MarlinSlayer
Well-Known Member
Well I've been a lurker for a while and finally decided to participate. I am a self-taught hunter starting my second season. I'll post the story of a turkey my son and I got solo based on the knowledge gleaned on here and youtube. (Finally managed to find the darn crop!)
I grew up in Hawaii and never hunted except for an occasional duck hunt in a neighbors blind (twice in ten years). Last year I said "the heck with it", borrowed a friends climber and just went out and started hunting public land. (All my hunting friends who promised to take me kinda never came through except one really good guy).
So I learned a lot last year with borrowed equipment...(this year I bought A Summit Viper). The harness I used last year was a HSS vest which was nice and I thought I might want to get something like that...maybe the one with the reversible blaze orange....so I wouldnt need to don one more item of clothing. But now I am thinking that I might want to be able to trade out outer layers in the stand as I heat up or cool down. I'm saving the harness that came with the stand for when one of my kids joins me in a ladder on the land I leased.
For a climber ---do you use a vest style or a minimal harness style. Do you wear it under an outer-layer and how does that work? Do you have any recommendations? Last year (Freshman year) I was gun only and got a late start. Right now I'm a gun/muzzy guy (haven't shot the Muzzy yet). Next year I will graduate and attempt to be a super elite archer ;-)
I plan on getting a tree strap with a descent line and hook on with a prussic knot. Even though I know I ought to be able to recover to the stand with a climber, I am still paranoid that since I hunt alone I might need to save myself. Though I won't be climbing the same trees all the time (remember public land) I am justifying the descent line as a dual purpose haul line for my pack.....and I'll use a regular haul-line for my gun.
I am short, and surmise that if I was to fall out of the tree, when the breakaway stitching does it s thing, and I am hanging in the harness, the length of the tether may be such that while hanging there, I couldn't reach the prussic to work it down. I'm thinking about carrying some 550 cord to use as a foot prussic to be able to tie on lower on the descent cord to step into to either work my way up to the harnesss prussic, or just cut the tether over my head and slither down. Provided I keep my keys in my vest, I'll drive home and figure out how to get my stand back later.
So...this is my plan, but I am a neophyte and want some feedback...and some recommendations.....also, bear in mind, that while I've always been in super shape, I'm not at my best.....working on losing some weight before season...and just turned 48 and am aware of my mortality.
Thanks for all the info. See longbeards shortly for the story of my first Turkey with my eldest son this spring
I grew up in Hawaii and never hunted except for an occasional duck hunt in a neighbors blind (twice in ten years). Last year I said "the heck with it", borrowed a friends climber and just went out and started hunting public land. (All my hunting friends who promised to take me kinda never came through except one really good guy).
So I learned a lot last year with borrowed equipment...(this year I bought A Summit Viper). The harness I used last year was a HSS vest which was nice and I thought I might want to get something like that...maybe the one with the reversible blaze orange....so I wouldnt need to don one more item of clothing. But now I am thinking that I might want to be able to trade out outer layers in the stand as I heat up or cool down. I'm saving the harness that came with the stand for when one of my kids joins me in a ladder on the land I leased.
For a climber ---do you use a vest style or a minimal harness style. Do you wear it under an outer-layer and how does that work? Do you have any recommendations? Last year (Freshman year) I was gun only and got a late start. Right now I'm a gun/muzzy guy (haven't shot the Muzzy yet). Next year I will graduate and attempt to be a super elite archer ;-)
I plan on getting a tree strap with a descent line and hook on with a prussic knot. Even though I know I ought to be able to recover to the stand with a climber, I am still paranoid that since I hunt alone I might need to save myself. Though I won't be climbing the same trees all the time (remember public land) I am justifying the descent line as a dual purpose haul line for my pack.....and I'll use a regular haul-line for my gun.
I am short, and surmise that if I was to fall out of the tree, when the breakaway stitching does it s thing, and I am hanging in the harness, the length of the tether may be such that while hanging there, I couldn't reach the prussic to work it down. I'm thinking about carrying some 550 cord to use as a foot prussic to be able to tie on lower on the descent cord to step into to either work my way up to the harnesss prussic, or just cut the tether over my head and slither down. Provided I keep my keys in my vest, I'll drive home and figure out how to get my stand back later.
So...this is my plan, but I am a neophyte and want some feedback...and some recommendations.....also, bear in mind, that while I've always been in super shape, I'm not at my best.....working on losing some weight before season...and just turned 48 and am aware of my mortality.
Thanks for all the info. See longbeards shortly for the story of my first Turkey with my eldest son this spring