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Stealthy, which method?

Diesel40

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2018
Messages
99
Location
Southwest Illinois
With all the methods and options we have to climb, particularly with mobile methods, which do you think is the most stealthy for you? Rope methods(SRT, MRT, JRB), one stick, no stick, multiple sticks, bolts…..etc. If you know you are going to be setting up close to bedded deer and had to choose between your options, which method do you feel will get you up the tree the stealthiest.

Rope climbing methods have my largest interest right now. I feel they are the safest and having a previous fall that matters to me. That’s how I got into saddle hunting initially. I like the idea of preset paracord as the cheapest method to have multiple setups ready to go for your preferred rope climbing technique, but when hunting new ground can presents challenges. I think rope is easier to pack and carry. I enjoy SRT and I am still working on JRB. I just don’t feel like I am as stealthy when using these methods compared to sticks

what’s your experience??

Sticks are tried and true method for me, but I get tired of packing them.

I haven’t tried one stick yet

No stick hasn’t worked well for me.
 
I mainly 1stick but I don’t think it’s super stealthy. If I hunt near water and I have to pee I usually rappel down and pee in the water “probably not necessary”. Then I SRT with a hand climber and foot loop. That is super stealthy IMO.
 
I think every one has an advantage and is stealthy if practiced. I'm think I'm gonna end up in the rope climbing camp my self soon. But only down fall to the rope is the throw ball. Unless you have a pre set.
 
Throwball is not very loud either,but you do need some light for that. But then you need some light to know what tree to get into.
I have been walking into a new area in the dark on a morning hunt and wait for grey light to pick a tree and throw a line up.
I will do more presets this year though,but I hunt way more afternoons than mornings.
 
I’d have to go with bolts and multiple sticks. One sticking and 2tc can be quiet but you have to go pretty slow, really take your time and be methodical and intentional with your placement and movement
 
Some will say that one sticking is noisy, I say they are noisy. Here a pic of a buck that walked right under my butt while I was one sticking up. I heard him walking in the leaves, turned around and he walked straight under the tree I was climbing with me about 12 feet up hanging on the side of the tree with everything on my back. I could have spit on him. Watched him walk off and got this pic of him as he was outbound. So no, one sticking is only as noisy as you are.C2F4B87E-C9D0-466E-8717-48820DC076D0.jpeg
 
Whatever the method, the real trick is avoiding metallic clanks. You're going to rustle some tree bark climbing (even rope climbing if you're pushing off the tree with a foot). Fortunately every critter in the woods that climbs trees makes that same noise. Think about the last time you were sitting and had a squirrel run up a tree. I'm certainly more quiet one sticking than a porcupine is going up a tree, as long as I can keep all the noises "natural".
 
I have been trying to scout all my setups preseason for the last few years. I have the tree picked out for most of the spots that I will hunt, public and private. I don’t have all of them preset with paracord yet. But there are still plenty of times that I make a move into a spot that I don’t have a tree already picked. The majority of the time I do this move in the daylight and would be able to use a throw ball. Though I have had some really good hunts going into a spot in the dark that I just picked off an aerial and setting up in grey light.

I am going to try and use a rope system as my primary method this year and may just have to pack in sticks when I go to areas I haven’t been the first time in.
 
Whatever the method, the real trick is avoiding metallic clanks. You're going to rustle some tree bark climbing (even rope climbing if you're pushing off the tree with a foot). Fortunately every critter in the woods that climbs trees makes that same noise. Think about the last time you were sitting and had a squirrel run up a tree. I'm certainly more quiet one sticking than a porcupine is going up a tree, as long as I can keep all the noises "natural".
I agree 100%. That’s one reason I have been trying to get away from using multiple sticks.
 
Tree hopper strap on steps are very quiet (if they slide down the tree when you step on them they don't make the noise a stick does, the only time they've made enough noise for a deer to hear was on a shag bark hickory). Also, they are solid polymer and so if they bang anything they sound like they are made of wood.

But they are slow, so that isn't stealthy to me because you can get busted more easily if that nearby deer stretches its legs.

For me, the stealthiest would be quick and quiet.
 
I think that I need to invest in a light weight one stick setup to carry in conjunction with my rope climbing. I feel like this would definitely cover me for almost every situation. I could climb one stick if needed or climb with my rope and just use the one stick as my platform.
 
I think that I need to invest in a light weight one stick setup to carry in conjunction with my rope climbing. I feel like this would definitely cover me for almost every situation. I could climb one stick if needed or climb with my rope and just use the one stick as my platform.
That's what I do
 
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