"Official" 2014-2015 Somerville Thread

[Limbwalker]

Rem, I have one of those Ameristep bone collector aluminums, and while it's very, very light (as light as my Gorilla), I don't like how it attaches to the tree, and the platform isn't as stable to stand on. I prefer the expanded metal vs. the rails.

If you want to try it, you're welcome to. You might like it better than I do.

I'm a Gorilla fan through and through. I just wish they hadn't stopped making what I thought were the best hang-on stands on the market.

I know why they did, but I wish they hadn't.

Good luck on your search. When you find one you like as much as I like mine, you'll never give it up.

John

[rem788]

Thanks. I might take you up on that if I don't get one before the season starts. I like the gorilla climber I have as well except for the seat but a replacement padded one is only $40 but it just limits my options for set ups out there.

By the way I searched for those steps you showed me. It turns out there is a recall on them because some people fell when the step broke. Might be worth looking into.

[Jäger]

I'm in the market for a lock on since I have switched where I'll be hunting now. What kinds do you guys have and how do you like them? I really like the one Limbwalker (gorilla stand) showed me however they are not produced anymore. So far I have looked at the Ameristep bone collector one which isn't very big. The one I liked the most is a new brand called Hawk. It looks super comfy with a memory foam seat and larger base than most and weighs in at 12 lbs. It's also $139 which is a good price from what I've been able to find.

People seem to like to lone wolf product line as well as the millennium product line. I started a thread on this exact subject in the equipment and tuning section of TBH as I am in the market for a lock on as well. I did see a Hawk at cabelas (living in Buda is not always a good thing ) today and it looked good and seemed quiet and sturdy for a good price.

[Limbwalker]

Thanks. I might take you up on that if I don't get one before the season starts. I like the gorilla climber I have as well except for the seat but a replacement padded one is only $40 but it just limits my options for set ups out there.

By the way I searched for those steps you showed me. It turns out there is a recall on them because some people fell when the step broke. Might be worth looking into.

Yup, I'm up on the recall. It only affected the steps made for a short period of time.

Models 105 and 155 both have a 12/08 date code, which is stamped on the plastic portion of the step.

Sold at: The product was sold in 2009 at various outdoor and sporting goods retailers nationwide as a 3-step package in model 105 or as a single step in model 155.

I bought all mine before that.

I've tried various sticks, and nothing beats these single steps. Esp. when I find a tree where I only need one or two - like most of the trees I hunt from.

But thanks for the heads up.

[Limbwalker]

Thing I like most about the Gorilla is the single easy to use strap. The stands with the double small straps like the Ameristep don't work as easily, or as well. Those two straps are always fighting one another. The large, wide single strap stays put and works in harmony with the rest of the stand.

If I could find 3 more ultralight Gorilla stands like I have, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

[Limbwalker]

BTW, there are some trees out there where you can use a climber. They aren't easy to find, but not long after we parted ways Saturday, I went in to scout one more spot (can't help myself - a man can't have too many spots on public land) and sure enough I came across two tall skinny limbless pin oaks at a great looking trail intersection. A person could have put a climber 20' up in either of them real easy.

Rem, they weren't really all that far from where you saw that group of does first thing Sat. morning, if that gives you any idea where I was.

John

[Duckthwacker]

You'll find me in a lone wolf stand and sticks to get up the tree. But to be honest I have about 6 different stands for different trees. Main thing is quiet and fast set up you have to be mobile

[Jäger]

You'll find me in a lone wolf stand and sticks to get up the tree. But to be honest I have about 6 different stands for different trees. Main thing is quiet and fast set up you have to be mobile

I'm leaning towards the lone wolf line more and more every day. The only downfall i see to them is the $$$ My only question to everyone who uses them is how many sticks do you use and how high in the tree does that get you?

on that same note, how far off the ground do you guys like/ feel comfortable hunting?

[Limbwalker]

Jager, I don't hunt high. Ironically, I used to have a tree service in Nacogdoches, and don't have any problem hanging 40+ feet up if I'm working, but for some reason, I just don't want to be more than about 15' in a tree stand. Part of that is shot angles too. If you get too high, then you start giving up kill zone at the shorter distances. Since most of my hunting is with traditional gear, I'm not shooting past 20-25 yards tops, so that becomes a factor.

