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Helpful Ideas

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Allamakee Grand Slam

Life Member
What ideas have our members thought up to help make their hunting easier and or more efficient. Ideas we've come up with could be of use to a lot of us no matter how simple. I'll toss one out to you.

A few years ago while bowhunting I ended up in a tree with no place to hand my backpack and not having any bowhangers with me the backpack ended up on the platform of my stand. I was thinking what I could do to always have a place to hang things and came up with crimping S hooks on the chains of my treestands and on the expanded metal seats of my ladder stands. Pretty simple but handy to have.

I'd like to hear other peoples little tricks. Now would be a good time to implement ideas as we start gearing up for another hunting season.


Allamakee Grand Slam
 
Great Post AGS. For stands that have proven themselves by numerous buck sightings +/- kills, I usually pull the existing treesteps, use a 1/2 inch drill bit, make a 4 inch deep hole at an upward angle and pound in a 9 inch section of re-enforcement bar. I can then spare the use of my commercial steps for quick setups. I know steps are cheap but during the season, I have no less than twenty stands set up and having 14-16 steps per stand gets awful costly. (Caution to the larger hunter as the re rod may not withstand extreeme weight)
 
i always use a battery drill to drill the holes for the steps. it makes screwing in the steps 10 times easier.
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huntN friends ,
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I hunt from lock on stands that have both a back and low easy to move arms.
I 9 out of 10 hunts get in my stand just about light and don't get out until legal shooting time is done.
So I needed locations to hang stuff
grunt call,rattle bag,back pak, in line with the eye hooks mention in one of the post. I went the hard ware store and got a bunch of hooks kinda shaped like a horse shoe but flat where the shoe is rounded. On the flat part they already have two holes and the ends already have hard rubber coating. I drill and bolt 4 of these to each of my stands and never forget to bring them now. I place one on each arm and one on each side of the plat form you stand on.
They are great for holding all my stuff and make a great bow hanger as well... Cost .39cents each.
These are about 2 inches wide 2 inches
deep.
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Thanks guys great idea for a post by the way... Good Luck A huntN friend MXZ.
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I like to be as quiet as possible when I carry my stand and when I hang it so I have covered the tubing on my stand with foam pipe insulator used on copper tubing for air units. I just measure out a peace and cut it to length. Then I cut it open length wise and just slip it over the tubing and fasten it with zip ties. It comes in black and makes for a quiet stand.
 
I saw a great idea on "The Archer's Choice" on TV last night. The guy was rattling and had tied long tow ropes to the antlers and controlled them from the stand like a puppet...with the rattling antlers just touching the ground. I've always thought one negative to rattling is that a buck has a tendency to focus directly on the hunter in the tree and may even wonder why the rattling is coming from up in the tree. This technique sounded very realistic and also allowed him to create the rustle in the leaves that added realism to the setup. I know I'm planning to steal the idea, and then keep a small rattling bag with me in the stand just in case.

NWBuck
 
when i hang a stand with a chain, i always put a tree step in the back where the chain goes, so that way when i go to put it up i can rest the chain on there and when it is latched, it will stay there because it cant slip and wont ever slip when your in the stand, and i get a free backpack hanger out of the deal. ive had chains slip when i initially step into the tree so i do this mainly for a safety precaution. and it just makes hanging a stand easier. another thing i found nice is to have about 12 or so strap on treesteps in your bag, and have a loc on and then just sneak into a place and put up a stand and not have a bunch of noisy steps in your bag, and if you ever need just one or two steps for a tree they work great, or an extra bowhanger. i only use those when im sneaking into an area and dont have much time to hunt it. thats the only two things i can really think of, all good ideas.
 
I found that being presise in your timing when rattling you are far less likely to get caught rattling by the buck your after... For example . I always time my cadence .. I start at the top of the hour with 3 grunts wait 2 minutes then a light to agressively louder rattling sequence for exactly 4 minutes this is followed by 3 or 4 grunts and a can bleat or 2. the entire cadence takes less then 10 minutes...... A responding buck will respond with in the next 20 minutes or he is not going to respond.... Then at the bottom of the hour I repeat.

This system has worked many many times I can not even begin to count . I think the main thing is that with this timing you are just letting the buck know your general area and he then begins to persue you as another buck or 2..... The thing I have found is by this timiing method I have never one time been run into by a buck that I was not prepared for. If you do not time your calling you can run into calling too long after a couple of tries and that is when the buck gets too close and spookes when you are getting your gear ready .

