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Why shouldn't i use spurs?
- Thread starter Dkiss103
- Start date
Colpitts
New Member
My biggest concern with spurs is dropping one and not being able to get down! Also if you frequent one tree a lot, it could allow parasites or diesese to take over and kill it. Why not try longer sticks and a longer aider? Or just add another climbing stick to your kit? Are you able to preset trees so you don't need to lug em in every hunt?
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If you hunt like me, which is a different tree almost every hunt, I really don't think you are going to kill the tree by climbing it one time. I've checked out trees i've climbed a year later and you can't even tell that it's been climbed. If I plan to hunt a tree several times i'll preset it with bolts or sticks. There's no way i'm carrying 10lbs of sticks when my spurs weight less than 3 and can fit inside my pack.
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Best bet is to rappel down until the fear goes away
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Another good option is to just learn how to climb down without spurs. You can do a lot with a webbing loop. Its always good to have an emergency backup.
Sticks suck to haul, that's why. And the longer the stick the worse the bulk.
The first time that we hunted together, he climbed with his stand on his back without a lineman's belt, removed it from his back while hanging on, hung the stand and climbed aboard. Then reversed the process coming down. Like to have scared me to death. I still haven't figured out how he did it. But, I told him if we were going to hunt together he was going to have to use a belt to support himself when hung and removed his stand. He got one but only used it to be hands free for hanging and taking the stand down. He still does it the same way and I did the same until a few years ago when I started using the lineman's belt to climb down. At my age I felt so much safer that I soon started using it to climb up and down.
Yes, but he only uses it to be hands free for hanging and removing the stand. Always climbs without the aid of a lineman's belt.
Thank you, I started videoing my hunts during the 91-92 season. I've got hundreds of hours of footage.
Cons of spurs:
- Learning curve
- Risk of gaff out/cutting yourself
- Don't work will with Ring style platform
I almost sold my spurs after the first few practice sessions. I HATED them. Absolutely HATED THEM. I felt super awkward and totally unsafe. I couldn't get above 5 or 6 feet off the ground. However, I kept at it and after 3 or 4 practice sessions, I felt confident enough to climb to hunting height. But even then it was hard work. It wasn't until I really got confident with them and figured out how to position my body that they started working really well for me. It was probably a full season or so of sticking with it and dedicating myself to learning it. Most guys aren't willing to try that hard.
I also went through the climb down/rappel down debate. I rappelled for a full season before I finally got so annoyed with rope management that I went back to climbing down. A pivot style platform like the Klemz or Predator makes a HUGE difference in taking the spurs off/on at hunting height.
Now, 3 seasons later. WOW! Climbing down is actually easier than climbing up. I've found that if you go really slow and make deliberate movements, your risk goes way down. I usually take about 5 minutes to climb a tree to 25ish feet. I could do it in 90 seconds, but I choose to go really slowly, pay attention to every move, and take breaks to stay focused.
Sure, an accident could happen, but if you're practiced and focused, I think spurs are as safe as any other climbing method.
- Learning curve
- Risk of gaff out/cutting yourself
- Don't work will with Ring style platform
I almost sold my spurs after the first few practice sessions. I HATED them. Absolutely HATED THEM. I felt super awkward and totally unsafe. I couldn't get above 5 or 6 feet off the ground. However, I kept at it and after 3 or 4 practice sessions, I felt confident enough to climb to hunting height. But even then it was hard work. It wasn't until I really got confident with them and figured out how to position my body that they started working really well for me. It was probably a full season or so of sticking with it and dedicating myself to learning it. Most guys aren't willing to try that hard.
I also went through the climb down/rappel down debate. I rappelled for a full season before I finally got so annoyed with rope management that I went back to climbing down. A pivot style platform like the Klemz or Predator makes a HUGE difference in taking the spurs off/on at hunting height.
Now, 3 seasons later. WOW! Climbing down is actually easier than climbing up. I've found that if you go really slow and make deliberate movements, your risk goes way down. I usually take about 5 minutes to climb a tree to 25ish feet. I could do it in 90 seconds, but I choose to go really slowly, pay attention to every move, and take breaks to stay focused.
Sure, an accident could happen, but if you're practiced and focused, I think spurs are as safe as any other climbing method.
As an old sherriff's deputy once told me, "Illegal is a sick bird."
I've had the pleasure of hunting with some outstanding hunters/woodsmen, but without a doubt Lloyd was the most relentless of all of them. You wouldn't believe all the stories that I can tell about our adventures when we were in our prime. I have a good many short video clips of Lloyd posted on my YouTube channel that you might find interesting. Here's a couple.
@WHW, one of these days after season is over I'm going to sit down and go through all of your youtube channel. You're making me nostalgic for my great uncle's old videos with his hunting buddies.
Clothes today may be lighter and warmer, but they don't have anything on that stuff Lloyd is wearing for style!
Clothes today may be lighter and warmer, but they don't have anything on that stuff Lloyd is wearing for style!
Dkiss103
Well-Known Member
Well I joined the dark side lol. Found a good deal on some Aluminum Bashlin spurs with Buckingham pads at a pawn shop. Probably gonna swap out the pads for some climb right ultra light pads and sewing some webbing with buckles on them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Buckhole75
Well-Known Member
Nice set of hooks Practice and be careful Have fun Be safe
I just picked up a pair of Bashlins for my FIL who was a lineman back in the day. I put new straps and pads on them. I have them ready to give it a go. Will see if I like it or not.Well I joined the dark side lol. Found a good deal on some Aluminum Bashlin spurs with Buckingham pads at a pawn shop. Probably gonna swap out the pads for some climb right ultra light pads and sewing some webbing with buckles on them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
