Prill87's golf analogy as related to hunting is SPOT-ON, PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!
I began bowhunting in 1963 at the age of 12 and nobody in my immediate or extended family bowhunted (had an uncle that gun hunted public land). I had a strange 35 year old acquaintance that did however and he had a Root recurve and had taken a few deer on public lands. He was basically my way of getting to the field as he was married and had a truck. My first bow was a Ben Pierson 45 pound recurve which I could only draw back about 3/4 draw at age 12.
Even then, before it was legal to hunt from trees in Michigan, we did. He's dead now but we (never hunted together in the same tree) would sit in crotches of apple trees, maples, oaks, and my favorite trees were white pines because they offered cover and typically had branches close enough that I could sit on one (sat close to trunk of tree) and have my feet on another below me. The trees also had to have enough branches to be climbable because screw in steps or any type of climbing apparatuses were not available at the time and because apple trees, maples, and pines are easy to climb due to lots of branches, that's why they were our favorites.
In the early 70's when I got a vehicle I began bowhunting alone on public land about 45 minutes from home and even though it was illegal, would nail short pieces of 2X6's in tree crotches to stand on and would nail spikes in trees with a 3# sledge hammer to climb up. I began doing that in the late winter/early spring so that the spikes would rust and the boards would turn color so that they would blend in with the tree better and be more difficult for others to see during season. I guess that's when and why my post season scouting began.
Even in the mid to late 70's when I was an archery buyer/retail floor salesman at Michigan's largest sporting goods store, even though conventional treestands and the old death trap climbers were available, I still chose to stand on tiny blocks of wood as they were harder for other hunters to notice. I did start using screw in steps instead of spikes on state lands and would remove at least the bottom 6 after each hunt so that other hunters would not notice the tree unless they actually chose it to hunt from at which point they would see the higher steps and board.
In 1981 everything changed for me when I bought an Anderson Treesling. It was extremely strange, and at first very uncomfortable and to say the least, awkward. I have always been the type of person that looks at all the positive aspects of an item before dwelling and giving up because of the negative aspects of it. This dam sling thing had so many positives, and other than it being strange, different, and a bit awkward, no real negatives that couldn't be altered out with a little thought.
Here are some of the positives:
-The more adept, and expedient you are at responding to changing deer movement, the better your chances and the sling made mobility rather easy.
-Not only can you easily freelance adjust to ever changing sign during the season, you can have as many trees prepared as necessary prior to season, because you only need one sling to hunt from all of your prepared trees.
-Having many options ready to hunt is a huge advantage.
-You can prepare locations for every potential situation, you do not have to limit yourself to a handful of spots due to the costs of stands.
-Having so many options allows you to rotate sites, which increases your element of surprise and reduces both scent contamination and general human presence at a hunting location.
-A huge advantage is “specific” mobility, making it possible to shoot a full 360° around most trees. Considering that mature bucks often come in (especially during the rut phases) from unexpected directions this is a monstrous advantage. In pressured areas a second chance at a mature buck is rare, so you have to make your sparse opportunities count.
-Another major advantage is general mobility, or the ability to hunt almost any tree in the woods (once your harness system has been altered to do so). It is no longer a question of finding a tree to hunt out of, but finding the right spot and making a nearby tree work.
-With an altered harness system (many alteration ideas on this site) there are few limitations to tree diameter, branches (as with climber limitations), and tree straightness (although trees leaning more than fifteen degrees will not give you the full 360 degree shooting circumference).
-Another form of mobility is the ability to adjust to current circumstances. If you find a hot scrape area or fresh rub line it is no problem to quietly set up and hunt in a matter of minutes as harness systems are made of fabric, not cumbersome metal.
-Weight and stand frames (cumbersome) are also factors when freelancing for fresh sign. Harnesses are lightweight and can be worn in or carried in a pack. This eases opportunities to scout through brush and set up on the spur of the moment.
-Another major advantage when hunting pressured areas (especially public lands) with unknown other hunters is the fact that you can be sure that your stand will be there when you arrive because it is always with you. Stolen treestands are unfortunately a sad fact of life for anyone who hunts state land, or even private property in states with extremely fragmented hunting properties. You can also be guaranteed that no one will hunt your location while you are elsewhere.
-Another big plus is that you can keep the trunk of the tree that you are in between you and the deer. As a non-targeted deer approaches you just slowly ease your way around the trunk, out of sight of the deer. This keeps your silhouette from sticking out from the tree. This is especially important in pressured areas where deer tend to look for hunters in trees. On targeted deer you still remain behind the tree and slightly move to the side when taking the shot.
-Height is another big advantage, especially once the hunting gets good and the foliage is gone from the trees. With a harness system the only height constraint is your ability to get up the tree. There should never be the fear of heights as there is with conventional stands because when used properly you are at all times, tethered to the tree and you can't fall.
-Because harnesses are made from fabric there is no noise concerns with the set-up. This is very important when setting up near or within a bedding area.
-As good as harnesses are, they have one drawback for the dealer that sells them. They are a one-time purchase, no additional harnesses are required to hunt all your locations. Dealers like selling multiple treestands to hunters because they make more profit when they do. They also make money selling a safety system and oftentimes a rope climbing safety system with each stand and with a harness, the safety system is included.
-As with everything that has to do with hunting, the type of hunting system you use is ultimately based on your own hunting situation, abilities, goals, and personal preference. Harnesses are ultimate tools that can be added to a hunters arsenal to increase their element of surprise and dramatically increase their success rate.
Over the years I've made many alterations to my sling and in my opinion have perfected it for my body style.
I have no doubt that well over half of the bucks I've taken since using a sling, would have been taken later by other hunters (likely during gun season) had I not been using a sling harness system.
I also feel very confident stating that if there were 2 hunters of equal hunting skillset and one was adept at using a harness system and the other had to use any form of conventional stand, and they both hunted the same property for the same amount of hunts for a 5 year period, the harness user would kick the stand users you know what, concerning deer kills.
Hunting is an egotistical activity and hunters that knock on harness users, do so because they are intimidated by them and the only way they can react without taking a hit on their ego, is to knock them.