Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: poulsbo on July 26, 2008, 10:59:38 PM
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does anyone use this tactic? i know boyd iverson has harvested some amazing deer from stands,
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I took a nice mule deer last year from a tree stand. The problem is picking the right tree. I hiked up to my spot this year and thought it was really bizarre I picked that tree and a nice buck walked right under. Sure there was trails and such but still kind of lucky. I used it because the wind really swirls bad where I hunt. Buy one and give it a try. I got a summit climber and like it a lot. Mike
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Id like to give it a try, but just havent had the money to get a decent stand. I worry about theft as well.
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A few years back my buddy and I wanted to bow hunt for elk out of tree stands, but we worried about theft, and how much they cost. So we built our own. Wasn't very hard to construct, and I the cost was less than $50 each. Worked great. I never did git a shot at an elk from mine, but my bud shot two cows from his stand, back to back years on opening day.
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I am going to give it a try this year for the first time..
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Im lookin to buy a lightweight lone wolf self climber just for blacktail hunting for the times you come across the fresh monster rub etc. Maybe I can find a good deal on one.
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Get a self climber that is light as possible, then you don't have to leave it in the woods. Very easy to pack in and set up each time up to about a mile. Mine came with straps and all. I got the summit back packer and really like it. Very stable, no fear of ever coming loose. Just have to figure out how to keep my ass from getting sore. After a couple of hours I'm ready to move on.
Whats nice about self climbers is you can switch trees easily. I've built them before but you are stuck in that tree. I hunted last year and had the animals using a trail out of range opening day. >:( Moved to a tree 20 yards from trails being used and got my buck next day. That versatility is worth the price of the climber. Mike
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Try looking into the tethrd or aero hunter tree saddles. i see alot of guys using this for public land bow hunting.
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One huge problem with self climbers. You have to cut/clear every single branch below and to the top of them on the tree. Not a problem in some places in country but the pines here tend to have branches all the way down. Plus you want to be up a ways 20ft min, 30ft better. That gets you up out of line of sight better and helps reduce the scent that gets to the ground. Not cutting all branches also lets you keep some cover so you are not sticking out like a sore thumb.
To tree stand hunt "right" you also need to be in it all day, to do that you need comfort and quiet. I had a climber realized it would not work in most places that I hunt in WA or ID. Went out and bought a Millenium M100U. Totally worth the $, mine was $170shipped. It is one bulky unit plus a mount that fits in a 1/2gallon ziplock baggy rather than two bulky units like a climber. You do not have to leave it up overnight for days worrying about theft, you can leave just the mount which are cheap to replace. Better yet you can buy extra mounts and put them up in a few locations and be able to switch locations each day. Just climb the tree drop the stand into the mount and start hunting. They are pretty much completely silent and extremely comfortable. So much so I have fallen asleep in mine.
One thing to keep in mind regardless of what stand you use is dress warm, warmer than you ever would if you were on foot. You need to stay still and not moving you will get very cold very fast, even in 50* temps you can get cold.
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Killed some really big blacktail last out of trees, could have harvested 10 sub 125” blacktail this year, out of teee stands. if I was not sitting on a quality tag. The kids all got very respectable BT’s this year out of stands, it works great, just have to put your time in. Good luck
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Someone on here shoots brutes out of stands on Vashon every year. I think maybe it’s JakeLand but I don’t remember.
Here’s mine from last year out of a stand with my bow.
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I have 2 sumit vipers and have hunted out of other self climbers. ive used them for BT but it seems most places i have put them have been wrong. IMO scouting for a tree is almost as hard as scouting a location. IVersons stands have not been that high off the ground. 15-20 ft and he talks of using natural elevated locations. stumps, snags bluffs. Ive liked stands on evenings and areas i thin i know fairly well. additionally i like to do all the associated lane and tree trimming in Jan-Feb when the archery season is over, i can hunt predators and the trail system deer use is a little easier to find, and there are less leaves to fight while clearing.
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I do, but not all the time. I go nuts if I sit in one place too long. You have to be pretty confident in your spot to spend the time getting the stand out in the woods, putting it up, trimming shooting lanes, and then burning the best days of the season hoping something walks by. I love my Summit Viper, but I don't pack it in and out. I put it out early (trim all the branches) and go step into the thing on hunting day and start climbing.
JDHasty was the Vashon hunter that always had three stands/blinds working.
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I pass up and harvest bucks out of them pretty much every year.
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One of these days I'm hunting YOUR side of the state, I've never hunted a BT.
Ima be a total newb :chuckle: :tung:
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Love my summit :twocents:
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I've taken some out of a tree stand.
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Tree stands for me are a mixed blessing of sorts. I usually see less from the stand than still hunting but what I do see, I own. It also allows you to hunt a cut that would be otherwise too over grown. That birds eye view really can be slick!
On the down side, anything just out of reach, is all but impossible to come down from and work.
