Tomorrow is Halloween, the unofficial kickstart to the whitetail rut and all of the deer hunting action and fun that it entails. There are a ton of good reasons why it’s one of the most popular time periods to be out in the woods, and as a public-land hunter, it can offer some of the best hunting of the year. Yes, there will probably be more hunting competition in the woods during the rut, but the higher deer activity will still make it worthwhile to put up with more hunters in the field.
The rut also signals shifts in the patterns of whitetails, and some of the food sources, bedding areas and travel routes have changed from earlier in the season, and more hunting pressure has probably influenced deer in one way or another. For me, that means I have to be even more mobile on public land to find and hunt the hottest buck sign to stay in the action. In-season scouting to find the best buck sign is the key to staying in the action, and a light, quiet mobile treestand setup is a vital tool for that strategy. I get a lot of questions about the treestand system that I utilize and what I think of some of the options. So, here’s a quick rundown of what I’ll be packing onto public land all over Wisconsin this November.
A climbing stand was my mainstay treestand for many, many seasons, and I had good luck with it. But, it tended to be cumbersome to pack in and made more noise going through the woods and up and down trees than I liked. After a bunch of research and window shopping, I finally settled on the Millennium M7 Microlite hang-on stand. At 8.5 pounds, it’s one of the absolute lightest stands on the market at a very reasonable price. It folds up flat, it’s quiet xe2x80x94 plus it locks quickly and solidly onto the tree with its CamLOCK Receiver system.
Ladder sticks were next on the list. Again, I scoured manufacturer websites and researched online forums to learn all that I could about the available options. Many companies make reputable climbing sticks, but I wanted light, quiet, and something with dual steps on each side so that one foot and leg wouldn’t get too tired holding all of my weight while I attached the next stick, and then finally attaching the stand to the tree at the top. The Muddy Pro Climbing Sticks fit the bill perfectly. They have all of the criteria that I want, and their rope attachment system means that there are no metal buckles swinging around and clanging on metal as I strap the sticks to the tree. The sticks stack neatly and compactly into each other for helpful transport. Four sticks weigh about 10 pounds total.
A quality treestand safety harness is absolutely vital, and I chose the Hunter Safety System Ultra-Lite harness to keep me safe. It is light enough at 2 pounds to not be a burden. And I utilize the lineman’s belt every time I ascend and descend a tree because it allows me to work hands-free and quietly attach my step sticks and treestand to the tree.
The system wasn’t complete yet. I purchased a used set of inexpensive, army-surplus MOLLE II rucksack straps and a waist belt, and modified them to attach to the underside of the stand. These allow me to comfortably carry the whole setup in and out of the woods everyday, sometimes up to a mile or two each way.
Next, I bought a cheap camo fanny pack and attached that to the bottom of the Microlite’s seat. This serves as permanent storage for my basic bow-hanger hook that I strap to the tree, and it stores the treestand’s pull-up rope and bow pull-up rope. That way, I’ll never lose them since they’re always right at hand.
Before I head out to a hunting spot, the climbing sticks, safety harness and any extra jacket or gear are all attached to the stand with bungee cords. Then I shoulder the whole rig, and away I go. It’s all very quiet and compact enough that it doesn’t snag much on brush or branches as I walk through the woods. When I reach the destination tree I get all of the gear set, put on the harness, attach the stand’s rope to the harness, and the bow’s rope to the stand and start climbing xe2x80x94 one stick at a time xe2x80x94 ALWAYS ATTACHED TO THE TREE WITH THE LINEMAN’S BELT.
When I reach the top, I attach my harness to the tree with the tree strap, then pull up the stand and attach it to the tree. Next, I’ll climb onto the stand and detach the lineman’s belt. Then I attach my bow-hanger hook strap, and pull up my bow. Then I’m ready to hunt. Again, STAY ATTACHED TO THE TREE AT ALL TIMES, FIRST WITH LINEMAN’S BELT, THEN WITH THE TREE STRAP.
The climb up and climb down will take me about 10-15 minutes to do it quietly and safely, and with four Muddy Pro Climbing sticks I can get 15 to 20 feet high, depending on the spacing between them. This system, with a few tweaks, has been all that I’ve used for a couple seasons now, and it works great. It allows me to stay mobile and adaptable to all of the changing conditions and stay in the action as much as possible.
Climbing stands, saddles and hang-ons all work well for different situations, so it’s just a matter of finding out what works best for you. If you’re in the market for mobile treestand gear, there are plenty of good products from many other manufacturers to check out, please just keep safety in mind at all times. Good luck out there!