I haven’t used a ropeman as a replacement for the Petzl Rg or grigri. I don’t think it would be very safe. A ropeman only works in one direction and you can’t let it loose in a controlled way under load. So i think it would be dangerous if you got stuck for some reason going up or had to go down before you reached your platform.
You will need a rappel system to get down and the grigri or rig fills that function as well. I personally like the rig better because you can ‘lock it’ down and the grigri can freely run rope when not loaded if you are using a skinny rope and don’t tie it off. The rig is bigger and costs more. You can get the rig in black but I didn’t know that and got a gold colored one. Treestuff has 20% off Petzl stuff right now with BESTPETZL as a coupon code.
You could replace the hand ascender for a ropeman if you were just pulling the rope down and not using a foot loop.
. Maybe I wasn't doing it quite right I don't know. The downside with SRT is that you need a tree with a branch or Y at hunting height for tossing up the throwline. Most of the places I hunt that doesnt seem to be a huge issue. There have been a few spots I've wanted to hunt without any trees fitting that criteria where I've climbed up with my sticks and put in a cranford screw in step and left a piece of throwline so I could pull up my rope and hunt it later on. I really like how once you have some throwline on a tree you could come back years later pull up your rope and hunt. Plus nobody is gonna have any idea that tree is setup to hunt. There are pros and cons to all these climbing methods. I would argue that this has to be the safest and most fun