• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Why shouldn't i use spurs?

Dkiss103

Dkiss103

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
225
Location
NE Arkansas
Besides not being able to use on public land, are there any other limitations with spurs? I currently have cutdown heliums with a single movable aider. I dont get as high as i would like with the sticks, and hate packing them around. Looking hard at the climb right ultra lights, but want to hear from the "pros" first.
 
The only real limitation with spurs is the user, once you get good with them you can climb just about any tree that isn't horizontal. they do have some cons:
- can be hard or annoying to get on in the tree to come down, could repel down but that requires more stuff, but that extra stuff also gives you emergency preparedness
- more bulk than some climbing methods, but less than others (comparable to packing 2 two step sticks, but pack better due to only one metal piece sticking out).
- learning curve
- metal body can make noise
- always a chance to gaff your calf
- always a chance to gaff out and get bark burn
(the last two decrease with practice/experience, but are always possible).
-mild damage to tree.

those are about the only cons I can think of.
 
rabidd099 said:
- always a chance to gaff your calf

those are about the only cons I can think of.
Click to expand...

To me other than legality this is the big negative to spurs. It’s the only climbing method I can think of that you can sever an artery without something catastrophic happening first. You could get impaled on a stick or step but not without falling first. I still think with practice and caution it is one of the safer methods.
 
Not too many cons I can think of. Little bit of tree damage, and you have to watch what you are doing so you don't impale your boot or leg. In three years I have gaffed out three times (never both spurs at once) and the lineman rope caught me no problem. I haven't come close to sticking myself but it could happen if you got careless. It's like any other climbing method, there are risks involved but as long as you know what CAN happen it's pretty easy to avoid those issues. I use spikes pretty much every hunt even tho I own several other climbing methods.
 
I'm not a pro, but I have owned climb rights and used them a few times this season. I was interested in them for the same reasons you were. Fast, light, and no limit to how high you could get.

Most people that I know who have climbed with them any length of time have had a mishap that was more severe than I felt like risking. Broken ankles, stabbed calves, or a long slide down a tree. I also never couldn't find a good way to pack them or store them while at height. And while taking them off in the tree wasn't that bad, from a ROS it was a pain to get them back on.

They were very quick on the climb though, and lighter than sticks or wild edge steps. Somewhere in between as regards packability.
 
I haven't tried them, but to what @Nutterbuster mentioned, I'll add that I value simplicity and ease on the way down. If you're relying on Spurs to spike down in the dark when you're tired, cold, spiked on adrenaline after getting a big buck, etc that could be a recipe for bad things. Same issue I have with aider-heavy techniques. I want simplicity and minimized ways to screw up at the end of the hunt.
 
mattsteg said:
I haven't tried them, but to what @Nutterbuster mentioned, I'll add that I value simplicity and ease on the way down. If you're relying on Spurs to spike down in the dark when you're tired, cold, spiked on adrenaline after getting a big buck, etc that could be a recipe for bad things. Same issue I have with aider-heavy techniques. I want simplicity and minimized ways to screw up at the end of the hunt.
Click to expand...

I really have to disagree here. I have never had one issue coming down in the dark or any other time for that matter. It's actually easier than going up in my opinion and just as easy as any other climbing method. It's really not as hard as some think.
 
I'll add another thought about climbing down with spurs....I find it easier simply because I don't have to search for the step with my foot. The "step" is always attached to my foot and it doesn't matter where my foot lands as long as the spike hits the tree. I go by feel a lot with spikes and you can tell when it's in the tree solid enough to take a step just by how it feels.
 
mattsteg said:
@flinginairos I respect that it's easy for you, but even the folks selling Spurs say it's more difficult and recommend roping down when feasible.

http://www.wesspur.com/info/spur-climbing.html

Also I can't see any way to make a realistic case that it's as easy as climbing down bolts for example.
Click to expand...

I rappelled for a full season and had more trouble with that than any other thing in saddle hunting. It worked and was pretty dang fun but I also had some instances where it just didn't feel safe. I also had constant issues with the rope getting tangled up or not coming down. I'm not trying to come across like I know everything, just sharing what has worked for me the past couple years ;) That's the awesome thing abut hunting this way, there's so many different ways to do stuff you just have to try them all! lol
 
Fair enough and there are plusses and minuses to everything. Just seems like there's a reasonable amount of consensus that at minimum there's a noteworthy learning curve to descending on spurs. And I expect that wesspur knowing their audience would clearly be very familiar and comfortable with rope descents plays into their recommendation as well.
 
mattsteg said:
Fair enough and there are plusses and minuses to everything. Just seems like there's a reasonable amount of consensus that at minimum there's a noteworthy learning curve to descending on spurs. And I expect that wesspur knowing their audience would clearly be very familiar and comfortable with rope descents plays into their recommendation as well.
Click to expand...

