I hunt public land just about 100% of the time. I have always used chain on stands, mostly because I can slap a pad lock on them, and leave them for the weekend and have a reasonable chance of having them stay there. In the last 15 years I have been hunting my current public wildlife area, I have only lost 2 stands to theft. I recently picked up a strap on stand cheap, and I really like the way it snugs down and holds solid without the "play" a chain will always have. My concern is, that a strap on stand will be able to be stolen by someone that simply is carrying a knife, where as the chain requires a little more effort to get off the tree. Do you guys that use straps run into this problem? Is simply adding a chain enough to keep the stand on the tree?
Why not to use a thick steel wire to fasten the stand to the tree? and fix it this way http://images.yandex.ru/yandsearch?...n.ru/images/inj-system-zagorodnogo-doma-2.jpg or make 6 or 8 loops around the tree and tree stand and that fix it. and the other way to avoid the strap being cut with the knife is to make several coils of thin steel wire around the rope.
Get a tree stand cable lock. They are about $7-10. I found some last fall that are keyed alike (either 4 or 10).
Check out www.millenniumstands.com They have Cam-Lock Receivers that you can place on different trees and leave there. They offer it in a chain version or a rachet strap. You wrap the Cam-Lock Receiver around the tree and take your stand with you when the hunt is over. I love these stands. I have the M100 and I am buying 2 of the M50s this year. It allows you to hunt multiple sites(the wind) and only need one stand. Be warned they are the Most Comfortable Treestands you will EVER hunt in! I Guarantee it!!
I use chain on stands so I can put a lock on them but if you want to lock a strap on treestand use a Python cable or something similar to lock it.
You could set the stand normally with straps if u like how they snug up a lot better the like other said get a cable lock to secure it so even if straps get cut its still locked on.
I too hunt public and just use a cable lock. I picked up 3 at a garage sale for 5 bucks and always use the cheapest stands I can find for my public hunting. I had one in a tree for about 6 months last year and nobody got it. Although it was deep and I'm not sure anyone found it anyway.
