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Tree stands

burmjohn

By burmjohn,
in General Hunting

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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Belo ...I find it interesting you said that...for as you can see the stands I make...are pretty much in the wide open...same with my ladder stands...hardly any cover...I have been listening for years guys saying... you have to place stands with lots of cover ....Well ...NO..really ..If I wasn't successful every year and if all I ever took were little bucks..then tell me I'm full of it...but as my pics show...I'm not a "little" woman and add the 4 layers I wear to stay warm ...I am lets say very visible...

Yet I spend most of my time with deer walking around and under my stands...looking up at me and still hanging around....It's a matter of movement...and knowing that a buck pretty far away will spot you moving easier that the deer standing near you...so sitting comfortably so I don't have to move around is the ticket

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accman Newbie

accman

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My son & I built ours this past summer. 4 x 4 x 8. Just big enough to be comfortable enough and really not have to move around a lot. Here are some pictures.

post-1579-0-13532300-1354046011_thumb.jppost-1579-0-40117200-1354046138_thumb.jppost-1579-0-24588300-1354046223_thumb.jppost-1579-0-51119000-1354046409_thumb.jp

The windows are plexiglass and I attached a 1 x 2 piece of wood to it and hinges, and your good to go.

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accman Newbie

accman

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we used to build all of our treestands from pressure treated wood. problem is, with todays ladder stands so cheap, its easier to buy a metal one that wont rot and customize that, than it is to drop all that coin on treated lumber

I hear ya, but let me put it this way.

Pros:

Winds coming 10 to 12 from behind you, close the window. I can see fine through the window and it opens easily and quietly.

I have heat in the stand, an old sterno porcelain heater. Everybody else has the butane stoves. Comes in handy on those mornings in the teenszzzzzz.

When it's snowing out, or raining like hell, glad I'm inside.

I can move around a lot more than a ladder stand, and still be hidden from view.

I had the most fun building it with my son, taking it apart, and bringing it up to the site.

It's pressure treated, but will still have some maintenance each year.

Cons:

Stuck in one place. Ain't movin that around like a ladder stand.

Costs a lot. About $250 with all the wood, plexiglass, and trimmin.

Yeah, it's fun to build, but make 3 or 4 trips up the mountain with all that crapola, kinda puts a damper on it.

I took down the old one, which stood for 45 years (mine blew over in 3 months and had to be put back up, a-whole), busted it up, but the guys here leave it up there

& let them decay. I grabbed all the big pieces and windows and brought them back. They say it'll decay after a couple of years (yeah, 20 or 30).

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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I'm lucky to be an ace scavenger so my enclosed blinds cost less that a good ladder stand and the cardboard and tarp blind cost me a whopping 46.00 and change if I recall...that stand is still...knock on wood nice and dry...though I am having a mouse problem...they've gone through 4 boxes of poison this year...but haven't eaten the office chair or rugs...nesting in the floor...it's gone through 3 winters and 4 summers ...I have to say even to my surprise...seeing the roof is cardboard as well...lol

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YFKI1983 Collaborator

YFKI1983

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When scouting my property (we only have had it for a few months now) it seemed all the places where I wanted a tree stand, I couldn't find a nice group of trees. So I am not sure what I am going to do, I'm sure once I get up there again with the actual wood in my hands I'll find a good spot. The tree stand I have on my uncles property is about 25 feet up, and its a 3 tree grouping. When the winds blow you move with the wind, its pretty scary, but a solid stand because of that band iron.

Should really find one good tree and build on it. When you have multiple trees, on windy days through out the year youll have the trees moving in different directions. I think thats how the wood loosens from the trees. I could be wrong but I noticed since we stopped building on "groups" the stands are lasting much longer and need only minor maintenance the next year.

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landtracdeerhunter Rising Star

landtracdeerhunter

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I'm lucky to be an ace scavenger so my enclosed blinds cost less that a good ladder stand and the cardboard and tarp blind cost me a whopping 46.00 and change if I recall...that stand is still...knock on wood nice and dry...though I am having a mouse problem...they've gone through 4 boxes of poison this year...but haven't eaten the office chair or rugs...nesting in the floor...it's gone through 3 winters and 4 summers ...I have to say even to my surprise...seeing the roof is cardboard as well...lol

That's the pic I was looking for. Like the idea of an open and enclosed stand in one spot. It's going in as soon as nice weather breaks in the spring.

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dbHunterNY Proficient

dbHunterNY

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i've hunted out of built wooden stands for years. i prefer manufactured metal stands or blinds though. after a while they just get old and unsafe. check them before each season real well. the tree will actually grow around the stand if you fasten it well enough. i used lags and pre-drilled the wood. always used rough cut oak or locust boards. locust is tough to nail or screw into but it lasts. however, my biggest grip is after awhile the platforms get mildue on them and become a little slick. also if there's snow on them, they get loud and crunchy. another thing is if you're not high up and still exposed, older does will have you pegged before they come into site. if a buck is casually just with them and not running them, they sometimes blow the rest of the deer out.

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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That's the pic I was looking for. Like the idea of an open and enclosed stand in one spot. It's going in as soon as nice weather breaks in the spring.

Landtract...I did the same with the shooting house I built last year...I like being on deck during nice weather.....For bow season I installed rods along the railing and used die cut camo blind material to make the sides higher so I was concealed drawing...then removed so I had clear shots from the windows while sitting inside for gun and the cross bow....love the buddy heater

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landtracdeerhunter Rising Star

landtracdeerhunter

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I too, am a bit on the conservative side when it comes to $. I built the last stand for about $20 and its been up 12 years. I called the town and asked if it was alright if I picked lumber off the curb, got the green light. Get some nice pieces and once in a while a treat, like the 4 x 4 ,1/2" sheets of plywood. People throw some of the darnest things away, LOL.

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reeltime Explorer

reeltime

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a little late on the reply but,,,, if those are the steps you are using be VERY carefull with them! I quit using the one

piece steps about 10 years ago because they break. I had 1 break right where they ended the thread cutting on the shank, I figured it was just a bad piece of steel, well when I had another one break the same way and same spot I took them out and replaced them with the lag bolt styles. Luckily neither resulted in a fall. I have since switched over to climbing sticks, much safer, much more tree friendly ( and landowner friendly).

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  • 3 weeks later...
josephmrtn Enthusiast

josephmrtn

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i welded together two stands i found on my property made out of stop sign posts (the one was just a ladder the other had a top on it w a place to sit) its about 20ft high and weighs at LEAST 150 lbs i used my truck w a tow strap and a chain and the strap from a 1 ton rachet tied too the stand and looped over a limb about 22 ft up then i just backed up w the truck till the stand was up agains the tree then i climbed the other ladder that was leaned against the tree and racheted the stand on w a 1 ton rachet strap.... its DEFF a HEAVY DUTY stand and i dought that i will move it for quite a long time... its dark green i will try to get some pics of it.... (im also thinking of putting in a food plot right in front of it next yr, its in a oak tree w quite a few more right behind it)

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landtracdeerhunter Rising Star

landtracdeerhunter

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I found this on another site. I would guess, 8'-10' to the first platform. I'm gathering ideas, that will be incorporated into my new build. Nothing even close to this last pic. If I built something this nice, it would become my second home. Come to think of it, it does become my second home during hunting season, LOL.

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