LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Written by Bowhunting.com contributor Brandon Butler.
Treestands have come a long way in the last 20 years. When I began hunting in the early 1990’s a fancy treestand was one made out of pressure treated lumber. Lesser stands were slapped together with any scrap wood my friends and I could find. Such stands were used season after season until they eventually rotted away and were replaced.
These days, treestands are made of metal/aluminum and if properly taken care of, can last a lifetime. There are countless models of treestands manufactured by too many companies to list. Ladder stands, climbing stands, fixed stands and tower stands are the different styles available for purchase. If you’re reading this, then there’s a real good chance that you own at least one these types of treestand. And while these stands should last quite some time, they must be properly maintained. Because the truth is, every time to climb into one of these stands 15 feet or higher above the ground…..you are potentially risking your life.
Treestand safety begins with treestand maintenance. Stands should be inspected every year immediately after the hunting season ends to find rust and perhaps evidence that safety straps have been damaged.
It’s a general rule of thumb that after every 3,000 miles you are supposed to change the oil in your truck. What’s the rule of thumb for maintaining your treestands? Chances are, you’ve probably never heard of one before. Well, let’s go ahead and establish a rule right now. Every year you should inspect and perform routine maintenance on your treestands at least twice. Once when you pull them down after the season, and again before you put them back up in the summer. Of course this means you are not to leave your stands up year after year. You must pull them down each year to inspect and maintain them.
The Hunter Safety System Life Line guarantees you are safe when climbing into and out of treestands.
Mike Mattly, the public relation manager for Summit Treestands said “Whenever you go out to check your stands and take them done always wear a 4 point safety harness. And don’t just wear the harness and climb the tree unattached to a safety rope or lineman’s rig. You need to be hooked up the entire time you are off the ground.” Even if you plan to hunt the same tree again next year, you should pull your stand for inspection and maintenance. “If you hunt in an area with extreme weather conditions (ice, snow, below zero temps) like Missouri, it is best to pull your stand immediately after season. If the stand isn’t completely sealed, rain can get inside the metal tube. When it freezes, it can split the metal and ruin your stand.”
Lone Wolf treestands offer their customers a variety of replacement parts and accessories to keep their stands working properly and safely.
Once you have your stand down, you need to inspect all the potential failure spots. These are the straps, nuts and bolts, and cables. If any of these look worn, you should replace them. “You should replace safety straps at least every couple years,” Mattly said. Most manufacturers offer all the replacement parts you’ll need to keep your treestand operating like new for many years to come. Don’t risk your life because you don’t want to spend the time to pull down your stands and replace a few parts.
