# Old tree stands



## hambone76 (Mar 8, 2013)

I often come across old tree stands while in the woods and wonder who built them and what they shot or saw from them. This one is probably 30 feet up in this tree. They even pulled a small couch up there.
Share some pictures if you have them.


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## Hooded Merganser (Mar 8, 2013)

That's a crazy stand. 

Funny that you mention this, I found an old stand burning woods on a forgotten corner of woods on my Dad's place. Made me wonder the same things. I always wonder how many animals have wandered past in the years since anyone sat there. 

HM


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## hambone76 (Mar 8, 2013)

I have seen alot of old stands on Paulding Forest that are likely from the "Sportsman Club" days. I really check over an area for sign when I do find an old stand there. They usually took the time to build them there for a reason. 
That stand in the picture is not on Paulding Forest. It is probably for the best that somebody removed the first section of the ladder.


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## Hooded Merganser (Mar 10, 2013)

Yeah, it'd be great to find a honeyhole and hang your stand on the next good tree 

And I agree, you couldn't pay me to sit in that thing!


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## dixiecutter (Mar 17, 2013)

i used to see a lot of those over the years before i had a camera phone. now we know why public areas require safety harness. those rednecks in the 70's an 80's were a fearless bunch that's for sure. when i go past about 25 ft my body quits on me lol. thats a good looking perch though. i bet some deer got kilt under that thing


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## Dr. Strangelove (Mar 17, 2013)

dixiecutter said:


> i used to see a lot of those over the years before i had a camera phone. now we know why public areas require safety harness. those rednecks in the 70's an 80's were a fearless bunch that's for sure. when i go past about 25 ft my body quits on me lol. thats a good looking perch though. i bet some deer got kilt under that thing




Never hunted out of one quite like the OP's pic, but did hunt out of some sketchy stands in the late 80's.  Random lengths of 2x4's nailed directly into trees as a "ladder" up to a shaky 2x4 platform with no sides.

These days I'm mighty particular about any stand I hunt out of, and do most of it off the ground.


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## Son (Mar 17, 2013)

As one ages, can't trust those old joints and back anymore. It pays to be mighty careful.
Ladderstands made of metal, even the bought ones, will rust from the inside, out.  We've had em fold up, steps break, legs bend etc.. Hunting from blinds has become more popular with me lately.
And, yes, i see lots of old rickidy remains of stands still hanging on in trees. Where once some dare devil took the chance of his life while hunting deer. I've seen chairs nailed to trees, and once, a school bus seat up a tree. Ya gotta wonder, did these people ever go to school?


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## deadend (Mar 24, 2013)

hambone76 said:


> I have seen alot of old stands on Paulding Forest that are likely from the "Sportsman Club" days. I really check over an area for sign when I do find an old stand there. They usually took the time to build them there for a reason.
> That stand in the picture is not on Paulding Forest. It is probably for the best that somebody removed the first section of the ladder.



A few of those "Sportsman Club" era stands are mine.


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## hambone76 (Mar 26, 2013)

The craziest one that I have seen so far is a 55 gallon steel drum nailed to the side of a tree trunk. No supports or reinforcements. It had a section notched out of the front to provide a better view. 
It is on Paulding Forest around the Flemister Circle and Buchanan Hwy area.
I've never even considered hunting from any of the stands I've found. I value my life too much and most of them are obviously rotted.


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## hambone76 (Mar 26, 2013)

deadend said:


> A few of those "Sportsman Club" era stands are mine.


I've probably passed by a few of them as I have been all over that WMA.


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## 7Mag Hunter (Mar 28, 2013)

hambone76 said:


> I have seen alot of old stands on Paulding Forest that are likely from the "Sportsman Club" days. I really check over an area for sign when I do find an old stand there. They usually took the time to build them there for a reason.
> That stand in the picture is not on Paulding Forest. It is probably for the best that somebody removed the first section of the ladder.[/QUO
> 
> 
> ...


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## 7MAGMIKE (Apr 11, 2013)

hambone76 said:


> The craziest one that I have seen so far is a 55 gallon steel drum nailed to the side of a tree trunk. No supports or reinforcements. It had a section notched out of the front to provide a better view.
> It is on Paulding Forest around the Flemister Circle and Buchanan Hwy area.
> I've never even considered hunting from any of the stands I've found. I value my life too much and most of them are obviously rotted.



Seems like I remember a 55 gal drum stand from years back out there.  Makes ya wonder...


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## 7MAGMIKE (Apr 11, 2013)

I hunted an old box stand about 40 ft up in a three tree cluster with 12" spikes to reach it in the 90's, you could not get me in that thing now.  I've found I am breakable and do not repair easily.  No risky stands anymore for me.  When you are young you feel bullet proof.


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## buckeroo (Apr 12, 2013)

I too ask myself this same question when I see old stands. I love to stop and think of all the animals that were seen out of the location. A lot of times old stands can give you a shortcut to scouting when on a new piece of land. Our property had an old ladder stand that had all but rotted down and the spot it is in is one of the best spots on our place.


