The recovery is on for Central North Carolina's Deer Herd..... Threeletters EHD.

My apologies for the ridiculously long break in posts.  So much to discuss. Lets start with one near and dear…. The 2014 travesty that was the North Carolina Deer season.  Epizootio Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD).  This is a viral disease, spread by gnats, which causes internal bleeding and is extremely devastating in areas where the deer density is high.  My hunting time was also limited last year so I sat in areas that were known to be high deer traffic areas.  In years past these were gimmees for does.  My goal was meat harvest.  I used 5 vacation days to hunt sun up- down and weekends.  Not only did I not harvest a deer I saw whopping 4 deer, period.  That includes a buck swimming across a lake, a lone doe running along side the road and road kill! Generally, I would see that many per day in front of my neighborhood.  The first sign of bad things to come was the fam across from my office.  Typically we would see herds of 10+ at various times grazing in the corn stalks.  Sometimes as many as 40 deer could be counted.  Last year ZERO.  Not one.  At first I thought it were development pushing deer to new areas, perhaps me… bad wind, timing, perhaps too warm for good movement.  Then gun season began…. A slight up tick but still guys hunting over bait, running dogs  were also coiming up empty  that is when I knew… this would not be good. 

How bad was it? Lets look at number sform some of the numbers comparing the 2013 harvest to the released 2014 harvest.  For camparison we will look at the North-Central counties which have traditionally had some really strong harvests. More importantly, these areas are heavily hunted with hounds, bait and rifles.  I metion this only to say the “great mast” theory does not hold water in this region.  So lets take a look:

County	2013 Harvest	2014 Harvest	Difference in total deer harvested (2014  vs. 2013)	% harvest decline  vs. 2013
Franklin	3,554	1,608	-1,946	-55%
Granville	3,103	1,691	-1,412	-45%
Halifax	5,533	3,921	-1,612	-29%
Vance	2,592	866	-1,726	-67%
Wake	3,279	1867	-1412	-43%
Warren	3,010	1624	-1386	-46%

 That was the past.  2015 I think will be a "good" year.  Early fall into late October provided some great opportunities. Folks were reporting sightings and harvests, I saw more bucks than ever and harvested one with my bow.  One observation, most of the deer look young.  It will be interesting to see how the year finishes with 3 weeks left in the deer season.  Hopefully we'll see more like this one harvested by my frat brother from a stand near Rougmount, NC.

 

An experiment to answer a couple of bow hunting questions

What causes a deer to "jump the string"? It happens within standard hunting ranges (20 to 30 yards),  but I often wonder, why?  Is it the sound of the string snapping upon release? Perhaps the deer sees the arrow in flight or better yet hears the arrow approaching. This weekend I conducted a simulation, an experiment of sorts. From a distance of 33 yards, I shot six arrows at a 5 inch target approximately 6 inches above my iPhone.  Of the six arrows, five were in the 5 inch circle and the outlier was about three quarters of an inch high and to the left.

The recording may not capture the audio as well as being there in person, but from this distance you can clearly hear my feet on the deck and the bow on the table.  You cannot hear the string snap or the arrow's release, but you can definitely hear a whisper just before impact.

This video makes me wonder: is the deer responding to the sound of the shot? This video raises another question: perhaps they're not responding to the sound at all, but instead they are catching movement associated with the process of shooting a bow and the arrows release.  Deer are acutely attuned to any movement. This may explain why shorter shots tend to have more"string  jumping" then longer shots.

http://youtu.be/bucfxIpj090

Based upon the video what is your opinion?

The Saga of the Honey Hole, My Walden

The honey hole is quickly becoming my go to place.  It is not the best place.  It is not the most remote.  The deer are not guaranteed to move through.  I have only seen two bucks there in three years. The deer are ridiculously skittish and prone to go nocturnal.  But it is convenient to my home, less than a quarter mile away, isolated and there are deer, coyote, squirrels, and raccoons.   Public hunting land is nearby, but the proximity to the honey hole often wins out.  It's my Walden.

Last November, I logged my third and final deer of the season. Despite three hunts in front of hounds and several trips to the "big woods", fittingly my last deer was a doe from the honey hole.  A last minute hunt, during the middle of the day.

