Home Sweet Home: Tips For Using A Climbing Tree Stand

Back in the house, just doing a little dusting, I could feel the newly-awakened places in my abdominal muscles, which I'd used to inch my climbing stand up the tree. It happened every year, and I welcomed the familiar twinges as a salute to the archery season opener.

I like just about any kind of treestand, but my climbing stand is my favorite. I like being able to set an ambush, to react to a change in deer movement caused by changes in food sources, or the rut. I like being able to set the foot platform and the seat platform at just the right distance for comfort.

I even like its familiar heft as I slip my arms into the padded shoulder straps. In years and years of pictures, like some cousin once-removed, my climbing stand shows up in the background behind various deer in various states.

If you want to turn your climbing stand into a similar Home Sweet Home, here are some tips:

1) If the stand didn't come with padded straps, pick up a pair.

2) Purchase a gear holder, which you can strap to the tree, above your head, once you've climbed to your spot. These are handy for hanging binoculars, range finder and other necessities. Also, carry a screw-in step (check regulations, as these may be illegal on some state lands) which you can use to hang your back pack out of the way.

3) Never try to climb while holding your bow or gun. Use a haul rope or retractable rope to tie to those things before you leave the ground, and pull them up once you're seated and secure. Don't lean out over the stand to pull up your gun or bow.

4) Never climb without wearing a full-body harness and remain tethered to the tree as soon as you leave the ground. It is little trouble to inch the tether for your harness higher and lower on the tree as you ascend and descend. When you get to the desired height, stand and secure your tether as high as you can reach. This will ensure it is out of your way for shooting.

5) Make sure the bottom and top of the climbing stand are connected to each other. If your feet should slip out of the bottom part, you'll be able to recover it.

6) If you're climbing during daylight hours, look around as you climb. Make sure you don't settle at a spot, which is too high or low according to the surrounding cover.

7) Carry a limb saw and/or ratchet pruners to trim any limbs you may encounter as you climb.

8) Try to avoid climbing smooth-barked trees, such as birch and maple, which can be slippery especially on damp days. If possible, climb and de-limb selected trees during a scouting trip before the season. You can mark the selected trees with bright-eye tacks or surveyor's tape.

9) Take your time. If you've just shot your buck of a lifetime, make yourself wait and descend slowly. After all, you shouldn't be in a hurry to leave your Home Sweet Home.