Do climbers put you at a disadvantage?

I currently own one hang on and one climber. I have my hang on stand in my best spot that I'll hunt a couple of times and I have a climber. I was curious what opinions were on climbers. I worry that carrying the stand in to several trees I marked, to hunt throughout the season will let the deer know I'm in there. My plan is to hunt each tree once. I hunt mainly mornings throughout the rut and hate making noise. I would be in the tree a good hour and a half before shooting time. Any thoughts on climbers vs hang ons is appreciated. Thanks and God bless.

 

Are you worried about all the clanking going in or the climbing up the tree part that's noisy? If you're worried about the noise coming in, try and silence your gear where the metal on metal touches.

 

My climber is a lone wolf and packs pretty good. It's the climbing up the tree mainly and going in too. I find it very hard walking in with a climber and being completely quiet. I was just thinking about past success and it got me thinking about stands. Thanks.

 

I feel the only real disadvantage is you are limited to the number of trees you can get into. I can get in and out of the woods pretty quietly with a climber. Climbers vary in ease of use as well as my summit viper SD is very easy to use and keep quiet.

 

I don't think they put you at a disadvantage really, you might just haveto tweak your strategy. I prefer hunting stands I have in place in the mornings and using my climber in the evenings especially to try new spots. If I do use it in the morning I give myelf some extra time and do everything extra slow to cut down the noise.

 

I have both LW stands as well. You say you already have your hang-on at your best spot, then you have to use the climber, right? If you're just hunting mornings, and getting in before first light when it's dark, the climber is the best choice. Doing this with the sit and climb is pretty simple, and more importantly, QUIET. Make sure you have the traction belts bottomed out, so you don't get hung up going in. I've trimmed my route to my stand sites, so I don't have issues in the dark. I can't envision setting up a hang-on in the dark (no light) and expecting to do it quietly.

 

Never had an issue with my Summit. Real quiet and I can get up quick.

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I can climb in the dark with my XOP fairly quietly, but honestly I think walking in when I can just see and then climbing up at first light is what I generally do nowadays. I'm over climbing up in stands an hour and a half early. The only time I do that is if I am going into a bedding area stand in the primetime and I usually have that one hung already. As I get older and somewhat wiser, I might walk in and sit at the base of the tree cooling down until it starts to get light. Then I climb. It just helps me be more quiet when I can see what the heck I'm doing and not light up the whole woods with the headlamp. Now I just have a better idea of when deer generally use certain areas and plan accordingly. I also have a third hand bow holder fixed to my climber so I can climb with my bow on the ready so if a deer walks in while I'm climbing I can possibly get a shot off.

I use my climber a few times per season.
I will say if you get a good lightweight hang on stand with sticks, you can pack that in just as quietly and hang it in less than 10 minutes with practice. Then you won't be limited to climber trees.

 

The only time I go in while it's dark is during the rut. I'm in a half hour to an hour before first light, and I sit until it's dark again. I like being totally settled in when it's getting light. Just personal preference.

 

So long as you're quiet as possible and allow yourself an hour of darkness for the woods to reset, you'll be fine with a climber.

 

No issues being quiet with a climber. I have a summit Goliath and find it easy to use in the dark. I probably make more noise stepping in twigs and leaves than going up the tree.

 

I like my climber cause it’s easy to move if your 40-50 yds off of the best deer movement. But I will always set it up ahead of time for morning hunts cause of the noise. Also, who wants to climb a tree and get even hotter after walking in. So they have their place, like they won’t get stolen on public land cause they go in and out with you. But I prefer a hang on and ladder sticks.

 

I always told my kid when using a climber on morning hunts, you are hunting the 8 am deer, not the 6:45 deer


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I hunt a lot out of my climber it's a API bowhunter it's probably about 15 years old it's really comfortable and easy to pack in and out. To me it's all about the tree when trying to be quite when climbing. Rough bark, slick bark and limbs all play into the overall setup.

 

Just got set up for my first hubby of the year out of the climber, i i was unfortunately way too noisy coming, almost certainly bumped out all the deer, but i was able to make an adjustment based on what i saw when i hunted this morning. I think i would be much better off if i got some mods to make carrying the climber more suitable

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I've killed many a deer from a climber. Including my biggest bow kill buck. I usually use high quality padlocks in place the pins whenever I find a hot spot and intend to hunt that spot for a few days. I just leave it at the base of the tree. Scent free of course.

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I've killed more deer out of my climber than the lock on stands. For morning hunts, I do try to get in extremely early though and my stand locations are closer to bedding, away from the feed source. I too have a LW and I think it is pretty quiet walking in and climbing...of course, when it is dark out it seems that every sound is amplified. One morning I was climbing and thinking that I was being too noisy, I heard a sound and stopped climbing and watched as 5 does walked under my tree unalarmed...I was only 10 feet up at the time too. I think it is more psychological than anything else.

Now I do try to wear less clothing when I'm hiking in with the climber and take my time climbing the tree for fear of sweating. I'm more concerned about my odor than the sound...especially since I'm apt to pass on a dozen does or more to wait out a buck, dang does will blow in a heartbeat if they get a good whiff after they pass my stand.

 

I’m surprised you have not heard the I like to hunt for deer not trees bull crap. That is one of my least favorite sayings ever. I use a lone wolf hand climber as well as a couple of other climbers. If I go into an area that has gnarly trees I carry my hand climber with two sticks. I can put the sticks on where needed and climb where needed. Also most people don’t know a Lone Wolf hand climber will sit on a crooked tree perfectly. My alpha and sticks collect dust because I hate putting them up even though I am good at it. If your stand his clanking by the third hand archery cinch straps and put them on your lone wolf. They have metal ends and you can wrap each side twice and cinch them tight and I promise you it will not move


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That's a great idea, I never thought of that! I'm lucky that most of the trees are straight as can be where I hunt, but there are a few areas that are devoid of straight trees that I have always wanted to sit...I could very easily do the same. Good tip!

 

Personally, I would say leaving a hang-on stand on a tree all season would 'let the deer know you're there' more than carrying a climber in with you to hunt, then taking it back out when you are done. Sometimes what I will do is, if I know I'm going to hunt that afternoon I will take my climber out to where I'm going to hunt about mid-day and hang it, that way when I come back to hunt it is ready to get on and climb and you won't make as much noise as setting it up then climbing all at once. Also, like you said, if using a climber I will always go set up an hour to hour and half earlier than normal, especially in the mornins. This gives any deer who may have heard you, or that you spooked, a chance to settle down and (hopefully) forget they heard something that spooked them (most of the time if it's dark and you're playing the wind right, a deer doesn't know exactly what spoked them anyhow). Going in early also allows you to take your time and be as stealthy and cautious as possible. Early season bowhunts tend to be hot, so taking your time and not overexerting yourself, and sweating, will help you remain as scent-free as possible and gives you a better chance at bagging the deer you're after. That being said: some people will argue that setting up stands right as you hunt makes too much noise and introduces too much new scent to an area and will spook deer; hang your stands in advance. Others will argue that hanging stands in advance will spook deer, or cause them to change paths, and that the element of surprise is your best bet. Personally I would say this all depends on what you're after, a monster buck or just some meat for the freezer. To each his own.