Simpler times

[Lost Lake]

I had one of those as well. A HUGE step up from a Baker. I bought a hand climber for my TSS that doubled as a sling seat. Most uncomfortable dang thing I ever tried to sit on. Eventually, modified my TSS by mounting a center post and wooden seat on pivots that would allow it to fold flat to the floor while climbing/carrying. Extra weight, but much better than the hand-climber sling seat.

Yes! I eventually found the post type seat, and it made a huge difference in comfort!

 

[cathunter]

My first climber was a TSS (Total Shooting Systems).

It was a wooden platform and used the metal band with a rubber sleeve instead of a blade. I loved it. At the time I bought it, they didn't make a hand climber for it, so bear hugging the tree was required to climb. Man it was hard on the chest and arms if you were climbing a rough barked tree, or it was wet.

But, that stand made a huge difference in how I hunted, and I started killing a lot of deer. I wish I'd have kept it just for sentimental reasons.

I was also gifted a Warren and Sweatt bladed climber, which was a Baker clone. Good lord I'm surprised I lived through using it the few times that I did. It'd spin around a tree in a heart beat.

I do miss some of those old days.

First climber I bought was the tss. Came in a kit . You had to supply your own plywood. Still have it in the shed. Made a few homemade death traps copied after the baker. That was at least 40 years ago.

 

[Lost Lake]

First climber I bought was the tss. Came in a kit . You had to supply your own plywood. Still have it in the shed. Made a few homemade death traps copied after the baker. That was at least 40 years ago.

A guy that hunted the same farm as my buddy and I suggested we get one. He'd witnessed our struggle as fairly new Bowhunters hunting from the ground or from stands nailed up in trees.

We hustled on over to a great old store call Grandpa's in Clarksville, and grabbed a couple of them. Luckily ours came assembled, and after painting them, we were in business.

I later added shoulder straps, and like BSK said, the post type seat.

 

[megalomaniac]

My first treestands were build with the help of my grandad and pressure treated lumber 35 years ago. They are still on the farm in the woods, but severely rotten and unusable for a couple decades. Still great memories of past times when I had no idea what I was doing.

 

[BSK]

My first treestands were build with the help of my grandad and pressure treated lumber 35 years ago. They are still on the farm in the woods, but severely rotten and unusable for a couple decades. Still great memories of past times when I had no idea what I was doing.

The permanent stands we made out of 2x4s as soon as we bought our place 35 years ago are still hanging in the trees. Well, sort of. Pieces of them are still hanging in the trees!

 

[Gravey]

I had a baker and would like to share some stories, but can't. Just brings back too many bad memories. Let's just say, it's an absolute miracle I am alive today. Only by the grace of God am I still here.
Wish I knew if that old Baker was still hanging on the tree I left it on—35 years ago. Yep! I just walked off and left it !

I wonder how many hunters died back in the Baker and Amacker days!!??

I had an older baker stand and if I had to use that today I'd always hunt from the ground. Had an amacker too and it was heavy to tote around. It had spikes that dug into the tree so it wasn't going anywhere but holy crap…did I mention it was heavy?!?!

 

[Knothead]

I had an older baker stand and if I had to use that today I'd always hunt from the ground. Had an amacker too and it was heavy to tote around. It had spikes that dug into the tree so it wasn't going anywhere but holy crap…did I mention it was heavy?!?!

heavy is an understatement. Solid steel. Made all kinds of noise. By the time I got to my tree, I would have to sit and take a breather. Felt like I'd been on a stair master for two hrs. And I was in my early 20's then. No way I could do it now—-nor would I, even if I could.

 

[david k.]

heavy is an understatement. Solid steel. Made all kinds of noise. By the time I got to my tree, I would have to sit and take a breather. Felt like I'd been on a stair master for two hrs. And I was in my early 20's then. No way I could do it now—-nor would I, even if I could.

I still have a couple of Amakers....I put HazeMore seats on them and usually just put them out each year in places that I like to hunt frequently but I'm like you guys, I would never carry one in / out today....

 

[RGC]

We always hunted home made lock ons. My dad would put the steps in and hang the stand when my brother and I were little kids. I remember being 9 years old and walking a loooong way into the Uwharrie National Forest with a ton of clothes on. We get to the stand I'm gonna hunt, I'm tired and sweating by butt off. My dad didn't believe in "wasting tree steps because they are expensive." I couldn't reach the steps no matter how hard I tried and was too tired and weak to do a one handed pull up. So he had me hug the tree and shimmy up until I could reach between steps. I did the same thing coming down. We hunted 22ft to the platform. I had a piece of seatbelt that was slip knotted around my waist as a safety belt. On the way home he told me if I told my momma about my tree climbing adventure I wasn't coming back. I'm glad he raised us to be tough.

 

[BSK]

We always hunted home made lock ons. My dad would put the steps in and hang the stand when my brother and I were little kids. I remember being 9 years old and walking a loooong way into the Uwharrie National Forest with a ton of clothes on. We get to the stand I'm gonna hunt, I'm tired and sweating by butt off. My dad didn't believe in "wasting tree steps because they are expensive." I couldn't reach the steps no matter how hard I tried and was too tired and weak to do a one handed pull up. So he had me hug the tree and shimmy up until I could reach between steps. I did the same thing coming down. We hunted 22ft to the platform. I had a piece of seatbelt that was slip knotted around my waist as a safety belt. On the way home he told me if I told my momma about my tree climbing adventure I wasn't coming back. I'm glad he raised us to be tough.

Great story!