The season is over, but she will be there.  Each afternoon, I will walk my dog along the edge of my suburban oasis and invariably there will be whitetail deer to wave, "good bye".  Perhaps tomorrow I'll visit again, bow in hand and sons in tow to hunt squirrels and rabbits in the fresh snow.

Now, I turn to the flyrod and bassbugs; spinning reels and floats, baitcasters and cranks.  Standing in a stream, waders on, and "waving a stick"..... my favorite way to hunt.

First Deer of 2013 - Archery Hunt

I had a few days off and got in some great public land hunts.

Day 1: Temperatures dropped into the low 30's overnight. The high temperature for the following day was expected to be in the mid 50's.  After weeks of warm temperatures in the 70’s and 60’s, deer should be on the move.  I intended to hunt an archery zone where buck or doe harvest was legal.  So, after dropping the kids off at school I, met up with my hunting partner and headed out to the woods.  The lunar calendar said it was a great day with prime activity between 10am and 1pm.  A pre-hunt inspection of my bow revealed a serving that was coming apart.  We had time so I went back to the house grabbed a shot gun and hit a different piece of public land open to firearms.  About 11:15am I caught a glimpse of a large mature buck crossing a shooting lane about 60 yards off.  I watched as he followed a ridgeline headed my way.  I lost him in the trees.  About 15 minutes later I am surprised by the sound of shots fired behind me, I turned and between me and my partner stood a 6 pointer.  I got off one shot at 16 yards and missed. 

Day 2: After doing some cleaning around the house I decided to do an afternoon hunt.  After all, the trusty calendar said the prime time for today was 2:40pm - 4:10pm.  I prepared to go out with the shot gun when the phone rings..... My bow is ready!  I ran out figuring I could pick it up about noon, sight it in at the shop and hit the woods by 2pm.

With bow in hand, I slipped in downwind of an established travel corridor.  In the past, I have seen rubs along the ridge, lots of deer passing through and one or two mature bucks.  This corridor is a deer favorite because it provides access to the entire property without crossing any open areas and all wind is funneled through.  They can smell and hear anyone the moment they step into the woods.  However, if you make your way within 30-40 yards of the ridgeline, there is a prevalent cross wind that carries your scent away from the corridor. A perfect ambush site.

I reach my tree and climb up about 25 feet with a Lone Wolf hand climber. I tie off my life line, notch an arrow and take a seat. Less than 5 minutes into the hunt, to my right, I see a large doe making her way out cautiously testing the wind.  Immediately I know her, the Nanny Goat.  I and this ole girl have been going at it for a few seasons. She is a very large and mature doe.  Almost every time I hunt this area, I lock wits with the Ol’ Nanny. Her markings are very distinct. I have watched her lead the herd in this heavily travelled corridor of public land for at least 3 seasons.  She is the first one to appear and the guardian who stomps, snorts and blows to warn everyone else.  Smart and wily, I have been busted by her more times than not. In fact, she got wind of me a week earlier.  I only saw her, but she stomped and it sounded like a cavalry scattering in the forest around me.

She appeared about 60 yards out surveying the tree line.  I could see several more does about 20 yards beyond her eating.  She was on sentinel duty, as usual, apart from the group.  She gradually began to forage and wandered out of sight into the trees. I know this game.  She wanders away out of sight, but keeps an eye on whatever in the tree line got her attention. While foraging, she will constantly circle the area to catch wind of anything untoward and peak into the canopy for anything unusual, movement. I did not move and barely breathed for fear of giving off enough scent to blow my cover.  If she picked me off again, it would be same story…. I draw at a deer, she stomps, snorts and everyone runs.  

Like a ghost she re-appeared just beyond a tree about 40 yards out from me, head down, eating mushrooms. She was unaware of my presence and totally relaxed.   I had no intention of taking a shot that far.  I practice out to 50 yards, but 30 yards is about where I draw the line for hunting.  I had a narrow shooting lane and figured she would stay in that position until she finished the mushrooms off.  The canopy hid my silhouette. I could draw smoothly, set a good anchor, aim and hold it for as long as needed. I decided to give it a go; waited for the wind to settle; aimed small and released the arrow.  The shot was true.  I was able to trace the flight and heard a solid thud. She jumped turned and trotted off about 75 yards, made a hard right turn and disappeared over a hill.  I stayed in the stand focused on the last spot I saw her. Trying to memorized everything about that last positive sighting just in case there was no trail to track.  In the distance I heard rustling in the leaves.  I knew then she was down, I was certain that I finally got the Nanny Goat.

