You’ve spent a lot of money on your bow and its attached accessories, and you’ve invested countless hours sighting-in and preparing for a shot on a whitetail. Don’t waste this money and time by damaging your gear while hauling it into treestands. Follow these three tips and your equipment will remain in good shape.

1. Trim branches when placing treestands.

If you’re like most bowhunters, you place treestands well before opening day to minimize disturbance during hunting season. You clear shooting lanes, and if you’re smart, you also make sure your access trail to the stand is clear of obstructions. But do you trim branches that can catch on your bow when you haul it into the stand? If not, get with the program and have a plan for hauling your bow. Decide exactly where your bow will travel from the ground to the stand and trim any branches that might be in the way.

 

2. Hang a bow hauling rope when you hang the treestand.

After you’ve completed step No. 1 (trimming branches), attach a bow hauling rope to the treestand and then leave it in place during the archery season. Yes, this means you need one bow hauling rope for every treestand left in the woods. I purchase braided decoy cord/rope in bulk; cost is about $15 for 500 feet. Because most of my bow hauling ropes are 15 to 17 feet long, this bulk spool will service about 30 treestands.

3. The Loop System

I almost always hang treestands with help of a buddy because it’s safer, less work and more fun. When it comes time to attach the bow hauling rope to the treestand, I stand on the ground in the exact spot I wish to attach my bow. My buddy is in the treestand with his safety harness attached, and he has the bulk spool of rope. He lowers the end of the rope to me and I tie a silver dollar-size loop in it. I hold the loop 3 feet off the ground as my buddy cuts the rope for length and ties it to the treestand. Finally, I attach the loop end of the rope to the tree in some way so it doesn’t blow away prior to my arrival later during hunting season. 

Why the loop? Why 3 feet off the ground?

When I approach the treestand during hunting season, I walk up to the base of tree and find the loop end of the rope. I feed the loop through the top cam of my bow and then lift my bow so I can slide the loop over the bow’s stabilizer bar. With the rope through the top cam and around the stabilizer, the bow is held vertically and it doesn’t touch the ground (photo below). After climbing into the stand, I simply haul the bow upward. The bow doesn’t hit anything on its trip because I’ve already trimmed branches.