As many of you know we've had a rash of theft occurring at the one property we hunt....5 cameras and one stand straight off the tree. We also have strong suspicions that someone(or more) are hunting a stand or two of ours.....my question is we predominately utilize hang on stands with the interlocking ladder style sticks, but I'd like to figure out a way without switching all of our ladder style over to the climbing stick style of removing the bottom one or two leaving an 8 foot or so gap as to eliminate all but the very committed trespassers/thieves of any shenanigans. Any one have any idea or practice they do to keep that bottom step from slowly shimming down the tree and also being secure enough when you do reach it (probably utilize a climbing stick or two each time out)?
One line of thought was would simply a ratchet strap around the base of that first elevated stick be enough to accomplish security and safety?
I have a public land set done this way. I got a couple sets of Field & Stream sticks on clearance a couple years back. They are almost exactly the same style as the Hawk Helium sticks. http://hawkhunting.myshopify.com/collections/climbing-sticks/products/helium-3pk-climbing-stick I leave the top two in the tree just using the normal strap they came with. I just check it each time before I climb up. I carry in two of my Lone Wolf Sticks for each hunt. I can get them on the tree and up in less than two minutes.
I get this and is what i'm going to go to personally on a few spots...but my question is how to go about similar concept with those interlocking ladder style sticks. We have 4 stands at this property all with 6 or 7 of these interlocking sticks (the cheap guide gear kind or gorilla)...being that the 2nd fits on top of the 1st and 3rd on the 2nd and so on, anyone came up with a system or technique for removing bottom portions of this style that are designed to sit on the ground? Similar to this http://www.basspro.com/API-Outdoors...ik/product/10211883/?cm_sp=FHvtSlP3Oct2015_HU These style don't have the teeth to grip with downward tension like the climbing sticks.
Gotcha, I would think you would want to use two ratchet straps. One at the top and one towards the bottom. I use a lot of the interlocking ladder sticks on my permanent setups, but I don't know how much I would trust them if they weren't resting on the ground at the base.
What about a couple ratchet traps and a spacer at the bottom? Slide the bottom sections into place, insert spacer between sticks and ground, then ratchet sections to the tree. What would you trust as a spacer though???
Hmmm...spacer may work but not sure how I'd accomplish this for sure. I would convert all the ladders over to climbing sticks but not entirely sure how easily Pops would do with climbing sticks instead of the ladder variety...
My machining uncle may be a good source....perhaps he could may a straight sided tube or beam that would run from the ground and up 8 feet.....the sticks would slide into it just like any other and then the day we hunt we simply climb using some climbing sticks to get to the base of the "interlocking" sticks......wouldn't be the cheapest alternative but....
I know I probably don't know all the details but if I was in your situation, I wouldn't want to go through all that hassle of buying new stands/sticks. I personally would focus more on trying to catch the bastards to stop the trespassers. Maybe working with the authorities.
I would use the spacer and a racket strap at the top and add a strap at the bottom Take the bottom section home each hunt. I would think a cement block would work with a piece of 2x8 on top. I have ladder stands set on a hillside and have done this with rock solid results
I've filed with the county sheriff's department numerous times, been in constant dialogue and one of them actually visited the "suspects". The suspected party is "well known" in the law enforcement community...all the way from petty stuff up to cocaine possession/theft/vehicular manslaughter....
This is what I use on all my public ground sets. I stagger 4-6 of these and then start my standard sticks. It makes it a pretty big inconvenience to sit in my stands or steal my stuff. They are kind of expensive but they are made out of machined aluminium. I buy the bolts in packs of 100.
Not sure about laws in your state but in most states you cannot screw in let alone run big bolts into a tree.
Its legal where I hunt. And Ty said he wanted this solution for private property. He can do what ever he wants! :p
A friend of mine swears by this approach....definitely one of the leading 3 options we are considering right now.
Its a really convenient light weight option. To follow up.... I never remove the bolts once I place them. They are there indefinitely. This doesn't hurt a tree one bit. I'd go out on a limb and say removable sticks / climbers do way more damage.
