Treestands

[fasteddie]

Do you leave them up or take them down at the end od deer season ?

[wztirem]

If you leave them up, chances are someone will take them down for you especially if you are not a full time resident.

[fasteddie]

I leave them up and periodically change the rachet straps . Several of mine have been up for 8 - 10 years . I have a couple of old chain-ons that the tree is growing around . I cable lock all of them and have been lucky so far .

[Geno C]

i usually leave them up, even on state land... they all get locked tho.

[WNYBuckHunter]

My ladder stand stays up, just check the straps. I bought a hang on this year and have it up, that will come down.

[Lawdwaz]

I have gotten a bit lazier (really) in the past few years and left some hang on stands up for three years.  I think it's is a big mistake.  Seems like the chains/hardware etc. could deteriorate to a point of failure. 

I'm going to head down to the area I hunt in the next 10 days or so and remove some for good and reset the others.  I have 8 up and didn't hunt them all anyway last year.  Really only need to cover that dreaded east wind (not always!) in a couple spots and of course the old standby southwest wind stands will stay.  For those other times I'll use a climber.

I would NOT recommend leaving stands over the off season.  Do as I say, not as I do.

[nyslowhand]

Ladder stands stay up all year.

Check ratchet straps and move if necessary annually.

One thing I haven't done and have regretted is not removing the seats at the end of the season.

Weather and squirrels destroy them in a couple of years.

[Slugger09]

My ladder stands stay up all year, but I check to make sure nothings broken or rusting away.  I do agree with regretting to not take the seats off,  this year I had to buy new seats for my stand since they either were eaten or blown away during some bad storms.

[fasteddie]

My ladder stands stay up all year, but I check to make sure nothings broken or rusting away.  I do agree with regretting to not take the seats off,  this year I had to buy new seats for my stand since they either were eaten or blown away during some bad storms.

I never leave any seat pads with the stands (except for one stand) . A couple times I have forgotten to take a pad along and that spoils a hunt . I always hated the old chain-on stands with the "canvas" seats as they would rot away .

[Culvercreek hunt club]

All of mine are ladder stands now. I usually leave them up but release teh tension on the ratchets at the end of the season. I don't like to distub the tree growth and put extra stress on the straps. When I used hang ons-----b4 my slip----I use to take those down...

Seats are an excelelnt point. I wish I had taken some of mine off. 2 of my ladder stands have hammock seats and they are a pain to take off and even adjust, so I leave them....but the squirrels do have fun with them

[Cabin Fever]

I leave them up year round also. I have about 10 stands up. Can't imagine putting them back up each year!

[fasteddie]

Rachet straps are inexpensive to replace ( less than $10 for 4 at Harbor Freight) .... Make sure you check them out good as they will deteriorate over time .

[MuzzyLoader]

Only have 1 ladder stand - that stays up.  All our climbers are stored in the barn during the off season.  We're checking the ladder stand ratchet straps this weekend and making any necessary adjustments/replacements.  Our ladder stand's seat was attacked by squirrels after the 1st year we left it there.  We replaced the seat cover with heavy duty industrial vinyl and have had no problems since.  Perhaps that is because we apply an ungodly amount of Armour All to the seat after the last hunt of the year.  I can only imagine what the squirrels go through after we leave trying to climb on the seat.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

LOL...I made a similiar mistake once on my car seats....almost ended up in a ball down by  the brake pedal when I hit them.