Tips on how to be deadly quiet when setting up stands while hunting
Killing a mature whitetail on public land is one of the most challenging yet gratifying experiences a deer hunter can hope to achieve. If you’ve been reading recent magazine articles or listening to Podcasts from the nation’s top hunters, you’ll soon discover that most of these bucks are killed on the first sit of the year. Finding this type of success doesn’t come easy, nor is it by chance. These hunters are fine-tuning their setups year-round to minimize their impact on the area they intend to hunt.
If you want to replicate this type of success, you’ll need a mobile system from the time you leave your truck, until you are hanging your stand. Below are some of the critical elements to making your hang and hunt experience a success.
Right Equipment and Practice
At one time, there were very few options when it came to a mobile system for the average hunter — and most weren’t very good. Some of the stands were loud, some bulky, some heavy, most were uncomfortable; not to mention you couldn’t even climb but a fraction of them because you needed a straight tree. Now, there are a plethora of options, but our team chooses to use a Muddy Vantage and four Muddy Quick Sticks because they’re:
Light
Comfortable
Packable, with a slim profile
Safe
Easy to use and quite
[Text Wrapping Break]Having a setup you can trust and depend on is essential, but it’s even more critical that you know this setup inside and out — before opening day. Nailing down your system ahead of time is crucial to understanding how your stand goes up, and how to minimize the amount of time and noise that it takes to get it safely and securely in the tree.
The number one key to success, are you putting in the practice. It may take five times to get it down, and it may take twenty, but it’s essential that you know exactly how each piece of gear gets up the tree and on the tree.
Aaron Warbritton killed his biggest buck to date using hang and hunt tactics while hunting public land in southern Iowa.
Staying Efficient
There are multiple ways you can modify your setup to meet your needs, but there are a few tried and true methods that will work for every system. Below is a step by step guide on how to stay as efficient as possible from leaving the truck to hanging your stand and back out again.
Keep it neat and tight: Make sure the sticks and ropes are neatly stacked against the stand, and ratchet the sticks to the stand so they will not make noise when walking.
Once you’re at the tree, disassemble all the pieces and neatly lay them on the ground and tie the sticks to a pull-up rope at different heights. Also, make sure and have your bow or gun on a separate rope and attached to your harness or belt — Once you go up the tree, you do not want to come back down.
Place your treestand bracket in a pocket or fanny pack so that you can access it quickly once you are at the point of hanging your stand.
Before climbing the tree, tie off using a lineman’s belt to your safety harness.
Once you have your sticks and stand hung, tie off with a tether above your head before stepping in the stand.
Once all of your equipment is up, you are ready to hunt — in all, you were from the ground to hunting in ten minutes! Not only that, you can climb more trees than you ever considered while using a climber.
DIY Modifications
The more you hunt with this setup, the more you’ll consider fine-tuning your gear. There are a few different modifications that can make your stand even more quiet and efficient. Make sure and check the owners manual, or call the manufacturer before doing anything extreme, but here a few basic add-ons’s:
Paracord: Take some paracord and make a cobra weave around the platform of the stand. This will dampen any contact with metal that might occur, and will also with the cold from your stand.
Stealth Strips: This is an adhesive backing tape that you can add to your stand and sticks, that will again help with the cold and sound dampening.
Molle Straps: These military-grade shoulder straps will make carrying your stand long distances a breeze.
Jeremy Flinn of Stone Road Media used his Muddy Vantage Tree Stand and Aerolite Climbing Sticks in a hang and hunt situation and arrowed this beautiful Pennsylvania buck on his first sit.
Conclusion
Whatever hang and hunt method you choose, or if you consider going with a climber, getting to know your equipment through practice will make it that much easier, safer and quieter. Remember that the majority of mature bucks are killed on your first sit, so mix up your locations and make this season a success.
The Gear You Need To Film Deer Hunts | Camera Arms
Nothing is better in our eyes as whitetail hunters to be successful at a whitetail hunt, and live those 5-30 seconds of intense action just before the harvest. Once successful the whole hunt from getting into the truck, to placing the buck into the bed is a once in a lifetime memory that will never be forgotten. What could possibly be better than living this moment? Reliving it any time you want! Filming deer hunts is gaining more and more popularity each and every year. From simply watching the hunt and shot placement, too full out TV and online shows, filming deer hunts is a growing passion that peaks the interest of most if not all deer hunters. With all of the gain in popularity it’s a shock there is not more advice on how to actually film your own deer hunt, which camera’s to buy, or which camera arms, and camera gear you should buy.
