[DADAKOTA]

Do ya leave them up all year or put them inside a garage or barn?

 

[buckwacker181]

leave mine up unless i plan on moving them.

 

[Vector]

I wish I pulled them every year, but I usually do the same as BW. I've got a few that are getting rusty that I feel would be in better shape if I took them in when hunting season was closed.

Parker

 

[DADAKOTA]

Thought I was gonna get to put the stands we used this year in the barn. Heard tell that the feller using the barn don't want anything else in it. Hate to leave them up as they qwill rust and all the ratchet straps weaken in the sunlight and weather. Hate having to buy new straps and having the stands rust.

 

[Whitetail Itch]

leave em up for years. in good condition. i only use stainless steal parts so they can take the weather. :cheers:

 

[marshallgrn]

i leave mine up year round but definatly check the straps each year, usually replace them every 2 or 3 years

 

[Woods]

Try to put my up to make them last.

 

[Mailman]

[rquote=1582214&tid=109838&author=Parker]I wish I pulled them every year, but I usually do the same as BW. I've got a few that are getting rusty that I feel would be in better shape if I took them in when hunting season was closed.

Parker[/rquote]

Mines been up for two years now.

 

[DADAKOTA]

May just pull the straps and let them lay. Course ground contact might be worse.

 

[Heavyhitter]

I leave mine out all year and for the first couple year i pulled the straps and just tied a good rope around them during the off season, and before the season the next year i'd go put the straps back on. Been lazy the last 2 years and left em out there. I'll prolly be replacing the straps this year if they look like i think they will upon inspection.

 

[Vector]

:cheers: I like Heavy's idea DADA. Save your straps that way.

Rope is a lot cheaper than straps.

I agree with you about leaving the stands on the ground. The vegetation will grow around them for you, making it a pain to get them out of it. Done that one before. Never again.

Parker

 

[Heavyhitter]

Sure saves the hassle of having to put them heavy things back up also. :cheers:

 

[DADAKOTA]

It would be much easier if I could just put them in the barn like I was told I could.

 

[pinwheel]

[rquote=1582244&tid=109838&author=DADAKOTA]May just pull the straps and let them lay. Course ground contact might be worse.[/rquote]

Yes, ground contact is gonna be worse on em. Will hold moisture against the metal & cause them to rust faster.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Guys, don't forget trees grow. Leaving the straps on puts additional strain on the straps, and that, plus the "weathering" is the reason straps fail. Leave 'em out if you want, but at the very least, swap the straps for a bit of rope during the off-season.
Go back and read some of the horror stories about stand failures... almost all are STRAP failures.
my .02

 

[Bowhunter417]

I leave mine up and replace the straps every couple of years. Good idea about the rope, I'll prolly do that this year. I also do a little predator hunting out of mine after season.

 

[cardiackiller]

i take all my stands down

 

[Muleskinner]

I leave them out . They are heavy homemade. But use chain and a turnbuckle. But use must loosen them after hunting season or they will grow into the tree.

 

[alwyshntn]

I leave mine out but usually end up replacing a few straps each year. My ladderstands are positioned in spots where I will not be moving them from year to year most times. Saves on the in and out on the area just to leave them up as well as not introducing a new "eye sore" for the deer to get use to all over again. I put a piece of 2X wood or plywood underneath the feet of my ladderstands to eliminate the ground contact and also make sure that any water that may get down into the legs doesn't collect in them and freeze inside causing the metal to bust. That is my biggest concern! I have had ladderstands that held water and busted in different locations thru the winter due to freezing.

 

[Muleskinner]

Drill a small hole near ground level to prevent the leg from freeze busting.