Initiation To A Tree Stand

[JimT]

(This is an article I wrote for GUN WEEK back in the early 1990's)

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Tree stand hunting is not for me! I found that out this past deer season here in Missouri.

Having grown up in Arizona I am not used to hunting from stands nor have I ever used one until this year. I have always hunted deer by stalking them on foot or from horseback. It is quite a change for me to hunt in country where you perch in a tree like a large vulture, waiting for the unsuspecting quarry to saunter past. The underlying theory in tree-stand hunting seems to be, if you sit in one place long enough, a deer has to walk past. This may be true, though it could be several years before a deer walks past your particular stand! And if you happen to be asleep or picking your nose at the time (recreation in tree stands is severely limited) you are out of luck.

I hunted this year with some veteran tree-stand hunters. They had their stands in place before season, had trails well-marked to the stands in case the deer could not find their way to the stands or were strangers to the area, and had each stand outfitted with all the comforts a hunter needs. In this case it was A PLACE TO SIT! That’s all you need apparently.

Early the first morning I was led out into the woods to a VERY TALL tree and was told, "Here it is." "IT" seemed to consist of a platform slightly larger than a mop handle at what appeared to be hundreds of feet up in the top of a swaying, bobbing, blowing-in-the-wind tree.

Ascent

The only way up to it was a series of small nails driven into the sides of the tree. Not wanting to appear as chicken as I felt I grabbed the nails and started to climb. The first thing I discovered was the nails were not placed correctly for a short-legged fat man to use. Halfway up I came to a point where in order to get my left leg up to its nail, I had to reach down and lift my left foot by hand while hanging onto the little nail with my other hand. This was bad enough, but the sounds from the ground scared me as it sounded like my partner was having a heart attack. When I got to a place where I could hang on real good I looked down. I discovered he had fallen down and was rolling around the ground, doubled up with laughter!

This is one reason, no doubt, why deer have never been seen on that particular hill since.

I continued climbing, ignoring the comments and laughter from below. As I got further up into the sky I came to a point where I could wrap my arms around the trunk of the tree. I have never been into tree-hugging and have always looked at those who were as being a little weird. However, hanging on the side of a tree, up somewhere near the stratosphere, being able to hug the tree intimately was strangely comforting.

Leap of Faith

Eventually I reached the platform that was to be my home. The trick of getting off the nails and onto the tree-stand had not been explained to me. I tried several times and at various angles to accomplish this feat. All to the accompaniment of hoots of laughter from the ground. Finally I settled on "The Leap of Faith." Fortunately, there was a handhold at a strategic location, saving me the trouble of having to climb up all over again.

I was told to fasten myself to the tree with a safety line, so once I was aboard the stand I promptly did so. The safety line is long enough to allow you to move about the tree stand should you be so foolish. It will also keep you from falling all the way to the ground if you do move about too much and fall off. The line is 8 or 10 feet long, at least mine was. The way it works is this: If you do fall off, you only drop 8 or 10 feet, coming to an abrupt halt at the end of the line. You then take out your hunting knife and cut the line. The idea is to give you time to tense up real good before you hit the ground.

Once I was strapped in, the rest of the party went merrily on their way. I could hear the giggling for quite a ways. I made my preparation for the next few hours. I got out my candy bars and laid them where they would be within easy reach so I would not move to much. The peanuts were a little harder, but since they were still in the shells I left them in my front jacket pocket. I could reach them without too much movement. The sandwiches were a problem since I had crushed them badly during the climb, but eventually I settled on putting them between my legs. I hung my binoculars from a tree limb, put my rain gear underneath me for a pad and was all set.

Warden

By 9:30 a.m. I had not seen anything and had run out of food! As I was sitting there wondering what to do next a game warden came by and wanted to see my license. I asked him if I could just toss it down, as I did not want to make the climb. He said sure, but I was going to have to come anyhow. When I asked why, he said that either I was going to pick up all the peanut shells or he would ticket me for littering the forest!

Getting down wasn’t all that bad. There were two bad times. One was when I got a shoelace hung on a nail as I was climbing down and ended up with my foot next to my ear. The other was hearing the game warden break up laughing. In fact, he got to laughing so hard he just walked off, telling me to "forget it."

All in all, hunting from a tree stand wasn’t too bad. The most humiliating part was the Bird Watchers Society. These five little old ladies climbed all the way up the hill to see what the "orange beach ball" was doing stuck up in the top of a tree. When they found it was me in my hunting outfit, they were sure disappointed.

[Tycer]

Thanks
I needed this.

[Walker]

Excellent!

[AJMD429]

.
I feel that way even using a ladder-stand that is only about 8 ft off the ground...

[gamekeeper]

Good one Jim...

[GunnyMack]

I knew guys that built stands just as you describe. These guys were all over 6' and they also used spikes as steps, spaced about what seemed 4 feet apart!
Back when I built stands I built " condominiums". One was large enough that I could lay down an take a nap. Now I much prefer to not harm trees and use ladder stands. But its so much more satisfying to shoot deer from the ground like my ancestors did

[JimT]

..... its so much more satisfying to shoot deer from the ground like my ancestors did

I am with you my friend!

[wvfarrier]

Why in the world would peanut shells be littering? They biodegrade and are edible by wildlife. Try a tree saddle....thats a leap of faith

[Rockrat]

Think I would have told the warden that he was going to have to climb the tree to give me the ticket and he could see my license then. And it wasn't litter, it was mulch. Or blame it on a squirrel!!

[samsi]

I can totally relate to this tale, having been initiated into the tree stand world in my early teens. I fell out of the tree climbing down one time, as one of my legs had fallen asleep sitting there and it wasn't working right yet. As I fell the cuff of my Levi's snagged in between a limb and the trunk, resulting in me hanging upside down by one leg, luckily only 3 feet or so. Fortunately I hadn't dropped the rifle, so I was able to stick the muzzle between the jammed denim and the crotch of the limb and pry myself loose, dropping headfirst and landing on my shoulders, since I already had my chin tucked so I could see what I was doing with my barrel/pry bar. Guess I was lucky as it could have gone pretty badly.

[Oldncrusty]

Cool story. Me and heights do not get along. I have used ladder stands a few times years ago but gave them up. Much prefer to actually go "hunting".

[JimT]

Cool story. Me and heights do not get along. I have used ladder stands a few times years ago but gave them up. Much prefer to actually go "hunting".

Yeah me too. After doing it a few times I felt we should call it "ambushing" ... but I understand why it is popular in the east .. open land is at a premium ... the plots hunted on sometimes are small ... It's nice to live where a person can choose what kind of hunting they want or need to do. These days a problem knee keeps me from walking too far and I just cannot hunt like I really want to.

[marlinman93]

That was a great fun read to start out my morning!

[GunnyMack]

No matter your style of pursuing game what matters most is being out there.
As hunters we get to see and experience the great outdoors in a way the bunny huggers will never understand.
Case in point, this past Saturday I was in my 'double wide' ladderstand with crossbow in search of a fat doe or a good buck. What do I see? A spike buck that spent about an hour near/ under me going about his daily chore eating the clover I planted. At times he was close enough I could see his eyelashes. All the while he had no idea I was there. Once he fed off the chipmunks went berserk and here comes a mink doing its thing. We have no water on this property but Mr mink was hunting chipmunks. Then a Sharpshin hawk took a roost for a bit . We as hunters have all seen our share of nature that would fill volumes.
I say no matter what your hunting method of choice relish your time outdoors, wonder in the natural world and enjoy- we are in the best places!

[JimT]

I agree with you Gunny!