She was much bigger than I expected. No camera tricks, her body is as large as it looks below. She has some very distinct markings on her that allowed me to identify her.  This, to me, is the equivalent of a trophy buck, an OLD doe. The smartest deer I have ever hunted.

Time to catch up!!!

Wow, January 14^th was my last post.  This has been an extremely busy summer. Aside from the usual (family, life, and obligations) I committed to forging a new career path and as such, I have had to sacrifice “recreational time” for long-term reward… delayed gratification I guess. I have a lot to catch up on a short period of time so I’ll be posting quite frequently before discussing my annual hunting objectives and gear about a week or two before the September 7^th opener. New gear to show and strategies to employ for 2013.

We did make it out for our annual turkey bow hunt, but without success.  Not even a gobble this year.  We had a larger blind, better decoys, but no turkeys decided to visit.

 

We left with expectations to return, but it didn’t happen as I traveled out of the country for a couple of weeks and returned to a rainy and cool North Carolina. The start of a trend we never saw coming.  On the positive side we found lots of deer sign and this incredible rub? I don’t know what to make of it and would welcome any opinions. 

 

 

The rub extended from about just above level ground to I’d estimate close to 6’ and went around the circumference of the tree.  This picture was taken in early April and the tree was probably about 8” - 9” in diameter.  Several people have suggested bear.  I am not saying it is impossible, but they are not recognized as resident in the area.  Regardless, there were deer sign all over and one even paid a visit to the blind.

As always, I like to finish with some wildlife pictures and a story.  I was waiting inthe parking lot for my son's science fair to begin.  It was a warm late spring day and a brief rain shower did little more than wet the asphalt.  I got out of the truck for what I figured would be a really cool picture of condensation rising from the hot asphalt.  Little did I know that on the other side of my truck was a large strikingly colored copperhead.  These snakes are incredibly beautiful and the wet asphalt only highlighted it.

 

 

 

Not much for scale here but he was about 3 feet +/- a little.  Longer than most, but not as thick as expected for the length.   Generally, copperheads are pretty docile and the larger specimens even more so.  I decided to take a few pictures and move him out of the way.  This guy was warming himself on the hot asphalt and was at about an 8 on the activity scale to start and quickly went off the chart! He probably didn’t like me hovering over him taking pictures either.

 

I knew that if he stayed here, as parents arrived for the science fair, he would be killed.   Not that I would argue with it as he posed a real threat to young children. I got the stiff butt end of a fishing rod, placed him in a sack and a moved him to the safety of a set aside/creek a fair distance from the school with access to a non residential wooded area.  

 

He left me a few parting gifts on the cork of my rod to show his gratitude for moving him to safety.  These snakes are not endangered and I chose to move him becuase he was not a threat to anyone at that time and there really wasn't any reason to dispatch him.  As a sportsman and outdoorsman I understand that everything has its place.   Please do not take this blog entry as an endorsement of interacting with a venomous snake or any unidentifiable species.  Any wild animal is a danger when it feels threatened.

Nearly 70 degrees in December and I have a day off from the office.  The kids will be in school until 3pm, what to do…… sit in the house, watch television?!?!?!  Nope, I’ve had buck fever since last night.   Today will probably my last time to hunt for more than say 2-3 hours at a clip.  In reality, I MIGHT get out maybe once or twice more during the Christmas break (weather permitting) and that will be it for the 2012 deer season.  Within an hour I was standing in the woods trying to decide where to hunt.  My usual spot would be the easiest to access, but I decided not to go there.  My instincts told me to take my climber and hunt a different location.  From my usual stand, I passed on many does and spikes for a mature buck.  The location was good but, I believe we are now late or early post-rut and the patterns have changed. 

I noticed that the does always came from the west, but one mature buck (and maybe a second) always came from the east.  I have long suspected they entered the corridor via a funnel bordered by a high ridge on one side, water on the other and scrub pines in the ravine.  I was certain they bedded there as well, because the wind is almost always perfect and renders the area almost unapproachable.  It was near perfect.   There is a catch; I noticed a strong cross wind.  If you were able to get close to the water on and about 50 yards from to entrance, the cross wind is consistent enough to carry your scent away from the funnel and out to the water.  So I got set up in a tree at the edge of the funnel above the cross wind and about 25 feet up to maximize the cross current scent cover.  Should those does return and approach from behind, I am good. 

