Building platforms in trees

[Jeremy K]

Any of you guys build "permanent " stands in a tree?  I found a nice mature pine with 3 main trunks in a busy area . Just looking for ideas to keep it huntable for as long as possible . The German in me always over builds everything but what about treating the wood (pressure treated?) Zinc plated lags? . Just looking for some after thought from the guys that have done it before.

[thphtm]

Last one I buit quite a few years ago I put a 2"x6" on each side of the limbs and bolted them together with threaded rod 3/8"  they never moved in 10 years used 2" x 6" planks to stand on also. wear a safety harness and or put a railing all the way around, they get Slippery in the rain and snow.

[growalot]

I've posted picture of several over the years and hunt them regularly...here's the thing I find that the 3 tree scenario seems to loosen faster than the four...but that depends on trunk sizes. I put up an inside wooden brace and an out side one as well. on each trunk .I put up the inside first ...then lay my base over that  make sure they are several inches wider than the trunk and attach ..I use spiral decking nails around a center bolt.  now here is where I go overboard some say...I measure and buy enough chain to rap around the whole bracing set up and then I bolt that to the trunk as well. I leave this looser for growth, if all else fails the worst you get is slippage before the chain grabs.

[Nomad]

It's what most us us did back in the day. In the  beginning they were pretty risky , old wood off the side of the road and nails.....

Got older used pressure treated, long lags and  washers . One issue is trees sway and that puts a lot of pressure on the stand, one can put slots in the framing to,let the bolts kind of move with it , leave them out a bit , this allows them to slide in the slot and just like screw in steps as the tree grows it'll pull the bolt in .

personally today I have one stand in a triple tree and it's an extra large ladder , Field and Stream something .

Buy the time you buy the lumber and fasteners it's not much of a savings in money or time.

 

[Jeremy K]

This is the tree in question, it seems really mature . I'm guessing trees never stop growing ,do they slow down on growth as they get older?

[growalot]

If that is a white pine it will continue to grow and they get quite large...also they will bleed big time I have stands in two wht pine in the spring and summer they make everything a sticky mess ...and it looks like you have a lot of branches to cut that will "bleed like mad...just be aware of that...

Edited November 13, 2016 by growalot

[Jeremy K]

Alot of dead stuff all around the base of the tree too ,I figured what ever I cut ,I would string around the back side of the tree to deter them from coming up behind me.

[turkeyfeathers]

IMO trim the front up and throw up a double buddy stand if it'll fit in the nook.  Lots of room equal to a platform you want to build. I think that would be the cats pajamas.

[gastrodoc]

That tree is begging for a strap on/chain on portable stand!  They would never see you in there and it would be much safer and much easier than building a wood stand

[Jeremy K]

25 minutes ago, gastrodoc said:

That tree is begging for a strap on/chain on portable stand!  They would never see you in there and it would be much safer and much easier than building a wood stand

oh,ive thought about that too, just stick it in there and be done with it , part of me wants a bigger stand i can move around a little .

[Nomad]

All day comfort , seat flips up, plenty of platform to stand , turn , and move around on . I carried it in and put it up by myself 17 footer.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Larry302

[Shadd Rapp]

All day comfort , seat flips up, plenty of platform to stand , turn , and move around on . I carried it in and put it up by myself 17 footer.

I just bought one of those stands today. Hoping the mesh seat holds up. How long have you had the stand and how's the seat holding up?


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[ApexerER]

This mesh seat is on its 5th season....out all year...wouldn't get anything else 

[Jeremy K]

That tree is in the section of woods that is all pines , a 17 foot stand would be too tall for that tree and for the area . Most of the trees are low hanging and its in an area that opens up in about a 40 yard diameter area where 4 trails come together. I do like ladder stands though.

[stoneam2006]

I'd go with pressure treated 5/4 for decking throw a piece of old carpet on floor with a shooting rest around perimeter of stand low enough for bow clearance but high enough for gun. Also could wrap with camo netting. With a metal ladder to get in and out seats could be a number of things. Probably 4x4 with holes drilled thru for 3/4 all thread. Build it like a tank and hunt outta it for many many years. This will probably be the last year I hunt outta one my dad and uncle build some 30 years ago out way less and still holds. Definatly sketchy now tho.

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[Curmudgeon]

We built a permanent stand over 20 years ago with CCA lumber for my father. He is now in his 80s and still hunts out of it. He has killed 2 deer each of the past 2 years. Not bad for an octogenarian. The floor is 2 X 4s. It has chip board screens that keep him from being seen, and also protect from prevailing winds. Because he has arthritis in his neck, it now has a convex mirror mounted to the rail which can be seen in the photo. He can see deer behind him without turning around. I have a 14' aluminum extension ladder painted camo that goes up on the right side a few weeks before hunting commences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YFKI1983]

Try to build on one tree. If you use multiple trees, when the wind blows the trees in different directions it can start loosening everything up.

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[growalot]

I have started making wooden "hang ons" I really like them.  and they do not need as much wood ....some are self contained like the one above that buck and others the chains get  eye bolted right to the tree...no creaking in any of them

[wolc123]

As others have already said, multiple trees is a bad idea because the relative motion between the trees causes things to loosen up.  I just cut down one that I built from treated lumber about 30 years ago in a single ash tree.  It was still solid but the tree itself had begun to be infected by the emerald ash borer so I no longer trusted it.   I replaced it with a metal ladder stand against a big poplar tree about 50 yards down the hedgerow.  Wouldn't you know that placed me about 50 yards out of range of one of my of my "target" bucks earlier this season.  Like they say with houses,  Location, location, location.   

