Hang on tree stands... who's still out there?

[Huntschool]

I am making next years "want" list

NoCams asked about light weight hang on tree stands the other day and I suggested LocOn Brand.  I have three of these I bought back in 2003 or 04 I think.  They are a great product but I don't see them in retail any more. They do have a web site and are still in business.

Another poster suggested Loggy Bayou.  I realized I had not seen them around and went to their web site.  "Under new management" and everything was out of stock.  This outfit was the hottest thing since sliced bread in the recent past.

Soooo....  I guess I am just wondering who is still out there building a good hang on stand that does not cost an arm and a leg (LW)?  I know Shawn likes Wedge Loc.....

Pics for all of us to see might be good

[gregg dudley]

Jimmy was looking for light weight aluminum so I suggested Gorilla, but I will tell you that my favorite hang-on for putting up and leaving up is the Remington stand they sell at Walmart.  You should be able to pick some up for @ $30 if they have any at the end of the season.  They are big and roomy and I have killed a load of deer out of them.

[ALwoodsman]

My favorite it the Ol' Man Roost

[NoCams]

As Gregg said..... Gorilla steel stands are awesome and cheap if you look around. Big Game is a duplicate of the Gorilla and we have several of those that we LOVE. Again, cheap if you look around. Bought several for less than $50.

The more I think about it and listen to Mason, ( YIKES ), I think I will go back to Dick's and pick up another 3-4 of those $29 steel stands. Yes, they weigh 15lbs but most of the time we will only carry them in 1 time and leave them for the season. Install a $4 cable lock and hope they don't get gone but if they do no huge loss. I would have a pretty good grouch on if I lost a $100+ aluminum stand to a thug !!!

Bruce, most if not all of the steel hang ons at the big box retailers are all made in China and almost all are a copy of one another. Take your pick and look for a bargain price.

[billy shipp]

Loc-on is back.....bought new seats for several last year. They offer a nice, foam, flip up for the old cloth seats.

Loc-On.com
740-984-0366

[Bowwild]

I have several Gorillas. I keep buying them a little bigger. The slightly tilted foot rest is very comfortable.  However, I sometimes use trees that have a bit of tilt to them so I went looking for a hang-on that will accomodate a foreard or backward lean.  I bought an Alpha Wolf for about twice the price of the Gorillas.  Right now you can get them at Dick's on clearnce for $50 cheaper - $149.  They have some adjustablility for leaning trees.  

One of my most comfortable stands is an old Loggy Bayou climber that I use as a hang-on. I simply ratchet strap the back to the tree and in my case I also ratchet the front to another stem of the tree -- the seat is fantasitc.

I've heard the Ole Man stands are very comfortable with the web seats but the store was out of them when I went shopping.

[paleFace]

climax loc-on's are easy to hang, sturdy and comfy. I own 10 of them.  I have several other brands that only get used if i run out of climax stands.

[sleepyhollow]

screaming eagle-best all around hang-on out there, once on the tree this stand will not move

[Wary Buck]

I'm with Gregg and others.  I have way too many stands probably, but give me a bunch of the $29-$39 Menard's stands (Big Game?) and I have lots of options.  I do have a Lone Wolf, and a Screaming Eagle, and some other more expensive ones, but honestly, I hate putting them up and taking them down on the same hunt (with few notable exceptions--Loc On Windwalker and Lone Wolf are easy).  I'd much rather have an arsenal out there so I can walk to my tree shooting my judo as I come (or go) without having to carry in a tree stand each time.

[jrstegner]

If it doesn't have a chain,I don't trust it.
The Ol'Man Roost is excellent, and priced right. The Gorillas are great, but the only chain-on they make is too small for my taste. For my money the Millennium is tops. This stand has a huge platform, is rock solid,light weight aluminum, and by far the most comfortable stand I have ever sat. The seat is like one of those zero-gravity lounge chairs. I think they are about $230.

[JAG]

Chippewa Wedge Loc!

[NoCams]

Bowwild, we are going to make up enough adjustable brackets to fit all our stands so we can adjust for angle. It is the bracket that changes the effective length of the cable where it attaches to the foot platform. Going to fall back on my machining skills if I still got em ???

[DXH]

I have never used a loc-on, I get the principles but how high to you generally go with them? and what method do you use to climb up to the platform?

[gregg dudley]

any of the various climbing sticks work fine.  I usually go between 14 and 18 feet depending on cover and always set it up where I am stepping down into the stand.

[Huntschool]

This is great guys.......

I forgot about the Big Game and I've got one...

Keep em comming....

[DVSHUNTER]

Originally posted by gregg dudley:
Jimmy was looking for light weight aluminum so I suggested Gorilla, but I will tell you that my favorite hang-on for putting up and leaving up is the Remington stand they sell at Walmart.  You should be able to pick some up for @ $30 if they have any at the end of the season.  They are big and roomy and I have killed a load of deer out of them.

yep, I use the cheapies just in case of thieves. They are easy to set up and quiet too.

[macksdad]

Any body use the one from sportsmans guide, the guide gear hang on with climbing sticks for $69. It seems cheap however it has good reviews. I trust you guys opinion alot more than the reviews on their site. Wouldn't feel as bad if the thieves got a $69 stand over a $200 one.

[Bowwild]

This is the time of the year I buy almost all of my stands -- clearance prices.  I rarely move a loc-on during the season unless I deterine my set-up isn't right.  I'll be taking all of them down in another 30 days.

I'm an "edge" hunter. I find myself drawn to locations where openings meet woods, where big woods meet little woods, cedars meet hardwoods, fencelines, etc. I try to put my stands in trees with limbs and in trees adjacent to other trees or multiple-stemmed trees. I do this primarily for cover but I also fee more secure (false?) in trees like this.  

I hunted for more than 10 years in the big woods of the Hoosier National Forest in the 70's out of a Baker climbing stand 20' up trees without branches.  I don't know how I got over the fear of sticking out on the side of a tree on the side of a hill, not even strapped in.  I'm glad I survived my ignorance.

[xtrema312]

I have a mix of old loc-on stands and steel stand that I think were River's Edge at one time and now are just like the baby gorilla, which I also have some of.  All are chain on.  I like that the chain can be wraped around the stand to lock it to the tree.  I can even put the end of the chain through the mesh so I can lock the platform up to keep people from huntig my stands.  These are smaller stand with not the best seats, but I stand and lean against the tree most times.  I also get all my stands and stick ladders on sale at the big box stores after the season. The only high price stand I have is my Lone Wolf Asalt I use to hunt spots I hit a very limited number of times a year or where I am woried about stand theft.

[NoCams]

DXH, we use our woodpecker drill and grade 8 bolts to climb. I can climb 20 feet with 14 bolts and drill that I can hold in one hand. When I leave nobody can climb my tree unless they happen to have treesteps with them.