Remembered why I don't hunt from tree stands

[cdmckane]

I haven't hunted from a tree stand in years.  I've had good luck from the ground and in blinds that I haven't had to climb.  Well, I took this whole week off and have seen exactly 3 deer since Sat, and only got 1 shot off, and I missed.  So a buddy suggested I come over to his place and get in his favorite ladder stand while he was at work today.  Well, after 3 hours of riding the tree stand rodeo, I climbed down and vowed to never subject myself to that torture again.  Ain't no deer worth that. 

 

Good on all you guys who do it and like it, but it just isn't for me.  I'm actually glad I did it today, or I'd have made the huge mistake of buying a couple ladder stands for my mother in law's property.  Instead, I'll just build a couple more box blinds on the ground.

[PREDATE]

Ladders can be the cats a$$ if you don't plan on moving them around alot. I actually like the rodeo sometimes, but that's when I have personally attached 3 ratchet straps to the tree.

[132 eight pointer]

Would you have the same opinion if it had not been windy and the stand/ tree had not been giving you a ride ? I never cared for a couple of cheap ladder stands I have owned but a hang on with ladder sticks was very nice when I had one set up.

[crappyice]

Or, would you have the same opinion if Mr. Monsterhorn came by for a visit? Just kidding...elevated stands in high winds suck. I pick some real fat trees for windy days for my climber

[CuseHunter]

In my opinion, nothing beats a double ladder stand. You have plenty of room to lounge, set a bag down. Hell I've had a deer come once from my 6 o'clock, I got up, turned around and got a a knee and used the back rest as a gun rest. Bada bing bada boom.

[DCHunts]

Yah I agree they are the best. Usually pick a decent one up on sale at Wally World for under a hundy

Edited November 22, 2013 by dchunt

[Doc]

I came down out of the trees a couple of decades ago when I started getting a bit phobic about heights. Actually, I haven't missed being up there at all. I kind of like the thrill of taking on these critters in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation. The excitement level spikes when you have that vulnerability. I have had deer so close I could have reached out and touched them. That's something that will get the old ticker thumping.

[dhuntley2]

You should still get a couple stands and hang them up, but don't hunt them on windy days it is not that fun and is dangerous.  IMO being elevated off the ground has so many advantages than being on the ground.

1. You can see deer coming much further away. Even if it is through the timber and you don't have a shot you can still see deer farther away and know that they could be coming to a shooting lane.

 

2. Deer instinctively do not think predators are 20 ft up in a tree, unless they have experienced a it before.  But deer think of danger on the ground level.

 

3. Even when you are set up perfectly downwind the wind does swirl, and when you are in a tree 20 ft up and have deer close, usually your scent will stay high above them and they do not know you are their.  When the wind swirls and you are on the ground it goes right to their nose.

 

I have shot a handful of deer from my stand where I had to stand up to turn to be able to draw my bow. The deer would just stare at me confused as to what the heck was up in that tree, they would not take off.  Being up in a stand is great.

 

[Fantail]

That's funny just the other day when I took a buck I remembered why I like my climber.

[YFKI1983]

Ive always been a ladder stand guy but bought a climber this year.  I was about 22 ft up on monday with 15 mph winds.  It was a bit scary because of the tree swaying but that thing was rock solid. after your up there for half hour you get comfortable.

 

I will admit though that the 2 deer Ive killed from the ground were the most exciting for me. I had both of them pass me at 5 yards, I could smell them when they passed

[Paula]

 

 

I will admit though that the 2 deer Ive killed from the ground were the most exciting for me. I had both of them pass me at 5 yards, I could smell them when they passed

 

That has to be something

[NYbuck50]

If im sitting that day and not walking, id rather be in my climber than in anything else

[NYbuck50]

If im sitting that day and not walking, id rather be in my climber than in anything else

[blackradio]

After taking my last buck with bow on the ground for the first time, there is really nothing like it. It was incredible. 

[bluecoupe]

Never been a tree person, well except for playing treetag when I was a kid.  I figure if I was meant to be in a tree I'd be crappin' through feathers.

[Waldershrek]

Ladder stands are the most stable stand there is a far as when it's windy. My hang on stands on the other hand.....there has been days where I was glad I had a harness

[Meat Manager]

If you don't like that don't try a climber with no shooting rail like my summit open shot. In terms of mobility and quiet it's my favorite stand.

Conquered my fear of heights thru the passion of whitetail hunting. The advantages of an elevated stand are innumerable.

That said I have real admiration for guys who harvest from the ground, especially some of these guys on here with primitive bow set ups scoring deer from only 10 FEET away.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited November 22, 2013 by Meat Manager

[accman]

I look for groupings of trees to put the ladder stand in, and place it firmly between them.  This year, I found a tree with four huge branches and embedded it in between two of the branches.  There's no swaying at all, but when doing this you still have to look up to make sure it's "safe" underneath other limbs above.  Not an easy task, but well worth the time and effort.

[Adkhunter1590]

I too prefer ladder stands on windy days. If you buy a quality one and strap it to a big sturdy tree with multiple straps that thing won't go anywhere. I also dig the legs down into the ground up to the first rung. That helps with stability a lot. I have peiced together a ladder stand that ended up in the 30 ft plus range once to get it up high into a huge lone cottonwood tree on the mouth of a draw between a soy bean and corn field. Took 5 guys to get this thing up and a cherry picker and about 20 high strength ratchets but once we got it all tightened down that thing was awesome! It definatly wasn't for anyone who was afraid of heights but man you could see down that draw great. Had a couple guys shoot some real big bucks out of it too!