Treestand Advice

[BlackPowderGuy (AJHS)]

Background: I am in my late 40's, nearly 300 pounds, 5"11...with a problematic shoulder. I've got an XOP Air Raid, 4 Hawk Helium long sticks...My problem is that I have to hike in about 3/4 of a mile {I know, does not sound like much, but see above...middle aged, heavy!) and the gear is simply too heavy to carry in. I am reasonably fit, despite my weight, but I am also a little scared of heights, so I feel like short sticks and aider isn't for me.

I am looking for advice on how to get the stuff into the woods. I was thinking of something like a garden cart with all terrain wheels or something. Anybody use something like that? Recommendations?

I do currently hunt from the ground in a low seat and a ghillie suit and that has worked OK but especially in late season, I need to get into the thicker woods and sight lines from the ground are a disaster.

 

[phalanx]

A friend of mine that fits your description uses a bicycle (all terrain) and a cart attached that hauls all his stuff. Seems to work for him.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Ive got a game cart like this that ive used a couple times to haul stuff in and out of the woods a couple times. A lil noisy but goes right over most trails no problem.
Guide Gear Deer Cart Amazon.com: Guide Gear Deer Cart : Sports & Outdoors

 

[muzzlestuffer]

Background: I am in my late 40's, nearly 300 pounds, 5"11...with a problematic shoulder. I've got an XOP Air Raid, 4 Hawk Helium long sticks...My problem is that I have to hike in about 3/4 of a mile {I know, does not sound like much, but see above...middle aged, heavy!) and the gear is simply too heavy to carry in. I am reasonably fit, despite my weight, but I am also a little scared of heights, so I feel like short sticks and aider isn't for me.

I am looking for advice on how to get the stuff into the woods. I was thinking of something like a garden cart with all terrain wheels or something. Anybody use something like that? Recommendations?

I do currently hunt from the ground in a low seat and a ghillie suit and that has worked OK but especially in late season, I need to get into the thicker woods and sight lines from the ground are a disaster.

Tree lounge

 

[deermanok]

An atv would be great if you're allowed to use one.
Second choice would be a deer cart. Not hard to manage getting it through the woods.
A ladder stand might be good for you. A 15 footer is plenty high enough. You get used to it after a while and becomes second nature.
Setting up a hang on stand and climbing sticks aren't easy.
Summit treestands has a climber for big guys. Easy to setup and climb with.
I use a climber, depending on the terrain, I might only go up 10 feet.
My usual hunting height is about 20 feet.

 

[JIMYJAC]

ground blind

 

[bluebanana]

For heavy items I just drag a sled behind me. Will be noisy though.

 

[rangerod]

You might check out the ebike. Many manufacturers making some quite good ones for hunting. Some can pull a cart specifically made for them. This can be a pricey proposition all things considered. On public land check the legalities of using one.

 

[jlynch75]

Check your stuff and usage. You'll find you don't need most of it.

 

[Neumonic]

Are you hunting public or private land?

 

[minelabbob]

no mater what you use its going to alert all the woodland creatures. if you can cable lock things that can be out
in weather. your bow/gun must be taken out. ladder stands are good for big guys. set it up and walk away. keep
it locked to tree. dont spend to much on ladder ,but make sure it can hold your weight. climbers and lock on
for you can be trouble. ladder is safe and quite to get up off the ground. i would shoot for 13-15 ft. to platform.

 

[alternate]

My sons use deer carts to bring in their heavier stands. It also solves the problem of hauling the deer out.

 

[howieb]

I’m early sixties, could be in better shape, first year hunting on public land. I bought a summit viper climbing stand, and a Sherpa device that turns the climbing stand into a cart, upon which I would carry my pack. It was about a mile to my stand, mostly on double track until the last couple hundred yards.

I was not a huge fan of climbing up and down in the stand especially after hiking in, so I got a set of 25’ climbing sticks. So now those are installed on “my tree”, the Sherpa is cable locked to a nearby tree, and my climbing stand, sans seat, stays in the tree.

This works for me. In the future I will consider “permanent” tree stands, and maybe make a greater effort to ground hunt.

 

[BlackPowderGuy (AJHS)]

Thanks everybody...It is public land, so I cannot leave anything there, no ladder stands...ground blinds are allowed but you have to haul them in etc and I fear spooking the deer if this cube just shows up out of nowhere. I am thinking about how to move lighter. All kinds of possibilities...take three sticks and risk being a little low...Deer cart to haul in and out, ground chair, ghillie suit...

 

[michiganmuzzy]

For me a ghillie suit is a given, whether in a ladder, climber, or blind. Unless everything is all snow covered, then i pull on the lightweight snow camo cover up.

 

[MTY]

My suggestion is to take off weight you are carrying. You are thinking about today, but you should be thinking about 10 to 20 years down the road.

A deer has no better nose than a bird dog, and having run shorthairs for years, I can tell you they cannot smell a thing if the wind is blowing away from them. They may start acting bidry many yards away if the wind is in their face, but let it turn and a bird can be underfoot and safe.

Ground blinds work unless you need the elevation to see what is going on. You just need to keep the wind from carrying your sent toward the critters.
If you are hunting public ground, you can probably find enough junk on the ground to build a blind, leave it in place and use it repeatedly. It does not have to look like the Ritz, it only has to break up your outline. Anyone spotting it when it was unoccupied would probably walk on by never knowing it was a blind.

Strips of cheap burlap landscape cloth attached to your clothing, and a face mask can darn near make you invisible.

 

[Caniborrowsomeammo]

One of these looks interesting if you have obstacles on the trail.
https://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Crawler..._1_6?keywords=Deer+Cart&qid=1640555853&sr=8-6Not many treestands out here in the west that I've ever seen. Must be a midwest to east coast thing.

 

[mnoland30]

I've had elk and turkeys come into a tank 30 yards from me by just sitting under a tree and not moving. When you turn your head to look around, do it in slow motion. I read once that for camoflaging your shape, what is behind you is more important than what is in front of you. Of course I had camo on and a net over my face.
The way I get in shape for hunting is to carry the weight I'll hunt with (or pack out) and walk a couple of miles with it a few times a week. Hunting is my incentive for staying in shape.

 

[sheriffjohn]

I don't use but two sections of ladder stands - and we leave ours up all year. Blaze orange is the rule in Missouri unless bow hunting. Unless it's during the rut, deer are in the same place, same time of day depending on food available. 50 years ago, I always took too much stuff. Scouting ahead of time fills tags, not Gizmos and Ghillie suits.

Deer carts are useful. Plastic bucket against a tree'll work and carry all you need. To become alarmed, deer need to pinpoint you with two senses - sight and sound, sight and smell, etc. Sittting perfectly still is an essential thing - whether up high or sitting on your behind. Tree stands let you see further/over brush, but a blaze orange blob in their living room is just that - a blaze orange blob until it moves or they smell/hear it.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

The ghillie suit allows a little bit of movement without being noticed. And in the thick woods where they have to be closer it definitely lets you get closer whether still hunting or sitting still. But they aren't as necessary for success, as scent control, patience, and doing the prehunt scouting. Under the right conditions Ive had deer within 10 feet of me thanks to all the above, while i was just sitting on a bucket in a ghillie suit.