Luckily we are creating and producing exactly that for you! This is part 2 on this topic, part 1 previously went over exactly what camera you should purchase for beginning to film your own deer hunts.
Camera Arms and Camera Gear for Filming Deer Hunts
Buying the right camera for the job is one aspect to filming deer hunts, and should be your first concern when begging or researching how to start filming your hunts. Our last blog was dedicated to which camera to buy for filming deer hunts. This part 2 will be more centered on the fine tuning of your gear, including a camera gear list of what you will need to successfully film your deer hunts out of the gate as a beginner.
How to Film Your Own Deer Hunt 2 | What Camera Gear and Camera Arm You Need
(Video) – Part 2 in the series devoted to filming your own deer hunt. This second installment will cover which camera gear and camera arms to consider for filming deer hunts.
Fluid Head
After you have purchased your camera arm, a fluid head is needed. The fluid head ensure smooth pans, smooth video during the hunt, and full flexibility to film the entire hunt no matter the angle. There are many choices when it comes to fluid heads, just keep in mind the performance and price point, and its ability to be attached to camera arms, and tripods.
Tripod
A tripod is not necessarily needed for filming whitetail hunts, unless you plan on filing a lot of B-roll on the ground or plan on using a ground blind or box blind during the season. A good tripod for those instances is one that is strong and durable and can support and balance the weight of your fluid head and the camera.
Backpack
This is not often mentioned when it comes to filming hunts, but anyone that does try filming their own deer hunts knows this is a critical piece of the equation. Buying a good backpack that is large enough to haul all your film gear is absolutely essential! Beyond that, comfort, enough pockets for all the camera accessories, and durability to stay intact season after season.
Hunting Safety Harnesses and Lines
It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of filming. Trying set up all the gear, the hunting camera arm, run the camera, get good quality footage, and trying to potentially harvest the deer you are filming makes it very easy to forget about the most important thing when up in a tree stand…safety!
By far the most important part of filming a whitetail hunt is getting the right camera arms. The hunting camera arm is the base of which your hunt is built on. It is the first and last piece of equipment in the tree and is the platform from which your footage is dependent on. This choice can make filming your own deer hunts extremely enjoyable or awfully hard and frustrating. This is the piece of equipment that could make or break your footage and hunt.
Now when it comes to choosing a camera arms for filming deer hunts, you have three considerations.
Camera Arm Consideration 1: Setup
While some camera arms may seem and look good on paper or online, your real consideration is how easy it will be to set up. Put yourself in the November morning hunt situation. Its early morning, an hour before the sun rises, its cold, and its dead silent and crisp. You will need to be stealthy and quick, but efficient at getting in the stand and ready for the hunt. You will have bulky clothes on, and most likely just a red or green light that is dim, just barely enough light for you to see while you are climbing up in the tree stand, hoisting your camera gear up, and setting up your camera arm. Setting up the arm needs to be simple. In part this comes down to nothing being able to fall off of the camera arm, especially little parts that are easy to loose. An ideal camera arm will be solid, and extremely simple that will allow a hunter to set it up fast, and with little effort.
Camera Arm Consideration 2: Noise
Again imagine yourself in the November woods. 3 things describe morning hunts in November. Crisp hard frost that glimmers in our headlamps, the crunch of leaves in a dead silent woods, and a cold sunrise ahead that could be ruined with just one clank. We have all done it before, when you hunt enough you eventually mess up while climbing in the stand or hanging your gear. Adding filming gear adds to the list of things that could go bump in the night and ruin your hunt. Having a camera arm that is designed for the hunter and keeps the aspect of stealth and noise dampening in mind is best.
Camera Arm Consideration 3: Function
Finally, the last consideration that is one of the most important when deciding what hunting camera arm to but is function. Not how it sets up, how quiet and ideal it is to take up in the stand, but overall how it functions at its intended purpose…being a solid camera arm. This means being stable, holding weight, becoming level in situations, and staying smooth for quality footage.
Main Camera Arms
An ideal camera arm that takes all the above into consideration, and has a proven track record is the Outfitter camera arm.
The Outfitter has extremely quiet joints and pivots, is easy to pack and sets up in seconds. It has a bubble level and has a range of adjustments to get the camera arm perfectly adjusted.
SIZE: 4” Wide x 14” Tall x 40” Long (with full arm extension)
WEIGHT: 4.5 Lbs.
