45 years ago I was content to find a white oak with a wide horizontal limb to sit on. Then after a few years I started nailing a single board in a tree and after a few more years I would put two 2x4s on two close together trees and then build a platform on them with other boards nailed to the tree for a ladder. Then I moved to Missouri and hunted public land where permanent stands were not allowed and I got my first manufactured ladder stand. It had just a seat and a place to put your feet. Then my father in law ruined me. He is a welder and he made me a stand that had a shooting rail and a seat that swivled. The only problem with it was that the ladder was welded on and it was hard to drag throw the woods. m It was perhaps too comfortable as there was no way I could fall out of lit I often found myself nodding off. I am told by my wife that I snore loudly and waking up from one of these short naps I once found a nice doe about thirty yards away intently looking at me and I guess trying to figure out what that strange noise was. Now in addition to the old ladder stand and this large home made stand I have a couple of two person portable latter stands also with shooting rails on them. On my father in laws land we are now contemplating building a small permanent wooden blind, perhaps 6 feet or so high with a roof and room to put a couple of lawn chairs in it. Over the years I have come a long way from those tree branches. The only thing that could possible beat this last set up would be to use the second story porch on my house as my yard is often used by the local herd. This time of the year it is hard to keep the little beggars out of my strawberry patch. The fact that my 'fierce dogs' are about 20 or so yards from the strawberries doesn't seem to deter them at all. I think they are on first a first name basis with the pups.
RJ