About 5 minutes after I settled in, two nice mature does appeared like ghost at the entrance of the ravine where I expected the buck. I waited hoping for either the buck or a younger smaller doe (better eating) to follow them out into the clearing.  They were feeding beneath a tree I ranged at 45 yards.  I watched them for about 20-25 minutes and learned a lot about deer behavior and how sounds affect their behavior and level of alertness (the sounds of cars, horns, sirens, dogs, people talking even doors opening and closing carry much farther than I thought).  After getting caught up in observing the does, two things came to mind: this is a really good spot, they have been inside of 50 yards for almost 30 minutes and have yet to see, hear or wind me; secondly, his may be my last or one of my last outings for the season and I have not punched a single tag!!!! 

So I decided to take one of these does as it appeared there was nothing behind them.  I reached down (love the Lone Wolf platform’s bow/gun mount), grabbed my bow, flipped the seat up and slowly rose into position to stand for the shot.  The larger doe moved into a shooting lane and stood in front of a tree 30 yards out.  She looked down; I drew the bow, held the pin just behind her shoulder and let it go.  I saw the arrow nock light up and disappear.  She jumped, spun around and both does ran off together.  I watched them run side by side for about 75-100 yards then I only saw one tail waving over the hill.  From my stand, I could see the arrow nock.  It was still illuminated and I knew from the positioning it was a hit.

I waited about 15 minutes packed up my stand; threw it on to my back and headed over to the arrow.  Covered in pink slightly foamed blood and missing a vane.  Good and bad………. Good: probably a solid lung hit, she will fall inside 100 yards or so.  Bad: lung shots don’t provide much of a blood trail and worse, it is starting to drizzle.  I searched no blood, but I could see a trail of disturbed leaves in the direction they ran.  Not 100% sure she was down I backed out went home, ate left over pizza, answered email from the office and about 3 hours later grabbed my secret weapon…….. Jake, our trusty German short haired. 

No, not a trained hunting dog, but he points and tracks rabbits and anything else all over the yard.  Last month, he chased deer into the woods and was lost for about 4 hours.  I took him to the arrow; he sniffed it and on queue took off dragging me up the hill.  Without coaxing he was going exactly where the deer ran!!! I was excited but trying to keep from getting dragged on my face by a near 70 pound dog in full trot.  We went over the hill and I felt we were way past where I thought she was but I let him run.  He stopped and started back and forth until he got a scent and dragged me within 10 yards of her!!!  It finally hit me, he followed the scent of the first deer over the hill where I saw her, then doubled back to the down deer that was now dropping a little blood. He tracked her perfectly, they ran together and she doubled back to lie down… Jake did it!

Great fun on a last minute hunt. 

Almost one year ago (April 12, 2011), I initiated this blog with a post about a wily turkey that eluded us for an entire season (The Screamer).   That old Tom had me and my two sons obsessed with turkey hunting.  Addicted!  We were up and ready to hit the woods every Saturday morning!  The only things that kept us away from the woods were a tornado and…….. well that’s about it!  We were off to a hot start, turkey hunting every weekend we could.  Not much fishing, but enough success to feel like I accomplished something.  I did catch my largest cat fish ever!  I was ready for what I expected to be a fun and successful deer season.  Lots of prepping, scouting and practicing.  Some pretty in-depth posts about bow hunting public land  and selecting the right tree-stand for the hunt.  Of course work and life forced a little hiatus and I literally only got to hunt or fish about half as often as I expected.  That’s the life of a Dad.  Not that I’m complaining.  The fish and game will likely be there for as long as I’m able to follow them, but little league football, dance recitals, science fairs, Daddy Daughter dances and family bike rides are fleeting.  My two little hunting buddies are bound to grow up and move on.  They may return, but for now I’ll enjoy the time we have.

Please follow and enjoy as I attempt to make year two more entertaining and informative than year one!  In addition to posts about fishing, deer and turkey hunting, I will expand my topics to include some new things I’ll be exploring in 2012:

·         Gardening (flower and veggie gardens)

·         My first attempt at fly tying

·         Creating a sportsman “EDC” not the urban survival type…… 
·         Reviews of equipment (some old, some new ) for the field and the water.

Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank all those whom followed my rookie season of blogging.    I’ve received a number of emails from friends, family, people surfing through and followers.  To you, I say thanks.  The notes were encouraging and I will post much more regularly in 2012.   Kev2380 thanks for asking about me last weekend (I’ll post a short review of our Eno river fly fishing trip shortly).  River Mud, thanks for listing me as a blog to follow in the River Mud blog!!!!  I got a huge spike in views after your listing and hopefully I’ll keep them coming back and perhaps even following! 

About 16 posts +/- a few last year.  I expected to make about 24 or more.  This year looks a bit more promising.   While I missed the turkey opening, I will probably get after the screamer in about 2 weeks.  No… I am not worried about someone else getting him.  Judging by the number of folks hunting the archery zones and actually bagging a bird using archery gear………. He’ll be there.  Before I end this post, I am going to set some 2012 challenges and I’m posting them here so I can’t back out…. 

1.       Harvest three archery deer (any sex).  Two for the food kitchens to help feed the hungry (donation via Hunters feeding the Hungry) and one for the grill!!!!!!!

2.       Harvest one turkey using archery gear

3.       Catch, photograph and release a “Neuse River Slam” on the fly: largemouth, striper, and catfish.

4.       Catch and photograph an Eno River roanoke bass on the fly

5.       Bonus: Harvest an archery feral hog.

Spring is here, a season of re-birth and renewal for the outdoorsman.  Time to get started on 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A wrap up of the 2011 Deer Season

I intiated this post November 2, 2011... edited it December 29, 2011 and didn't remember to review and release it until well....... now (January 16, 2012).  What can I say? Life happens and sometimes a lack of time for hobbies or play is an indication of great things to come and memories in the making. 

Football, school, work and (gasp) social invitiations significantly limited my opportunities.  The biggest factor being little league football (Pop Warner).  My Wife has had enough of football and she has never been one for hunting or fishing. She was not exactly thrilled by prospects of bowl games, big plays, road trips, last minute victories and..... a trip to the playoffs.  So let's take a moment to blog out a quick review of the 2011 deer season before we move on to the 2012 fishing season. 

• Hunt 1: The season 2011 deer season started September 8, 2011.  Our first hunt didn't take place until mid-October.  The temperature was above normal in the mid 70's.  The warm temperatures meant food was abundant and as a result, the deer were scattered about, well into pre-rut patterns and  pretty much nocturnal.  So the boys and I hunted from a pop-up ground blind.  A shoot through blind is great for this type of hunting because: it holds in odors; is very mobile; and most importantly it is really the only way to hunt with two restless boys.  We set up about 4 yards off a 20 yard cutover with lots of natural cover, acorns, tracks and other signs of heavy traffic.  I took some "doe pee" and began covering our scent trail in and the perimeter around the blind.  About 15 yards from the blind in a hardwood stand I look up and there are 3 does looking at me!  I stare at them, they stare at me.  After what seemed like an hour (a few seconds), I blink, they snort and wave goodbye.  End of the day.........

• Hunt 2: Started pretty much the same, but I did not go on a long walk to cover our scent this time!  I just cleaned up our scent around the blind (quickly and queitly) and hunkered down expecting the does to come back up the trail.  About an hour into the hunt, I looked out of the window and what did I see coming in? A coyote!!!! I got around to a stable position and tried to draw my bow when I realized that I had my release strapped on backwards. We had a really good wind and he was no more than 10 yards out when he heard me fumbling with the strap and/or the boys moving in for a better vantage point to watch.  Did he run?  No, he actually circled us about 10 yards out then drifted 15 yards and stopped to look back at us. I shuffled again to turn his way, drew back and he jumped behind a log and slowly walked away. We must have done a great job of playing the wind.  He went about 20 yards further and started digging at something under a tree. I think he heard us again, moved to try to wind us, didn't get a good bead on us, but was nervous enough to move on. They are smart! He just seemed to keep outside of my shooting lanes.  Of course about 5 minutes later in that general direction, I saw the does we were waiting on take off tails flashing. If the coyote couldn't wind us from 10-15 yards, I don't think the does got us from about 40-50 yards. I suspect they either ran up on the coyote digging or got his scent and ran off.

