Question About Tree Stands

CalCoyote

CalCoyote

Member
I live out here in the west but was thinking about purchasing a climbing tree stand and trying it for some predator calling. I spoke with my brother-in-law who lives in Mississippi. During the fall months he spends more hours per day on a tree stand in pursuit of Whitetails than anyone I know. He told me an interesting story:

He does no like climbing stands because he says that he gets busted by Whitetails when he uses them. According to him, when you climb the tree, it skins the bark a little bit. These small wounds to the tree bark emit a scent and the deer can smell it. He says that he has been in the forest and had deer walk up to the tree smell of it and then look up and see him.

Now days he ONLY uses lock on stands, and he sets them up out in the woods 3 months before opening day of season. Then when he goes out to hunt he wears rubber boots and uses rubber gloves when climbing up to the stand.

Are Whitetails really this sensitive to smell?
 
I haven't experienced those problems with climbing stands in my area. Most bow hunters here use climbers with a great degree of success.
 

I have actually been wanting to buy a climbing treestand myself to use this year for the first time. I sure hope what your brother-in-law says is true cause I would love to have them walk right up to the tree I am in. Easy pickins!
 
I use an API Grandslam Supreme with the chain and cleats that really grip into the tree. There's no mistaking the trees I've been in. I have had bucks and does walk right under me without any alarm. I had a 150+ 10 pointer standing under my platform while I stood frozen with my camera trying to get a picture(management hunt, no bucks allowed that day /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif). He eventually walked off. I had a doe so close I poured water on her head from a water bottle, she just shook it off and walked on(had already shot 2 that morning)like nothing ever happened /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. If anything, you might lure a buck in to the scent of a fresh rubbed tree smelling like another buck just horned it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
 
Quote:
I haven't experienced those problems with climbing stands in my area. Most bow hunters here use climbers with a great degree of success.




+1 I use a climber 60% of the time.
 
I have hunted from climbing stands in Mississippi for many years and have taken lots of deer with a bow but then again maybe I killed all the dumb ones.I like the portability of the climber but you have to practice a little to climb quietly.I have a feeling that the deer were smelling scent left behind not the bark but as mentioned above if i thought that scratching the bark would attract the deer I would carry a machete with me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Sounds like NONE of you guys expierced the same problem as my brother-in-law. Possibly some of his problem is due to heavy hunting pressure in the area that he lives which make the deer more weary.

I want to try using a tree stand out here in the west. We dont have the hardwood trees that are so abundant in the south but there are some trees that I could climb. No one uses them here.

One of my goals has been to call in a coyote and shoot it with a bow. This is hard to do from the ground because much of the time the coyote detects the movment when you drawback. I am thinking that if I were 25-30 feet up in a tree stand maybe he wont be as likely to notice.

It is kind of funny, all my friends love to brag about how far away they were able to shoot a deer or coyote. For example I have 3 cousins that own Whby 300 magnums and they all tell me they need these because they need something that can "knock em down" out past 400 yards. My goals are totally oposite. I would MUCH rather shoot a deer at 30 feet than 300 yards. Twenty five years from now when I am older and weaker I will probably start taking some of those 300 yard shots. But for now while I am young and healthy, I will stalk em and get close.

Calcoyote
 
Shooting coyotes from a tree stand can work fairly well. The first few I called up were from stands after getting bored hunting deer. I learned that in thick woods you better be ready to shoot quick because they come in fast and it does not take long for them to figure out right where you are. A remote e-caller works well too and its puts the sound on the ground and keeps them focused so you can draw.
 
Venatic,

What is a good brand of lightweight tree stand? Since I would use it much of the time for coyotes, I would not be sitting in it for hours at a time (probably no more than and hour per site). This means I do not need something with a big comfortable seat. I would rather opt for a small, light, easy carrying setup that I could tote on my back from site to site.

Calcoyote
 
Ihave a summitt tree stand that is for bow hunting it doesnt have a shooting rail like most! My stand is strickly for bow hunting and I absolutely love it it is really light and easy to carry! I was deer hunting last year and i called in a coyote while using a doe bleet call. Iwas between 15 or 17 feet high and he never busted me I missed him at 29 yards . I put my 20 yard pin on him and come up short!! I think what helped me more than height was I had 2 film canisters of doe pee on cotton balls one 10yards in front and 1 right behind me on a limb . He never winded me he was looking around fo the doe but just couldnt figure it out!!
 
In my younger days I hunted in a Tree Lounge stand that was very comfortable and was safe. I could hunt all day in that stand and never had the problems your friend experienced. Nowadays I probably couldn't even pack that stand in the woods due to the weight!!
 
Look at the Gorilla stands or some of the cheap light weight stands in Cabelas. If you are going to use them mainly for coyote then go cheaper and see how it works. I like the Gorilla stands and climbing sticks. One set of climbing sticks should get you off the ground high enough and still be reasonably light and packable. Buy or make some pack straps and you should be fairly mobil.
 
Quote:
Venatic,

What is a good brand of lightweight tree stand? Since I would use it much of the time for coyotes, I would not be sitting in it for hours at a time (probably no more than and hour per site). This means I do not need something with a big comfortable seat. I would rather opt for a small, light, easy carrying setup that I could tote on my back from site to site.

Calcoyote




Cal,

Take a good look at the Summit Openshot. I believe it weighs around 14lbs. The platform is the same as my Cobra. Very solid, safe and quiet. Good luck.
 
Very good advice on stands. I found the Summit Openshot for $199 at Cabelas and I also looked at some climbing sticks and a fixed stand. By the time I add the weight for the sticks and the fixed stand, I come up with more weight than the climbing stand which only weighs 14lbs.

I guess the main question I need to find an answer for is which will put me in the tree the quickest and most quiet with the least hassle.

Thanks for the advice on the stands. It helps to benefit from the advice of others.

Cal
 
What kind of trees? Where I am most of the trees have alot of limbs lower on the trunk. If you are looking to hunt coyotes that will entail removing quite a few to get the climbing stand more than 8' off the ground. Alot of work for a coyote stand! It makes sense for an all around game stand but sawing branches lets everything in the woods know you are there! Just a thought.
 
Wackmaster

Here in California when you are hunting in the foothills you have some oak that would be usable. As you get higher in elevation, you begin seeing some cedar and Redwood that would probably take a stand. None of the fir trees (ie pine) would be usable.

Bottom line is that you would have to be selective and would not have have the wide selection of hard woods that that are found in the south, midwest, and east coast.

Cal
 


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