As the title says:

Tree stands! What do you use,why & how do you like it?


I have used climbing stands for years, I still have the base for my old Summit stand that used a "V" bar to hold it to the tree & retired it when the climber was stolen.

My next stand was a Loc-on Spirit hang on. It's buried in my garage somewhere & probably will stay there due to me being 25# over it's weight limit.

The next stand was another Summit Climber Steel XLS. Great stand that I left on the property I hunted & when the property owners wife gave someone else permission to hunt,he mentioned the stand. She said he could have it so another stand lost!

I have another steel Summit that I have benn using for a few years that I am going to retire. I left it outside & water inside the tube caused it to rust & bulge. I don't like the hand climber because unlike the previous hand climbers, this one you sit low between the rails,not on top.

I have benn considering purchasing another Summit, either the Bushmaster or the Open shot. The only thing is that I don't care for the bulk of the stands in general & the hollow tube sound when anything brushes against the stand while hiking to a location.

Last night I got a good deal on a Lone Wolf hand climber stand so I decided to take a chance based on all the god things I have heard about them.(Light,quiet,easy packing)

I found nothing beats a permanent ladder stand($60 Dicks or Cabelas) special but for portability, a climber that is light,quiet & stable is a must.

The cost is a consideration that the LW is about $125 more than the Summits but if I don't have to buy a stand every few years, maybe it isn't that expensive after all!

For hunting bears we like to use ladder stands.
First climber a warren and sweat wooden platform and seat with the vbar. Very noisy and limited trees for use.
For deer we use a lone wolf sit and climb for about six or seven years and looks like this stand will be my last climber. Expensive to purchase but well worth the money.
Lone wolf is easy to set up and very quiet climbing and desending.
Also the lone wolf is very stable in use.

Here is a pic of my hunting tower that I'll be using for bait hunting boars this winter. It will be insulated and heated. The boars are nocturnal so it's for night hunting but it doubles as a moose tower also!
Usually we have more open towers when we hunt with the rifle here in Sweden.

Another original, looks great Ther.
We are building a shooting house in one of the food plots also.
If there are any other members with custom made shooting houses or treestands please post pics.

You name them and I have probably used them! I am a sucker for a deal and have purchased gangs of treestands over the years when the price is right. I just sold a 15 foot tripod stand, a 14 foot ladder stand and two hang-ons because I really don't have anywhere to use them and they would probably get stolen. I use an older Loggy Bayou Climbing stand and just love it. I hope to pickup a couple more Loggy Bayou Climbers and a Loggy Bayou Hang-on before Deer Season in the fall of 2010. After trying most other stands out there, to me, there is no comparison of them to the Loggy Bayou! They are strong, generally quiet and very light weight which is a God Send when packing in long distances to hunt. Although the Company recently changed hands and some parts are hard to get, I have found that I can repair most any problem with them. The one I have now was drilled in several places by the previous owner to add on a bow holder and a rifle rest which I need to repair. When this season is over, I plan on getting out the Alumite and welding torch and repair the holes as well as shore-up the Aluminum welds on the stand.


Frank

Vlodpg,

You can dig that old Loc-on Spirit out and make it work again! Pickup some Aircraft cable and make some new cables for the stand, then add a brace or two to the foot board, then an extra chain or strap (to lock it onto the tree) and you should be good to go. With the cabling, you can either add them on as extra cabling or replace the existing cables. Get the Stainless Steel Aircraft cables with a breaking strength of at least 1,500 pounds and preferably 2,500 pounds. For strapping, I use the Nylon strapping from Tie Down straps that are used on Tractor-Trailers to tie down loads. I check out Industrial and Farm equipment Auctions and can usually pick them up cheap. At the last Auction I attended, I paid $5 for one and also paid $5 for a whole box of tools which had another one in it.

All of the modifications above are fairly cheap and once done, you should never have a problem overwhelming the weight capacity of the stand!


Frank

i just had my Loggy Bayou Hang-on break, after 20 years. So I guess I will be getting another one.

Rusty,

Is your' Loggy Bayou Hang-On made out of Aluminum? If so, then it should be weldable using Alumite and if you are still concerned about it being safe, then you can also drill and bolt extra braces, brackets or whatever to the stand. Check out the link below for information on Alumite Welding Rods.

http://www.kappalloy.com/alumite.htm

Warning: It takes some experience to learn to weld Aluminum with Alumite using a Soldering Torch. If you get the Aluminum too hot, then you can destroy the integrity of the metal. If the Aluminum is too cool when welding, then the Alumite may not bond correctly to the Aluminum.



Frank

I have been using old man climbing stands for around 8 years and love them. They fold completly fast which makes for a lot easier walk into the woods. Im thinking of trying a summit goliath or max 180 soon.

Where I've hunted, most trees would not accommodate a climber. I've used mostly hang-ons and several home made tri-pods. I'll try to get some pictures posted of one of the tri-pods. I started with an 8-footer in west Texas. I made a 10-footer (legs are 10-foot joints of thin-wall electrical conduit) for use in Kansas brush and hedge rows. They also work well placed near the trunk of a tree to provide some additional cover and a place to install a bow hanger. Shooting from a sitting position is required.

The seat swivels 360 degrees, the two non-climbing legs are adjustable in length to level the thing and the three legs fold to the center to carry on top of a vehicle or on your shoulder. My original one weighed 80lbs. The latest weighs 60 lbs and at age 66 I can still carry it a good distance. The rising cost of materials and lack of access to a welder would make me consider one of the several commercial ones available if I needed another.

Of the deer I've taken, over half were shot from my tri-pod including two mule deer at 43 yards and 9 yards. Nothing like the heart thump of looking down and watching a deer sniff the bottom step of your tri-pod.

Photos are of tri-pod in Amur Maple in my front yard.

Tony that tripod looks great. I looked at Summit tripods in the past and plan on getting at least one next year. They are so versatile. Thanks Joe

One added benefit I failed to mention is that once you get the tri-pod setup in an area, it is very easy to adjust the location. Just tip it over on two legs, let it fall across your shoulder and walk off with it. I often set it up first in a good location to observe deer activity, then move in hopefully for the kill. For long distance, strapping it to a deer cart works well.

My Lone Wolf hand climber just came in.

I wish I brought it with me this evening but thought I would use my permanent stand. A group of 7 deer walked by be about 50 yards out. If I had my stand, I would have benn in a area that would have given me a shot.

First, let me explain, I am 62 so I accumulate more stands than a younger guy.I used to have 7 or 8 Lock On stands but the canvas seats were too low and my knees hurt every time i sat in one. Ten yrs. ago i bought a couple of Screaming Eagle stands made in Montana, not china.Most of us remember the ads in hunt mags. with the Volkswagon hanging from the tree stand. That is the one. I now have 10 of them and have given away all but one Lock On that I use to put up stands with. They are abhout 16 lbs so they are not really portable. I put them up in the summer and then leave them up until the end of season. They never creak. they don't move and they are rated as no human weight limit.
joe

I'm a real big fan of the trophyline tree saddle. It enables me to shoot 360* around any tree and I can sit in it all day. Fall alsleep without fear of falling. Extremely light weight. I use 4 lonewolf tree steps and carry som extra strap on steps that I put in my pouch. Where I hunt on public ground there are over 9000 acres bowhunting only. And the only way is by foot travel. The versitility with the saddle helps me to scout and move on fresh sign.