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How thin of a tree do you hunt? and How?

mattfish

mattfish

Active Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2015
Messages
169
Location
Pittsburgh Pa
An area where I hunt has had the trees thinned out taking a good bit of options from me. Scouting has given me some ideas but the trees are small maybe 6" in diameter. Is your preferred platform a platform or ring of steps? I am relatively small guy so I probably can manage in some smaller trees just wondering what you guys do in these scenarios.
 
Perfect size for me is 10-15 inches but I'll hunt where ever I need to be. This was one of my sets last year, it was the spot I needed to be in, tree was only about 4 inches in diameter where the platform was. I was only about 5 ft off the ground, but did have a small buck come by and could of shot him if I wanted, he never knew I was there. Long as you have proper cover any size tree can work, that's why I enjoy the saddle so much. Screenshot_20200513-210009_Gallery.jpg
 
I often hunt out of 4"-5" trees without problem, unless there is a lot of wind. With strong or gusty winds, small trees sway more than you think at 20'.
 
6-12 is Ideal. Smallest was about 3.5-4 inches at height. And let me tell you was that thing swaying around lol. 225lbs tethered in to that small of tree sure did make it move lol. Wouldn't hunt that small again just do to lack of stability if trying to shoot. I use both a ROS and platform. Just depends on my set up. I prefer ROS on small trees.
 
I was standing on my LWHC, 20' high when I took this picture.

747ee67f97f62bb89a1c8d0ce7d4f5fb.jpg


Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk
 
Smallest I've been up in was 4" in the late fall but without cover I felt very exposed and the tree would sway from just the slightest weight shift. I bailed out because of that and found a larger one I could hide behind. On the plus side, small trees make my ROS feel like a platform.
 
I was in a 4 inch tree last year and the wind or my movement made the tree sway. I figured if I could climb a 4x4 post this tree would be OK. It was.
I would like an inch bigger. TWSS.
 
CZMark said:
I often hunt out of 4"-5" trees without problem, unless there is a lot of wind. With strong or gusty winds, small trees sway more than you think at 20'.
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I tried a 4-5" tree last year. I felt safe and fine with my Podium platform. The problem that I had was that any movement I made translated into swaying in the tree. I will likely stick with 8" or great diameter trees going forward.
 
redsquirrel said:
Shot a buck out of this tree not even an hour after these pics a couple years ago. I was hanging off the 3" portion and standing on my ROS on the 4-5" portion.
View attachment 28339
View attachment 28340
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Good to see ole Papa Squirrel post again!

I’ve been in a 4” poplar tree in a crazy windstorm and got whipped around a lot - it was actually pretty fun! I did get busted by a doe, but not by any of the 5 bucks who followed her trail afterward. That was a good morning. I used an ameristep ROS.
 
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