Screw in, strap on, climbing sticks or what?

I bought some strap on steps (each step has it’s own strap) to use on public land and gave them the 2nd try yesterday. They seem to be plenty strong but kind of a pain to use. I was wondering how many others use these verses climbing sticks or whatever. Maybe I was putting them too far apart, wrong size tree (too large dia) or more than likely just need more practice. I know there is know way I could pack stand,shotgun,strap on steps and whatever else needed out in the dark thirty AM and have it set up before shooting hours.
Steve

I have been using climbing sticks for a couple of years and love them. I have the ones where the steps can be tiped either way. I hunt in the local park program and we are allowed to leave our stands up. I lock the stand and leave the top stick on the tree. When I show up, I only have to put on the bottom two sticks and I am in the stand.

I have been using climbing sticks for a couple of years and love them. I have the ones where the steps can be tiped either way. I hunt in the local park program and we are allowed to leave our stands up. I lock the stand and leave the top stick on the tree. When I show up, I only have to put on the bottom two sticks and I am in the stand.

Yep that would make things easier on public lands. I decided to put the stand up after having seen deer use the cover as a bedding area and I actually chased off a couple when I went to put the stand up. Putting up the stand just seemed very cumbersome. I’m used to ladder stands that I built and all I need to do is walk out and climb right up. I thought it would be nice to have a more portable system and so I bought a Gorilla Silver Back strap on stand. Its a bit tough to hold on to the tree and put up the stand. If only a person had a few more hands. Maybe with a little more practice. Hows everyone else manage to hang on to the tree,pull up a stand and then attached it? I may just have to borrow a climber and see how I like those and just put the strap on in an area (private land) and use screw in steps and use it once in a while through out the season. Is that what most hunters do to not disturb an area. Heck if any deer were watching me put up my stand yesterday and if they were capable of laughing I could of just went and drug them out as I am sure they would of died laughing.

Yep that would make things easier on public lands. I decided to put the stand up after having seen deer use the cover as a bedding area and I actually chased off a couple when I went to put the stand up. Putting up the stand just seemed very cumbersome. I’m used to ladder stands that I built and all I need to do is walk out and climb right up. I thought it would be nice to have a more portable system and so I bought a Gorilla Silver Back strap on stand. Its a bit tough to hold on to the tree and put up the stand. If only a person had a few more hands. Maybe with a little more practice. Hows everyone else manage to hang on to the tree,pull up a stand and then attached it? I may just have to borrow a climber and see how I like those and just put the strap on in an area (private land) and use screw in steps and use it once in a while through out the season. Is that what most hunters do to not disturb an area. Heck if any deer were watching me put up my stand yesterday and if they were capable of laughing I could of just went and drug them out as I am sure they would of died laughing.

There is no one stand that is right for all types of deer hunting. For bow hunting I use portable stands that I leave in the tree for the season, to get into these stands I use a screw in tree step like the one pictured below, I take the tree steps in and out with me each time I go so hopefully no one else will use my stand. I use to leave them in but had them stolen so I take them out now, I have been lucky so far and have not had a stand stolen yet. I do use a chain and padlock on all of these stands. I have a mixture of different portables one of them are pictured below, you could also use this type for shot gun hunting but I would not recomend them for all day hunts.

To hang these portables I bought a used climber for $40 it works great as I have a stand to stand on while I am hanging my portable, I feel much safer this way rather than standing on a tree peg and trying to hang a stand.

For shot gun I hunting I am fortunate enough that I have four very comfortable permanent ladder stands, they are like small decks with railings around them, my daughter and I can sit it one very comfortably together.

I also have a Tree Lounge that I use for shot gun when I am going to sit all day. This is by far the most comfortable stand I have ever sat in, I feel very safe in this stand, it does take some time to get use to using and you need to practice a few times with it and it is a bit of work to pack it in and get it set up. You also have to find the right tree for any climber basically they have to be straight tall trees that are not to big around, but with all that being said IMHO there is no safer more comfortable tree stand than the Tree Lounge

No matter what kind of tree stand you use please remember to always wear a safety harness I recommend the full body style harnesses.

PS. I am not sponsored by Tree Lounge

There is no one stand that is right for all types of deer hunting. For bow hunting I use portable stands that I leave in the tree for the season, to get into these stands I use a screw in tree step like the one pictured below, I take the tree steps in and out with me each time I go so hopefully no one else will use my stand. I use to leave them in but had them stolen so I take them out now, I have been lucky so far and have not had a stand stolen yet. I do use a chain and padlock on all of these stands. I have a mixture of different portables one of them are pictured below, you could also use this type for shot gun hunting but I would not recomend them for all day hunts.

To hang these portables I bought a used climber for $40 it works great as I have a stand to stand on while I am hanging my portable, I feel much safer this way rather than standing on a tree peg and trying to hang a stand.

For shot gun I hunting I am fortunate enough that I have four very comfortable permanent ladder stands, they are like small decks with railings around them, my daughter and I can sit it one very comfortably together.

I also have a Tree Lounge that I use for shot gun when I am going to sit all day. This is by far the most comfortable stand I have ever sat in, I feel very safe in this stand, it does take some time to get use to using and you need to practice a few times with it and it is a bit of work to pack it in and get it set up. You also have to find the right tree for any climber basically they have to be straight tall trees that are not to big around, but with all that being said IMHO there is no safer more comfortable tree stand than the Tree Lounge

No matter what kind of tree stand you use please remember to always wear a safety harness I recommend the full body style harnesses.