Yep, have to figure out what works for your situation. For a new guy on spurs I can see being uneasy with the process of climbing up or down. It does take some time on them to get comfortable.
 
There are a lot more options these days. Especially in the weight savings department. But, I used Buckinghams for many years. After a while you know which trees to avoid, to prevent the likelihood of a kick-out. When I was in the prime of my youth, I would put the climbers on at the truck and take off walking. I hunted off the spurs, while hanging in my Anderson, then onto the Bull Dog for a lot of years. I would recommend some form of platform over hunting directly off the spurs, though. Buckingham makes/made a plate that attatches to the sitrrup to take the pressure off the arches of your feet. If you planned on trying to hunt directly off the spurs, I would recommend trying them. There is a certain thrill to be had from being able to walk up to a tree with all of my gear on, hook my weapon up to my pull rope and start climbing. I kinda miss it. My buddies back then mostly used screw in steps. We used to play around with our set ups in the yard. Fore most people could get thier 2nd tree step screwed in, I could be up in a tree and tied in without ever breaking a sweat. I rarely use the climbers anymore, since my spots here at home are presets 90% of the time and we can't use them on public in Missouri. If we could use them here on public, I would. They are much easier and lighter to pack in than sticks or steps. btw, I am shapped more like a ground hog than a tree skirl, so anybody can do it, after some practice.
 
I am very much a novice. 1st year with saddle or spurs. I hunt NC and VA where spurs are legal on public land also. In VA, when not still hunting we run dogs at the hunt club. Our club has very few permanent stands (ladder etc) everyone uses a climber of some type to get up in tree. at 3 to 4 hunts on a given saturday, I have gotten a fair amount of practice going up and down using my spurs. When I still hunt I remove my spurs and then rappell down. During the dog drives, I leave the spurs on and use 2 WE stepps as a platform. Most dog drives last 2-2.5 hours so being on spur with WE stepps to provide a break/ swing fulcrum has worked out great. Only gaffed out once on a pine at about 5 feet. No issues but I am much more methodical about going up or down now. They work for me.
 
The biggest problem I see people have when going down is taking too large of steps. It makes it difficult to remove a spur if its knee high or above. The same could be said for people climbing up. Some people look like they are doing lunges and that surge you do to get your body movement going up pushes the spur in farther than it needs to be. All you need is slow fluid movements.
 
EricS said:
The biggest problem I see people have when going down is taking too large of steps. It makes it difficult to remove a spur if its knee high or above. The same could be said for people climbing up. Some people look like they are doing lunges and that surge you do to get your body movement going up pushes the spur in farther than it needs to be. All you need is slow fluid movements.
Click to expand...

Good point Eric! You risk a gaff out more if you are trying to take huge steps I think. I tend to take fairly short steps and go slow so I'm not making any noise. I'd say i'm not stepping much higher than going up a step on my porch. Going "slow" with the spikes is still faster than pretty much any other method.
 
I agree with both @mattsteg and @flinginairos. For everything with spurs there is a huge learning curve and if you're not proficient you could hurt your self. I do find climbing down with spurs pretty easy. For me the hard part is putting them back on while in the tree. I think @flinginairos is on the mark when he says go slow with small steps. Another thing I find incredibly important with spurs is having them cinched tight to your legs so they are like part of you. I prefer using cam buckles to strap them my feet because I've had some of the other methods loosen up on me.
 
@redsquirrel raises a very good point that part of getting down is reattaching your spurs (assuming you removed them). For sure never use any method that you're not comfortable with the entire process of going up and coming down! And practice double for coming down because that's what you will be doing when you are at your worst/most compromised/tired/cold/etc.

The last thing you want to do is practice climbing up and down a lot, think you're comfortable...and then climb up, take off your spurs and hunt, and realize at the end of the day that you can't get your spurs back on and you don't have another way down. Or drop one.

Anything you need to get down that isn't fixed to the tree, keep tied to you, keep a backup, or both! Have a contingency plan for everything.
 
I started using spurs to hang homemade lock-on stands in 1972. It was the early 80's before I started hunting with Lloyd and introduced him to spurs and a lock-on stand. He took to them like a duck takes to water. Even now days at 300 pounds he climbs as good as he ever could. These short video clips are a good example of how smooth and easy the process can be.






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT9Ye2qKr5M
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top