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Tree Stands

quamnetquamnet Member Posts: 332 ✭✭
edited July 2002 in General Discussion
I was just wondering what tree stands you use. I know that depending on where you are there are many different strategies. I live in Wisconsin and I use a Tree Lounge. I love it. The best investment in any hunting related item I have bought. I'm 17 and I sit in the tree for 10 hours without a problem. The old-timers can't figure out why I shoot the deer when they are back at camp by noon....... anyways what kind do you use???
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Comments

  • quamnetquamnet Member Posts: 332 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm in the market for a tree stand for JR and am having trouble picking one out for the fella. What I'm looking for is a climbing portable stand that is light enough for him to carry and get up the tree with. I use a Viper XL and I want something similar in design only lighter. It will have to have a wrap around bar like mine, not an open design so that if he gets bored he won't fall right out of it. Mine has the hanging seat so that when seated it is like a cage. Cable or chain will be ok for tree hookup. I have looked at a couple stands but when you go to the store the salesman has his favorite that he recomends and it is always pricey. Since this is his first year hunting I have to spend quite a bit of cash on him and I need to budget myself accordingly. Price has to be less than $200. If possible please post a pic or a link to where I can get a look at it and where I can buy it at. Time is running out and I need to get one ASAP and get him shooting the bow from 20' up!
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  • quamnetquamnet Member Posts: 332 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    reading a couple posts regarding tree stands and I find it interesting, they must be an Eastern thing. I've never heard of anyone using one out West. I've set up and waited for deer coming off alfalfa fields a few times, but never seen a stand out here. wonder if it is something to do with Mulies vs. Whitetail or just different traditions.
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  • GreenLanternGreenLantern Member Posts: 1,647 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Last fall I built my own. 10' x 8', 10' off the ground. It's the tree house I never had as a kid! Used solid oak 4x6's for the posts, had to drill pilot holes for the nails otherwise they'd just bend over hammering them in. And get this, I only used it for 30 minutes last year. I guess it payed off though since I got a nice buck, considering I mostly see does.
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  • 4wheeler4wheeler Member Posts: 3,441
    edited November -1
    I build my own,use thin wall tubing and wire weld it together. I have built about six and they work well. I bought a new one last year with arm rests and all the other fancy stuff,never hunted from it. Oh yes, I am one of those old-timers,you just had to comment on your age,I have boots older than you

    "It was like that when I got here".
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  • quamnetquamnet Member Posts: 332 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Please don't think I have anything against old timers.......they are the ones who teach us younger guys everything we know.....its just that some of the ones I hunt with can't figure out why the younger guys shoot all the deer when the old timers spend 90% of the time at camp and not in the woods....
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  • 4wheeler4wheeler Member Posts: 3,441
    edited November -1
    Just having some fun quamnet. Old-timers are back at camp eating and playing poker. They are eating beans and franks with crackers not venison.

    "It was like that when I got here".
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  • COONASSCOONASS Member Posts: 2,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Tree Lounge for the last 20 or so years, Love it mainly for gun hunting, I bow hunt out of it a little. Like hanging stands with a climbing stick for bow hunting.( API and Gorilla ). Have six shooting houses for the kids and ladies or the bad weather days.
    4x4 and 4x6 ....Use 1" EMT to make the frame and bolt 1/2" treated plywood for sides............

    coonass

    We Live in a World of Give And Take, But A Lot Of People Won't Give What it Takes.
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  • NighthawkNighthawk Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Ive had two models,the first one was nice but heavy,Itraded it off and bought a new tree lounge wo years ago its much lighter.I own some land in a very rural area back in the sticks.I had five permanent built stands.I deldom use them now with my tree lounge.A lot of the guys fuss because its expensive.If you ask me its worth every penny.

    Rugster
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  • gskyhawkgskyhawk Member Posts: 4,773
    edited November -1
    quamnet:hey where in Wi are you from? I live in the Sparta area, never have used the tree lounge but have heard great things about them, I use river edge and lone wolf
    4wheeler please becareful with home made stands, last deer season, on the farm next to where I was hunting one of their stands broke dumping the guy out to break his neck , he died before anyone could help him, he was only in his mid 20's I believe and left behind a wife and small child
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  • GreenLanternGreenLantern Member Posts: 1,647 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    gskyhawk has a really good point. Every 4-5 years I hear about somebody falling out of one in my area. That's why I built my own and quit using the ones other people had built. They were too hard to get into and out of, and were starting to fall apart.
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  • quamnetquamnet Member Posts: 332 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Gskyhawk....live near milwaukee and hunt near eau claire...i would recommend the tree stand to any and everyone.....get the free video from them at http://www.treelounge.com I think my setup was around $350 but I don't think I'll need another one for at least 20 years. I do have the older style but it works good for me.....new style does look nice....Increases chances of seeing deer and enjoying hunt 300% in my book
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  • quamnetquamnet Member Posts: 332 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Gskyhawk....live near milwaukee and hunt near eau claire...i would recommend the tree stand to any and everyone.....get the free video from them at http://www.treelounge.com I think my setup was around $350 but I don't think I'll need another one for at least 20 years. I do have the older style but it works good for me.....new style does look nice....Increases chances of seeing deer and enjoying hunt 300% in my book
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  • anderskandersk Member Posts: 3,627 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I make my own out of wood that I find laying around the neighbourhood construction sites. (Yes, I ask first!) Kind of fun seeing what you can do with scraps. My last and best was a two seater, with a table and a roof ... shot quite a few deer from this one 35 feet up with the birdies.

    Bonne Chasse!

