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'Tis the season... Artificial Xmas tree limbs for bow hunting

Stressless

Active Member
2,128
85
Keene, OH
We've all been there, a major convergence of worn paths at a beautiful funnel, look up and around, there's the sentinel tree, 20-25 yards away with bullet proof thermals, access and wind direction. .BUT. It's a narrowish strait trunk, skylighted with nothing much behind it. You know you'll look like a skewered pumpkin sitting there .. Or you hunt plots or food areas where there will be a number of deer around your wheelhouse when the bruiser comes in (like my buck this year- Story here -> Stressless Archery harvest 2020)

COA's
  • keep on scouting
  • mount a stand and 'hope' for a stupid mature buck (that's an oxymoron by the way)
...or...
  • mount a multi-year cheap and easy method to obscure you and your movements
I was having this very conversation with my neighbor in the fall of 2019 and he brought up what he does. Mount artificial pine tree limbs, in and around the stand for bow hunting. I was flabbergasted, I had, for a couple years cut fresh oak and beach limbs in Sep and tied or drilled them in and around stands but they are fragile and prone to blow out in high winds - and they really only provide breakup for one year. I decided to give it go and this is how/where/what I did in case you want to try it yourselves.

First thing is to secure a couple artificial Xmas trees - you might have some, I don't I use real ones so I had to scour the usual suspects ..
  • thrift shops
  • garage sales
  • after xmas sales etc///
Once I had a couple - I think my total was 3 or 4 "trees" broken stands, lights don't work - No Problem! I got to work.
20191227_112202.jpg


discard the stand, base, and post that the limbs are supposed to fit into.

Next most have a L shaped bar at the end to "hook" the limb into. Cut that off, keeping the shaft as long as possible.
20191227_112212.jpg


You'll need a good set of metal clippers - this is what I use for fence and other stuff up to 3/8" metal.
Capture.JPG


This will give you a nice harpoon end to stick into the limbs and tree your stand is in.
20191227_112251.jpg


I had about 8-9 stands I wanted to brush in so I went with 3 total artificial trees - I think the total cost for all was less than $40 (all used), cutting the limbs as shown and hauled them to camp.
20191227_115017.jpg



You'll want gloves and to be really careful around them as the cut metal is sharp and if you trip and fall into them.... DAMN... bad news.

So now you've got these limbs, I take a 5gal bucket or two per stand, get your cordless drill and match a drill bit to just a bit larger diameter then the metal pine limb shaft. I've found putting them in about 10-20 degrees up from vertical works really well, stagger them to make the outline "fuzzier".

To get them up I put them in a 5gal bucket, tie to my bow rope to the handle. When you're up just haul them up and set the bucket on the stand.

I'll have the cordless drill and bit with me and punch about 5 holes and then mount the limbs by pushing the cut end up till it seats. Then drill about 5 more -- repeat.

... some in limbs...
20200912_143223.jpg


...some in the trunk you'll figure out fairly quick where it works and where it inhibits your shooting lanes - best thing is you can bend the metal insides and it stays where you bent it without tape or Velcro like the natural ones. Also you can fan out the individual little boughs to maximize the blurring effect. I put them low to obscure my legs and feet, mid to obscure my body and arms and above to obscure the head and when I draw.
20200912_143251.jpg


Basically you're building a human sized squirrel nest around your hanger and stand. My neighbor says he gets 4-5 years out of them. By the 9-10th of Nov most of teh leaves were down where I hunt and these were doing exactly what they were designed to do, keep a perminant "clump" in the tree where the stand is so the deer get acclimated to it being there and when you're in it - it doesn't change the shape or outline.

I'll be taking some more pics of it in Jan during muzzle loading season - I'm bought into it and will be scrounging another 3-4 broken down artificial trees this season to put up during turkey season in Apr.

Hope this helps/ is clear,
Stressless
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,128
85
Keene, OH
@Steelheadtracker - I think any "new" disturbance in the woods will put them off for a number of days - the fawns and yearling does and bucks around food not so much, but as Jeff Sturgis states, they are the "Great Deceivers" for a mature Doe or Buck I would have them out at least a week before trusting that movement in the woods is normaled back up. Based on what I've done - they drop the artificial needles whenever you move them - that has to be a unknown scent, so if they were there and you were just adding more I don't think that's an issue, but to feather in a hang on stand that is now barren of leaves and tomorrow it's all fuzzy - I think it'll put them off until they get used to it.

I put mine up in Apr, Jul and Sep, I did add some more limbs to a couple stands that already had quite a few limbs from Sep, in mid Oct. I did not notice a negitive change based on trail cam coverage of mock scrape and food plot 23 and 25 yards from the stand.
 
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Stressless

Active Member
2,128
85
Keene, OH
@Buckkillr Dang man --- Don't mess up a happy home... :ROFLMAO::LOL:

First thing is to secure a couple artificial Xmas trees - you might have some, I don't I use real ones so I had to scour the usual suspects ..

  • thrift shops
  • garage sales
  • after xmas sales etc///
@tracker 6 ...this isn't candy wrappers and beer cans.

What I've found is, with the added pine boughs, it makes the stands and climbing sticks much harder to make out at a casual glance. No trash. Be well.
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,128
85
Keene, OH
Thrift Shop on base score - took things in to donate and this was in a bin, dry outside by itself. I asked the lady and she just said pls take it 😃 it had been there a month already. On my chores list from another thread... Installing these when there's no leaves really makes it clear where you need cover, got about 3-4 weeks of that window left.

20220328_204306.jpg
 
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Stressless

Active Member
2,128
85
Keene, OH
"tis the season to hit garbage day/ thrift shops / etc for folks getting rid of their old garland and trees.... just scored another 7' pine tree. I have three stands that really need the brush.
 
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