Hanging a Ladder Stand

[Northcountryman]

Setup my 16’ ladder stand yesterday and as always, what a workout ! I humped the set and top ladder portion in while my buddy jumped the other 2 sections of ladder and the tools . It was ok but but tough especially since it was a good 15-20 minute walk in. Anyone have any advice on what they’ve found makes it easier to jump those suckers  in? 
 

Thanks 

[steve863]

 

Not sure what you mean by "humped" or "jumped" the ladder stand, but this video gives you a good idea how one should be put up.

[moog5050]

Gear tie the sections together so that whole package is length of one section.  Throw it over shoulders (head between rungs).  Walk it in and set up.  Ratchet stabilizer first than climb in and ratchet seat while on rungs.  Really easy.  Trimming takes longer than set up.  

[New York Hillbilly]

1 hour ago, Northcountryman said:

Setup my 16’ ladder stand yesterday and as always, what a workout ! I humped the set and top ladder portion in while my buddy jumped the other 2 sections of ladder and the tools . It was ok but but tough especially since it was a good 15-20 minute walk in. Anyone have any advice on what they’ve found makes it easier to jump those suckers  in? 
 

Thanks 

I feel your pain! A couple weeks go I hauled a two man stand up to a tree on my property using my 4 wheeler. I decided to assemble it at the base of the tree, rather than dragging an assembled stand through the fields and woods as I have always done in the past. What the instructions said was supposed to be a 1/2 hour job was actually 2 1/2 hours just on the first day. lol.  3 trips up and down the hill over 2 days, I was able to finally complete the job after losing tools, sweating profusely and exhausting myself. Amazingly I was still able to muscle it up into the tree by myself as I slipped around in the mud. 

Then, I admit I really unwisely put myself at risk as I climbed up the ladder to secure the top as it kept fighting to come away from the tree. Even though the ladder was secured around the tree midway and planted in the ground, the top is scary when it pulls away with me trying to strategically time the maneuvering of the top with my leaning and pushing it against the tree. In the end I have a real nice setup there, but at 60 years old I'll never do it alone again. 

Edited November 10, 2019 by New York Hillbilly
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[Red]

When I was hunting state land I would carry mine just like moog explained. Put the the top section and top ladder section together.  Ratchet strap or zip tie the other ladder sections to the top ladder section put your head through the rungs and carry.

If you're by yourself get to the tree desired put the ladder stand together walk it up set up the middle brace to the tree and toss a ratchet strap there to secure it. The top of the ladder will want to kick off of the tree as you walk up the ladder so i go up the ladder 80% of the way tie off a rope to the ladder.  Climb down toss the other end of the rope around the tree and as you walk up keep tension on the rope until you get to the top and get ac Ratchet strap at the top of the tree stand.

Sounds like a lot but takes 5 minutes to secure the ladder stand.

[RnAhunt]

I assemble everything,  and strap it to a deer drag cart I have..  rolling it in.. much easier..

[turkeyfeathers]

I tried putting up sticks other day and then hang on. Felt unsafe , I hate and suck at ratchet straps especially one handed hanging on. Harness on but zero chance I was going to climb any higher to attach life line. Screw that. 

[Northcountryman]

You can get it up in the air by yourself ? Wow that must be tough those suckers are heavy !! I had one other guy help me and was still tough to suspend it , directions call for three guys but that’s hard to coordinate 

[Nomad]

I’m 60, here’s the ones I use ,18 footers pretty big chair and platforms . I carry them in and put them up by myself , well this year I needed help putting one up as the terrain and thick brush made it hard to get a good footing and it kept getting caught on brush as I raised it .

When new I gorilla tape the sections together and carry in as one package, when moving to another location , a carry them all assembled, find the balance point and stand in between the rungs garb the beams and walk .

I sink the beams as deep into the ground as I can ,put on lower bar to tree, then tie a rope around tree to beams 2/3 of the way up , climb up the rest and tighten ratchets .

[Northcountryman]

Awesome video , very informative thanks so much 

[greensider]

I moved an 18 foot ladder this week over 200 yards on my shoulders while carrying my crossbow in one hand just put bottom against tree and walk it up like an extension ladder make sure brace is good before climbing 

[Nomad]

1 hour ago, turkeyfeathers said:

I tried putting up sticks other day and then hang on. Felt unsafe , I hate and suck at ratchet straps especially one handed hanging on. Harness on but zero chance I was going to climb any higher to attach life line. Screw that. 

