretch of imagination. I have two ladder stands and having them has let me hunt places from an elevated position that would otherwise not have been possible with other stand models.
In the next post we will look at Tripod Stands.
Image courtesy of Gorilla Treestands
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Climbing Stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands, Ladder Treestands
Ladder Stand:
As the baby boomer generation grows older these stands have become very popular in recent years. While not so long ago one had to look far and wide to find a good quality ladder stand, these days every treestand manufacturer offers a variety of models. Some ladder stand models are so roomy that they can accommodate up to two hunters, which is great for the father introducing his child to hunting.The ladder stand is quite heavy and in most cases needs two people to set up. It’s also hands down the safest stand a hunter can use due to the fact that the stand remains in contact with the ground at all times. Because of that the stand is also easy to access and descend. Some of the better models, especially the ones designed for two people, are very comfortable to sit on with padded seat and back cushions. Ladder stands have an almost limitless application as long as there is a tree strong enough to lean a ladder against it will work for a ladder stand.
The downside with ladder stands is that they are very visible to deer and other hunters and at an average weight of 40 pounds plus the bulkiness they are not exactly easy to transport. However, in areas that have dense undergrowth and brushy trees where a hang-on or climbing stand would not work well a ladder stand will be perfect. These stands are also perfect for hunters that have one or two “hot spots” that produce deer every. On such places a ladder stand can be set up and left as permanent stand. Also hunters that are not very agile and need a stand that is easy to get in and out of will like the ease and comfort of the ladder stand.
Portability:
As mentioned earlier the ladder stand is quite heavy and bulky, plus it takes considerable time to put it together and set up. Considering all these factors the ladder stand is not what I call portable by any stretch of imagination. I have two ladder stands and having them has let me hunt places from an elevated position that would otherwise not have been possible with other stand models.
In the next post we will look at Tripod Stands.
Image courtesy of Gorilla Treestands
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Choosing The Right Treestand…Climbing Stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands, Ladder Treestands
Choosing The Right Treestand… (Climbing Stand)
© By Othmar Vohringer
Climbing Stand:
The climbing treestand is almost as popular with hunters as the hang-on stand. Since the first stands of this type were introduced almost twenty years ago they have come a long way in regards to comfort, safety and ease of use. Some of the modern climbing stand models are every bit as comfortable as your favorite TV chair at home. The old, complicated-to-assemble and noisy rattletraps have been replaced by stands that need very little or no assembly at all. Modern climbing stands are light in comparison to the older models and with a bit of practice very quiet to transport and set up.
Climbing treestands, although easy to set up require considerable strength and agility to move them up a tree. Not only does the hunter have to move the weight of the stand up the tree but with the open frame models also his or her own weight too. Climbers come in two basic models: The sit-down-stand-up models and the hang on-and-pull models. Most of the so called “bowhunter climbers” are hang on-and-pull models. The sit-down-stand-up models are much easier to climb because you can sit down on the upper frame as you pull the lower platform up with your feet. The bowhunter models do not have that feature and the hunter has to hang on with his hands to the seat portion and then pull the standing platform up with his feet while his full body weight and that of the standing platform is fully suspended from his hands. Regardless of weather I hunt with bow or firearm I always use the full upper frame climbing treestand that permits me to sit down as I pull the lower platform up. I have never found that the full frame is in the way when I shoot the bow.
The problem with climbing stands is that they only can be used on straight trees of a relatively small diameter, most only will fit on trees not much larger than 12 to 14 inches in diameter. If the tree has low growing branches they need to be pruned flush with the trunk to enable climbing. This could lead to excessive pruning and loss of important cover.
Portability: For me the climbing treestand is a true run-and-gun stand. With this stand I can quickly change locations, set the stand up and be ready to hunt in a few minutes. The down side, as mentioned, is that you need straight trees of a relatively small diameter and it requires a certain amount of strength to climb up a tree with these stands. On the positive side a climbing treesrand can be converted into a very comfortable hang-on stand. Installing a climber as a hang-on stand is best done with two people. Simply climb up the tree to the desired height then have the other person lean a sturdy ladder on the tree so you can climb down. When you want to hunt that stand take a ladder with you or install a ladder directly onto the tree. To give a hunter true versatility and mobility I would recommend that you should own at least one climbing stand provided your hunting area featured enough straight trees.
In the next post we will look at ladder stands.
Image courtesy of Gorilla Treestands
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands
Climbing Stand:
The climbing treestand is almost as popular with hunters as the hang-on stand. Since the first stands of this type were introduced almost twenty years ago they have come a long way in regards to comfort, safety and ease of use. Some of the modern climbing stand models are every bit as comfortable as your favorite TV chair at home. The old, complicated-to-assemble and noisy rattletraps have been replaced by stands that need very little or no assembly at all. Modern climbing stands are light in comparison to the older models and with a bit of practice very quiet to transport and set up.Climbing treestands, although easy to set up require considerable strength and agility to move them up a tree. Not only does the hunter have to move the weight of the stand up the tree but with the open frame models also his or her own weight too. Climbers come in two basic models: The sit-down-stand-up models and the hang on-and-pull models. Most of the so called “bowhunter climbers” are hang on-and-pull models. The sit-down-stand-up models are much easier to climb because you can sit down on the upper frame as you pull the lower platform up with your feet. The bowhunter models do not have that feature and the hunter has to hang on with his hands to the seat portion and then pull the standing platform up with his feet while his full body weight and that of the standing platform is fully suspended from his hands. Regardless of weather I hunt with bow or firearm I always use the full upper frame climbing treestand that permits me to sit down as I pull the lower platform up. I have never found that the full frame is in the way when I shoot the bow.
The problem with climbing stands is that they only can be used on straight trees of a relatively small diameter, most only will fit on trees not much larger than 12 to 14 inches in diameter. If the tree has low growing branches they need to be pruned flush with the trunk to enable climbing. This could lead to excessive pruning and loss of important cover.
Portability: For me the climbing treestand is a true run-and-gun stand. With this stand I can quickly change locations, set the stand up and be ready to hunt in a few minutes. The down side, as mentioned, is that you need straight trees of a relatively small diameter and it requires a certain amount of strength to climb up a tree with these stands. On the positive side a climbing treesrand can be converted into a very comfortable hang-on stand. Installing a climber as a hang-on stand is best done with two people. Simply climb up the tree to the desired height then have the other person lean a sturdy ladder on the tree so you can climb down. When you want to hunt that stand take a ladder with you or install a ladder directly onto the tree. To give a hunter true versatility and mobility I would recommend that you should own at least one climbing stand provided your hunting area featured enough straight trees.
In the next post we will look at ladder stands.
Image courtesy of Gorilla Treestands
Related articles:
Treestand Hunting Safety Tips
Choosing The Right Treestand for The Perfect Ambush (intro)
Choosing The Right Treestand…Hang-on-stands
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Treestands, Treestand Hunting Tips, Choosing the Right Treestand, Deer Hunting, Climbing Treestands
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