I don't have any experience with other climbers than a Summit, but will tell you that I absolutely love hunting out of them. I have a Goliath and a 180 Max and do many daylight to dark sits per year. They are comfortable, safe and easy to use. I personally love the surround seat that comes with the 180 Max and also purchased one for the Goliath.
You are 100% on that. I don't climb into any stand anymore without a harness. I used to never wear them in a ladder stand but I do now. No sense in taking a chance. If I take anyone hunting with me it makes me nervous letting them hunt in a hang on of mine. If they don't have a harness I won't let them climb in one. Sounds crazy to some I'm sure but my property, my rules. If someone isn't familiar with hunting out of a hang on they can get hurt.
The Vipers are hard to beat. I would pony up from the start. Comfort will keep you in the stand longer. Lot of valuable information on this thread whatever your decision is.
I pretty much only bowhunt, so i know that would be fine for gun rangeI wouldn't worry about the visibility part, this is out in the middle of a TVA right-of-way, after a bit the deer don't care. While in a stand, you are as visible in a ladder as you are in a lock-on or climber, just don't move around a bunch and you will be ok.
Yea, just saying that the deer will get used to anything you put out there. Believe it or not, I have had deer in bow range, talking 15-20 yards, on this stand. When it is new, they will notice and may shy away, but after a few days they will act like it is not even there. Now, when someone is up there and moves around, that is another matter entirely. On stands I always like to put myself just under the lowest branches to hide me a bit, seems to work.
Never ceases to amaze me what deer will get used to, and quickly. For years I resisted trying ladder stands because I believed they were to visible and deer would avoid them just by sight. Then I finally tried them because we were taking kids hunting. Even the big 2-person buddy ladder stands were completely ignored by deer once they had been up a couple of days. Same with towers/condos. Deer freaked out the first time they saw them but were then feeding underneath them 48 hours later.
A typical deer will get used to anything. A mature buck will avoid a stand if he ever connects human scent and danger to that stand or object during daylight hours. Mature bucks have a memory and they may forget about one event, but let them experience two or more events - and it is in their brain forever. A mature buck may get stupid when they are hot on the tail of a hot doe - but other than that they are likely to avoid a shooting house or feeder if they have encountered a person there before a couple times. My reference is during shooting hours as a mature buck (4+ years old) may show up under the cover of darkness.
I couldn't agree more. See my thread on "Overhunting stands."
I realize you're being facetious, but for others, deer don't have to see you in the stand. They can smell you were there any time they pass by for a week or two after you hunt the stand. THAT is what alerts deer to a stand being hunted - your scent left behind.
I think it all depends on the area. When I hunted military installations, I would often see deer, yes even mature ones, in areas that had just had a field exercise in it. Many of the areas you could actually drink your coffee, smoke, chew etc, while on your stand because deer were used to those scents, and while they associated it with humans, they didn't associate it with danger. Many times, ranges have to be stopped because deer are in the target area, knowing shots are been fired but knowing they themselves are not the target.
