Just wanted to ask you guys what you think of big diameter trees for climbing? I always shy away at them but some of the best locations I have the best spots are big trees,any tips on climbing them?
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Big trees
- Thread starter treefox 1
- Start date
Hunter260
Well-Known Member
If it’s legal, bolts are the way to go
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
Jrb made it clear to me that big trees are a good reason to have a rope.instead of just avoiding them.remember them,even if you dont always carry a rope, you can take one when you know of a good spot to use one,even leave it as a preset.i didnt like ropes.now i 2 tether with them.i Was wrong.my dudes where right.
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
Stair at trees ,climb Trees ,Hug trees ,talk to trees, dance with trees,howl with the leaves of the trees in wind of the moon light.......yeah...... we do that.oregon baby.
I platform climb plenty of trees larger than that. It’s not easy but worth it for the best concealment you can get in the woods.
They can be climbed but as @sweats said once you can’t get your arms around them things become difficult. You’ve got to literally throw your linemans belt/tether/platform strap etc around it and it comes a balancing act. That and you’ve got to have fairly long lines and straps to accomplish that.
What platform are you using? I'm sure you can make it work up to a point, but I'm just curious what that point is.
I'm thinking of things like a huge oak.
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This has always been my issue as I am a bigger guy and think a bigger tree would be better for concealment. I guess if the limbs are large and enough and what not it matters less, but I personally have a hard time getting too excited about hunting without any platform at all.
I have a ewo one stick,also modified helium sticks,tree size I'd say about a 20 to 24 inch diameter trees
Trees are 20 to 24 inch in diameter ,I normally climb 6 to 15 inch trees use one stick or climbing sticks no problems.
I have a few presets on huge oak trees for SRT and they are great for deer not seeing you.
Hall17
Well-Known Member
Rope climbing or bolts. I use neither but hunting big woods I typically have options to choose from. I climbed a tree I could not get my arms around Saturday with WE Stepps. Had to fling linesmen, tether and stepps around tree but it was doable. It was the exact tree I felt I needed to be in however a nice buck skirted me by 50 yards so I guess I was wrong LOL. Larger trees I always have said you want to know where the deer are coming from if you can because working around a larger tree for shots is harder than on a smaller tree. But, be where the deer want to be and figure out how to get up that tree if you feel like its the right one
If you have to climb big trees make sure your straps are long enough. Your arm span is roughly equal to your height, so if you can't reach around the tree, odds are you're going to need a strap that's 8+ feet long.
Once you have long enough straps, I've had moderate success actually passing the stick behind the tree instead of the strap, using either 30 inch hawks or 24 inch beasts, the shorter the stick the less helpful this is so my one stick I get about a foot or less more reach(haven't actually tried it with this guy). I attach the end of the strap temporarily (I usually just put the small length of elastic cord I keep on the end around my left wrist) then hold on to the bottom step with that hand, hug the tree, and feel for the top step with my right hand. Works much easier than trying to throw the end of the strap around the tree and catch it on the other side for me.
Ive also done a modified version of this where I dangle the strap forward off the end of the stick to swing it around to my free hand, I've done this to get it over a branch or brambles that I couldn't get "through" with the strap/daisy chains before.
But then with all that said be careful for kick out, some of these steps don't like being on too large diameter of a tree and I struggled to get my platform to tighten down correctly without a more acute strap angle sucking it into the tree. If I ever return to that particular tree, I plan to sit on the ground in front of it.
Once you have long enough straps, I've had moderate success actually passing the stick behind the tree instead of the strap, using either 30 inch hawks or 24 inch beasts, the shorter the stick the less helpful this is so my one stick I get about a foot or less more reach(haven't actually tried it with this guy). I attach the end of the strap temporarily (I usually just put the small length of elastic cord I keep on the end around my left wrist) then hold on to the bottom step with that hand, hug the tree, and feel for the top step with my right hand. Works much easier than trying to throw the end of the strap around the tree and catch it on the other side for me.
Ive also done a modified version of this where I dangle the strap forward off the end of the stick to swing it around to my free hand, I've done this to get it over a branch or brambles that I couldn't get "through" with the strap/daisy chains before.
But then with all that said be careful for kick out, some of these steps don't like being on too large diameter of a tree and I struggled to get my platform to tighten down correctly without a more acute strap angle sucking it into the tree. If I ever return to that particular tree, I plan to sit on the ground in front of it.
That all sounds pretty consistent with what I thought. Most steps and sticks will work with trees you can get your arms around. You can make some work if they're larger than that with some adjustments up to a point.
Past that, it's ropes or bolts.
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Past that, it's ropes or bolts.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
Yeah, but then I don't have the opportunity to be redundant! Lol
If possible. Endure the first setup, and hang a safety line for subsequent hunts. I have several presets that were pain in the butt to setup. Now, with bolts and a safety line, they are great.
Klemz with a long rope mod. Those huge trees are spur territory.