PS. I am not sponsored by Tree Lounge

I use a climping belt to hang my stand which leavaes both hands free. I also use the belt for a safty belt which I know you are not suppose to do. Just can’t figure out which harness to buy. Would like a vest that I can wear over my hunting clothes. Any suggestions?? I also have a Gorilla but would like one of the bigger ones. The bow shop where I go has the new one with the web seat. I feel more confortable on larger platforms.

I use a climping belt to hang my stand which leavaes both hands free. I also use the belt for a safty belt which I know you are not suppose to do. Just can’t figure out which harness to buy. Would like a vest that I can wear over my hunting clothes. Any suggestions?? I also have a Gorilla but would like one of the bigger ones. The bow shop where I go has the new one with the web seat. I feel more confortable on larger platforms.

Thanks Steve. Are you hunting on private property or DNR or public land? We are not allowed to use screw in steps on public or DNR lands so I was wondering about the climbing sticks? Just thought they may be faster than the strap on steps. I also had a heck of a time with my full harness. The leg straps seemed to loosen up on me. Be carefull where you use your screw in steps. I’m not sure but if you use them on an oak with oak wilt then another you may spread this disease. Our woods have that bad and we can’t cut firewood fast enough to keep up with the dead and dying trees.

Thanks Steve. Are you hunting on private property or DNR or public land? We are not allowed to use screw in steps on public or DNR lands so I was wondering about the climbing sticks? Just thought they may be faster than the strap on steps. I also had a heck of a time with my full harness. The leg straps seemed to loosen up on me. Be carefull where you use your screw in steps. I’m not sure but if you use them on an oak with oak wilt then another you may spread this disease. Our woods have that bad and we can’t cut firewood fast enough to keep up with the dead and dying trees.

Personally, I will never go back to any type of screw in or strap on steps. The main thing for me is they are very unsafe. Also, we cannot use any type of stand or climbing device that causes damage to trees. So what I went with is the Summit Buck Steps. They are very lightweight, easy to hang, and are very compact to carry. They come in 4 sections and each section has their own strap. They are designed to pack together in a very small package. What I do is strap the steps all together and then strap them onto my portable stand. Almost all my stands have backpack straps and this is the easiest way for me to pack stuff in. I paid $100 for the steps a few years ago and definitely do not regret the purchase. The steps themselves are also very safe and have steps big enough to get both feet on them at the same time. I also have the climbing sticks, but they pretty much stay in the shed now. Check them out at Gander and you will see how useful they can be

Personally, I will never go back to any type of screw in or strap on steps. The main thing for me is they are very unsafe. Also, we cannot use any type of stand or climbing device that causes damage to trees. So what I went with is the Summit Buck Steps. They are very lightweight, easy to hang, and are very compact to carry. They come in 4 sections and each section has their own strap. They are designed to pack together in a very small package. What I do is strap the steps all together and then strap them onto my portable stand. Almost all my stands have backpack straps and this is the easiest way for me to pack stuff in. I paid $100 for the steps a few years ago and definitely do not regret the purchase. The steps themselves are also very safe and have steps big enough to get both feet on them at the same time. I also have the climbing sticks, but they pretty much stay in the shed now. Check them out at Gander and you will see how useful they can be

Leinie get a climbing/safety belt…In conjunction with a good set of climbing sticks I’m all set up 15-20′ in any tree in about 20 mins.

Leinie get a climbing/safety belt…In conjunction with a good set of climbing sticks I’m all set up 15-20′ in any tree in about 20 mins.

I hunt out of a tree lounge. I think it is one of the best designed climbing stands there is. Since getting it I no longer use climbing sticks and portable. I never feel safe with them. I feel safe in the tree lounge.

Mwal

I hunt out of a tree lounge. I think it is one of the best designed climbing stands there is. Since getting it I no longer use climbing sticks and portable. I never feel safe with them. I feel safe in the tree lounge.

Mwal

Steve I hunt on private property, I guess if I could not use the screw in steps then I would go with a good climber stand.

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Thanks Steve. Are you hunting on private property or DNR or public land? We are not allowed to use screw in steps on public or DNR lands so I was wondering about the climbing sticks? Just thought they may be faster than the strap on steps. I also had a heck of a time with my full harness. The leg straps seemed to loosen up on me. Be carefull where you use your screw in steps. I’m not sure but if you use them on an oak with oak wilt then another you may spread this disease. Our woods have that bad and we can’t cut firewood fast enough to keep up with the dead and dying trees.

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Steve I hunt on private property, I guess if I could not use the screw in steps then I would go with a good climber stand.

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Thanks Steve. Are you hunting on private property or DNR or public land? We are not allowed to use screw in steps on public or DNR lands so I was wondering about the climbing sticks? Just thought they may be faster than the strap on steps. I also had a heck of a time with my full harness. The leg straps seemed to loosen up on me. Be carefull where you use your screw in steps. I’m not sure but if you use them on an oak with oak wilt then another you may spread this disease. Our woods have that bad and we can’t cut firewood fast enough to keep up with the dead and dying trees.

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Which climbing sticks do you prefer? I think my harness is a safety/climbing harness. The leg straps seemed to work loose though. I guess I need to dig out the instructions and video again. Thanks for the input everyone. i think I will also borrow a climber and see how I like those.
Steve

Which climbing sticks do you prefer? I think my harness is a safety/climbing harness. The leg straps seemed to work loose though. I guess I need to dig out the instructions and video again. Thanks for the input everyone. i think I will also borrow a climber and see how I like those.
Steve

Steve here is a good deal on a Tree Lounge Check out znak’s reply to this post.

Steve here is a good deal on a Tree Lounge Check out znak’s reply to this post.