DB4x4
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2018
- Messages
- 1,871
Who's Scott Hamilton?
That was my first thought. Who the hell is that? Oh...
I had hunted from a climber for years but was growing tired of it. It was heavy, loud, and couldn't get me in the places I really wanted to hunt. I had mediocre success killing does, but could never seem to find decent bucks.
I watched the DIY Sportsman set up sticks and a hang on stand as quickly as I could use my climber. I cut up my old upper-body-only harness from the 90s and switched to a RCH with a lineman belt. I tried hunting from three Hawk Heliums and a light hang on stand, but it was awkward and I still wasn't efficient at it.
Then I saw the DIY Sportsman video where he added a sit drag to the RCH and a light bulb went off. This is the way. I tried it once and decided it had serious potential. Why climb up 3 sticks and then hang a stand when you can just climb up 3 sticks and hunt?
I ordered a Kestrel the following summer, since it was all one piece and there would be less "fiddle factor". I would climb my 3 Heliums and add a primal V step on either side of my top stick for extra mobility. It wasn't perfect, but I realized I could start hunting places that were previously inaccessible to my climber. Even when I went to climber-friendly areas, I opted for the sticks and Kestrel, just to get used to it and get better at it.
I watched Boswell's videos on climbing, setting up, and one of his most helpful videos, in my opinion, rope management and daisy chaining. This made a huge difference in my efficiency.
I saw the DIY Sportsman video on climbing a tree with one stick and thought it would be nice to carry only one, but man that looks like a lot of effort. Then I saw the infamous CBigBear one-stick video... Quick, efficient, quiet. Hell or high water, I was figuring this out. And I did. Lots of practice in the yard. So much so, that my wife thought I had a problem. We had just had our first kid and she thought I was losing it.
This forum taught me a lot, especially about safety. INVALUABLE. I think about all the sketchy **** I used to do in a climber, in a hang on, and even when I started saddle hunting. It's a wonder I'm still alive, haha.
This forum transformed me from a climber-toting bumbling mess into a lean, mean, killing machine. I know that sounds cliché, but it's true. I hadn't killed a buck in a LONG time. I've now killed a buck in bow season that last 7 years in a row... And the last two were absolute PIGS.
I shot my personal best this year by silently setting up on him while he was only 75 yards away, confirmed by cell cam. Had to pick an unfamiliar tree, climb it quietly in the dark. The stars all aligned and I crushed him at 23 yds. Six years of learning and experience culminating into one glorious morning of success.
I appreciate the contributions of John E. I've read his book... But for me it was, in no particular order:
@redsquirrel
Garrett (DIY Sportsman)
Boswell
@Cbigbear
Thanks.