2006 whitetail season arrives!

South Carolina archery season opened Friday and I took my 13 year old into the woods as this is one of the few places you can get a buck in full velvet. I set him on one of our Deerhunter ladder stands while I observed from the Big Deer lock-on stand close by. I have always been a rifle hunter while my son is quite proficient at shooting a bow, thanks to Joella Bates at Boar Hunter magazine who took us boar hunting in Georgia earlier this year and taught him to shoot straight. A bear hunting trip to New Brunswick this spring also did a lot to teach him patience, unfortunately a 13 year old's attention span is tested on most whitetail hunts. That morning we saw a racoon, a red fox, and a beaver... but the whitetail didn't show up until later when Sam was at school and I can't hit the broad side of a barn with a bow. I guess that's why they call it hunting.

Treestand Manufacturing Association

I asked Mr. Benfield, the oldest manufacturer still in business, about his opinion of our company joining the TMA and his opinion was that it had zero value other than extracting $1000 from our bank account. Why? I asked, to which he responded that he had been producing a quality product long before the creation of the Treestand Manufacturing Association and joining wouldn't improve the already excellent products. He elaborated that at its early inception TMA invited Deerhunter to join, and he decided against it because of the "crap" produced by several members of the association, particularly by the company owned by then president of TMA. Apparently independent testing is no guarantee of safety, and looking at the treestand recalls maybe this is more of a social group with common interests? I suppose for now we will continue to produce the same quality tree stands without joining but may always consider it in the future.

Cable locks and cable tree stands

At the past couple shows we've gotten more questions from consumers about why Deer Hunter Tree Stands have never utilized the cables to hold the tree, specifically after some states like PA and others seem to be encouraging their use. The answer is simple - HUNTER SAFETY! We just don't feel they are as safe as the tried and true boomerang blades that we designed and use.
Many years ago a cable company came to us first asking if we would like to try these out on our tree stands. The answer then and the answer now is NO. On some of our models like the 100 WAR stand we do use cables to hold the backrest, and this is why this cable company approached us originally before offering it to other manufacturers.

Used correctly new cable stands are safe, but some hunters may not be familiar with their use and many continue to oppose safety belts or harnesses as a backup. I don't believe there is enough margin for error and folks will continue to get hurt in falls from tree stands. The coating on cables is slick and most of these stands pull at an oblique angle slightly toward the ground instead of perpendicular against the tree. This is asking for trouble
as these stands are much more likely to slip on the tree, particularly if the hunter inadvertantly bumps the stand before it is fully engaged against the trunk.

Another reason I don't like cables is that it is impossible to inspect the entire cable and locking system before use. With a blade you can look at it for rust, metal fatigue, cracking and excessive aging (even though on our aluminum blades this will not be an issue) but unfortunately cables coated in plastic cannot be inspected. It is not all that unlikely that with use, moisture may penetrate through cracks in the plastic and corrode the metal or otherwise weaken the cables. Perhaps my concern is premature but time will tell and I hope it doesn't cost anyone their life.

We use blades with beveled edges that pull at a 90 degree angle against the tree and really bite the tree trunk. It may leave a mark in softer trees but this does not hurt the tree any more that tapping a maple for syrup. And if you're worried about the trees maybe you need to take out a few bucks that are shredding your saplings, the older trees can fend for themselves. I would rather err on the side of safety for the hunter than trying not to scrape the trees. We have added many safety innovations over the years to our stands but this is one area we haven't changed and don't plan to. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!