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School me on pre-sets

HeyBoom32

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2022
Messages
41
Apologies if there's a thread for this already. If so, please post a link.

Anyway, my season is about over here in NH so my thoughts are already drifting towards next season. I'm planning to scout out some spots for next year in the off season and would like to get some pre-sets out there. I've got a bunch of 20ft climbing sticks that I normally use for hang on stands, the kind you pin together, so I was planning to put those to good use. I was wondering what some of you do for your pre-set spots. Climbing stick wise, platform/ROS wise, and tethers. I also have a few HSS lifelines kicking around.. does anyone use those as a semi-permanent tether? Curious to see what you guys do to set up a pre-set tree. Thanks!
 
I like to use tree steps at the base of the tree and then go to sticks, then stand or platform. Leave platform and sticks, pull steps. When I go back, I just need to take some steps. I hunt public, so this keeps my stuff from walking away.
You could also use two mini sticks at the base of the tree.

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I wouldn't ever leave a rope in the tree if I were using it to support my life. I pre-set with a loop of paracord around the tree to pull my SRT rope up and attach. I just use sticks to set the paracord. If there are no limbs where I want to loop the paracord I tie a ring to the tree to guide the paracord through. There are a lot of great videos on climbing but if you can find someone near you to learn from it would be better IMO.
 
I use grade 8 bolts as both a climbing method and a place to rest my feet on pre-set trees. They're cost effective and hard to spot with a quick coat of flat tan or black spray paint. A guy and his son shot a deer during rifle season right under one of my pre-set trees and didn't notice it sitting there for a couple hours.
 
I wouldn't ever leave a rope in the tree if I were using it to support my life. I pre-set with a loop of paracord around the tree to pull my SRT rope up and attach. I just use sticks to set the paracord. If there are no limbs where I want to loop the paracord I tie a ring to the tree to guide the paracord through. There are a lot of great videos on climbing but if you can find someone near you to learn from it would be better IMO.
+1 on this advice. I will leave my rappel rope in the tree overnight if I plan on coming back in the morning, but that’s it. Squirrels will chew straps and rope. The sun and rain will also breakdown straps. Even when I used ladder stands, I always inspected the straps.
 
Good points on using the lifelines as a tether.. probably not a good idea. Toting my tether in is nothing, so no big deal. I'm thinking I just use the climbing stick sets I have, and maybe get a couple cheap platforms for a couple/few sets and use a ROS or something similar on others. What I would like to have in the tree is the climbing method and the platform, so I don't have to carry them in. Just climb up, strap in, and hunt.
 
Are you hunting private land or public? What kinds of trees do you have to work with? A straight limbless tree will be different than a tree with good limbs within 30 feet of the ground. What sort of physical shape are you in?

On private land where you don't have to worry about other hunters those ladder sticks might be the best bet for some presets. Once you use them up I would personally use bolts/spikes. Grade 8, 6 inch by 3/8 diameter are recommended. Get a hand drill and also a bit for an electric drill. Treehopper sells everything you need in one spot. Climbing Devices - Treehopper (treehopperllc.com) Pick you up a Recon sling saddle while you are there too if you want. It is a great saddle.

I agree about not leaving a life supporting rope in a tree very long.
 
Good points on using the lifelines as a tether.. probably not a good idea. Toting my tether in is nothing, so no big deal. I'm thinking I just use the climbing stick sets I have, and maybe get a couple cheap platforms for a couple/few sets and use a ROS or something similar on others. What I would like to have in the tree is the climbing method and the platform, so I don't have to carry them in. Just climb up, strap in, and hunt.
For a ring of steps above your stick ladder you could just drill and put bolts around the circumference of the tree.
 
I plan to do my pre-sets on private land, both my own land and another piece I have permission to hunt. I've currently got a good half dozen stands on that piece already and they've never been messed with, so I'd be fine with leaving some sticks out there. I'll still go with the hang and bang method for public though.
 
If you have the trees for it on public, setting a paracord loop and using DRT to access the tree can be effective. I use this technique in trees that are huge and that is the only way into them. How-to Saddle Hunt with Climbing Ropes - DRT & SRT Complete Guide - YouTube

DRT (MRS) is an arborist industry standard method and has been around forever. It is low cost and there is not much to go wrong. It is relatively light weight and you are connected 100% from the time you leave the ground until you return to Earth. There are other methods, some more complicated, some may be slightly easier to do physically but have more hardware.

I wish I could use it more but we have a lot of straight limbless trees so I 2TC.
 