WEIGHT RATING: 10 Lbs.
USE: Easy Leveling + Quick Release Lever + 360 Degree Extendable Arm Gives you the Perfect Camera Angle!
Secondary Camera Arms
The next piece of equipment you will want to take up in the stand with you is a secondary angle arm. The Muddy Micro Mount Camera Holder supplies a camera holder and a secondary camera arm.
Together this package not only supplies a holder and head to place your GoPro on, but supplies a bow or gun holder. Minimizing what you take to the stand, especially when filming your own deer hunts is always ideal.
Conclusion
If you are looking to take up filming your own deer hunts this season, start with purchasing a good beginner camera, then work your way down the checklist with the appropriate camera gear and camera arms. Take into this information into consideration and it will create an opportunity for you to be effective and enjoy the sport of filming your own deer hunt.
https://1my81432hvxx12urbaol1zr1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Muddy-Camera-Arms-for-Deer-Hunting.jpg8441200Muddy Outdoorshttps://1my81432hvxx12urbaol1zr1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Muddy_Logo_shadow-Low.pngMuddy Outdoors2016-07-20 17:46:282018-05-07 19:13:01The Gear and Camera Arms You Need for Filming Deer Hunts
Hunting Safety Harnesses | Your Tree Stand Safety Guide
Without a doubt the number one most important part of hunting is safety. Coming back home to the family is your responsibility, enough to the point where you do not leave the ground without wearing hunting safety harnesses. When it comes to tree stand safety, there is no room for error, if there is…it life threatening. While you might read and watch countless videos on how to deer hunt or just of deer hunts themselves, some of the most important information and videos might actually be the ones that could save your life. Here is tree stand safety 101 a tree stand safety guide for getting into and out of the tree safely.
When it comes to tree stand safety and hunting safety harnesses, the Treestands Manufacturer’s Association (TMA) doesn’t skimp on guidelines, standards, or safety education and tips. Here is some detailed information on the TMA and some helpful resources that define tree stand and hunter safety.
Just as we learn firearms safety in an online hunting safety course, there are tips and steps to tree stand safety. Each of these tree stand safety tips should be treated as how important they actually are…life or death.
Read Tree Stand and Hunting Safety Harness Instructions
When buying a new tree stand and safety harness, or when you have just bought new hunting safety harnesses for yourself, you need to read the instructions. It’s so easy to forget this step when preparing for hunting, and simply discard the white paper in the bottom of the box. Not reading the instructions could lead to misuse and a potentially bad, or fatal situation.
While reading or watching DVDs or informative manuals on the products you may be thinking “I don’t need this, I will never fall”, and you might be right, you might not fall, but it can always happen.
Inspect Your Tree Stand and Your Safety Harness
When deer season arrives, it’s a constant grind, each and every day that is available to hunt, you will be in the stand. In the long season and remedial task of climbing in a tree stand it can be easy to miss something. Inspecting your tree stand and your safety harness for any tears, rips, bad rust or missing nuts before you climb is a must to staying safe during the entire season.
Notify Someone Else
Another key element to remember from these tree stand safety tips, is to always, each and every time you go out hunting, let someone else know where you are. Leave a note, or verbally tell someone where you are, and how long you will be hunting for. While it’s easy to think that you have a cell phone you can’t rely on it. For one you might not have service, but two, you might lose it during the fall.
Never Hurry When Hunting From a Tree Stand
Again, once deer season gets here the rush and anxiety to get up in a tree can and will cause a panic and hurry mindset. Remember to stay calm, relaxed and think clearly. Climbing a tree stand is dangerous, you need to be sure to follow the above steps, but also be sure you have clipped in and are climbing the tree stand correctly.
Self-Rescue
Planning and preparing for tree stand safety is being prepared for the worst case scenario, if it does happen when you are deer hunting this fall, you need to know how to rescue yourself. Your hunting safety harness should have a strap or relief that allows you to straighten yourself out when hanging. This allows you to grab back on to the tree or ladder. An extra precaution would be to make sure you have access to a tree stand hook or step. Having this will allow you to climb up, allowing you to self-rescue yourself.
Use a Haul-Line
A very dangerous move sportsmen and deer hunters make each and every deer season is carrying their gear up while climbing. This is not practicing correct tree stand safety. Climbing up with gear such as your bow, a firearm, a backpack, or any other hunting gear not only adds weight and possibly one less hand on the ladder but takes your full concentration off of climbing. Always be sure there is one or two haul line or a pull ropes such as Muddy’s EZ Twist Pull Up Rope.
