hardcorehunter

I get a lot of guys PMing me wanting to know what method I use to get my sticks and stand hung with my same day setups and mobile type of hunting. Many of you know, that I go out with my setup each time I hunt, and my setup leaves the woods each time when I leave. Climbers won't work most of the time in my woods, and this method always works. I have way too much $$ in my Sticks and Stands to leave out over night and get stolen, plus being mobile keeps me from being lazy and over hunting a stand location too often. Here is how I do it; many of you have ways of doing this too, and feel free to throw your 2 cents worth in, as I am always wanting to learn. Here we go:

This is how I hang Lone Wolf sticks and a hangon. I don't take chances and am very careful and feel very comfortable with my setups. If a person doesn't feel comfortable hunting like this, they have no business doing it. I have a best friend in Story City that only hunts out of a ladder stand and thinks I am nuts. I am self employed, no workmans comp, or someone giving me a paycheck if I get hurt, and tons of bills to pay. I use a linesmans belt with a prussic knot when installing each stick, and while installing my hang on. I always wear a safety harnass while in the stand too. The only time in my life I have been hurt from hunting is 2 1/2 years ago when I was walking up a hill wearing dumb rubber boots, and I slipped and broke an ankle. I have never worn rubber boots again. Last year, I wore danner boots 99% of the time last year and had the best season of my life. Those rubber boots that a lot of the whitetail hunters wear, provide no ankle support and they are way more dangerous imo, than my style of portable hunting. I never leave a stand out, so I do a lot of setups in a given season. Once a guy has a 1/2 a season of setting these up and tearing them down each time he hunts, it becomes very easy. It is something that just becomes second nature. So many guys say that it looks like too much work and that I must get sweaty..etc. I honestly can have a setup like in the pic above, setup in around 15 minutes from the time the stand and sticks leave my back. And I am not rushing or sweating. I install the 1st 2 sticks, go down, climb up with the next step in my hand while I hug the tree and hang the next stick on the top of the highest sticks step or maybe a branch if one is there, and keep doing it like this. I feel that if I have the sticks attached to me, and slip on one of the steps as I am climbing, or a stick step would break, I could impale myself with a stick if it was attached to me or hanging from my belt. I then linesman belt myself in while the next stick rests on the highest stick step or maybe a tree limb. I have a rope tied to my safety harnass that is 35' long, and this is attached to my treestand. To my treestand, I have another 35' rope tied to the stand and on the other end of that rope, my bow and pack. Once my last stick is installed, I keep myself linesman belted in, pull up my stand, and hang it. I get settled in my stand and tether in. I then sit down in my seat, reach down and grab the rope that is tied to my stand that has the bow and pack tied to it, and pull them up. I used to have the Lone Wolf Alpha on my back, but I have a friend that had a friend fall while doing this, and broke his neck and killed himself. I feel that although it may be a little faster, in no way should a guy climb with sticks or a stand attached to him.


I use a couple of these cable clamps(can be bought at Lowes or wally World) to keep my two ropes in neat order. Just open the clamp when you get in the woods and the rope lays neatly coiled up.

sr77

Don, that was a great write up. Like the ideas you are using and there is alot of thought as far as safety is concerned which is a top concern......Very cool.

Shane

Rickmur

Some good safty info in there Don.