When up in the ladder stand, you’re definitely limited on where you can store your gear. With a box blind or pop-up, you have room to spread out, but not in a ladder stand. If you’re lucky, the trees around you have strong enough limbs, that you can hang your bow, binoculars, or whatever else. To combat that, our friends at Hawk Hunting and Hunting Made Easy have a few products that can solve this very problem.
Hawk Extendable Tree Arm
Hawk Hunting Xtendible Tree Arm – #1 SELLING PRO-GRADE TREE ARM
Made from aircraft-grade aluminum, the lightweight Xtendable Tree Arm extends from a trim 8.5 inches to 16.5 inches in length. Hawk’s famous Auger Tip threads make installation quick and painless. The patent-pending anti-spin tree cantilever bites into bark and illuminates unwanted spinning or movement of the arm. Once installed, the arm pivots 180-degrees for precision weapon and gear placement. The oversized silent grip hook silently and securely hangs gear. The extendible tree arm also includes claw hanging hooks, allowing for versatile attachment and quick gear organization.
Tactical Solo Tree Hook
Hawk Hunting Tactical Solo Tree Hook – THE ORIGINAL PREMIUM TREE HOOK
Hawk also has a wide variety of hooks, like the Tactical Solo Tree Hook, and this is no typical tree hook. The Tactical Tree Hook features ultra-sharp AugerTip threads that start fast and allow for easy screwing into the densest of hardwoods. No more pain in the hand. The 2.75-inch hook weighs just 2.1 ounces and can hold up to 60 pounds. Each hook is molded with a durable quiet finish and includes a thread-protecting cap, with an attached carabiner that makes transporting the hook a snap.
Hunting Made Easy Hunter’s Combo Pack
Hunting Made Easy – HUNTER’S COMBO PACK – 7″ SAW
Another handy tool that you can easily carry in your backpack when going into a ladder stand, is the Hunter’s Combo Pack from Hunting Made Easy. It contains a five or seven-inch folding saw and a pair of heavy-duty bypass shears. These products work in tandem to cut off any pesky tree limbs that might be in your way.
There’s always one branch. And no it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. I’ve always packed something like this. It’s just, it’s mandatory. And I also use the clippers a lot in turkey season, deer season. The fact that I like is that it gives me a lot better lane, without losing a lot of cover. It just lives in my backpack all the time. – Wade Middleton
https://i0.wp.com/www.deergeartv.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DG_Article-Banner-2.jpg?fit=1219%2C431&ssl=14311219Deer Gear TVhttps://www.deergeartv.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DG_23_LBKGDDS-300x154.pngDeer Gear TV2020-04-27 08:00:512020-04-27 08:40:13Accessories for Your Tree Stand
When you start looking at all the different stands we’ve built, from the common simple “let’s just throw five pieces of brush up here and hide by this tree”, to some of the most extravagant blinds we can build with feeders and food plots in the area, all of them have a special meaning and all of them are enjoyable at the end of the day.
“I just, I love that aspect of it. I mean I think it goes back to a little before as a little kid, whether it’s out of cardboard boxes or building brush to hide when you’re playing cowboys and Indians. I sit here today in my fifties and I still like to build forts and deer blinds just as much now as I did then.” – Wade Middleton
Make-Shift Blinds
You can easily create a make-shift blind simply out of the trees around you.
You know some of the most simple blinds a person can put together is to just take a couple of pallets, spray paint them a little bit, to kind of get some of the shine off of them for a future hunt, throw some brush up around them, and you’re going to find success with those. I’ve even seen those go to massive levels, where you put all kinds of brush around them.
Pop Up Blinds
Using a Pop Up blind like this one is one of the most versatile ways to hunt.
The reality is, there’s not always the perfect tree, where the deer want to be to be able to do that and that’s where the pop up comes in, it’s the most versatile hunting stand that you’re possibly going to find. Pop ups come in a lot of different shapes, sizes, designs, fabrics, and each one of them plays and offers a great asset to you as the hunter. The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s lines of pop ups that we use are designed to maximize what we like to do when using a pop up. You’ve got places to put brush on them, loops on them, they’re big enough that three people can sit in there at times. I like the most durable fabric that I possibly can find so that we’re not taking it down at the end of the hunt. That’s not always going to be possible for some people that may be hunting public land, where they have to take it down. But we’re primarily hunting properties that we can leave them up for long periods. You’ve got a multitude of window configurations (which I’m a big fan of) because you can black some of them out or use the mesh on others. They’re such an important part of hunting from their portability, durability, and their ability to conceal you, in a lot of different situations.
