Silent Summit for Bed Hunting

[cdeam]

I have an alpha and five sticks and I also have a summit viper. I prefer the summit but I just can't set up quiet enough to hunt within 100-125 yards of a bed.

My question is do any of you beasts bed hunt with a summit? If so, how?

I've tried some basic things. Expanding foam in the tubes, spray on bed liner, hockey tape, etc. I'm now considering plastidip on the cable tabs and getting some stealth stips.

[ Post made via Android ]

[BHC]

That's ultimately why I got my guidos web. I hate toting a climber into the woods. They are cumbersome and not the quietest, plus my web with sticks is lighter to carry. I'm sure you can dampen some of the noises but ultimately the mechanism to get the cable around a sufficient size tree and lock it in place with one hand and holdin the stand with the other, then there is the climbing which practice can help. But I know with my web and sticks unless I screw something up the most noise I'll make is walking in( crunching of my feet in leaves).

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Tennhunter3]

Saying a summit is quiet wow mine creak every time it gets cold I have had several small bucks and does run from the sound my viper makes.i have mine stealth stripped which did help it. If they do you know a mature buck will.True the seats are fantastic for comfort. But I'd use a stand and sticks if you can. In early season and birds are moving and there's a lot of other noises around summits ok but once the temp gets to freezing the tubular hollow summit is like a air horn in the woods.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Twenty Up]

I think the biggest drawback of a climber is the lack of cover in the trees you climb. Maybe I'm just paranoid but in a climber I feel exposed whereas with a hang on you can get in the gnarliest tree and be virtually invisible.

Also if you self film, it's hard to get the perfect height on your tree arm because the climber cables are in the way.

[Missionshooter]

I use what works for me. I use a very light hang-on and the quickest/quietest sticks based on my experience. I have sold many stands and sticks because I wasn't happy with them.

I have a very light Summit Openshot, but it stays in my garage year after year collecting dust.

It sucks because it costs $$ to try different setups, but in the end you will have a combo that WORKS BEST FOR YOU, which is all that matters. You will hunt with more confidence when you are confident in your equipment.

I have had guys tell me my stand doesn't have a leg rest or arm rests and not a big enough platform..... Well I'm not sitting trying to take a nap in a treestand and big platforms = more weight. I might want an armrest if I was sitting on a beach. No thanks.

[headgear]

I would try my best to get use to the lone wolf, I was a long time Summit user before joining the beast, I still like those stands but they just aren't built for silence, maybe they are better these days but if you truly want a quiet setup you know what you have to do. After a while you won't miss the summit, at least until you are an all day sit.

[Bonecrusher101]

I plan to carry both stands with me this season. I always thought my summit viper was quick and quiet. I have it wrapped in camo tape. I can remember setting up 50-60 yds from bedded deer with my viper and not bust them out. I set up on a persimmon tree also, which isn't the quietest. There were four does and I had good action that day. Right now I'm much quieter with my viper I don't make much more noise than a squirrel on trees I've climbed before. Also I'm small and pack my Fanny pack and weapon on my top seat of viper and climb with everything. I never used a pull up rope with my viper. I think after this season I can give a better comparison.

I've now got an assault with sticks to try out this season. Last bow season I always hunted too high because I had no backdrop to camo me when using my climber. I was getting picked off cause I stuck out with my climber. Also I like the option of shooting while seated. Standing is extra movement that you have to time out and when hunting thick cover may not be an option. Also with my viper I lose some versatility because I'm stuck hunting certain trees vs certain spots. I've set up my assault three times and feel good with it, I'm still trying to figure out how to make it work best for me with only one trip up the tree. Maybe after this season I will like my assault better but right now, I can be very smooth with my viper.

Yeah man you can use a summit viper to bed hunt but the majority of trees near most bedding areas aren't suited for a climbers. I do not think it's that summits are noisy, maybe yours is, mine is very quiet for me. I'm 5'7" and weigh 140lbs. It's all what you get used to. I've hunted public land for 5 years and have killed over 20 deer outta my summit during that time. Both stands are good and have their strong points.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Dewey]

I retired my Summit Viper to rifle season only. Just couldn't tolerate the excess noise and bulky packing size for bowhunting anymore. I bought a LW hand climber for times I feel the need for a climber but LW Alpha and sticks covers a majority of my hunts out of a tree.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[wickedbruiser]

I retired my Summit Viper to rifle season only. Just couldn't tolerate the excess noise and bulky packing size for bowhunting anymore. I bought a LW hand climber for times I feel the need for a climber but LW Alpha and sticks covers a majority of my hunts out of a tree.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

X2. Although, I do use my hand climber during bow when knowing the tree I will be hunting out of.

[Dewey]

I retired my Summit Viper to rifle season only. Just couldn't tolerate the excess noise and bulky packing size for bowhunting anymore. I bought a LW hand climber for times I feel the need for a climber but LW Alpha and sticks covers a majority of my hunts out of a tree.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

X2. Although, I do use my hand climber during bow when knowing the tree I will be hunting out of.

That what I do too. Quick and easy on certain trees.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[cdeam]

I would try my best to get use to the lone wolf, I was a long time Summit user before joining the beast, I still like those stands but they just aren't built for silence, maybe they are better these days but if you truly want a quiet setup you know what you have to do. After a while you won't miss the summit, at least until you are an all day sit.

I guess you're right. I do know what I have to do. I've got to learn to love my alpha.

[ Post made via Android ]

[cdeam]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It confirms what I was already thinking. It's just not possible. If it was I probably would have already done it. I've hunted out of my viper for ten years. It's great for hunting terrain funnels in the rut though.

Thanks Again fellas

[ Post made via Android ]

[Zona]

I think a lot depends on where you hunt. In the hills, bedding is usually near climbing friendly trees. The marshes and swamps, not so much. I still use a summit. I climb at the same pace as a stoned sloth but I am pretty quiet.

[ Post made via Android ]

[cdeam]

I hunt hills and farms. Plenty of climber friendly trees in most of the hills. I can climb as quiet as a mouse. It's just getting the thing on and off the tree that is loud.

[ Post made via Android ]

[hunter10]

I used a summit for many years and thought it was best there was. When I switched to the lw climber I couldn't believe how loud my summit was! It sold shortly after

[ Post made via iPhone ]