From the Hunting Camp with Michael Little

From the Hunting Camp 

with Michael Little

GEARED FOR PUBLIC LAND

Who’s tired of lugging around that heavy steel stand for a half mile or more?  If you are one of the many public land deer hunters in the area, now is the time to rethink that stand set up.  With today’s climbing stands weighing less than 20 pounds, lock-ons less than 10 pounds, and climbing sticks around 10 pounds or less you have lots of options.  So now, let’s get a little more in-depth on some of these offerings.

Climbing stands have always been a popular stand choice for public land hunting.  I had my first experience with a climbing stand back in the late 80’s with an old Amacker steel climbing stand.  You could climb any tree in the woods with that stand once you got its 30 plus pounds to the tree.  Thankfully companies like Summit and XOP are making climbers from aluminum and both have offerings weighing in at less than 20 pounds.  Couple these light weight stands with XOPs tree stand transport system and that walk in is getting easier.

 Lock-on stands have mostly been used in the past as a fixed position stand, but now manufactures are also using aluminum for lock-ons and climbing sticks. Now they are just as mobile as climbing stands.  Millennium Tree Stands has the M7 Micro Lite Hang On weighing in at a light 8.5 pounds and with their receiver bracket it’s super simple to hang.  Pair this stand with a set of Hawk Helium Sticks and you can easily be up a tree and only carry around 17 pounds of total weight.  We are also excited about a new Louisiana based company that we will be carrying this year called Stacked Outdoors.  They are making climbing sticks using a composite material that is not only light but is also quiet if you bump them into each other or into your stand.

If you are in need of a new back pack or fanny pack to organize all of your gear, check out all the offerings from companies like In Sights, Tenzing, and Alps.  To get that trophy buck or doe out of the woods, we have several different deer carts and sleds.  You may also want to look into a canoe or a kayak to access some of those hard to reach areas.

In closing, now is a great time to get out in the back yard and test out some of this new equipment before our Louisiana summer heat sets in.  Just always remember to be safe and use a safety harness with a linesman belt when hanging that lock-on, and always be tethered in while in that climbing stand.  You know, since you are up in that tree practicing you might as well set that archery target out, pull that bow up into the tree with you and take some realistic practice shots.

Good luck to everyone chasing that dream buck this season and when you catch up with him come by the store and share the hunt and pictures with us.  Also, remember to bring those antlers with you and get entered into our Big Buck Contest.