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My DIY platform and gear strap.

XArmy

XArmy

Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2020
Messages
43
Location
West Michigan
First let me say I'm brand new to saddle hunting. I've heard of it for many, many years but didn't really look into it. The past few years of getting super frustrated spending weeks scouting, painstakingly dragging stands into the woods, and setting them up only to have other hunters set up near me or constantly walking around at prime times has drove me to look for alternative mobile hunting methods. Now I'm here. There are so many options and methods it made my head spin at first. The cost of getting into saddle hunting adds up very fast. That led me to look at some DIY options.

I've had an aluminum Gorilla tree seat sitting on my shelf for many years. With a little thought and just a few dollars, I made a platform.

How it was to start.
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Chopped it up strategically.
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Cut some of the tube to fit inside where each of the 4 bolts went through for rigidity.
20201002_085915_(0).jpg

Added some aluminum braces and moved the pivot point so it could fold flat. Milled down some UHMW to the desired thickness.
20201002_155932.jpg
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I already have ideas for another one. I have an aluminum gorilla hang-on stand I may chop up and re-fashion as well.

Let me throw a big thank you to all you guys who contributor to these forums, share ideas, make videos, and answer questions. Also a big thank you to Tethrd for posting DIY videos even though you sell the items. Says a lot about you. And thank you to Eastern Woods Outdoors. Great products!
 
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How is that tensioning system on the platform working for you?

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I did a lot of "testing" prior to using it at height. I put excessive pressure in places I would likely not ever do in a hunting situation and it held strong. I pull the strap tight, stand on it, then lift it and re-tighten. So far so good. If it didn't work, or if it shows signs of issues in the future, one of the ideas I have for the next one is to make the lower tree grip part of the platform and cam out like the predator platform does. We'll see.
 
XArmy said:
I did a lot of "testing" prior to using it at height. I put excessive pressure in places I would likely not ever do in a hunting situation and it held strong. I pull the strap tight, stand on it, then lift it and re-tighten. So far so good. If it didn't work, or if it shows signs of issues in the future, one of the ideas I have for the next one is to make the lower tree grip part of the platform and cam out like the predator platform does. We'll see.
Click to expand...
Cool. I only ask because i built a similar one a couple years ago and i couldnt get it to tension well. I think i must not have designed it to push away from tree when platform is folded down.

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That looks awesome. I just built a platform with old tree stand parts as well. I wish mine packed up as small as yours though. I can hear the mailman delivering my webbing for my HYS strap as I type. Nice work.
 
The only part that annoys me is the Hawk strap color. Why they choose to use urban camo colors on their stuff is beyond me. Blends in with nothing and stands out like a sore thumb :rolleyes:. Reminds me of the old Army ACU pattern uniforms. Same deal, blends in with nothing. Hence the birth of multicam.
 
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