Most stands can support anywhere from 300 to 500 pounds. Hunting tree stands vary in their weight capacity, which depends largely on the materials and design of the stand. Which type would be more comfortable for you? Weight capacity
Consider that you’ll be sitting on it for hours at a time. Some have rubberized seats while others use nylon webbing. While aluminum is not as strong, it is lighter and cannot rust. If steel is the primary material, double-check the paint job to make sure none of the steel is exposed to the weather to prevent rust. Most hunting tree stands are made from steel or aluminum. If the wrong type of tree is in the perfect spot, you’ll have to change what kind of tree stand you get. Before buying a tree stand, take a walk through your future hunting ground to see what kinds of trees there are and where they’re located. Trees with lots of branches, particularly thick branches, will limit you to hang-on or ladder tree stands. Large Douglas fir trees don’t have branches down low, but you’ll have to get strap extensions to go all the way around their larger girth. Available tree typesĬlimber tree stands require trees that don’t have many limbs on their lower reaches, such as a lodgepole pine. Additionally, there won’t be as many other hunters on the land, so your tree stand will be much less likely to be stolen.
Most landowners will let you cut a few limbs off a tree so you can use a tree climber stand. On private land, whether it is your own or someone else’s, you have a bit more freedom. Even if the forest or park service allows it in your area, the land is open to all, including determined thieves who might steal your tree stand if you leave it in place for several weeks. If you’re hunting on public land, it’s doubtful you’d be allowed to cut branches off the trees or mount a permanent or semi-permanent ladder to one of them. The other consideration you have to keep in mind is the type of land you’re hunting on. Once you’ve reached your chosen height, though, simply tighten the straps and you’re ready to hunt. The other disadvantage is that the tree stand makes a lot of noise during the climbing process. If there are any limbs, you’ll have to cut them off in order to get the straps past them. The obvious disadvantage to this type of tree stand is that it only works on trees that don’t have any limbs sticking below your desired anchor point. You can now move the stand up the tree like an inchworm until you reach your desired height. Lift the upper platform an equal distance then, put weight on it to secure it. You lift the bottom platform, then put your weight on it to secure it in place. Once the straps are in place around the bottom of the tree, you “walk” it up the tree. These tree stands are somewhere between the other two in regards to weight and portability, but they are the easiest to install. A safety harness, straps, and D-clips are highly recommended to keep you from falling. Once you’re at the height where you want the stand to be attached, you have to hang onto the tree while positioning the stand and cinching the straps tight to hold it securely. The weight of those climbing aids nearly cancels the advantage of the low weight of this type of stand. The disadvantage of this type of stand is that you have to use strap-on climbing sticks or screw-in climbing steps to climb the tree. They can be positioned in and among tree branches without cutting any of them down to get the stand into the tree. A simple set of straps wrap around the body of the tree keep the stand in place. On the opposite end of the scale in terms of weight and bulk are hang-on tree stands. Due to the weight and bulk of these models, packing them into the woods and back out again can be quite a chore. You’ll need to assemble it and put it in place several weeks before hunting season begins to give the animals a chance to acclimate themselves to it. Notably, the ladder sticks out like a sore thumb to the deer and other game animals.
They are also the easiest and quietest tree stands to get into and out of once they are in place. These are the heaviest and bulkiest of the three types of tree stands. Then, you climb to the top and fasten the straps around the body of the tree to secure it in place. You assemble the ladder and lean it up against your chosen tree. These are tree stands with a long, rigid ladder. Hunting from a tree stand generally means you’ll be staying in one place all day, which can be an adjustment if you are used to hunting on the ground.