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Had a friend sitting on the ground in the early AM dark. Through the woods he hears a guy walking, "clank, clank, clank. . ." The guy comes up within 20 yds of my friend who does not say a word. . . After a few more clanks and metal scrapping, he hears, "Kachunk, kachunk, kachunk.. . .etc" up a nearby tree. Then silence for a few minutes. . . then all of sudden like a rapid machine gun he hears, "chunk, chunk, chunk, chunk chunk, chunk, chunk, ka THUD! Cough cough cough. Gasp for air, cough." Then the sound of metal being placed back together, crunching leaves, as the hunter wandered back out of the woods. . . as the "clank clank clank" faded in the distance before sunrise.
Baker tree stands- what a trip!
Of course all our homemade ones from scrap lumber were equally deadly.
We did not grow up with child car seats or seat belts either! Oh, how things change.
-------------------- After cursing through every slice and missed shot on the first nine holes, a golf partner said to his frustrated and cursing partner, "I think I can tell you your problem." "Really?" "You just aren't that good." Posts: 1777 | From: Kansas | Registered: Feb 2004
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On my second trip down a tree on my Baker the seat climber caught about 8' up, my rapid decent stripped me through it almost tearing my arms off. The foot platform caught about 3' from the ground and my momentum pitched me out backwards. The problem was my feet were still in the foot straps. The back of my head bounced off the ground, guess this kept me from breaking my back.
I lay on the ground, my arms were completely dead, no feeling in them at all, couldn't move them so I thought I was paralyzed.
After about 30 minutes of deep thought about my condition while I lay on the ground, I felt a tingle in my fingertips. The feeling slowly came back in my arms. My arms were bruised jet black from armpit to wrist.
As this was my second rapid decent in my Baker I took a sledge hammer to it when I got home and pitched it in the trash, I didn't want someone to retrieve it and put it back in service.
Posts: 3455 | From: Florence Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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Same thing here John,when I read the title I almost started laughing.Those Baker stands were just crazy,but the thought of a climbing tree stand was just so cool.I would not get in one of those today for love nor money.
-------------------- IF MONEY TALKS MINE SAYS GOODBY Posts: 864 | From: Texas | Registered: Feb 2011
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Its funny how you work so hard getting up the tree with the stand and one portion or another of the stand will go back down the tree without you so easily! We are probably all lucky we don't walk with a limp or worse.lol
Posts: 365 | From: Morley, Michigan | Registered: Nov 2008
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As I read the title the Baker stands came to mind. There wasn't many to pick from in those days.
Posts: 151 | From: michigan | Registered: Mar 2010
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1st generation LocOn. Had one collapse on me. Luckily I was trying it out and was not high up. Early 90s. The stand was given to me and was older when I got it. Aluminum parts except the plywood platform. Aluminum gave way. Not the wood.
Didn't hunt from a manufactured stand again until last year.
-------------------- "You can learn more about deer hunting with a bow and arrow in a week, than a gun hunter might learn all his life." ----- Fred Bear Posts: 3866 | From: Zoo City, NC | Registered: Aug 2010
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I was a "Baker Era" bow hunter too but the one that hurt me the worst was an old River's Edge climber that a friend loaned me. That thing weighed 487 pounds and of course I dropped everything from my quiver to my Bic and had to go up and down a dozen times. My abs felt like somebody had beaten my belly with a broomhandle! When the hunt was over I bought it from him and mounted it permanently so no one would ever have to go through that pain again.
-------------------- If you find yourself in a fair fight? Your tactics suck! Posts: 168 | From: Askins, NC | Registered: Apr 2012
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I started out with homemade version of the Baker, minus the hand climber. It also had a aluminum sheet for the base instead of plywood. I have a pretty funny story about those stands. Needless to say, I still don't like treestands.
Posts: 1380 | From: The Dark Corner, SC | Registered: Oct 2006
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![[scared]](graemlins/scared.gif)
Cough cough cough. Gasp for air, cough." ![[help]](graemlins/help.gif)
Then the sound of metal being placed back together, crunching leaves, as the hunter wandered back out of the woods. . . as the "clank clank clank" faded in the distance before sunrise. ![[bigsmyl]](graemlins/bigsmyl2.gif)
![[campfire]](graemlins/campfire.gif)
God bless.