Maybe everyone already does this when rattling . I don't know but it has woked so good for me in the past I just think more should give it a try.

Gritty
 
i go to my favorite plumbing supply house and get some 2 or 3" pvc j-hooks they are about .75 and paint them and nail them to the tree and you can hang anything from them
 
Was talking to a friend last night and were talking about trail cameras. Digital vs. film, my argument was that the regular are expensive to get them film developed all the time of turkeys and other creatures in the woods you aren't interested in getting pics of. He said, just get the negitives developed around 2 or 3 bucks and pick the ones to get developed from there. Thought that was a pretty good idea... You could also scan the negs and have a digital file...
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I have a few more suggestions I'd like to share. I'm sure several of you use the gutting gloves and know how nice it is to not have blood all over yourself when your done. I go to the local vet and buy a half dozen pairs of A I (artificial insemination) sleeves and keep them in my pack in a ziplock bag. The bag keeps them together and you can have some paper towels in it also to wipe down your deer before taking pictures. Also can use the bag for the heart. I get the sleeves for a dollar a pair. The reason I buy several pairs is when M350 calls to trail a deer most vets won't open at 2AM. I carry my backpack when I help trail deer because I have everything with me I want, camera, sleeves refreshments etc. Hint, when you take off the gloves take them off one inside the other. You will end up with the clean side out then tie it in a knot. All the messy stuff is inside and you'll take it out with you not leave it in the woods.

I keep a 3 gallon container of water in the truck all spring and fall for washing me and for cleaning up a deer before photos. It's worth the time to get great pics.

Another item that stays in my truck at all times is a 1 ton rope hoist and 18" of chain with a hook on one end. The chain is for around a tree limb or a rafter to hang the hoist. A ton seems a lot but trust me the little ones are as much work as lifting by hand, also big enough for elk. Also comes in handy if you end up loading your deer by yourself, hook it to the front loops on your truck box. I keep my hoist and chain in an ammo box.

Allamakee Grand Slam
 
When I get a full day off, I like to sit all day if possible. There are some days that deer movement seems slow or I just need a change of scenery mid morning so in the last several years, I started setting out what I call 930 STANDS. These are stands I move to around 930 that are located in or near the edges of bedding areas where the cover is usually too thick that movement into the areas under the cover of darkness does more harm than good. Midday feeding activity usually resumes about 1030 plus you are already in an excellent place for evening hunts. This has yielded some large buck sightings as early as 10 am during early season and from the time you enter the stand all the way up to dark during the rut on bucks seeking does. I have several of these stand setups and all have had good buck sightings.
 
I don't know how many of you use the Realtree bow holders (the ones that hinge in the middle) but I make my own at a much lower price with just as good of quality. I buy the 1/2 square tubing at Farm and Home. Then all you need are some lags, bolts with self locking nuts, washers and some small steel rod. A wire welder works best for welding them but an arc welder does work. You can build 3 for the price of one at wal-mart. I bet if you took one to the local fabrication shop with all the parts they would build them cheaper too. When finished building them, I deep the hook end in plastic coating, (carried at home depot, menards, etc.) then tape them up with camo tape. They work great, and are a lot cheaper.
 
I have a small Sony AM/FM radio that straps around your arm for running. I unclip the velcor strap (sweaty-stinky) and slip the radio in my packet with an earphone so I can listen to Rush in the tree stand! What could be better! Sports fans give it a try. You'll stay out longer.(You generation X-ers can play a game on your cell phone.

Speaking of cell phone. Don't use vibration mode! It makes very hard to relocate
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Pull the plastic end caps off the tubing of your stands or locate any openings in the tubes and spray in a little expanding foam. gets rid ofthe hollow metal sound.
I also covered the chain that goes down to the platform on a couple cheaper stands with a length of old garden hose.

Another thing!
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I've walked past may a stand that has a tow-up rope all wrapped up around a step or whatever. I shoot a split limb, so I do this. I tie a loop in the end of the line @ waste to shoulder high. The key is to tie it so you can pull it tight and loop it over a tree step. Always they to find in the dark. Also tie off on the high end so your bow hangs out off the tree free of snags. It's the simple little things that make for a good hunt.
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i'm going to wrap my tree stands with black hockey tape so if something comes in contact with them it'll be quieter. i'm also going to do this with my climber because even though they all claim totally silent set ups that's not the case. the hockey tape is thicker than duct tape and also doesn't have a shiny finish.
 
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