[Jeremy K]

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone , I have a design in mind now that will take the wind out of the equation , after reading the above posts ,it seems like it would be my only option if choose to put a stand in that location and use all 3 limbs . The amount of time it would take to build and hang slip brackets for a 2x6s Vs. just putting a hang on stand is huge , free time is rare these days with the little one so i think the logical choice is a simple hang on stand . I'm sure glad i asked you guys before i built anything . Thanks again.

[Nomad]

The stand is only in its second year, so far so good . My plan is to buy a second seat, or depending on the cost 2 more. At some point they'll stop making that stand and I want at least 1 spare seat .

[LET EM GROW]

Ive been wanting to get back into making a couple permanent wooden stands again, especially in trees that my grandfathers and family hunted for years. instead of putting up a hang on or ladder like i do now, idk why but its a nice feeling sitting in a stand I've built from scratch.. lol weird i know 

If i tried to make a replica of some of the permanent stands I made through my younger years, i would probably have fallen and hurt myself quite badly. Im no wheres near as mobile as i was 8 years ago, nor as uneducated or maybe i should say daring lol. The last one i made was between 25-30' in the air and i made it all by myself with no harness or anything, idk how i did and how im alive lol. 

But the last few i made i used pressure treated 2x6 or 2x8 for the frame, tied in with a heavy lag bolt and washer. followed by a tree step directly underneath the frame where the lag is. In case the bolt broke in a heavy wind storm, the tree step wont break, but will continue to support the stand, and then can swivel or pivot some and still be in tact, or in tact more than it would be without the tree step. As long as you leave a little extra sticking out.

And deck wood for the platform, never ever use plywood... you'll dance right over the edge. All areas i would stand or hold onto got ice and water shield applied

[turkeyfeathers]

Wondering if you could lag bolt a bigger platform to a hang on stand floor for more room to stand

[growalot]

Speaking of.....I went in this morning planning on getting to the gully stand...I have 4 stands and 2 blinds between entering the parcel and getting to the gully stand....as luck would have it the wind yet again filled in a lot of the trails...so I spent a heck of a long time trying to walk a mere 900 feet Just as I got to a clear walk I hear the foot steps and trotting around at the head of the gully...Well I can't scoot into that stand ...that's where they are. So I continue...I get to the WR plot and the stand the 5 buck were under and It is squeaking like mad  in the wind  but the deer are all around and I get snorted at ..just one quick not sure snort...I see the trail past that stand is filled in to the gully stand and the short path to the 5 buck stand is partially filled...20 mins later to walk a whopping 20 yards I get up the ladder and now need to clear many branches off the industrial poly grate I have as a base. Well as luck would have it I barely stand on platform when deer are now running all over, around me from the gully stand 200 ft away to where I am...they then slow crunch crunch crunch as I watch two large light colored bodies walk 5yrds away past the stand to where I'd just come...I was hoping the spray I put on the bottom of my boots would bring them back...but I could make out horns and they were going direct down wind of me..

So back to old squeaky I have to pull a board and move the grating forward to fill the gap and get it away from the tree..It's touching both a filler 2x4 and the trees and that poly howls in the wind when touching anything...Plus the ladder brace board I use to keep the ladder off the grate and the trees let loose on one side.....The noise drove me mad for and hour  then I heard faint steps over it...I leaned around the trunk...BTW this is in 3 basswood trees, to see a 6 point I'd shoot( smaller version of huge 6) making a scrape 48 yrds away. he's facing me and on a trail that would take him 12 yrds past me...He makes the scrape and turns to head the other way..WTH! I do a doe bleat and he turns...ya!!! I pick up xbow and set on the nearest opening that is past a group of trees...just on my outer limits of 40 yrds...I have the bottom line and wait...doesn't he come through way past that doing a wide circle through the gully and up over the opposite ridge crossing in front of me before disappearing.. 15 mins later I said...never mind what I said ...I got down and came in..I am going to clear trails and the lawn before gun season for snow is on the way Sunday and Mon,Tues. 2-3 I think tues...

So that's what can happen with a 3 trunk stand they move and make lots of noise if not checked often.....PS..... it's actually one of my favorite stands , I got my first archery buck out of it a 7pt with recurve...it's an old stand..That I'm going out now to fix.

[LET EM GROW]

I definitely try to avoid the 3 or 4 trunk trees as much as possible they raise hell with wooden permanent stands. Go with a bigger diameter tree and use the branches that come off it. Or just use 2 of the trunks instead of the 3. White pine especially. Either keep it low so there isn't as much movement or yea, hang a hang on or ladder in there.. agreed as well that they will ruin your clothes with that sap. 

 

My neighbor makes all his stands out of wood. They make wooden ladder stands and wooden hang ons. Very well built but they gotta be a pain to put in a tree i would imagine. 

I love these wooden stands just for the fact that they typically always have more than enough room, and much cheaper in price lol compared to a store bought stand. esp, when you own 20sum stands