Are you hunting private land or public? What kinds of trees do you have to work with? A straight limbless tree will be different than a tree with good limbs within 30 feet of the ground. What sort of physical shape are you in?

On private land where you don't have to worry about other hunters those ladder sticks might be the best bet for some presets. Once you use them up I would personally use bolts/spikes. Grade 8, 6 inch by 3/8 diameter are recommended. Get a hand drill and also a bit for an electric drill. Treehopper sells everything you need in one spot. Climbing Devices - Treehopper (treehopperllc.com) Pick you up a Recon sling saddle while you are there too if you want. It is a great saddle.

I agree about not leaving a life supporting rope in a tree very long.
Yeah preset private , bolts get the nod for me….. you can just bring a platform to each set & setup as usual not needing a climbing method is great!
 
Yes that's the idea, eliminating the climbing method and the platform as well. Super quick, nothing to carry in except my saddle, weapon, and stuff for the hunt.
 
I do pretty much the same thing that you are talking about, and it works well for me. I usually prep my spots in mid to late August so that things do not sit out in the sun all year round. I have a few spots where I leave a platform in the tree. That allows me to just climb and hunt when I get out of work and need to get in as quickly and quietly as possible. I use my Predator platform for my mobile setup or for hunting the preset spots that do not have a preset platform.

As a right-handed shooter, I like to put the platform to the right side of the climbing sticks. That allows me to move to my left using the top climbing stick as a step when I need to hide or get in position for a shot. I like to use my stacking sticks to get 15 to 20 feet up the tree. For my top stick, I like to use an API Huntin Stick or a Hawk Helium stick as my stacking sticks seem more likely to shift and make noise. To my right side I use a strap on step or a screw in step for extra maneuverability in the tree. So, I end up with a hybrid platform / ROS set up.

I use the HSS lifelines on all my presets. That allows me to climb safely without having to get out and use my linesman rope. I tie off my backpack to the lifeline so that I can easily move the hitch up the rope. I have backpack straps on my platform and wear it on my back as I climb up the tree. The lifeline supports me when I have to hang a platform. When I have my platform set up, I hook up my tether, but maintain the lifeline connection as my emergency backup. I use the lifeline as a pullup rope for my backpack, and continue to set up. Hopefully, some of those things will work for you.
 
On my current property, I have 30 trees pre-set. I have them set for different areas, winds etc. I have more on other properties but no longer hunt them for a variety of reasons. IE property was sold, lost permission, property was opened to to gun hunting, etc. Anyway, I have some set for saddles and some have stands in them. For me, I use a variety of steps. I'm able to get RR spikes for free so a lot of my trees are set w/ those. They are small so you have to be careful. The price is right though. I use them on Mostly smaller trees 12-18" in diameter. On the big cottonwoods, (18" to 30" in diameter) I use 5/8"x10" linemen's bolts or concrete anchors. good footing Is a must and the L at the end prevents my hand or foot from slipping off. Also I have some tree's set w/ 5/8" re-bar. Last year, I welded a bunch up w/ washers on the end. I really like those. Good traction! I also have some set with climbing ladders that I've acquired over the years. I have to admit those are my favorite but they are very conspicuous and let other hunters know where you hunt. ( I don't have exclusive permission) On those trees, they usually are set for saddles so the average hunter walking by won't see a stand and can't hunt it. On the treestand trees, the bottom 8' have no steps to keep people out of them. They are huge time saver plus many over these are very close to bedding so set up noise is kept to the minimum.
 
Unless you're rope climbing, you really dont need to do anything to preset a tree for sticks/bolts other than to trim off interfering branches.

For rope climbing, make sure the paracord you leave to hoist your climbing up with is tied off somewhere and its in a loop. You really dont want to be pulling your climb rope off and your connecting knot fails and both your preset rope and climb rope come tumbling down.
 
On public I usually just leave three sticks in the tree starting about 8' or 9' off the ground. Bring one stick with aiders for the bottom and then hang my platform when I get up. That way I will keep 99% of people honest and worst case I only lose $60 worth of steps. Since they're only hung for a month or two I generally feel safe enough that I don't put my linemans on until I get set to hang the platform. Sometimes I'll lineman + tether at that stage. This is obviously NOT the safest play I wouldn't do it if I didn't feel safe enough. I've considered buying a couple Hawk Apex stands for pre-sets off camofire but sounds like they're more work than they're worth and I really like my EDP.
 
I've used the ladder sticks as well as bolts. I have three platforms I built (treesuit knockoffs) that I set on my presets with a ratchet strap. I also carry a tethrd predator for other presets that don't have a platform already set
 
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