National Tree Stand Museum???

[Natty Bumppo]

Thought you'd get a kick out of these trees stands I recently found. If there was ever a museum dedicated to the history of the tree stand....these 3 certainly belong.

All 3 were in the same general area I was scouting the last few weeks. I suspect they were made by the same guy....you can quite literally see how his skills, knowledge, and tolerance for risk evolved over the years.

The first candidate for the museum.....what's left of a mostly plywood stand in an old dead spruce tree that was held up by some kind of rope wrapped around the tree several times. Rope!!! I'm guessing an early 80's home built stand.





Probably the guy realized what a death trap the first stand was that he then went back the drawing board and built stand #2....a better design for sure and starting to resemble modern stands. Angle iron, a plywood floor, some custom welding, and thin wire and wire nuts connectors still make this a stand I would not trust my life to. Maybe late 80's or early 90's?







And probably the Holy Grail of tree stands for the museum....the ORIGINAL ladder stand! The guy clearly realized what a disaster his first two stands were. He took a ladder....and turned it into a stand! A rare specimen. Doesn't look like it's been used in years.




Hope you enjoyed. If anybody else has any stands they'd like to add I'd love to see them.

 

[buckdeer1]

Those last 2 look like ones we made a long time ago and thought we were way more advanced than nails and wood

 

[Tree Spud]

You need a brave soul for some of those. i have some interesting ones on my property. The most scary are the 12" 2x4's nailed into the tree as a ladder.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

This is a homemade tower blind I found on public land in Minnesota. They even went so far as to put camo netting up around the base of it!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I have built and used many types of stands in my days, and they all worked well, for a few years. When I first started hunting, I would just grab a hatchet, a bow saw, and a pocket full of nails. I would find a nice cedar tree, and cut it up, make the entire stand out of the cedar tree. Later I graduated to a green treated piece of plywood for the floor, but still used a cedar tree for steps, and the braces. They would last about 5 years. I would take the branches and use it as the barrier, they worked good. Rule one, was to always inspect the stand before each season.

Next was to use green treated 2x4 nailed to the trees for steps, and for the braces, but the cedar branches were still used for a barrier.

Back in the 80’s and 90’s all this fancy wood, and stands were for the rich people. That wasn’t me.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

This is a homemade tower blind I found on public land in Minnesota. They even went so far as to put camo netting up around the base of it!

That's a classic!

 

[goatman]

There were two of these.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I have built and used many types of stands in my days, and they all worked well, for a few years. When I first started hunting, I would just grab a hatchet, a bow saw, and a pocket full of nails. I would find a nice cedar tree, and cut it up, make the entire stand out of the cedar tree. Later I graduated to a green treated piece of plywood for the floor, but still used a cedar tree for steps, and the braces. They would last about 5 years. I would take the branches and use it as the barrier, they worked good. Rule one, was to always inspect the stand before each season.

Next was to use green treated 2x4 nailed to the trees for steps, and for the braces, but the cedar branches were still used for a barrier.

Back in the 80’s and 90’s all this fancy wood, and stands were for the rich people. That wasn’t me.

Same here. I was an 18 year old in the mid-80's and made my stands just like you. We didn't have cedar, so we just used whatever was around....mostly red maple and oak. I walked by one of my old stands from the 80's on public land last fall and the remnants were still there.

I eventually got my first climbing stand about 1986 or so...pretty primitive by today's standards. You had to bear hug the tree to climb up. And I don't ever recall using any kind of a safety strap. You just kind of stood there trying not to place any weight on the tree side of the platform or else the whole thing would give way.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

There were two of these.View attachment 42472

Hilarious!!!! Museum worthy for sure.

 

[Troubles Trees]

My first few years of hunting deer were scaling trees and standing on branches, talk about sore feet and terrible shooting lanes, I would have loved something like these gems when they were newer now you have me reminiscing my friend.

I have seen a couple stands like these but don't have any pictures to share.

 

[Native Hunter]

If that guy isn’t using those, I might like to drop by occasionally for a hunt.

 

[hillrunner]

I started bow hunting at 11 years old, that's also the age I was when I started building deer stands. I wish a few of those were still up, it'd be fun (or funny) to see my "craftsmanship". I continued to build my stands for several years before I bought my first stand around 18 years old. It was still several more years before I was hunting out of 100% store bought stands. Some of them would be good for a laugh but I never had one fail.

 

[PatinPA]

You need a brave soul for some of those. i have some interesting ones on my property. The most scary are the 12" 2x4's nailed into the tree as a ladder.

That was a standard ladder growing up here.

 

[PatinPA]

We've found some doozy's over the years on the hunting club we belong to in WV. Wish I still had pictures of some of them. A lot of homemade box blinds. We found one on an old strip mine spoil pile. It had regular stair steps up to it with 3 landings. Inside was a wood stove and a recliner. Last year we found a homemade lock on. Guy built it out of pretty thick angle iron. It had to have been a son of a bitch to get up in the tree but I bet it was solid. It had been there so long that the cable around the tree was rusted off and the stand was grown into the tree. There was rusty old steel ladder going up to it.
There is a huge swamp there now that is federally owned. Before it was my dad said there were stand out in the middle of it that were 40 feet in the air on telephone poles. No idea how they got the stuff out there let alone put it up.

 

[silver_yummies]

Came across these this spring.

 

[pilotpip]

Our property has a couple of the old "wood platform in between 3 trees with steps up 2 of them" falling apart. They also have some home made ladder stands. The wood is well past safe to use but these things are made with 1" angle that doesn't have a spot of rust showing. I'm strongly considering getting a sheet of 3/4" marine plywood and putting new platforms on them, with one of those Muddy strap seats on the tree trunk. Both are in good spots.

My old man always says old permanent stands are the best sign on a new to you piece of land. He's on to something. The first 2 deer I killed were within 10 yards of these old stands.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

My first few years of hunting deer were scaling trees and standing on branches, talk about sore feet and terrible shooting lanes, I would have loved something like these gems when they were newer now you have me reminiscing my friend.

It's fun to think back to when we were young and a little crazy. Maybe just plain dumb. I was all self taught. Man, the years I spent hunting the wrong spots, at the wrong times, and with the wrong gear....would love to know then what I know now.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

If that guy isn’t using those, I might like to drop by occasionally for a hunt.

Any time Native! LOL. I was doing some March scouting and I can see why this guy was attracted to this place. Thirty years ago I bet it was awesome. Now however, the spruce and red maple have completely outgrown all the wild apples he was hunting. They are now mostly dead or dying.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

View attachment 42484View attachment 42485
Came across these this spring.

They've been there a while!

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Our property has a couple of the old "wood platform in between 3 trees with steps up 2 of them" falling apart. They also have some home made ladder stands. The wood is well past safe to use but these things are made with 1" angle that doesn't have a spot of rust showing. I'm strongly considering getting a sheet of 3/4" marine plywood and putting new platforms on them, with one of those Muddy strap seats on the tree trunk. Both are in good spots.

My old man always says old permanent stands are the best sign on a new to you piece of land. He's on to something. The first 2 deer I killed were within 10 yards of these old stands.

I like it when you find and old stand and then try to piece together why somebody hung it there in the first place. Sometimes it's obvious....food, funnel, run, bedding, etc. Sometimes there seems to be nothing special about the spot....as if maybe the guy just picked a nice spot on the ridge to watch the sun rise each morning.