Say you’re just going to a location for a quick catch, you’re not coming back there, Some of the many price point models out there, are probably gonna work perfectly for you. Flip that to another scenario where you’re gonna be hunting a property all year long. You’re gonna wanna invest in one that’s going to withstand all the elements, the changes that are going to be coming in, probably gonna get one a little bit bigger. We’ve used little small one-man ones up to some that I think we could have had a family reunion in, windows at all angles, different types of set-ups within them. And that’s the cool thing about pop ups is, you can find one that’s gonna fit for the situation that you’re gonna be hunting in.
If you start doing research, you’re gonna find a wide range of pop ups available to suit your needs out there. Just think about what you’re gonna use it for. Think about how long you’re gonna use it for. Think about carrying it in long distances, and think about being able to tie it down, anchor it down, or pick it up real fast. Pop ups are without a question, one of the easiest, coolest, best, most versatile ways to set up for any type of a hunting situation.
Box Blinds
Muddy Blinds are designed with the hunter in mind.
Box blinds have really evolved. Some guys go build their own and taking all that into account, but for our investment, we like Muddy Blinds. They are well designed, they have a lot of little features built-in there, a mix of window configurations for a rifle, bow, handgun, or even a crossbow. The design of them is inherently thought out by hunters to be able to give you different options. Whether you’re putting in a big food plot, sticking it up in front of some brush, or you’re going to be cutting senderos, it doesn’t matter. You can put them on the ground, or you can raise them on towers. So, regardless of what you’re looking for, those Muddy blinds, they’re designed straight off the shelf, for lack of a better word, by manufacturers to allow you success.
“The insulation to me is a good selling feature, it can get cool in the winters, so you’ll be able to keep warm. Also, it’s hard to hear someone from the outside when all the windows and doors are shut. They’ve all got the keeper latch, which holds the window up and real easily accessible as far as flipping three knobs, one-handed operation as far as raising and lowering the window. We’ve just started putting three hinges and two locks on the door, which is great because it’s actually pulling the door tighter together and it keeps more bugs out, and it will be a good thing that will last.” – Larry Scott GSM Outdoors
Ladder Stands
Ladder stands offer an elevated vantage point, allowing you to see further and stay out of the line of sight of your game.
Ladder stands can be used in areas where it may be more beneficial to be above the line of sight of your game or if you need a tall vantage point. When you start looking at ladder stands and hang-on stands, not every tree is gonna be designed for this specific stand that you’re messing with. Once you start putting it up you’ve got to be in a place you think you’re gonna find deer, otherwise, why put it up? Then, safety has to come into play. Make sure you get it anchored down, make sure you’re thinking about all of those things. You hear a lot of people talk about tree stand safety, but they probably don’t practice it enough. You want to make sure it’s anchored down, you want straps around it, a lifeline to get up and down, and you want to be tethered in when you’re up there. You want to know that the tree stand and the ladder are working as one, the tree is in good shape, and you’ve taken every precaution and step you possibly can, to get that ladder in place, secured, so you don’t have to worry about it even when the wind is blowing 20 or 30 mph.
See our episode about all the different types of hunting blinds below.
https://i0.wp.com/www.deergeartv.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DG_Article-Banner.jpg?fit=1219%2C431&ssl=14311219Deer Gear TVhttps://www.deergeartv.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DG_23_LBKGDDS-300x154.pngDeer Gear TV2020-04-13 13:51:352020-06-16 16:22:46Deer Stands Comes in All Shapes and Sizes
Finally, a screw-in tree hanger you won’t mind carrying in your pack. Keep your bow and other gear exactly where you want it while hunting with the Hawk™ Xtendible™ Bow Arm. Durable, aircraft-grade aluminum arm extends from a compact 8-3/4″ out to 16-1/2″, working with the 180Á rotating hook to help hunters put their gear right where they want it. Lightweight 8 oz. design carries easily in your pack or pocket. Hardened steel AugerTip™ threads screw into the hardest trees easily. Patent pending Treecam™ Lock bites into the tree for a secure anchor. Oversized, molded soft-grip hook protects the finish of gear set into it, while the arm’s anti-spin TreeCam™ lever eliminates unwanted spinning or movement of the bow arm. Supports up to 15 lbs.