Hunting Safety Harnesses: Selection
The absolute essentials of tree stand safety, besides being your own responsibility are hunting safety harnesses. A good hunting safety harness that hunters can rely on goes past safety. If you have hunted long enough, you know hunting from a tree stand can be a strain. Packing in gear, and more importantly extra clothes, and always tearing layers off or putting layers back on, it gets exhausting fast. Having a hunting safety harness that is not only safe, but comfortable for all day sits, and something that does not get in the way of taking off or putting on clothes is vital.
Hunting Safety Harnesses | Muddy Outdoor Teasers
(Video) – The undoubtedly most important aspect of deer hunting is safety. Besides firearms safety, climbing up in tree stands is the most dangerous part of your hunt. Stay safe on the way up, and during the hunt with Muddy’s innovative and advanced hunting safety system designs, the hunting safety harnesses in Muddy’s line is enhanced with the exceptionally high end features and unwavering quality that it has always been known for. As tradition continues, Muddy endeavors to exceed limitations for tree stand safety and raise the bar on expectations through innovation, experience, and commitment. If you are looking for hunting safety harnesses and tree stand safety harnesses, check out Muddy’s Safety Systems Line.
Hunting safety harnesses that keep comfort in mind will keep the hunter safe. Not because they are safer, or stronger, but wearable. A safety harness that is easy to wear and comfortable makes all the difference. Muddy Outdoors has many hunting safety harnesses for whatever style or hunter you are.
Super Light! Sized to Fit, no Extra Bulk Provides SUPREME COMFORT!
One-Hand Carabiner
Extremely Gear Friendly, Keeps Everything Within Reach
Extra Cushion for all Day Hunts
CONSTRUCTION: Light Weight Padded Nylon; BUCKLES: Cam Leg Buckles
WEIGHT: 1.9 Lbs.;
INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO HUNT: Safeguard Harness,Lineman’s Rope, Tree Strap, Suspension Relief Strap, Carabiner
WEIGHT RATING: 150 Lbs.
Tree Stand Safety 101
Once you have selected one of the hunting safety harnesses you have a good base, but it takes more than a harness to keep safe in the stand. Not understanding tree stand safety beyond the harness is where most make the mistake. They wear their harness while hunting, they clip in once up in the tree, but they forget or do not have the equipment that can keep them safe all the way up to the seat of the stand. The most dangerous time of your hunt will be climbing up and down the tree stand. It doesn’t make sense to only be clipped in at the top of the stand, when you are just as high and in a more dangerous position to fall before and as you are clipping in. To stay safe during the entire hunt, from when your feet leave the ground until they return you need a safe-line.
The Muddy Safe-Line is a Unique System that allows the user to stay attached to the tree at all times.
Two Prusik Knots
Slides Easily Up and Down the Rope During Ascent and Decent and Stops You IMMEDIATELY Should a Fall Occur
Prusik Knots made of Reflective Material that Enhance Daytime and Low-Light Visibility
CONSTRUCTION: Braided Nylon; USE: Stay Safe from the Moment You Leave the Ground to the Time You Return!
Length: 30’
WEIGHT RATING: 300 Lbs.
Muddy Safe-Line | Trophy Pursuit
(Video) – Dunkin from Trophy Pursuit is hanging stands during the off season. As he hangs Muddy Tree Stands He discusses why he installs safe-lines in every single set he uses for deer hunting.
Deer hunters everywhere, this fall, and every fall to come will only briefly think about tree stand safety. The thought that “I will never fall” is a poor attitude to climb up a stand with. It your responsibility to not only wear hunting safety harnesses but use them properly and be clipped in and safe during the entire hunt. You have a responsibility to practice tree stand safety, and return to your family. Take the proper precautions, understand the material in this tree stand safety guide, follow these tree stand safety tips, get the right hunting safety harnesses, use a safe-line, and be prepared and prevent a worst case scenario.
https://1my81432hvxx12urbaol1zr1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hunting-safety-harnesses-tree-stand-safety-guide_Feature.jpg8001200Muddy Outdoorshttps://1my81432hvxx12urbaol1zr1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Muddy_Logo_shadow-Low.pngMuddy Outdoors2016-06-27 13:42:042016-06-27 13:42:04Tree Stand Safety Guide | Hunting Safety Harnesses and Tree Stand Safety Tips