•  Hunt 3: The third hunt was an evening hunt from a treestand (~2 hours) which I actually tried to blog live.  The most exciting part about it was that it took place on Christmas Eve a few hours before church.  This time I hunted a nice parcel behind my home.  As as soon as I sat in the stand, I heard dogs barking in the background.  and shortly after I saw about 4 does high tailing it across a ridge.  I never saw what was chasing them, but I didn't see any dogs or hunters either.

•  Hunt 4:  The fourth was a last ditch effort to avert a 2011-2012 skunk!  The boys and I grabbed the groundblind and headed out to a known travel corridor for some does.  This hunt occurred on the very last day of the season, during the last two hours of shooting light. Our last chance.  We waited, desperately watching the tree line for any hint of deer or movement.  Suddenly, in the very last minute of light, there appeared a head bobbing.  It just appeared like a ghost. I could see a really nice mature doe, but she was quartering hard towards us and about 10 yards out, from the corner of the blind.  A really bad bow shot.  I needed two steps .  Just then, a light wind, I heard a short.  BUSTED! Suddenly, it seemed the woods came alive around us!! Deer were everywhere!  Their camo is perfect!  Never saw them.  My boys were adrenaline junkies at this point!  We didn't get one this year, but the final hunt was exciting enough to bring us back. 

The 2011 deer season is over............. 4 months until we hunt the screamer again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time to practice!

Hunting Public Land Part 2 of 2: Treestand Selection.

So, let’s continue looking at the “challenges” of hunting public land a how this influences tree stand selection, factors to consider and some modifications I’ve made in response to experiences in the field.

Generally speaking, in North Carolina and Virginia screw in steps, lug bolts, nails or any other such “permanent” climbing aids are prohibited on public land.   Our regulations allow for the building of natural ground blinds or even leaving a tree stand attached to a tree.  Permanent structures remaining after the season are prohibited.  More importantly, you don’t want to leave something you really like in the woods too long or someone might like it better than you – hence my “carry in-carry out” rule.

The areas I hunt are spread over about 60,000 land acres of public “multi-use” land open to hiking, wildlife watching, camping, biking and fishing.  Some areas are within close proximity of residential dwelling and are limited to archery equipment.  Other areas are heavily wooded and open to deer hunting with muzzleloaders, rifles, shotguns even the use of dogs.  Highly pressured and/or mature bucks and does on public land survive by patterning hunters and making use of areas rendered ‘un-hunt able’ per human habitation, the unwillingness of hunters to take on the thick nasty stuff, or a lack of trees most hunters find suitable for many traditional tree stands.  

Given these conditions, the ideal public land set-up would be extremely portable to carry long distances over rugged terrain hunting game signs; adaptable to almost any tree, easily transitioned from area to area most of which may be unfamiliar and stealth to hide from people as much as game.  After all, if an area has ‘telephone pole’ trees and easy access it is likely to be highly pressured.   

So let’s look at the set up that I ultimately settled upon, the Gorilla Silverback Scout. 

This is an aluminum hang-on type stand that weighs in at a verified 10 pounds even (including all straps).  The stand is very light.  Light enough to hold in place with one hand as you attach the stand to the tree.   Unlike the comparable Lone Wolf or Muddy Hunter Pro stands which have adjustable seats and platforms, the Gorilla has only an adjustable seat.  The Lone Wolf is crafted from a solid one piece platform whereas the Gorilla and Muddy stands have the typical welded platforms.  In theory, the Lone Wolf’s platform should be quieter as welded platforms are known to creak in very cold weather.  I hunt in Virginia and North Carolina.  During deer season, temperatures will range between 80 and 32 degrees Faranheight with only occasional dips lower during mornings late in the season.  So, that not really a concern.  However, the Gorilla Silverback Scout costs about $100.00 less than the Lone Wolf Assault of comparable size and weight. 

To climb, I use Lone Wolf climbing sticks. 

They weigh in at about 2.5 pounds each, very quiet to climb, and solid.  They were engineered to stack and are adaptable to pretty much any tree you might encounter.  The sticks come in packs of three and most people will use 3 to 5 (I generally carry 5 sticks which weigh ~ 12.5 pounds).  I am 5’7” and 4 sticks will get me about 16’ high without any dangerous maneuvers and comfortable steps.  If you are closer to 6’ tall then you might make 18-20’.  The 5^th step isn’t always needed but it does allow me to reach 20’ and step down on the stand for safety.  The single post design of the Gorilla Silverback Scout tree stand allows the Lone Wolf climbing sticks to stack lock on for portage as if they were engineered to do so.  