I prefer hang-ons because i'm always looking for a limby tree to put my stand in for cover. It's amazing what a difference just one or two forks and some branches near your stand will make. I've had deer bed down under me out there when my stand wasn't more than 13' off the ground. But I had several forks and branches around me too.

I would think of a lone wolf stand as an investment. Like my Gorilla aluminum stand, you may be using it for 10+ years and as much time as you'll be spending in it (and considering the consequences if it doesn't work!) you don't want to go cheap on a stand. Esp. if it's the primary one you'll be hunting from, and packing in and out.

I do like the lightweight climbing sticks, but my strap-on steps are even lighter, and give me more options. I can put a step exactly where I want it, and use branches on the tree where I don't need steps. Most of my sets are just one step to get up to the first good branch, or maybe two. I rarely hunt a tree where I need to hang more than the first 3 steps while standing on the ground. That's the safest way to go.

Several of the trees I've hunted from out there didn't require any steps. That's really nice because my stand/pack is super light and I don't work up a sweat getting to the stand.

But it takes a lot of scouting to find those trees.

[Jäger]

Thanks. That's some good info, I hadn't thought about shot angle/placement. It makes sense.

I havnt ever heard anyone say one bad thing about lone wolf stands and most industry journalists list them as the number one lock on for quietness vs weight as well as mobility. I like the way you can hang them on trees that are less than staight up, and how they fit together with the sticks. These are the reasons why My is 99% made up to go with them.

[Duckthwacker]

I have prolly about 30 different trees to hunt out of and not one I hunt from the same height. I have 8 sticks but I usually use four and that does the trick. Hell one tree I sit about 22 feet and don't use but one stick haha. Best looking trees to hang in are usually the ones that are not good hunting spots hahaha. Call me crazy but I believe they know which trees get hunted regularly from year to year and stay away during daylight

[Duckthwacker]

Like limb said it takes years of scouting to actually know which trees you can actually have a good chance of harvesting a deer

[Limbwalker]

Call me crazy but I believe they know which trees get hunted regularly from year to year and stay away during daylight

I don't think that's crazy at all. These deer are smart. Possibly the smartest in North America, based on the pressure they get and the fact that they are southern whitetails - and based on my first hand experience, southern whitetails are MUCH smarter than whitetails in the Midwest or Northeast.

So yea, you hunt the same tree a few times in a row and they will figure it out. And you don't have to be in it for them to do that. What most folks don't understand is that deer pattern us largely by our scent. We leave scent trails all over out there when we travel through, and they figure out how to avoid those places where there is a lot of human scent that they aren't familiar with. When we get to our tree and back out, we leave a scent trail that stays for hours or days after we're gone. Any deer that come by will pick that up, and it will give them another reason to avoid that area.

This is why it's so important to plan your way in and out of an area if you want to hunt undisturbed deer.

Of course, a percentage of deer taken on places like this each year are bumped out of their pattern by other hunters, and we just get lucky being in the right place at the right time.

John

[Duckthwacker]

I don't think that's crazy at all. These deer are smart. Possibly the smartest in North America, based on the pressure they get and the fact that they are southern whitetails - and based on my first hand experience, southern whitetails are MUCH smarter than whitetails in the Midwest or Northeast.

So yea, you hunt the same tree a few times in a row and they will figure it out. And you don't have to be in it for them to do that. What most folks don't understand is that deer pattern us largely by our scent. We leave scent trails all over out there when we travel through, and they figure out how to avoid those places where there is a lot of human scent that they aren't familiar with. When we get to our tree and back out, we leave a scent trail that stays for hours or days after we're gone. Any deer that come by will pick that up, and it will give them another reason to avoid that area.

This is why it's so important to plan your way in and out of an area if you want to hunt undisturbed deer.

Of course, a percentage of deer taken on places like this each year are bumped out of their pattern by other hunters, and we just get lucky being in the right place at the right time.

John

Very very true!!

[Limbwalker]

When there are a lot of folks running around S'ville early, and during the waterfowl seasons, I'm hoping to get a "bumped" deer to come by as much as I am one that's not disturbed.

It pays to know where the bedding areas are, and to be on one of the trails that leads to them around daybreak and again about 10:00 a.m. when most hunters come out.

Half the deer I've shot out there were "bumped" by other hunters and were heading into cover.