Ha, I started with chunks of 2x4 with a drilled hole  that you passed a clothes line through and tied to the tree , so you stood on the end of a 2x4 as you climb up with a mouth full of clothes line with blocks .  Once up I pulled up a 30 pound steal stand by a chain which was used to secure it to the tree .

There was no such thing as a harness , but I did use a rope  on stand ,clove hitch around tree , bowline around me , ha ha ! 

This guy got all fancy by cutting bevels on his blocks .

 

Greensider, it helps if one has a lot of experience with ladders and or strength, you seem to have both !

Edited November 11, 2019 by Nomad

[Will_C]

Nomad-good looking stand. Do you mind sharing the brand and model?

[The_Real_TCIII]

A lone wolf ladder stand probably costs more than a mid-size pickup truck lol

[Robhuntandfish]

Hard to find many ladder stands with the metal seats now.  They are all going to the fabric/mesh whatever it is.  Yeah maybe more comfortable but done see that stuff lasting long in the elements.  

[Don_C]

I strap them together as Moog suggested, but I also add an axle with wheels that I strap to the "gripper" v-bar (the part that hugs the tree) then grab the end of the ladder and wheel it in like a cart. It works perfectly when we can't use the cart and ATV.  The axle is in cart in the pic below.

[Don_C]

15 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Hard to find many ladder stands with the metal seats now.  They are all going to the fabric/mesh whatever it is.  Yeah maybe more comfortable but done see that stuff lasting long in the elements.  

We have Big Game stands with the mesh seats that are 6 years old now. They have been outside since day one. The seats are holding up just fine. Next year I will replace some of the hardware, but whatever that mesh is, it is still good as new. 

[loworange88]

https://www.sherpahunting.com/ladder_stand_wheel_kits.html

I'm sure someone can fabri-cobble up some sort of ricksha vs the $119 for that rig.

[moog5050]

28 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Hard to find many ladder stands with the metal seats now.  They are all going to the fabric/mesh whatever it is.  Yeah maybe more comfortable but done see that stuff lasting long in the elements.  

Pretty much all I use are the cheapo ladders with metal seat and tiny platform.  haven't bought any in a year or more but they were still available then.  They do seem to last much better than the mesh seats.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

4 hours ago, moog5050 said:

Pretty much all I use are the cheapo ladders with metal seat and tiny platform.  haven't bought any in a year or more but they were still available then.  They do seem to last much better than the mesh seats.

Moog overemphasizes the platform size of the stands he uses...lol.  

[Robhuntandfish]

5 hours ago, Don_C said:

We have Big Game stands with the mesh seats that are 6 years old now. They have been outside since day one. The seats are holding up just fine. Next year I will replace some of the hardware, but whatever that mesh is, it is still good as new. 

good to know - been staying away from them because of that.   I even have an extra stand in bullpen i bought just in case i needed one and couldnt find any without mesh seating.   

Edited November 11, 2019 by Robhuntandfish

[moog5050]

6 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Moog overemphasizes the platform size of the stands he uses...lol.  

That why I had my feet surgically reduced from 13EEE to 8.  Cheaper that way.

[The_Real_TCIII]

4 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

That why I had my feet surgically reduced from 13EEE to 8.  Cheaper that way.

I remember running into you that day at the surgeons office, I was having a consult for a penis reduction to alleviate my back pain. Decided on physical therapy instead, so far so good

[moog5050]

2 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

I remember running into you that day at the surgeons office, I was having a consult for a penis reduction to alleviate my back pain. Decided on physical therapy instead, so far so good

Same doc that did the feet handled that reduction too.  I think I went a bit too far.  Keep peeing on my base layers.  But my back feels great.

[46rkl]

I’m sure I don’t want to get in that conversation. 
I started out in the seventies just climbing a tree and wedging a foot into a good hold. Stayed there all day and could barely walk when I got down. Built a number of wooden platform stands that would ice up and be skating rinks. Some were insanely dangerous to get in or out of. Bought my first climber in the nineties and loved them. Climbing sticks and hang on stands followed and then ladder stands. Now it’s nice, comfortable web seats with big platforms. 
They are difficult to muscle around though. Tossing a rope over a high branch really helps. Tie one end to the platform. No more muscling it up alone. Call a friend or use the John Deere. 
oh, and safety lines on every stand!