Ladder stand camo
Equipment
Contributors to this thread:
Due to health issues I have had to rely on a ladder stand for the last 4 years. The one I use is 21' and a good solid single person stand. I am finding that even with brushing it in and wearing good camo, I have had a problem with deer spotting me or the stand and it is ticking me off Lol
When deer are 25 yards or closer I am fine, it's the ones that are 50-80 yards that seem to pick me or the stand out and hold up before leaving. Has anyone used a decent tree skirt or camo concealment on a ladder stand they can recommend? I have been checking different ones out on the Web and so far just seeing a bunch of junk.
Any referrals or tips would be much appreciated. It appears ladder stands will be with me until I have to go to ground blinds (hate them).
Thanks WS
I hang pine bows by rope on my lower sets
Hunt the correct wind in relation to deer movement, use scent killer and be still in stand.
Theyvnot seeing you move I assume. Fella I know ties branches to the ladder from ground up..then he will tie green leave branches to the tree behind him. Ive hunted out of ladders some..not a lot but never had that problem if they are brushed in
There might be some pics out the in Google-land that show various concealment options??
Don't know what your timber is like but are you so high up that you sky-lit? Might help to move down a little.
Have your checked the wind & thermals with milkweed pods or powder? Could be a trick of the wind even if it seems to be in your favor.
Barry Wensel uses old artifical christmas trees. Staying still is best camo there is.
Branches with leaves strapped to back of tree about head high. I like red oak branches. The leaves don't seem to fall off.
I’m thinking like Catscratch. I would go out to the 50-80yd area where they are seeing you and see how visible your stand is. Adjust as necessary. I have a 2 man ladder stand set up at 10’ in order to avoid being skylined from a distance. Have no problem killing deer from it, as long as the wind is right.
As mentioned above....if you are backlit and move even a little bit you are likely to get picked off. In our stands, Kansas Flint Hills area, we use several ladder stands with no particular problems or camoflage of the stand itself however we don't put them where back lighting is a possiblity. If there is any breeze at all moving leaves and branches you can usually get away with slow movement if the deer isn't close, say more than 50 yards away.
I have a ladder that faces west. It is completely hidden in the mornings but I noticed one evening that the sun shines it up like a beacon in the afternoon. The ladder was catching the sun just right. I painted the ladder solid black, and wrapped some leafy material around the uprights and it is not visible now.
I got picked off by the biggest buck I've ever seen by being skylighted in a bare tree. Ever since then I've always tied oak branches up in every tree stand I set. Works great in my ladder stand set ups. Oak holds its leaves sometimes for a couple years.
Thanks for all the comments and tips!
I am pretty sure it has something to do from the platform on up. I have spent 45 years hunting out of hang on portables and could count on one hand the times I got picked off from deer. I always play the wind, even though in our area the October winds and thermals can change every 15 minutes.
I have the stand attached to a large white pine. The tree is 35" diameter where I sit 25' up. Possibly a smaller tree would be better because this one is like sitting against a wall. The comments about movement were interesting except that in a few cases I had spotted the deer first as they were approaching, just to see them snap their heads up and staring then picking me off , always from about the same spot. It can get frustrating Lol
I have plenty of time to figure it out. Now I have a few extra things to check out. Thanks again!
WS
I ty wrap fake Christmas tree branches to the ladder the side rails and I tie the shooting rail up to the tree and also put the fake Christmas tree branches on it… makes a huge difference
I had a hang on stand in a travel corridor along a river that I got caught moving in by an old doe one morning from about 30 yards away. After that every time she would reach that same spot, she would stop, stare at that stand, and if I was in it, she would take her two fawns and circle wide around it, then drop back into the corridor trail about 30 yards behind me. The 3rd time this happened, I brought another stand in and hung it about 40 yards down the trail from the1st one. I watched her circle wide the 1st stand, drop in again, and as she came down the trail arrowed her. It could be possible that the deer have seen you in the past, when you might not have seen them 1st, and therefore possibly have been educated to watch that stand for your presence, and then avoid it if they see you in it.
Here where I live in WV a deer will spot a ladder stand 100 yds away in the timber. Same with climbing stands. I think it is due to not being able to get your body in against the tree as tight as when it a hang on stand. I have 3 ladder stands on my place now and going to zip tie fake Christmas tree limbs to the ladder and platform.
Wouldn't think that a 3ft diameter white pine would be a tree you'd have to brush in a stand. You sure they're not smelling you?
Or what Bentstick said. Same deer and now they're looking for you in the tree. I'd move the stand to a different but nearby tree.
I hang cedar branches in mine. As others have said having them behind you is the most important.
I was hunting in a natural ground blind once, a ladder stand was set ip about 25 yrds from me. 5 deer walked right by it without even looking at it. It was brushed in pretty good though
if the deer keep seeing you, move the stand to another, more camouflaged spot with better background.
Get an ASAT leafy suit problem solved.
black tends to focus the attention, use O.D. green.
Stands don't bother deer, movement on stands does.
Is it possible someone else has hunted that stand and boogered it?
Zip tie limbs to the stand.
I use a two man ladder stand that is only 20 feet up. I put it on a huge oak tree and I think that is the key. I can't see behind me but I have to deal with that because the tree is so big. I don't use any camo at all and as long as I am still the deer never spook. Big trees are a big help.