2008 Overview

Though our prices haven't changed since 2003, unfortunately the price of aluminum has shot up, natural gas prices have caused powder coating costs to soar, and gasoline prices have increased shipping costs substancially as well. The past couple of years Deer Hunter Stands has been able to absorb this cost but this year we will have a small price increase in 2008 but we are still working on the amount which should be somewhere between 3% and 7%.

On a good note, I spent lots of time whitetail hunting in South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee this year. Hunting in the Carolinas was a bust, probably worsened by the severe drought, increased pressure, and loss of habitat - I heard and saw plenty of deer after dark but they just didn't seem to move during the day at all. Tennessee deer hunting was a different story, check out the mountain hunting cabin that offered delux accomodations with acreage where you can hunt for free. I got one with a crossbow, and another with a pickup... fortunately not much truck damage although I can't say the same for the button buck!

2007 Price List

I am happy to say that there will be NO price increases this year as we will keep our tree stand prices the same as 2006. In fact, we have decreased the price of the 102 WAR with drop seat by $10 to make it the same price as the regular 102 model. Most deer stand manufacturers are increasing prices 10% across the board even when their Chinese junk is costing less to produce. We are committed to producing a quality product at affordable prices.

We are presently in Charleston at the West Virginia trophy hunters association expo and this seems to be a good show. We've met lots of avid bow hunters and more treestand hunters than we met in Cincinatti or Reading. There does still appear to be a smaller percentage of hunters in the North that use tree stands than compared to the south. Deer Hunter Stands has been predominantely a southeast company for the past thirty years and we hope to expand to the north and midwest in the coming years and I believe with increase hunter presure success will improve dramatically with the use of any brand of tree stand. Of course, I believe ours are the safest and most comfortable stands on the market.

Banner year for Deer Hunter Stands

2006 was a great year for us and the first time we actually sold out of several models, however we were able to send folks to dealers who had stock so orders were fulfilled. We have ramped up production for 2007 and are already making stands so we're not caught with our pants down in the upcoming year.

We are also adding a host of new trade shows to our schedule in the Northeast (Cincinatti, Reading, Charlestown, Harrisburg) that we have never done before, so come visit Also check out our complete 2007 schedule and links to trade show info.

Tree stand levelers

We are presently evaluating a new yet simple device to level tree climbers to keep the cost down on such a leveling device. Buckshot Equalizer seems to be doing well with its cranking device to level deer stands, but in my opinion a little overkill on the complexity and cost to perform such a simple task. There was also a recall in early production when they were working the bugs out, and I still hear of complaints that the crank handle will break off. Deer Hunter Stands has had tree levelers for years, which are simple aluminum shims that are placed on the climbing blade once up in a tree. I can usually eyeball a tree and estimate if any increased angle is needed when first setting up the stand based on the amount of tree taper. Fortunately I hunt in woods with lots of perfectly straight tulip populars but I know not everyone has this luxury, and when I hunt in areas with old oaks with a large degree of tree taper I tend to use our big deer lock on stand. This doesn't help those who love climbers, which is why we are in the process of implementing a simple and inexpensive way to fix this common dilemna.

Simple is often better, certainly when it is also cheaper. We are still working out details on the patent, but stay posted as this will be offered soon!

Ted Nugent's Sunrize Safaris

I just returned from Michigan where my 13 yr old son got his first kill with a rifle. He took out an exotic ram with one perfectly placed shot with my Marlin .35 after his crossbow jammed. Big Jim and Paul were wonderful hosts at the Nugent ranch, I'll be going back but next time to hunt with Ted or perhaps get a buffalo.

I believe children in America are missing a right of passage during their transformation from childhood to adulthood, which hunting has historically provided. Less people are hunting and more are becoming couch potatoes, which creates a disconnect to the earth and nature and leaves our kids hanging in limbo. Anti-hunting activists have this all backwards, because they don't hunt they don't understand that hunters purposefully inject ourselves into the balance of nature.

No wonder kids these days are in a world of confusion, with misinformation and conflicting info all around, plus no ritual or right of passage that tells them "Yes you have accomplished this and yes you are now considered a respected adult". Does this have to be hunting or killing? No, but it certainly works for some. It could also be confirmation in church, going through an Indian sweat lodge ceremony, or similar ordeal. Instead our children are floundering between the two phases in life, left untended could help warp them to do bizarre things like Columbine, get pregnant, etc, etc.

Hunting is normal, hunting is natural, hunting is historically the only way we survived, and I personally feel that it is an excellent path through which personal growth can be acheived. The old saying, "Take your children hunting so you won't be hunting your children" is true. I have seen remarkable changes in my boy since I've started taking him hunting. He is growing up in a mature and healthy way, and if more parents took there kids hunting this world would be a better place!

- Dr. Ken Curtis

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.