Don_C

Many years ago I was in an old wooden stand one morning in southern PA... I was a kid then and I got bored, I climbed down and walked about 100 yards into a large area of thick, tall ferns, I stopped, looked around for a couple of minutes and heard a faint noise behind me, I looked over my right shoulder and a beautiful buck slowly rose up from the ferns not 10 feet from me. Immediately, with one snort at least a dozen other deer rose from the ferns one by one all around me. Not my closest encounter, but it was the most amazing site, i was right in the middle of a group of bedded deer and had no idea they were there, I'm sure if i would have kept walking they wouldn't have budged an inch. It was absolutely "ghostly" the way they rose and bounded off.

30 years ago when i started bow hunting i used black make up, then with the introduction of carbon clothing i went to a Scentlok face mask. I will stick with the masks, its easier and i think there is some advantage in masking breath with a Scentlok mask. The paint looks cool though!

I have a 9G to trade for a 9K

Summits are great stands. My go-to stand is a 14 year old Summit Cobra, similar to the Open Shot. I also have a Viper SD I picked up last year, I really don't like the bar in front of me, but the older i get the more attractive the bar is becoming for climbing. Both are comfortable enough for all day sits. My suggestion would be to add a Tree Stand Transport System from Game Plan Gear, it really makes carrying my Summit with a 10 pound daypack strapped to it much easier when hiking in.