school me on ladder stands (please!)

[LondonDave]

Okay...sorry from your last post I thought you were looking for something to bring in with you each time. Ladder stands are definitely a good option. Walmart in the US will put their 2 man stands on sale at the end of the season for a ridiculously low price. They are pretty basic but do the job and lots of room. I don't know if you'll find it advertised anywhere. You could maybe get one of our members from the States keeping an eye out for you.

I've thought about building some but when you can get the single man basic stands for as cheap as $50 or $60 and you can bring them in and set them up yourself it makes it hard to bother unless you can leave them there permanently.

Dave

[huntone]

I like ladder stands and I leave them on my farm year round. Also, I don't
buy expensive ones.

Mostly what I look for is light weight. One that I can move and install by myself. I add a shooting rail and screw in a couple of tree steps to hang
my pack and rifle or bow on and thats it.

[warningshot]

bass pro in vaughn had one for 89 bucks a few months back and my brother picked one up (big game treestands) and it is super comfy ..home mades don't seem to walk away as easy though

[subneural]

how serious is the issue of treestands walking away, especially in sw ontario? I guess there are a lot of factors involved in the theft rate, like the number of hunters using the immediate area, and public vs. private land. Considering this, even though Im the only hunter with permission to hunt on the property I still plan on chaining and locking the stand to the tree. If I wind up using a hang-on, I'll probably use removeable climbing sticks (like London Dave suggested, ordered from the US) to make it difficult for a ne'er-do-well to reach the stand.

[subneural]

One more question, this time for the hang-on users. Is there any issue with leaving a hang-on up all season? I'm considering a Gorilla Kong that uses a seatbelt-style strap for securing it to the tree, but Gorilla lists leaving the stand in a tree for more than two weeks "a problem" in the manual

http://www.gorillatreestands.com/cms/si ... Manual.pdf

[huntone]

I have a light weight gorilla hang-on that I have left all season long and took it down in the spring. There were no problems with it. Safety could be a issue as the manual says.

[JRS]

I prefer the Gorilla stands that use chain to secure to the tree. It makes the stand a little heavier, but eliminates the possibility of being weakened by weather that the strap on types are subject to.

[subneural]

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions. I've gone with a hybrid...a homemade ladder stand to get me up to a hang-on. I built two 8' ladders that nest together: the lower portion is 15" wide while the upper is 12".

Big thanks to Ger for the demo and suggestions!

[Pink Panther]

have just bought a rivers edge 22 footer off ebay for 100.00 brand new it has all the bells and bows with it ,safety harnees back rest storage pouchs ,3 ratchets straps . you can leave 1 section out to make it lower etc. thanks

[Exomaxer]

I have ladders, hang-ons and a tree-saddle. I like the ladders the best because of the quick entrance & exit they provide, its a great asset. the downside I've noticed, is they leave a scent trail all the way to the ground and the deer know when you put them up. Now some will say if you leave em out all the time they have no scent. I agree if your talking about human related scents, human stink, garage smells, vehicle smells ect.. BUT, metal has a smell, and its not natural in the woods (for the most part), and when you set it up, deer will smell the metal, and it always has that smell. Fox & Coyote trappers will tell you you can't catch either if you can't eliminate the smell of metal, which is why they boil traps in walnut hulls and such things, plus, they cover them with dirt. That should tell you something, as a deer's olfactory capability is on par with either of the little dogs. Now I've killed deer from my ladders, and I'm sure I will again, but smart, caggy deer, buck or doe, once they know it's there, may avoid it for a long, long time. Just an observation.

[michiganman]

the ladder sticks work great .you can go from 12ft to 20ft high .use a good tree stand with big platform and thick padded seat. easier to set up and the deluxe padded seats help out.im 6ft 4" and 260lbs ,and works great.

the newer ladder stands also go to 20 ft now if needed,but there real heavy to set uo,JIM

[michiganman]

i leave my rivers edge up all season in a few spots.it has a 2" padded seat and really locks on dead solid to a tree.

Rivers Edge Big Foot XL Extra large platform for leg stretching comfort.

The Big Foot™ XL is our largest steel hang-on stand. It gives you an extra large platform that will help you to sit longer and more comfortably, while you wait to bag that buck.

• Extra large 30“ x 24” sure-grip platform
• Flip-up style, extra large, removable padded seat (with metal frame)
• Rock-solid “lever-action” mounting (with 2” super strong mounting strap)
• Folds flat for easy backpacking
• Vinyl coated cables

[wabi]

I have 3 ladder stands I leave out on the property I hunt all year long, but I do move them around some. (using the landowner's tractor)
All are cheaper models and two of them I modified (extended them to sit about 4-6" further from the tree) before they were really comfortable enough to stay in for a few hours. The other one is a 2-man model and is great for one person (on me and my son), but takes some effort to set up.

I would go with a 2-man stand with a shooting rail if I were buying another one. The shooting rail is also a good place to hang a "camo skirt" for better concealment.