When I was younger I was messing around with my dads old climber, climbed 12ft up a tree and the bottom fell out. This put a bad taste in my mouth for climbers and I haven't touched one since. I hunt primarily out of hang ons. This year I want to be able to be mobile and a climber seems like the way to go. I bit the bullet and ordered a lone wolf sit n climb wide. It just got delivered so I wana go in the backyard and monkey around with it and climb a bit to build confidence before I hit the woods. What are some tips and things that I should know that would help? Obviously wear a harness I know that. I guess I'm lookin for some things to make this experience as easy and safe as possible.
They are great stands, I prefer the regular width where I’m hunting because they seem to fit better on small trees. There is a video on YouTube that lone wolf made explaining how to set them up for maximum comfort. I’d watch it. The biggest thing to get used to is judging how much the diameter of the tree decreases from ground level to the height you want to hunt. You have to set the stand up with the appropriate amount of “English” so it levels out when you reach your desired height. I would recommend the footrests as well, as they don’t cost or weigh much and having two positions to put your feet in makes a big difference on long sits. Practice a little in the yard and I think you’ll be happy with it. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Practice your “routine” in your yard before you actually go hunting. Carry everything you would just like you were going hunting,stand pack, bow... Set up your stand, climb, pull up your bow, etc... This will help you fine tune your routine, nothing worse than setting up before first lite and “fighting” with your equipment.
What has been said before learn to do the same thing every time and I would buy some stealth strips and put on all metal points that have the potential to touch each other. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
even though its a pain in the butt to keep sliding the rope strap up every climb stay attached to the tree. I had the bottom drop out once years ago, it happens quick, also those third hand stabilizer straps make a huge difference in stability once you are up.
Make sure the bottom has a strap that attaches it to the top. That way if your feet come out and the bottom falls, you can pull it back up. Practice practice
give yourself an extra 30 min when you go hunting. do not rush climbing up. buy a hunters safety system rope treestrap and adjust it after every time you lift the bottom platform up, it is very time consuming but you are connected to the tree at all times. when you get to the height you want on the tree, us the platform cord to swing the teeth of the platform to the tree then move to the end of the platform and put all your weight on it so the teeth dig into the tree. then use a cord or rope as a safety line just in case the bottom falls out. never had any issues and never feel unsafe when I do this.
I have the same stand and I really like it. As mentioned, practice makes perfect. I played with it for a while before I took it hunting, that way when I got it in the woods and it was dark, I knew what I was doing. Some tips would be: Always pitch the bottom of the stand more than you think. You'll get better as you climb more trees, but for me, my biggest learning curve was the pitch of the platform. (You can adjust this as your climbing too but that takes some extra practice!) LW's are quiet, but you can make them even more so. Any contact point I bought the felt furniture stickies and placed them at any metal to metal contact. You wouldn't believe the world of difference this makes! I found a brown color that is the same as the stand. I also bought the LW sit bar pad. Comfy for resting your arms when sitting but also in keeping the stand quiet when packed. It's easy to carry a backpack with you. When you have the stand together for carrying, if you remove the belt from the bottom part you can put the straps of the backpack over each side and re-insert the belts and your pack is locked in place. I always carry one screw in step with me. You can use it to help get you on the platform and I have also used it when I the perfect tree happens to be one that is a "V" tree. The step can help you clear the extra height needed to get in the tree. For a pull rope, I bought a $3 nylon boat cleat at Walmart and attached 20 feet of rope to it. I used one bolt (hole already in the stand and a heavy duty zip tie) and attached it to the side of the stand. At the end of the rope I attached a Nite Ize gear tie. I wrap the gear tie around my bow and the loop of the backpack. When I am climbing the tree and feel the tug of the bow, I know I am 20 ft. You can dip for you foot down and grab the rope and pull your stuff up. When I get the platform to the height I am going to hunt, (for me) I find the the height of the seat to be about knee high. I'll push my knee forward and if I am right at that height, it seems to be the right seated position. Hope these help. Enjoy the new stand!
