Looking to upgrade from my Lone Wolf sticks. Thinking either 4 One Sticks, or making the jump to 1 sticking. If I’m trying to get into a gnarly tree, which option is better?
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Gnarly trees - One Stick or Multiple Sticks
- Thread starter Bkolowski111
- Start date
I’m curious on everyone’s perspective on all the ones listed above.
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Look into SRT/DRT if you haven't already. There's mechanical and non-mechanical ways up the tree using SRT/DRT. Size, branches, lean and gnarliness don't limit what you can set up in.
I assume you are looking for something that is versatile? As in if you NEED to get into a gnarly tree you can. Then 2TC, onestick and aiders are not your friend. I say mini sticks and tree steps also.
Hand drill and grade 8 bolts if on private or legal in your state. If legal in your area, then Cranford screw in steps. If screw in steps are not legal then rope on Cranford steps.
Ddrt and srt are possible options but are not good for on the fly hunting unless you are very good with a throwball and have a high tolerance for frustration. For presets they work fine by leaving a paracord loop.
Some of the light weight and short sticks are also an option.
So is ground hunting, which I have been doing quite a bit of lately. Many times, location is more important than elevation and I have come to believe I was busting deer out a lot by just climbing.
Ddrt and srt are possible options but are not good for on the fly hunting unless you are very good with a throwball and have a high tolerance for frustration. For presets they work fine by leaving a paracord loop.
Some of the light weight and short sticks are also an option.
So is ground hunting, which I have been doing quite a bit of lately. Many times, location is more important than elevation and I have come to believe I was busting deer out a lot by just climbing.
4 one sticks would fit your needs.
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I would lean 2TC as the first choice, then 1 sticking. Size of the tree also matters.
Honestly I don’t think upgrading to one sticks saves u anything verse the lone wolf stick. My favorite stick to date was a modified lone stick to 21 inches and 2 step Best wieght to height ratio I have found.
Rope climb it. You can be tied off the whole time. You can use the limbs to assist your climb. No removing and re hooking stuff. Tie in and go.
I've climbing some really gnarly stuff one sticking and it sucks. Forked trees aren't bad and I tend to lean towards a tree that forks to where I can be between the forks for cover.
Trees with wrist sized lower limbs are not bad at all IMO with the one stick, but it's hard to utilize the limbs as a step if you're one sticking. I prefer bolts for these type trees.
Leaning trees are not bad to me one sticking as long as it isn't to bad of an angle. Might be a little more difficult but I stay on the low end and utilize my lineman belt a lot in these trees.
I do not have a ton of multi stick experience since I bought a hand drill/bolts in 2020 and a one stick in 2021.
Trees with wrist sized lower limbs are not bad at all IMO with the one stick, but it's hard to utilize the limbs as a step if you're one sticking. I prefer bolts for these type trees.
Leaning trees are not bad to me one sticking as long as it isn't to bad of an angle. Might be a little more difficult but I stay on the low end and utilize my lineman belt a lot in these trees.
I do not have a ton of multi stick experience since I bought a hand drill/bolts in 2020 and a one stick in 2021.
Like said above, bolts or screw in steps if you can. If not, rope steps tightened like in this video.
If you're not rope climbing, you'll need to move your lineman's anyway...
This. I am looking for what is most versatile. Love the one stick idea, but if I am going to be more limited with it I don’t know that I want to go that route.
Never used an aider but plan to implement one whether I go 1 stick or multiple mini sticks. Im usually 15 feet or so, not a ton of trees in my area that allow me to hunt much higher than that. So taht makes me think that 4 mini sticks and an aider would get me that high easily. One of the advantages of one sticking is I can go as high as I want, but not as useful in my area due to the tree situation.
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Hunting public in Kansas. Screw in steps are legal, so I would imagine bolts are as well but I am not positive. I have seen a few trees with bolts in them.
So you can technically climb with ANY of the methods mentioned. Some just might not be as easy but all are doable. For example, on a straight tree, with my onestick setup with 4 steps aider, I can get up to 20 ft with 3 moves. But if there are any limbs, depending on where they are, I would have to add 2-3 more moves to get around them. This is not such an issue with multiple sticks because you are stopping to setup the next stick anyway. Also you might be fighting gravity with aiders on other then straight tree.
2TC you are doing a lot of small movements, so getting around limbs doesn't add too much issues.
Tree steps let you incorporate existing limbs into the route.
Rope throw sucks......no other way around it. If you can present,
Either way, practice is usually the deciding factors.
But yeah, staying on the group and making a natural blind might be worth considering too if you can give up the beautiful view from height (which I can't).
Here's my go to for years and it would be the cheapest option since you already have them. Cut down your Lone Wolfs, stealth strip and add 8' daisy chains. I had a set of One Sticks and I've stuck with my Lone Wolfs.
That'll get you into most trees and get you high enough in KS. You can always carry an aider if you feel like it's not high enough. For the really big cottonwoods, bur oaks, etc. use the rope climbing methods.
Bolts/screw ins are an option on the big trees but on the really big ones, I can't get my linesman around the base. I can usually get a rope around an upper limb to get up the rope via SRT. You can stand in a crotch or bring a couple bolts or screw ins to stand on.
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