Looking at my first stand purchase next year. I want a 2 person ladder stand for when the wife comes along with me But i'm now looking into single man tree stands for myself on solo trips in the woods. Now for reference, I have about 250 acres of private land to hunt on, so it is a possibility that I can leave my stands safely without too much worry. I want a climber because of how easy and comfortable they are, however I keep reading on how much of a pain it can be to find a good tree. So i'm looking at a hang-on now and some climbing sticks/steps. My question is, how often do you move your stand? do you hang it and leave it there for a few days/few weeks/whole season and just take your sticks home with you at the end of the night?
ideally, if you have 250 acres to hunt, get 5-10 stands, put them up in good spots and leave them. you'll learn if they are in good spotsover time. then move accordenlly
I move my stand every time I hunt. I'll hunt the same trees here and there. I do put up a few that stay out all season.
I hunt the same way. Probably 95% of my hunts I have my stand on my back. I seldom hunt more than 2 or 3 times in the same spot in a season and those are spread out weeks apart.
I only use ladder stands and they stay in the woods. I have 2-3 stands set up at each site for different wind directions
Probably 80% of the time a hang on and sticks, the rest a climber. I'll use a climber when I plan an all day sit and I know trees are available. If I was only going to have one stand it would be a high end hang on and sticks.
Do you have a Menard's near you? If so, go there. They have stands starting at $29. I have a couple of them, they're not the most comfortable stand on the planet, but they're safe, get some ratchet straps instead of the straps that come with them. I also have a climber. I like using a climber on occasion, but I'd take 5 tree stands that have been in the trees all year over carrying the climber in.
I'm in canada so I have to pay canadian prices. Cheapest hangon I've come across on a sale is about $70 + tax
I love the Menards Big Dog Lancer, I weld up some extensions and get them up around 21' usually buy one the day after Christmas every year
If it's a canadian site, same as it does in the US. I can get free shipping from cabelas.ca but if it's a US site (like basspro or cabelas.com, huntersfriend, etc..) I'll have to pay higher shipping and possibly 13% Duty when it hits customs. For example, if you order from huntersfriend, it's free shipping, I order from them it's $100 shipping.
I'd start by scouting the area and using trail camera and when you have area that consistently has deer I'd start by putting a stand there then you can fine tune it from there.
During early archery season I might adjust my hunting location two or three times... over a six week time period their habits can change and sometimes you wind up chasing them around a bit.
If you that strapped for cash and only want to buy 1 stand I would go with a lightweight stand with some good sticks along with some screw in steps. Lone wolf preferably but XOP, Leverage, muddy and hawk make good stuff too. Go out find 10 or so good locations. Get them completely set up, screw on steps, tree strap for safety harness or lifeline if you have them, bow hook and cut your lanes. Then take your stand on and out with you. A good hang on sets up in about a minute so if you have everything else ready your not losing much time. Then you have the sticks for when you want to move into a certain area or just want a change of scenery. Comb craigslist for steps I've bought 30 or 40 steps on there at a pretty good discount over what you pay at the store. Also Gorilla has the best screw ins IMO. For 10 setups figure on around 100 steps. 10 gets me about 20ft in the air.
I just picked up the XOP Air Raid from ****'s on sale with free shipping. It is huge compared to the 29.00 stands I get from Menards (made by Big Game tree stands). I used it for the first time yesterday and it was pretty nice. I also ordered a set of XOP sticks from Field and Stream but they haven't arrived yet. I'm looking forward to next year, but still have some sits for this year so I should be able to get the whole picture on these stands. This will definitely allow me to be more mobile.
This is a great idea Frantic, I will look into this option. My question now is: Will the steps harm the trees?
I have roughly a dozen stands out on my property. I don't move them. They are in locations that I have determined are good areas. It lets me get in and out quickly and quietly. I have accumulated them over time. I also have a Lone Wolf Alpha II and sticks that I use for running and gunning. If I'm not hunting my property then that's what I will use. I will put it up and take it down for each hunt.
