Tinker Season Treestand Prep
By Mark Melotik
What’s your favorite off-season whitetail project? For many it begins and ends with rigging and tuning bows, but an often-overlooked chore is treestand (and similar) gear prep.
Fact is, treestands, climbing sticks and other tree-hunting gear eventually wears out. And when we’re talking about a piece of gear that holds your body 15-20 feet in the air, any obvious wear and tear means your safety — and your life — depends on making routine checks and replacements. Now is the time.
Are some of your favorite private-land stands still hanging out in the field? A good first step is hauling them back to where they can be closely examined and, when possible, repaired. Until you look closely and with a purpose, you might not see that animals have chewed on cables or straps, or that rust has weakened some bolts but not others.
And those nasty squeaks you experienced last November? Replacing hardware and adding some nylon washers might prevent or even eliminate those tense foot-stomping standoffs.
Most of my own hunting is of the mobile, public-land variety, so my stands travel with me — so I’m always checking their condition/operation. But even in my home-based storage sheds I’ve had mice wreak havoc with straps and seats. And yes, most of the time I realize it while I’m in a rush packing for a trip. Few things are more frustrating.
Some of my favorite treestands feature sturdy molded aluminum platforms that might still be hunting for many decades after I’m gone. But that doesn’t mean they’re 100% bombproof. Components like rubber-coated cables and bolts/screws degrade and should be replaced regularly — as should worn, compacted and tattered seats.
Because of my penchant for public-land hunting, I also like to customize stands with more-effective camo. For my tastes, that means starting with a simple spray-paint coating of a light tan color. Over that I use a simple cardboard stencil to layer irregular black and brown shapes. To my eye, these custom-painted stands nearly disappear. And if I paint stands in May or early June, they are nicely scent-free when seasons open in September.
Now is also a great time to research and order an aftermarket stand seat pad upgrade. And they come highly recommended. I’ve found a few that were a huge upgrade in comfort from stock seats, which is important to me.
Why? Many hunters talk about the value of dark-to-dark rut sits, but few can pull them off. However, when you’re comfortable in your stand, you’ve dressed for the conditions and remembered snacks and water, come the rut there is only one X-factor you must battle to stay on stand from sunrise to sunset: That gray matter between your ears.