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## Rich Kaminski (Apr 12, 2013)

We had somebody who built a double condo type stand way up in a hugh tree. I went up it once with their permission just to see the view. It was a little scary.


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## jrmmh1215 (Apr 12, 2013)

hambone76 said:


> The craziest one that I have seen so far is a 55 gallon steel drum nailed to the side of a tree trunk. No supports or reinforcements. It had a section notched out of the front to provide a better view.
> It is on Paulding Forest around the Flemister Circle and Buchanan Hwy area.
> I've never even considered hunting from any of the stands I've found. I value my life too much and most of them are obviously rotted.



   I will have to admit that is my dad's famous style of stands. He was part of the sportsman era. I can remember when i was 10 he took a blue plastic 55 gal drum and was tempting to build me one to screw to the side of an oak about 25 feet up.
   I refused to ever consider getting in it and eventually talked him into building me a platform stand out of 2x6. it had no rails and i used one of the old plastic tree seats that strapped around the tree for a chair i thought it was pretty awesome at the time, but looking back you couldn't pay me to get in it now. lol
    But the worse i have ever seen was a platform stand that was about 20 feet up about an 6" sour wood it went up to a single split and the platform was roughly 3' squared it had to just about touch the ground when someone got in it


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## hambone76 (Apr 14, 2013)

jrmmh1215.....Does your Father live in Paulding County?
Also- the infamous Seat-a-tree....I had one of those. The angle never would work out just right and it was so slick I felt as if Id slide right off of the thing when I sat in it.


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## Bill Mc (Apr 14, 2013)

Back in the 60's while hunting a middle Georgia WMA, I climbed into an old tree stand made of tree limbs. I felt very unsafe but did see a few deer. 

You would think that once would be enough but in another club I found another old stand and hunted it twice. No No:

But I also used my Baker stand for many years.

Now I'm much older and somewhat wiser.


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## jrmmh1215 (Apr 16, 2013)

hambone76 said:


> jrmmh1215.....Does your Father live in Paulding County?
> Also- the infamous Seat-a-tree....I had one of those. The angle never would work out just right and it was so slick I felt as if Id slide right off of the thing when I sat in it.



Not anymore we reside in Gilmer county now. As for the tree seat it took getting use to thats for sure I never killed anything from that stand, I have always figured it was because i couldnt set still long enough because I kept slipping out of the seat. lol


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## lastofthebreed (Jun 29, 2013)

I love hunting out of odd looking stands, or stands made out of unusual stuff.  I made a skirt out of a camo tarp using an old hula hoop.  Folded it up and carried it in the woods with me.  I threw a length of para cord over a limb and pulled the hula hoop up until the bottom of the tarp just touched the ground.  A dove stool made a comfortable seat inside and I killed several deer out of that thing.  Hmmmm!  Maybe it's time to make another.


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## bigblocktransam (Jul 15, 2013)

If only them old trees and stand could tell stories!!


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## DSGB (Jul 16, 2013)

Here's a couple from our lease in Bama. There are a couple more, but I can't find the pics.


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## DSGB (Jul 16, 2013)

A couple from public land.


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## XIronheadX (Jul 16, 2013)

Being a carpenter, I built many stands in the old days. 10 inch spikes and a plumb hammer. My highest was about 75 feet with an old office chair in it. Fox squirrel built a nest under it. Most were at least 40 ft. I remember hunting one evening on a very windy day in one in Jefferson co. I went to hunt it the next day and it was gone. Blew over in the night. I only wish I had pictures to remind me how dumb I was in my 20's.


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## MFOSTER (Jul 17, 2013)

in the 70 s would build them high and as hard to get into them as possible to keep others from hunting them plum crazy


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## HillbillyJim (Aug 8, 2013)

I hunt a club that has been around for over 30 years.  When I scout the property I'm always on the lookout for old stands or remnants of old stands, especially if they are in an area that nobody hunts.  Those stands were there for a reason.  If I find decent sign and trails nearby you can bet that Me and my climber will be there.  Normally I will mark the locations with my GPS so I can find them later. Plus, I keep my findings to myself.


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## Bucky T (Aug 9, 2013)

Craziest stand I've seen was on the first piece of property I deer hunted on in Hancock C.  It was a fold out metal chair, bungeed to a whiteoak 30 ft + up with spikes going up to it..

Like you said, if those boys took the time to build and had the balls to hunt those crazy stands, there must have been a good reason too!


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## papachaz (Aug 9, 2013)

used to hunt with a guy who'd use pallets for stands. He'd use the spikes for steps to get up to where he wanted to put it across some limbs, pull it up with a rope and nail it to the limbs and the trees. 

I've built a few stands back in 'the day', and yeah, I to have found out since then I'm breakable. I walked into a patch of hardwoods in the midst of the planted pines last week and found an old homemade ladder stand nailed to a tree, only 12 feet, but no way in the world I'd even try to climb that thing now. It is in a great spot though...


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