hang on tree stand advice needed

[silent sniper]

Hello everyone, I am considering adding a hang on stand to bag of tricks this year.

 I currently have a lone wolf sit and climb climber that I like fairly well. The stand works well and is very safe. My only complaint is that I have to lower the top seat and stand the whole time if I want to be able to shoot to my left/right. Also I am tired of getting busted by deer after the leaves fall off because I can only climb trees without limbs and I get easily sky-lined.

With a hang on, I would be able to hunt just about any tree, along with being able to get set up between the limbs which should hide me very well.

Here are my questions/concerns with the hang on.

1. First and foremost it must be safe. I feel safe while using the climber and my harness and I want to make sure I am just as safe using a hang on. Falling out of a tree can end things very quickly.

2. It must be easy to set up. It takes me roughly 15 minutes with my climber to get up the tree and set up. Can you set up a hang on in the same amount of time?

3.I hunt many different areas and I pack my stand out every hunt as I never know where I may be hunting at next. So I would be setting up the hang on every time I went hunting. Is this possible/practical?

4. I have been looking at the lone wolf hang on stands along with the millennium hang on stands. Any opinions on either of these stands?

5. What works better, a connected 1 piece climbing stick or a 4 piece climbing sticks ? I see lone wolf came out with a 1 piece climbing stick this year and I have mixed opinions on it. I feel it would be more stable to climb, but it seems you would have to find a pretty straight tree to use it. With a 4 piece you would be able to place the steps wherever you wanted instead of simply straight up the tree.

Sorry for the long message, I am trying to get a feel for whether the hang on stand is going to work for me or not. As long as it is safe, easy to set up, light weight, and practical than I think it would work well for what I need.

lastly, what are your opinions on hang on stands in general when compared to climbers ? I would like all the advice I can get! Thanks in advance, SS.

Where I hunt, climbers are useless. There are nearly no trees straight enough to use them. I have a stash of GameTamer lock ons. These are no longer made, but WoodseyToo makes one almost the same. The Gametamer is the most comfortable hang on tree stand there is, and it is very adjustable for tress where the trunks are not straight.

1. Like with everything, there are cheaply built and less safe stands out there, and there are well built and very safe stands out there.

2. A hang on with sticks will generally take a bit longer to setup/take down than a climber. One more thing, a lot of hangons attach to the trees with screws that bore into the tree. Esp if you are hunting public ground, you need to make sure of the regulations regarding screwing things into the trees. Some places do not allow that at all.

3. You can setup/take down every hunt, but it will take longer, and there will be more separate pieces to cary in/out.

4. I have never used LW or Millinium so I am no help on this one.

5. Which sticks to use depends a lot on the tree you will be climbing. If your tree is fairly straight, the 4 pc that goes together works good, If your tree is not very straight, then the separate pcs are better. If you can only go with one, go with the separate pcs.

Bisch

[Steve O]

I'd stick with Lone Wolf or go with the new XOP by the original LW owners.  You are used to the product.

4 sticks is almost always better than one.

[old_goat2]

Check out video 29 I think on the linked page, he's a sponsor on here
 http://tbwpodcast.com/category/videos/

[stagetek]

I would recommend XOP. Cody is doing an excellent job. His dad, Andre founded Lone Wolf. Now made in Iowa, great stands and sticks again.

[KSdan]

I can get up and down a tree easily as fast with a LW and 3-4 sticks as with a climber.  I time myself often- and 8 minutes or less is not uncommon.  Old Goat linked you to Jason's podcast. .  also check out a conversation he had with me about hunting and portability amongst other things.   http://tbwpodcast.com/episode-105-interview-with-dan-rudman-on-hunting-east-vs-mid-west/

Also- he is doing another podcast with me in late summer for the entire process of how I access stands, climb trees, and modify my equip.  

With that said- there are some new more economical alternatives to LW/Sticks, like Hawk and Muddy products. But truly, you can not really beat LW as a top line dead quiet stand and stable equip.

Dan in KS

[amazonjim]

I have the larger millennium and I believe one of the most comfortable and it has the slide in adapter that makes it easy with several of these to use the same stand in several locations.

I use the small 3 piece ladder, they bulky to put up but good and stable. I also use buck steps which are more portable and also are stable.

[TGbow]

Check out the Big Game Bravada. Light weight,12 lbs. The B Game sticks attach well and packable.

[longbow fanatic 1]

I use the Lone Wolf stand and stick combo and love it. Her is a video to show the style of pack-in/hunt/pack-out style of system. I've used this style of hunting and it is slick. Very efficient and quick.

 

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Great Post, I am in the same situation here.

[kevsuperg]

I like my like my lone wolf with 4 sticks.
Quick, quiet , comfortable and safe.

[ChuckC]

Chippewa wedgelock made a great stand system, well made stands.  They retired about a year or so ago, not certain if the business was sold and continued or not.   My choices would be one of those or a LW .  I use the Lone wolf sticks ( 4 of em) and I can go almost anywhere I need to.  I can do it pretty quietly and pretty quickly, but I had a lot of practice since I hunt public and have to take it out every day.

Of course, I would be leaving out some important feelings if I didn't point out that a good ghillie suit and some practice will make you reassess the need to even be IN a tree.
ChuckC

[tracker12]

Lone Wolf Hang-ons for me also.  Lots of other good ones out there but I find the LW to be the quietest in the cold weather.  Key aspect when I am using traditional gear.

[PaulDeadringer29]

Chippewa is still in business and an excellent stand. My brother ordered one last fall and it is by far the easiest stand we have ever hung.....really stable too. He also bought 4 XOP sticks and his whole setup is about 15 lbs. His setup is lighter, quieter, and faster to setup than my Summit climber. I'm going to the same setup as him this fall.

[Nuctech]

I have been using a muddy hang on with the super mount system and a set of 4 muddy climbing sticks the last couple of seasons. I can get up in a tree in 15 minutes and be ready to hunt. another good stand to look at for really crazy trees is twisted timber treestands. Here is a little write up I did
on how I use mine on public land.   http://www.midwesttrappingandhuntingsupply.com/blogs/news/15779628-public-land-deer-hunting

Happy Hunting!
Gabe

[IndaTimber]

Another LW stand and stick user here.  I've tried some of the others mentioned above but settled on the LW.  I also have a summit climber and now choose the LW even on trees that the summit would work in.

[grouseshooter002]

You should look at the Screaming Eagle tree stands web site or try and find someone willing to part with theirs. These stands are as rugged and silent  today as they were when Paul Brunner started building them.

Regards,
Grouse

[KentuckyTJ]

One big thing I look for when buying a hang on is when it is attached to the tree am I able to climb into it from straight below it. The large platform stands that are wide in the back are very hard to climb around and create very dangerous contortions to get into stand sometimes. I like my hang-on platforms to be small square platforms or if larger I like them pie shaped in the back. If all that makes sense.

[stagetek]

XOP is now making a new seat as well. Nicely padded and comfortable. It does fit all the older LW stands.

[Nuctech]

Kentucky TJ, that makes sense to me thats why I have been using the muddy outfitter lite for awhile. its really easy to put up and climb into. I used to use a cheaper wide platform stand and I felt like a circus acrobat climbing into that thing in the dark.

Gabe