Anyone out there use climbing spurs to get up the tree?

[bigbellybuck]

Thanks for the info guys. I was perfectly happy with my lone wolf climber til I saw that dang tree saddle.

[NightHawk]

I'm thinking of getting a tree saddle myself, but I won't use climbers with it. I was thinking of using climbing sticks along with 4 screw steps 90 degrees above my climbing sticks

[RC]

I personally use a lightweight climber. I have a few loc ons I put in places every year I`ll come back to.RC

[wihill]

I've got a Saddle and use the LW sticks or a climbing platform I made using the LWHC seat and some clever knot work from my mountianeering days.  

Both will get you up the tree quick, the sticks are easily adaptible to any tree, the climbing platform needs a straight/cleared tree.  

If we could drill trees up here I'd go with the pre-drilled holes and grade 8 bolt route.  Mark all your stands, and carry a LOT less weight with a few bolts to slide into the tree.

Sameday setup in unknown territory, I'd still go with the sticks.  Gaffs are alright, but all you need is one mistake to make a small problem a big problem.  Don't think we can use them up here on public either.  Practice is required, regardless.

Good luck with your decision!

[NoCams]

Nighthawk, I hear nothing but praise for the LW sticks but I have never tried them. To me I just do not see how you can get the claimed height with their sticks and if you carry four you might as well carry a Summit Viper stand @ 17lbs. Four sticks and a Treesaddle or Guido's web is about the same weight as a climbing stand. I am also afraid of a stick shifting under my weight and causing a fall. With the bolts and woodpecker you have light weight system that packs easily, ( in the built in pouch on a Guido's web ! ), and cannot shift like a climbing stick can. I could see me bangin' and clangin' around with 4 sticks trying to get up a tree in the dark ! With the woodpecker and bolts everything is right at your fingertips.

One more thing about the screw in steps for your foot platform and a Treesaddle...... If you do not do a very good job of getting them ALL the way in the tree and good and tight they will turn on you when you lean out away from the tree. I also tried the 4 hang on steps on a ratchet strap. Lots of noise with the ratchet strap ! Also pretty heavy and bad about slipping down the tree if you do not have it VERY tight on the tree. I think the butterfly steps that Trophyline USA sells as a accessory to the Treesaddle are great for a foot platform !

nocams

[Turkey-duke]

The only time I have ever fallen while hunting was when I tried to use the climbing spikes.  Like you I wanted to be portable and use lightweight lock-ons but I found that this was a recipe for disaster.  I learned to climb fairly quick (I was still young and athletic)but I always struggled with getting into and out of the stand.  The last time I used them I was stepping out of my stand and the gaff that I planted into the tree gave causing me to fall.  Luckily I was wearing my belt.  My chin hit the stand platform and I had a rough case of tree rash down my stomach but was otherwise unhurt.  It scared me pretty bad and I have not used them since.  Now I use climbing sticks or I use my climber (it may not be as light but I am confident I will come home unhurt).

[JC]

I know Warren Womack uses them (or at least did, haven't seen him here in too long) and he's probably killed more deer than I've ever even seen.  Couple of the guys he hunts with do the same, Murray Landry and Greg Gravois. Light lock-ons and tree spikes make for a tremendous tool of mobility. Wish I had the guts to use them...Warren's a tough ol' bird but I don't bounce as well as I used to.

[RC]

I hunted with Mr. Warren last year. He still uses them and will be in the tree sitting in the stand as fast as a fellow can hook up a climber and get settled in.Chris Spikes uses them as well"Landshark160". Deer killers.RC

[J-dog]

use to all the time when I was younger - but you need the kind that are full leg version meaning they come up beneath you knee. Worked fine but got a little older and I hope a little wiser.

J

[JC]

Jimmy, how do you get that Viper up a tree that has 10 limbs between you and where you want to be?     :D  

I love Rapid Rails (safe but heavy) but I'm beginning to like my lone wolf sticks even better. They are quicker than the RR's...that's the main reason I don't do the screw in steps..the time. I can set 4 and my tree sling much quicker than I can in a climber and of course, I can do it in any tree I pick. Now, if I could only do the steps at the top that fast. The treesaddle steps are the best but again it takes a while, especially in hardwoods, to set the 4 I need around the tree at the top. I'd love to do the drilling and all that but with the effort I've seen it takes to do those, I'd be soaked with sweat during our entire bow season. Because of Jimmy's advice I'm scrapping my idea about the strap on steps and a ratchet strap...sounds like the best idea in theory but many have said it doesn't work very well in practice.

Sadly, there is no one system that suits all the situations/needs. Lucky for us there are so many choices.

[RC]

I know a Fella that uses rope steps and he gets up and down really fast as well.
  I hunt public land and a lot of the same feed trees year after year. While scouting this year in the week or so before bow season I`m gonna carry my woodpecker drill and drill stand sites on any feed trees I find that are my normal killing spots when the produce. Then all I got to do is carry my loc-on and small bag of bolts.I got a bunch of stands so when the stand is set I`ll bring out the bolts.I usually hunt at least a mile in or in really thick places .I`ve not had a stand stolen yet.RC

[James Wrenn]

I used them for two seasons.They worked very well.I have  3 or 4 sets of gaffs now but hunt land where I can leave a stand in place so seldom use them any more.My titanium gaffs and windwalker stand only weighed about 10lbs and were great for those far back places.

