Leaving Stands Out

Does anyone on here leave their portables out all year? I never have before (and hope not to again), but with the little ladies pregnancy I wasn’t able to get them out of the woods last December…and with my sons recent birth I haven’t been back to our property to check on them yet this year. Obviously I’ll do a full once over before climbing into them, but I’m just kind of wondering what to expect.

Is it on private land? I have a couple ladder stands I inspect yearly but leave up for 2-3 years, then I pull them down and usually put on new straps and check all bolts (yearly), I haven’t had an issue yet.

Good luck and congrats on the new addition

I do leave a couple of mine out… Probably because i’m lazy… and not worried about them getting stolen.

I change out the straps every year BEFORE i climb into those stands. Now way to tell how much the tree grew stressed and how the elements wreaked havok on the straps.

I take the seats down so the squirrels don’t wreck them.

Yes, we have a fairly decent sized piece of private property and we know all the neighbors for quite a ways around…so I’m not too concerned with them being gone. More concerned with the straps and the saftey of the stands. The weather is probably the biggest determining factor, but I just kind of wondered how quickly the straps deteriorate when left out. All but one of my stands are Rivers Edge Bigfoots, and all were in great condition when they were hung last year.

I leave all mine out always,at the end of the season I barly loosen the straps and if there is removeable padding I take it.Also on stands with pegs I turn them out 1 turn.I leave mine out for time saving and spacesaving. I have 30+ stands hanging right now , my wife would kill me if they took her parking spot all winter Every stand is logged on areil photos and checked in late summer to ensure safty before coming in with a weapon. Stands in the metro are chained and locked stands up north just strap, none stolen to date Squirrels are my biggest problem, must check the straps all the way around the tree, little buggers will eat half way threw and leave you a death trap.

Yes, I leave mine out all year. We do check them every year though to make sure they are stable and straps are secure and in good shape!

I hunt only private land and I pull mine while shed hunting. I think too much weather can be hard on straps and so forth. I always oil all moving parts with vegatable oil prior to putting them out.

Well I have around 40-50 stands out in 4 states now on 8 different properties. I do not get back to all of them and not sure where they all are at. I check them each year before I get into them if I don’t take them down. I just replaced a seat this Summer as a squirrel chewed through the foam and wood last year. The biggest thing is if you are not going to use a stand for a while release the pressure on the belt/straps at least folding the platform up on hang ons. This will help ensure the tree doesn’t grow and shear one of the pins and find your self on your back laying on the ground after falling 20′. Always wear a safety belt when checking and hunting!

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Well I have around 40-50 stands out in 4 states now on 8 different properties.

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Let’s all give a big “awwww” to Rob for this terrible situation he has found himself in!

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

poor rob

What a predicament Rob, I wish ya the best don’t let it get to you and if you need any counseling look me up I may have some ideas for you to help you thru this.

Just a quick story of one of my fellow teammates from Iowa was hunting a few years back and he has always been very safety minded. One day he was climbing up into a hang on stand that was up for the year or so. That day he climbed up and into his stand then proceeded to strap himself in and was set for a great day in the woods.

I can’t remember exactly what the reason was but I think after getting in and hooked up he was attempting to pull up his bow which may have snagged some brush on the ground so he unhooked himself – climbed down then climbed back up and stepped onto the platform and right at this point the nylon strap used to secure the stand to the tree broke sending Mike to ground. From there he endured a lot of setbacks and pain lucky to alive yes but even to this day and years after the incident, and even with a good recovery I can still see the permanent affects from the fall as Michael Anderson from Mason City Iowa tries to do what you and I take for granted.

Check all straps and pins – it only takes a minute. Even the most safety minded folks can fall!

Thanks for all the input guys. It doesn’t sound like I have a whole lot to worry about. I’ll just do a good check of the straps & pins before I climb in as suggested, and I should be ready to em.