dan wrote:cowboyup_again wrote:Dewey wrote:SonofUlam wrote:I'm surprised so many of you guys use sticks and hang in stands with the style I hunting I read about here. I think of myself in decent shape- but hiking half a mile or more with 30-40 pounds (I'm figuring 15 pound stand, 10+pounds for sticks, plus bow, and pack) on my back through thick brush would make me a sweaty mess by the time I reached my tree.
How do you guys that use that set-up work through that or deal with that? I'm also not ignoring the possibility I'm just not in nearly as good of condition as I need to be to be an effective hunting beast. What are your thoughts or suggestions?
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When hunting beds it's all about being mobile and being quiet so a stand and sticks are usually your best option.
Admittedly it's not for everyone because hunting Beast Style is a lot of work but the rewards can be very high.
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I'm not saying that I am a hunting beast but I do provide all meat for my family yearly with deer and I kill a lot of them. I have been using a hand climber for years and got a XOP hang-on with sticks this year and did alot of research and set it up just as everyone on here did. I have hunted it 5 times this year and I must say it sucks!
The weight compared to my hand climber is staggering and my set-up time to hunt is nearly doubled. It is a pain to hunt now that I have hang-on and sticks. Too much stuff to bring in and out of the woods. With my hand climber I can get right next to bedding areas but with my hang-on, i can't get close due to the movement of set-up, sweating, and noise of limbs and leaves. I am going back to my hand climber and using my hang-on for hunts back west.
You just used to the climber... I have both and rarely use my hand climber. The only legitimate complaint in my eyes is the weight difference. But I am an old man and carry the stand and 5 sticks to set ups that are miles in several times every week from early September thru december with no problems. And I can certainly get up a tree with less bad movements with the sticks than with the climber. I routinly set up within 75 yards of bedded bucks without them knowing I am there.
Dan, I have watched your videos and I have gotten close to bedded bucks also and my record is 30 yards from a bedded doe in the rain. You have a lot of experience and knowledge so what is the big difference in your mind between a lone wolf hang on setup and a hand climber routine. What makes one better over the other besides the obvious of tree selection. I am very quiet and methodical with my movement and would like to know what I am missing. With my hand climber, I go up and down the tree hidden by the tree just like you do with the sticks and it only takes me once to go up the tree whereas it takes you 3-4.