Regardless of the stand selected, I intended to make a few modification to “quiet the stand an enhance durability”.  Basically, I coated the stand with a rubber undercoating then sealed it with a coating of bed liner followed by a coating of camouflage paint and ACU camouflage.  In the dark things hit and bump. Metal on metal is an unnatural sound that will wake for the forest especially mid fall though winter.  As the humidity falls sounds travels better and the metal seems to attain a higher pitch. This process results in a stand that produces a light “thud” instead of a forest awakening tuning fork style “tiiiiinnnnggg!!!!!!!”.

If you are interested in quieting your stand down (highly recommended for Summit stands), here is an overview of the process:

Step 1:  Disassemble the stand, remove all, straps, cords, labels, tags and scuff up the existing paint or roughen up other  smooth surfaces with sandpaper.

Step 2: Coat the stand with a layer of roll-on Herculiner bed liner (preferred for climbing stands) or spray on Duracoat bed liner and let it dry.  The key here is to ensure the final coat dries with a roughened surface to improve grip on rainy days. 

Step 3: Add a coat of rubberized auto under liner.  This is a rubber spray on substance that can be found at almost any car parts store.  I purchased a can of the Scotch Guard brand for about $6.  This is probably the longest step.  This stuff smells pretty strong so I leave it outdoors to “cure” and loose some the odor.  It won’t totally go away, but we’ll take care of the remaining odor in step 4.

Step 4: Coat the parts with a couple coats of flat camouflage paint.  Kryon is great and runs about $3 a can, but the $0.97 flat hunter green from Wal Mart works just as well.   The critical aspect of painting after the rubber liner has cured is that the paint will seal in the odor.  From here you have options:

allow the paint to cure, reassemble, and add your carry straps or.........

add a camouflage pattern using additional "camo" colors, stencils or add a layer of camouflage duct tape.  Below, I added some ACU digital camouflage to the stand and the sticks.  Note how the climbing sticks stack on the stand.   The stands attachment belt makes a great tool for cinching it all together for portage.  Absolutely silent and with the MOLLE shoulder straps and belt you barely feel it upon your back.  Great for long hikes.

Other popular choices for hunting public land are

Climbing stands:  The first stand I purchased was called the Summit Viper Xtreme. 

 It was nearly identical to the ever popular and Summit Viper with one exception.  The Summit Viper is aluminum and weighs in at 21 pounds ready to hunt.  The Viper Xtreme is a steel version that weighs in at about 28 pounds and about $70.00 less.   With a MOLLE kidney belt and shoulder straps to distribute weight along your waist, the viper Xtreme is a great value, mobile and highly efficient.  However, as noted above, quite often the best trees for a climber are often associated with easily accessible areas and high hunting pressure.  Typically, the best forage trees are not as amenable to climbing stands as say pines.

Ground blinds: Mobile, very adaptable and great for taking out children or new hunters as they are great at hiding movement.  Scent control is critical as is and finding a place to set up.  While I have used them as a carry in and out system on public land they are at their best when they can be left in the field.

Tree Saddle: The most mobile, stealth and adaptable set up I found involved a hang-on sling type seat called the Trophyline “Tree Saddle”. 

The design allows you to hug the tree and lower your profile by keeping the tree between you and the deer, much like a squirrel.  You can use device this on any tree big enough to hold your weight and the thinner, gnarlier and forked the better.   This was my number one choice.  Unfortunately, Trophyline appears to be either out of business, out of stock or somewhere in between.  The result has been a ridiculous rush on saddles via eBay and classifieds.  I purchased a neoprene “Real Tree” version last February (wanted a leather “Roads trips” edition) on EBay for $169.00.  I shot from it a few times and it wasn’t bad.  Overall, the set up was about 20.5 pounds (saddle/accessories – 8 pounds, 5 climbing sticks 12.5 pounds).  After several sits in the saddle and looking at some of the newer ultra portable lock-ons, I realized that many of these smaller platform stands were comparable to the saddle in adaptability, stealth and portability.  For example, the Lone Wolf Assault, Muddy Hunter Pro, and Gorilla Silverback Scout HX, all weigh in at about 10-11 pounds, have adjustable seats and with 5 Lone Wolf climbing sticks they are in the same 20-21 pound range as the saddle.