Over-hunting stands

[Ski]

they require specific "clean" trunked trees to use.

That's my gripe with them. Has to be a somewhat skinny, tall, straight, clean tree that when I'm in it makes me look like a giant blob. Height is the only way to hide. I'm a big guy and stick out pretty far to each side of a tree small enough for a climber. I have a Summit and the max tree diameter is 22". I'm pushing 36" wide in the shoulders, more with hunting coat. By the time I'm 20+ft up a 22" tree it's actually more like 16"-18", and I stick out like a sore thumb.

I rarely have a problem with deer seeing me and spooking even in 12-foot ladders.

Same here except I don't have ladders. I don't have to be high in a lot of situations. A good backdrop so I'm not skylined is paramount, and even better if I have some undergrowth in front of me just below eye level. Seems there are few things to hide you above 12ft until you get high enough to be in the tree top branches. Between 10ft & 15ft is often the goldilocks zone.

 

[BSK]

That was true back in the days when you tried & used the original "Baker" tree stand.
Not the case with most climbing stands today.

I've had two different API Outdoor climbers and a Summit Viper. All slipped and all felt unstable, especially when getting my gear arranged after reaching the level I wanted to hunt from.

Knock on wood, but one of the worst falls I've experienced was when my foot missed a rung on a ladder stand, and I fell @ 10 feet.

Luckily, of the hundreds and hundreds of times I've climbed into, out of, or sat in a ladder while hunting, I've never come close to having a fall. That's not been the case with climbers - even modern climbers. The only fall I've had with ladders is putting them up or taking them down.

Wearing a safety harness, climbing stands are absolutely safer than using ladder stands without wearing a safety harness (climbing, sitting, descending).

I whole-heartedly agree with that.

 

[BSK]

In another type of way, what I find "harder" than using climbers is the annual re-locating & servicing of 50 ladder stands. Saying 50 because that's probably about the number needed to equal the "fresh" location aspect of daily relocating with a climber (over the course of a deer season).

It's a whopping pain in the ass. And that pain is getting worse with each passing year as myself and my hunting partners (brothers and BILs) are getting older. We are moving fewer and fewer each year. Easier to just put up more so we hunt each one less!

 

[TheLBLman]

I've had two different API Outdoor climbers and a Summit Viper. All slipped and all felt unstable, especially when getting my gear arranged after reaching the level I wanted to hunt from.

As they say . . . . . .

"Your mileage may vary."

Just like with any other type stand, the more you use them, the more efficiently (and more safely) you can.

 

[BSK]

I can typically climb quietly, and on cold mornings, usually much quieter than climbing a typical metal ladder stand, which is bad about emitting a very loud, deer-spooking metallic "pop" on those great cold, clear mornings Nearby deer seem to just think I'm a big raccoon climbing a tree and don't spook from my climbing. By contrast, a ladder stand's metallic "pop" badly spooks them.

Our ladders are strapped so tightly to the tree they almost never make a sound. Almost! I can hear a person going up and down a tree in a climber from 250 yards away. Sounds like a 300 lb raccoon.

With experience, you should typically be able to QUIETLY climb over 20 ft in @ 10 minutes.

Holy crap! I'm into a ladder in 15 seconds.

 

[BSK]

As they say . . . . . .

"Your mileage may vary."

Just like with any other type stand, the more you use them, the more efficiently (and more safely) you can.

I used to use them exclusively, for probably 6 years. Hated them then. Hate them now.

 

[TheLBLman]

Hated them then. Hate them now.

Yes, but you also HATE wild turkeys,
love feral cats & pet Maine coons,
so I just figure you ain't right

 

[DMD]

What's your logic for being so high? I always find it interesting how others approach a hunt and why.

For me height plays second fiddle to cover, and there's a point where too high makes the shot angle really iffy for archery. With a gun it's a different story. I like being way up with a gun. I can see farther from up high and never get noticed when I'm 30ft ish up.

My favorite way to hunt is from the ground. I scout/hunt by sitting, moving, sitting. It's worked out on several bucks and they're usually very close shots with the bow. Best yet I don't have to compensate or aim weird because of steep shot angle.

I too hunt high. If at all possible. Rarely get picked off by deers nose when I hunt high. Also, movement not detected as easily. So many places i hunt it is not feasible to hunt high. But, when feasible, i do.

 

[Ski]

I too hunt high. If at all possible. Rarely get picked off by deers nose when I hunt high. Also, movement not detected as easily. So many places i hunt it is not feasible to hunt high. But, when feasible, i do.

Are you using a bow? If so does shot angle ever pose any issues?

 

[DMD]

I don't climb so high when I bow hunt because of foliage and bad angles.

 

[TNTreeman]

I love my summit Goliath and my API grand slam, they feel solid when positioned in a good tree, especially when you ratchet them tightly. I'm picky about what type tree I use, ash is my favorite, along with white oak and poplar. All but the ash usually require trimming. Ladders are easier but I love the quiet mobility of the climbers.

 

[BSK]

Yes, but you also HATE wild turkeys,
love feral cats & pet Maine coons,
so I just figure you ain't right

And your point is? If you want to know just how "not right" I am, just ask my wife. She'll give you an earful.