I am making the transition this year from shooting houses to tree stands and I am looking for some advice. I hunting some family property this year and I need to provide my own stands and cameras. I for see only being able to hunt the property 3-6 weekends during bow season this year. I was planning on getting 2 mid priced hang on tree stands and 2 cameras to put by those stands. First, any suggestions or recommendations for stands? Hang-on or ladder type? I am aware Lone Wolf is very good, but i can't justify those now especially for the amount of time I will be hunting. I found entry level stands on Sportsmanguide.com Cameras; I am trying to work out my camera strategy. 1 do i need cameras? My cousin has a few on the property, but they are motion capture and we are 5 hrs away so checking them multiple times in the summer is out. I was thinking I could put my stands in places we know there is deer traffic and maybe hang 1 camera by each set to Time Laps mode to get a schedule of the local deer and understand that is more reliable than motion capture. Finally we are planning a trip in later summer to hang the stands, cut lanes and put the cameras out. There is no pressure on this property and the deer have a 25-30 acre sanctuary we avoid. The hard part is the neighbor. he has a huge clover field so we will have to be smart with hinge cutting and hope they live on our land and just feed on his... Sorry for the huge post, I look forward to learning from your collective wealth of knowledge. Thanks in advance!
You can get some ladder stands for around 60$ now. Granted you will sacrifice some comfort for those prices but they are cheap, quick and easy to set up. I can generally move the single ladder stand on my own with a little sweat. There are some decent priced hang ons too but you have to factor in some sort of steps for them as well. Good luck.
Options 1 buy a light portable stand with climbing sticks and set up in a different tree for every hunt, this is one more expensive stand but 100% freedom Option 2 but a light(ish) stand and put steps (eg Ameristep® Step-Up Tree Step) in your favorite trees and move the one stand from tree to tree to support your different wind/phase of season options Option 3 same as 2 but buy more stands to have it everything hung before the season starts. I personally don't like ladder stands although they are safe they don't go very high (not always require but can be useful to get around an difficult branch obstruction for a good shooting lane. Also the safety bar always seems to get in the way. I would rather have a good hang on stand and trust my harness than a ladder stand (note you still need a harness with any elevated stand). Cameras, I have changed my thoughts from feed or minerals with a camera over them to using time lapse cameras to isolate travel corridors and then keep moving them to isolate funnels then move the camera into motion mode to really survey the deer population. All the surveying and adjusting is a pain but the cost vs gain means I have more effective camera use. I do like to keep a couple of time lapse cameras covering the fields all year round only to make sure their preferred routes aren't changing too much and I'm not missing anything. I have noticed they will change but mostly they change due to pressure and then gradually they will go back to the easiest, safest route for what ever reason attracted them in the first place. Be warned time lapse eats up battery and storage space so 32GB cards and good batteries are a must then lots of beer and late nights doing analysis. With Cameras your tactics have to change depending on what sort of property you have hills, flat, trees etc all make it a different challenge to analyze your deer habits. Clem
Sounds like you have a pretty good plan in mind. You can get some hang on stands pretty cheap on Amazon and ladder stands too. Like Copperhead said, factor in climbing sticks, rope, harness, etc. as well. With a big clover field nearby, it's likely the deer are feeding there. You just have to find where they bed and the routes they travel to the clover. Granted it's probably not their only food source but it's highly likely they are there at some point probably every day. Scout the heavy trails and if there's no pressure, it's likely the deer will use the same paths as long as nothing spooks them to change their pattern. I'd get a camera or two just to see what's there and when they're using it. Even if you only get to check them once or twice before the season starts, you'll be hunting more when it opens so the intel will be valuable no matter when you check them. As the season goes on, patterns will change and new deer may come and go so I can't see a downfall putting up as many cameras as you can.
I have a good harness, lineman rope and HHS 30' climbing ropes so I'll always be hooked in. Has anyone used and Guide Gear products?
For stands in your situation, I would go with something like the Muddy Boss XL. They are not the lightest things but if you are only hauling them in once and leaving them weight is not the biggest concern, they have a good sized platform. To go with them some of the Rivers Edge Grip Stick. Again not light, but they have a step on each side so you can stand with both feet at the same level and the steps are a good distance from he tree which I thinks add to a more comfortable and stable climb. For two stands I would probably get 10 of the sticks. Leave the top three with each stand and carry two that you put on when you climb. Than in the case you do decide you want one in a different spot, you can pull them down and move with reasonable amount of effort. As for cameras. I am not a fan of timelapse, looking through thousands of pictures with nothing but leaves is a killer. Might be OK if you have a large area where timelapse will catch animals outside of the sensor range. Being 5 hours a way I would look for somebody closer that you trust that might be able to check and swap out cards and get you the pictures more often.
I would do as you plan with a couple of ladder stands but I would also include a climber so that you can move as you become more familiar with deer movement.
For treestands i run ladder stands in known funnels and edges where i know deer have been crossing for years and then 2 Millennium M25's and some river edge sticks got a great deal on those or else id have just latters. but the ability to put those almost anywhere is a big plus but have had success each way. cameras if you are only running 2 and not able to check them often id set them to motion and throw out some mineral or salt near your stands will give you a good inventory of animals and wont waste space and battery with as much blank pictures.
Does anyone have any experience with any of the Guide Gear brand stands and sticks? Also are there any benefits to 1 assembled ladder to 3 individual sections?
I bought the stand and 20 ft stick ladder combo Probly 7 or 8 years ago and there still goin strong. Left in the woods for the first 5 years. Might give new paint job this season.
The one piece ladder sticks require a pretty straight tree and don't work around branches too easily. The individual sticks allow some flexibility. -Mike
I went with the single sticks. Put em together at home, making sure the step patterns were right, camo painted them. Especially covering the welds and joints to prevent rust. And put them out. I like it because you put them together stand them up, strap on the first two straps from the ground and then start climbing and strapping. The separate pieces you put up one, climb up, bring up the next, hold on to it and strap it to the tree. A lil more required to get it there. Also if I like the locale it's in. At the end of the season I just loosen the straps to protect the tree and also check it over for damage.
I tend to not like ladder stands unless I can get it up in a group of 3 trees for cover. However, I'm a fan of ladder sticks. You can get good cheap ladder sticks from sportsmansguide that go up to 20 feet. I would get 2 sets of them and then get yourself a mid-priced lock on stand that you can carry in with you each hunt. This way, all you have to do is climb up your tree sticks that you had pre-setup prior to season, strap your stand on and sit. I would check out XOP stands as well. They are very similar to lone wolf but not as expensive. This summer they are coming out with a 8.5 pound version as well that is perfect for those run and gun setups.
Millennium stands are super comfortable (fall asleep Comfortable). Get one good stand and then get the straps that you can leave on the tree.
I'm leaning towards a Muddy Skybox, a 20' stick ladder and a Hawk Combat hang on. I should be able to be flexible and use the ladder for shotgun season too. Any feed back on Stealth Cam PX12's? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Although I don't own a px12 I've been researching them also cause of their price. With the cheaper cams it seems the trigger speed usually is much slower. If you're putting it on a trail remember to point it down the trail or else you'll have lots of deer butts or nothing on cam pics when you go out and retrieve the card. Also good idea to buy a python cable lock for stands and cameras. They are easy to cut off but some potential thieves will be deterred by a cheap lock. Camera 12 ft up a tree will help prevent thefts also.
