My sticks and stand are completely hockey taped off, and painted. I have posted the pics in "how do you hand your stands" thread before. Trust me I have put alot of thought into how I can make then and the process quieter. They certainly have their place, I hunt alot of river bottoms where straight trees are no where to be found, they thrive there. I'm just staighting my opinion. I have said this before on AT and guys have said your right most guys wont admit it though. I'm not bashing, just not in love. They are good in some places, but my climber is better in open hardwoods. I may have to use a straight tree, but that is 98% of the trees in an open hardwoods.
UP...I just searched on here and found the thread you just mentioned. I thought I recognized that stand because I saw it while doing some research on AT. I remember you saying it kinda looked like Predator camo, I agree. My plans to quieten my sticks are as follows. I'm gonna spray some plasti-dip spray on the stick and then spray paint (camo) over top of that. The plasti dip is supposed to remain flexible. I might also spray the inside of the sticks with "Great Stuff" foam to eliminate the hollow sound. I don't know...I may just tape the sticks up like some have suggested but I may just test one with the above method. I have six so I can spare one I guess. Here's a link to the plasti-dip stuff. http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip
UP- i will very much agree that if you have hardwoods your hunting and doing all day sits i would by far, rather tote a climber in to sit all day then break my a$$ sittin on my lone wolf all day, especially if theres a ton of big open trees. I hunt alot of thick nasty s**t where you may only get 12-15 feet up and your monkey climbing all over. They both have there place in the hunting world and both work excellent. My biggest beef with most climbers is the bar you sit on to climb hinders your ability to sit and shoot sometimes. One solution i came up with for sitting all day is i bought a millenium M-100.... Can you say OMG is it comfortable. Theres a post on youtube called mobile hunting setup where a kid places versa buttons on the M-100 and makes it easier to pack in. Finch - As far as foaming and plasti dip for the sticks, i would stick to tape. Plasti dip is going to leave serious scent and so will foam. I personally tape them off with hockey tape in camo, and spray them off, then leave them outside for a week or so to air out.
I'm not that quick but I can get up in my tree in roughly 5-6 minutes. I think I'll try to time myself this fall.
I can get up in a tree pretty darn quick with a climber but my stealthiness factor would suffer. I plan on doing a test climbing and also setting the hang-on and comparing the times. I'll take my time just as I normally would as if I thought deer were close in the area. Should be interesting to see the difference in time. Rutin: I thought about those products leaving a scent but do you think it would still be present after two months?
Well, ever since I purchased my LW stand and Sticks, I used a climber once, then sold it! I hang my stand just about every time I hunt, which is a lot, and I do mean a lot! The only time I don't hang a stand is if I'm gonna hunt the same stand in the evening as I did in the AM. The reasons I don't use a climber is because they limit the trees I can hunt out of! My LW will go in any tree a climber will go, so I don't see the point in a climber! I don't like the rails on climbers and its a pain in the ass to climb down then have to go back up! I could go on and on though but you get my point! LOL!
I use both... I have a Lone Wolf Climber and 2 ladder stands and 2 lock ons with climbing sticks. They each have a function in the areas I hunt. The Climber is for mobility and public land and sees the most use.
I traded my LW Alpha and 4 sticks for a LW sit n climb mostly for hunting the timber company lands in Northern, Wi during gun season where it is mostly straight trees. But now im kicking myself in the arse as I need the Alpha down here in S.E. Wi. Any deals out there?
We only use hang on stands where we hunt. The majority of the trees in our area that are big enough to hang a stand on are spruce trees so they would be almost impossible to use a climber on. We also like to set up our stands a month or two before hunting to try and reduce us disturbing the area.
Finch, if you spray them make sure around the pin and hole not to close the hole on the upper stick, they are what I have problems with in the dark. They are essential to the sticks not clanging together on the way out of the woods. I also have a problem in the dark getting the sticks locked into the stand, and not makeing alot of noise. So if you spray them make sure you dont hit those areas or it only make the tolerances that much tighter and trying to get them together that much harder. Just some thoughts from a guy that has had them a few years, and has tried to idiot proof them.
I like Rick's answer. Though I use my climber quite a bit, my hangons are my most used type of stand when I am seriously after Mr. Big Boy.
Yeah, I just got a great deal. I paid $265 bucks for the LW alpha and 3 sticks. All of this was brand new to boot! UP: Thanks for the tips. I'm not really sure if I'm gonna apply the plasti-dip or not. Have you tried those UCR's I've been reading about?
Theres a lone wolf assault and 4 sticks brand new with 3 quick hangers for $300 obo in the columbus craigslist. Just talked the guy down to $225 but i have to but a new camera arm, so someone may wanna jump on this!
I saw them on archery talk. They are constrictor ropes that were designed to replace the climbing stick straps.
i wouldnt mind using a climber as long as i didnt have to use the damn screw in tree pegs,that mess is a work out in its self. theres advantages of using both especially when you factor in the scent factor and noise. i like ladder stands but like everybody else said,so does the thieves. i have a buddy who got out of his stand for a rest period and came back and found a man sitting in it when he got back ha-ha lord he was hot! ha-ha
This is me as well...besides, I have something in the back of my mind that turns me into mush once I get in a loc on with no bar in front. 25 feet up in a climber and everything is ok, 10' with no bar and I feel like I am on the ocean...tried to over come it, but just ain't happening.
