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Spurs and bolts..

Flyerzfan10

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
445
Location
Wapwallopen, PA
I use 4 bolts as a platform. . Next year I plan to start using spurs as much as I can. My question is: Does anyone use spurs and just leave them on? I feel if I'm comfortable on bolts all day then I should be able to do this. If I put shrink tube on my bolts and vet tape the bottom of my spurs to avoid metal contact it might work. Any suggests?? Thanks
 
I use a ros in many variations but a lot of what makes it comfortable is spacing 2 steps (or bolts a few inches apart) to make a nice place to rest your feet. The ability to have my instep right against the tree on & off is critical. Spurs would be in the way from that aspect. I can’t see this being comfortable for more than an hour or 2
 
I remove my spurs. I don’t want to ever lose a shot because I couldn’t position my feet just right because the spurs got in the way or because I made a noise with the bottom of my spurs.

Every opportunity to kill is precious for me and every opportunity comes with its own challenges. I try to ensure I do all the little things to get every ounce of the odds in my favor that I can.
 
I use a ros in many variations but a lot of what makes it comfortable is spacing 2 steps (or bolts a few inches apart) to make a nice place to rest your feet. The ability to have my instep right against the tree on & off is critical. Spurs would be in the way from that aspect. I can’t see this being comfortable for more than an hour or 2
I get what you mean about having in step against the tree. That helps me feel stable having my foot right up against the tree. I think i'm going to try it just to see. I place my bolts in a cross pattern only using 4 bolts, so I"m only standing on one under each foot. I mainly a sitter so i don't have a lot of weight on my feet.
 
There would be no metal to metal contact if i shrink tube the bolts. I believe i could make them quiet with that and wrapping the bottom of the spur in vet tape.
 
Out of curiosity would it be lighter/easier to set a ring of squirrel steps on a boat buckle. Than carry a hand drill & bolts for your platform??
 
Out of curiosity would it be lighter/easier to set a ring of squirrel steps on a boat buckle. Than carry a hand drill & bolts for your platform??
Yes. I'm looking to find a few squirrel steps, tree hopper or other steps to make a ROS for when i want to set up during the season. I pre set all my other trees with bolts. In the end it would probably be easier to just strap a ROS on the tree and hunt rather than drill a few holes.
 
I leave mine on. I hunt off a predator platform and taped the flat bottom portion of my spurs to minimize metal on metal. The tape helps muffle noise but is not a true solution to metal on metal noise. The benefit to me is I’ve found that my spurs provide another method to stabilize my position. When I move side to side I keep one foot on the platform the other is an anchor point in the tree. Buckhole 75 is right on with his comment regarding spur inflicted injury. I try to only move one foot at a time and then very deliberately. I started leaving my spurs on because I wanted to always have my tree egress method attached, but I found the spurs have added stability to my saddle hunting positions.
 
There would be no metal to metal contact if i shrink tube the bolts. I believe i could make them quiet with that and wrapping the bottom of the spur in vet tape.
Wouldn't the spurs eventually cut the rubber?

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I can’t answer your specific question on compatibility of bolts and spurs. I have an uneducated guess it would be really annoying and loud and suck.

but, setting my 4 squirrel step ROS hasn’t taken me longer than a minute on the last dozen or so sits - I’ve been paying attention on purpose. It weighs less than a pound. I vet wrap the steps so no noise. I hang it from my right lineman’s loop, and deploy it at chest level while climbing up so it’s easy to access and easy to deal with.

I love the idea of presets. I don’t have any and don’t see it in my future. But a preset ring of bolts doesn’t seem to offer a significant advantage over SSROS. One big disadvantage is the sun coming up only to realize you need to be 6” lower to cover a shooting lane or avoid a branch that lost its leaves and moved up. You could just drop down and readjust ROS, but bolts you’d be stuck.

food for thought - I know you didn’t ask and it isn’t quite on topic. But might be useful.
 
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