[tradwannabe]

I understand that POLE spurs are not the same as TREE spurs. Pole spurs have short spikes(spurs). Tree spurs have longer spikes(spurs). Don't use pole spurs on trees!
IMHO
Rob

[James Wrenn]

Well depends on what kind of trees you climb I guess.I usually climb smaller oaks and popular and prefer the pole climbers over the longer spikes.The long spikes would be better for heavy barked and larger trees however most of them are too large to hang a stand in.  

[Mike Burch]

I use them. Quick and easy.

Tree spurs and a Lone Wolf Assault Loc-On is a great combo.

Mike

[NoCams]

JC,
Gerber saw my friend !!! Best tool ever devised for a deer hunter ! It even comes with a bone blade for the pelvic bone too. Hunted with a buddy of mine who I really look up too, he is a deer killin machine, but could not believe he had not heard of or used the $19 Gerber saw ! One morning I took him with me and as I turned him loose he was standing there in the pre-dawn darkness looking for a limbless tree. When I suggested a certain tree he said, " Good tree but too many limbs to cut with a knife ? " I gave him my Gerber saw to "borrow", for the morning and never got it back, haha ! And yes, he of course killed a deer that morning ! I then showed him the bone blade and how quick and easy it is to switch from wood to bone blade. You would have thought I had given him the best present ever ! A $19 Gerber saw is in all my Summit Viper stands side pouch at all times ! never leave home without it.

When I come down to shoot with you in May I am bringing my Guido's Web and woodpecker system for you to play with. I in turn will let you show me the LW sticks for comparison.

I agree JC, that there is no one system seems like that is, " perfect ". You are correct about working up a good sweat in early season using screw in steps or for that matter even a woodpecker drill. I am going to be more diligent this year and pre-drill my trees with a Dewalt cordless drill !!! Love talking about all the options that are out there and learning from one another here on the gang !

nocams  

[JC]

Now why in the heck would I want to cut all those limbs off that are providing me with such useful cover...and it would take me all day to saw through a fork.   :D  Just funnin ya, I agree those summits are super comfortable. Only reason I haven't bought one is my current climber hasn't been used in years simply because there are so few trees suitable for it in the exact spot I want one.

Lookin forward to trying the web, sounds like they have solved the treesaddle's one problem with that little stand off bar on the seat. We'll see if it shoots as good as the saddle does.

If pre-drilling, I'll bet the woodpecker system would be great...I just don't have that luxury on anywhere but my place and there I just leave steps screwed in permanently.

See ya in May. By the way, I got the bunkhouse reserved for Aug if you and Mason decide to come. We'll have plenty of room.

[NoCams]

JC,
As I mentioned before..... You will not like shooting out of the Web as well as the Saddle. I do like the Saddle better in that dept. I think with a little practice you could shoot almost as good out of a Web, but that Saddle is something else as far as true 360 shooting.

You climbing spur guys keep us posted and please be careful ! Seems like several very experienced hands are leary of them for trees, but then again Mason and I were watching HeliLoggers on TV last night and they were spurring up to 175 feet topping trees !!!

I would think the big difference would be the type of trees you are climbing, ( soft versus hardwood ) ??? Keep in mind they are hauling a mighty heavy load of tools up with them too. And what about all they moving and shaking when the tree top comes off ? How do they do it safely ?

I do think that a Summit Viper is one of the safest and best gripping climbing treestands on the market. Sometimes on a rough oak or hickory I cannot even get down when I am trying too ! Have to really tilt your feet and push it down the tree. However, a wet Poplar tree is a little slick even for a Viper. I try to avoid it, but when I do climb a wet Poplar I am very careful and make sure the stand has bit into the tree very good before shifting my weight or making any other moves. I trashed my old Loggy Bayou stands after taking a ride down about 6 feet on a wet tree one morning ! The Loggy's climbing band and lack of teeth on the platform made it unsafe on wet trees. JMHO

nocams  

[Landshark160]

The tree gaffs don't cut into the tree any deeper than the pole gaffs do.  Their extra length is to give more reach through vines, or heavy bark like Mr. Wrenn said above.  I mainly use my hooks on exploratory hunts over spots that look promising, but are not proven.  If it's a spot that I know will produce, I drill it with my Woodpecker because I know I will be hunting there multiple times.  The Woodpecker is great for pre-drilling a spot, but it also works well for immediate drilling and hunting.  I can drill my holes and be 20ft. up a tree and on stand in about 10-12 minutes. And you can hold the drill and a dozen bolts in the palm of your hand, what could be better than that?  

[bigbellybuck]

Thanks guys. I'm surprised this topic generated this much attention. Landshark, thats pretty fast. Haven't tried the drill, but I see myself soaked in sweat head to toe with that system.  I was mainly interested in the gaffs for new places also. I know sometimes when I hunt a new spot with my climber, I will usually stand and survey the area for several minutes, trying to visualize my shots, deer movement etc. and sometimes after I do the first hunt, I realize I should have climbed a different tree. It may only be 10 yards away, or it may be more. Either way, seems like a lot of work to drill all those holes before the setup is fine tuned.