Did my first day of bow hunting today (thanks @Fix for the tips). Didn’t have any luck, but I did have a question on choosing a safe tree I have a Lone Wolf Assault climber. I chose a skinny maple tree for one of my spots. It appeared healthy, thought it swayed a little bit upon climbing. The climber was rock solid and never shifted when I got to 20 feet. But it chewed up the bark quite a bit ascending and descending. Is this to be expected ? Hoping I can use this Saturday morning. Attached a pic of the vantage point it gives me. Best spot I could find in the whole Cambodia-like mosquito infested land
Yes, you'll get that chewing up on smoother, more shallow barked trees (Maples). Rougher, more thick barked, not so much. You might want to invest in the XL traction belts, as they allow you to climb larger diameter trees. The thinner the tree, the more movement you'll get, especially the higher you go. I like to find the fattest tree that's climbable, and is in a good spot for my needs/desires. The fatter the tree you use, the more concealment you get. The more you test things out, the better you will get at the tree stand thing. Best of luck this season.
Turn your phone side ways to take pics you plan on sharing. Not all maples are equal, there are hard and soft maples. Also if you live in a high wind area a perfect healthy maple can be weaken and just have the top snap out. I have these all over our woods. So the bigger the diameter the better.
Personally, I prefer large pines for a few reasons. There are a ton in my area and they generally go straight up instead of branching out like many deciduous trees do. The bark is so thick that you won't damage the tree, but you might take bits of the outer bark out. That isn't a big deal, though. As others have mentioned, the concealment from larger trees is a big help, too! It's probably a good idea to invest in longer straps for your stand so you have more options in tree sizes if that is something you are interested in.
