dont think I ca go back up a tree

[Rustic]

I hunted from trees for several years but a few years ago, I had a close call with my climber and decided at 55 I was too old to hunt from  trees. Been hunting from the ground ever since and have no regrets.

[Bill Carlsen]

My wife was very queezy about being in a stand. She also gets motion sickness easily so when the wind blows it had been a problem. After using stands for a while her anxiety level subsided and she developed mental "fixes" for her motion sickness. Now I can't get her out of a tree. For me, I"m 69 and prefer tree stands. I have a bad back and there are times when I need to be in my Double Bull just so I can move around a bit and not tighten up. Taking care of yourself physically and eating well make climbing easy for me. The real problem I have is being able to sit in one position for long periods without affecting my lower back.

[LookMomNoSights]

For me,  the tree stand is nothing more than another tool in the shed.  I have 2 climbers,  2 stationary hang-ons,  and 1 ladder.   If the situation demands it,  I will hunt from one....if its not needed,  I would rather be on the ground. The ground is so much more fun,  especially when you are on a hot spot!  Providing the wind cooperates,  Id go as far as to say the advantages of hunting from a good ground spot far outweight the advantage of a tree stand....just MHO.

[abbatoys]

I blew out my knee and broke my leg in January (work related) and doubt I will be able to hunt in a tree this year. Will be an exclusive ground game this year for me. Now I am getting interested in the ghillie suits and planning where to build ground blinds

[Bladepeek]

I hunted from a tree stand for 20 years in Germany. It really made sense because of the dense population. Hunting with a rifle you were shooting down and not horizontal. Never bothered me, but the tree stands were all large, comfortable ladder stands permanently built onto a tree. Besides, you can shoot a rifle sitting down.

When we came back to the States and I started bow hunting, I naturally got a tree stand and found it awfully skimpy and I was uncomfortable with the height. My son and I got a couple of 2-man ladder stands - not so we could hunt sitting together, but so we would have more room on the stand. I found I still wasn't comfortable, even with a safety harness standing and shooting and shooting sitting down was pretty restrictive.

I hunt mostly from the ground now, but if I do go up in a stand it's with only the top 2 sections as mentioned. I know it's all in my mind. If I can stand and move comfortably on a platform 1 foot off the ground, another 12 - 14 feet shouldn't make any difference. It does though. I can work on the roof of my house as long as I don't go near the edge, but getting onto and off from the roof always raises my heartbeat A LOT!

I've found you can see a lot from the ground too    

[Shakes.602]

I agree withthe Fellow Ground Huggers! Used to climb when I was much younger, how does that Old Saying go: "It Aint The Fall, Its That Sudden Stop At the Bottom!" Heights are Not My Gig Anymore either!!

[Broke N Arrow]

I prefer a tree stand..I've been busted too many times on the ground.. the least little movement and they are gone..u can get away with it in a treestand..and see the whole picture like the one behind the bush u couldnt see from the ground..the one that will bust u..

[Hoyt]

I say every year I'm going to hunt a little from the ground, but never do.

Just like the view much better from above. I'm 66 with a lot of old sawed up bones and it's getting harder to make those trips up and down every year.

I use climbers and loc ons with tree steps and also the EZ KUT hand drill and bolts. Getting in and out of the loc ons are the hardest part for me these days.

[rolltidehunter]

u can over come any fear by facing it. if you make yourself do and practice. you can overcome your fear of heights.

[LittleBen]

If I have two options I hunt from the floor. I usea stand when I have to but it's definately more dangerous. No one ever fell over in a blind and got badly injured ... as far as I know at least.

[dnovo]

I tell myself I'm going to hunt from the ground more but never do. I like the view from a tree stand. I have 8 hang ons and 1 climber. I stay at aroun 15-17 feet for the angle, but heights don't bother me. At 57, I can still walk the walls when we frame a house. A small stand like a Loc-On is my favorite.

[STICKBENDER98]

Start low and get steady, I shot my first two bucks from a stand my dad had nailed into a tree, (don't recomend that now) I was able to reach the platform standing on my tip toes from the ground.  Sit still and quiet and enjoy the suroundings.  Use a safety harness while on stand, and life line while climbing up and into your stand, relax and enjoy.

[Ed Frye]

I to have hunted from a stand for years but now like being on the ground. Have harvested a lot of deer from a tree stand but now find it much more thrilling to be eye level with them. Seems to make it even more challenging when your on there level

[Stone Knife]

Hang out in the thing every chance you get and it will grow on you. I still think that hunting from a tree stand gives you the best chance at success at least on whitetails around here.

[gregg dudley]

Originally posted by justracey:
I fell from a stand 20 years ago and have never felt safe again until a few years ago when David got us these. I can get back in a treestand now with out be nervous

  http://www.huntersafetysystem.com/lifeline/  

That is a cool system and I have looked at it several times.  I will probably end up buying it once I get over the absolutely obscene amount of money that they want for it.  The profit margin on that thing has to be astronomical.  At the end of the day it is a rope and caribiner for $40...

[xtrema312]

You can't expect to spend 100% of your time on the ground for years and then jump in stand way off the ground and all of a sudden be all comfy setting there.  Get a good safety system so you know you will not fall.  Then get in the stand and do some practice shooting every week or a few times a week.  Spend some time in it reading and just enjoying the view to get accustom to it.  You can even hang low or use only the top section of a ladder to practice moving around on it and seeing just how easy it is to be on it, move, turn, and lean out to shoot.  

I have tree hunted for 35 years and  will not stop unless I just can't climb a ladder anymore or have some kind of bad balance issue like I have issues on the ground standing and moving.  

I hang and hunt many stands in a year.  I always feel uneasy the first few hunts.  I don’t have this quite as much if I keep a practice stand in the yard  and use it, but even then it takes some time in the stand.  After a couple weeks of early season bow hunting, I am right at home every year.  A few hunts gets me maybe 20 hr. of stand time, and that is what it takes to get comfortable.  After that, I move and shoot from the stand in comfort without even thinking about the little platform I am on.

[njloco]

Like many others I have killed a lot of deer from the trees, but now I find myself going in with binoculars and spotting and stalking them instead of waiting for something to happen. There is a lot more action and I can sit down where ever I feel like, and if the wind changes so can I.