    Ken
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  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I wont even go near a tree stand-scare the hell out of me. A couple of seasons ago I made myself get into a stand(climbing type). I got up about ten feet, sat for a half hour, the entire time aftraid I was going to fall out of the tree. Got a real bad headache, and decided to get down.-Couldnt do it. I stood there on the platform for a half hour trying to committ myself to getting to the ground.
    I finally decided to hug the tree and slide down, without the stand-I think it is still in that tree.

    "The powers delegated by the proposed constitution to the federal governmentare few and defined, and will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace negotiation, and foreign commerce"
    -James Madison
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  • 4wheeler4wheeler Member Posts: 3,441
    edited November -1
    Hey gskyhawk,,Is that Sparta,Va.. Thanks for the advice,my stands are built much better than most store bought stands and I check them each time before getting in them.I always use a body harness.

    "It was like that when I got here".
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  • squeakycsqueakyc Member Posts: 204 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    In our hunt camp we build our own tree stands. We use a wood frame with a plywood bottom. We cover the frame with burlap and cedar boughs. Four to six weeks before the season opens we spend a day and repair any damage and make sure the stands are ready for the hunt. The stands can take a beating over the winter up here in Eastern Ontario, so maintenance is important and safety is the number one priority for us.
    I find it's the old timers that bring in the most deer as the young lads sometimes get impatient if things are quiet or cold, so they head back to camp early.
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  • RickstirRickstir Member Posts: 574 ✭
    edited November -1
    We build ours out of wood. We put old tractor seats in them. Makes them very comfortable. I have 80 acres and fourteen deer stands. Some gun, some bow, some double duty.

    Like in the NFL, defense is the key.
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  • mrs.gunpaqmrs.gunpaq Member Posts: 7 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    When I was 14 I built a tree stand for archery and rifle. When my dad discovered it he made me tear it down. He said that monkeys and rich lazy guys hunt from trees and men hunt from the ground. Dad always got a nice buck every year always stalking from the ground. Well, I am not a monkey, rich or lazy but I sure would like to get one of those Tree Lounge tree stands to hunt from this year.

    Excuse Me!!!
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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    What ever happened to the old fashioned way of hunting?, STALKING

    In all my years hunting, I have never killed a deer, from a tree, a blind, or shot one from a car.

    Seems kinda lazy to set up in a Tree, sipping your coffee, just waiting for a poor stupid deer, to walk under.

    The real skill is in tracking the deer, puting you on common ground with it. Of course you miss more than you get, cause they are wise to movement on the ground, OH Well. to each his own

    "A wise man is a man that realizes just how little he knows"
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  • GreenLanternGreenLantern Member Posts: 1,647 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Stalking would be great if you had 1000 acres to work with. I have about 18 acres but because of houses my kill zone is limited to about 5 acres, of which borders on the neighbors land that I cannot go on. Before I started hunting in a tree stand all I ever got to see was the 'whitetail' as they ran away while I was on the ground. On top of that, when I'm cooking I have yet to have anyone tell me their brat or steak doesn't taste as good since it was shot from a tree!
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hunting from a tree isnt as easy as one makes it out to be, unless you are hunting in open woods where you can shoot a couple hundred yards with a rifle. Up here you are lucky to have visability over 50 yds and in archery season them deer never cooperate and follow the trail you want them to, I have seen many many deer from a tree stand but to actually get them into bow range or an open shooting lane is tough. Stalking them with a bow, you aint never hunted nervous deer have you?
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Ohh and I use a Viper XL climbing stand, works great for archery and it is comfortable enough to fall asleeep in and you cant fall out of it unless you are having a very wierd or bad dream.
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  • anderskandersk Member Posts: 3,627 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've shot deer on the ground and from my stand ... both are a big challenge, if you ask me. But being able to just sit and think, read and pray as well as watch what is happening in the undisturbed woods makes a tree stand a great option, too!

    I forgot to ask ... I am going to be moving this Fall. And I may need to go the route of commercial stands. What is the best for the money? I'm not all that rich.

    Ken
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  • JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Build em out of pressure treated wood. Lag bolt them to the tree and place braces on the back side, which are nailed into the tree, (and no it doesn't kill it). 16" up, usually try to have a holly or several low growing trees in front and around it to disguise my movements. Just enough for me to shoot over the top of it or through the branches.

    A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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  • mrs.gunpaqmrs.gunpaq Member Posts: 7 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hi everyone! Just wanted to set the record straight no I am not the total outdoor type and sit in tree stands per the above post,gunpaq got so excited about posting his thoughts and forgot to log in as himself. A true gunbroker fanatic.So even though the above post sounds as though I am a manly man the only way you would get me there would be if it had a mountain lodge, fireplace and a few drinks wrapped around it.

    Excuse Me!!!
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  • gskyhawkgskyhawk Member Posts: 4,773
    edited November -1
    quamnet: you ever stop in at Moe Hardware in Black River Falls? If by chance you haven't let me tell you its one of the best place to buy guns and reloading stuff from in the state
    for you guys that make your own stand I have nothing against that and I have made more than my share but remember to make them good and stay safe, hunting no fun if your dead or broke up real bad from a fall
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  • GreenLanternGreenLantern Member Posts: 1,647 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    That's exactly why I made mine a free-standing platform. When you build them in the actual trees they'll move around too much and are often harder to get in and out. All I have to do is give mine a once over each year, as I don't expect much maintenace unless a tree falls on it.
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  • concealedG36concealedG36 Member Posts: 3,566 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I made mine out of wood that I took apart from giant pallets. There is a store nearby that sells hot tubs, they just throw the shipping pallets away! I now have a 8' x 5' x 5' stand wedged into 4 trees about 18 feet off the ground. It's great, I can sit and nap or take in the scenery. I've also been able to see squirrels, chipmunks, turkey, coyote and of course DEER!

    I too used to hunt by stalking, but I no longer have access to enough land to make that possible.



    Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals
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