Ratchet Straps: a Deer Hunter’s Best Friend
By Mark Melotik
Safety should be every treestander’s biggest concern, and now is a good time to think about on how safely you hunted last fall and how you can improve in 2025. A good start? Always keep a ratchet strap in your pack and/or a few in your vehicle in case you need to quickly improve one of your favorite stand sets.
I do a fair amount of public-land bowhunting with ultra-compact hang-on stands, some that do not feature a two-strap anchor system. All hang-on stands can benefit from a two-strap system. If you’re unfamiliar, many hang-on stands come with a primary attachment strap situated up near the seat, as well as a secondary strap near the stand base. This smarter design prevents the stand from kicking out as you climb in or hang out to either side, putting extreme side-angle pressure on your stand as you attempt to make a tough shot.
The trouble is, there are still some hang-ons that rely solely on a one-strap system. They do not come with that secondary stabilizing strap. If you go without a secondary strap, it’s dangerously easy to overload a stand’s stability as you hang your bow hook, or maybe your pack on the back of the tree. That’s where an after-market platform-mounted ratchet strap (I buy them with earth-tone or camo straps) can save the day.
I just watched a YouTube video posted by a veteran bowhunter who was not using a secondary strap on his compact, lightweight hang-on, and he took a frightening tumble as a result. He was attaching gear to the back of his tree when the stand suddenly kicked out. Luckily his lineman-style safety strap saved the day.
Even some ladder stands can be made safer with the addition of a well-placed ratchet strap. On a recent semi-guided hunt with a Kansas outfitter, the plan was I’d hang all my own stands. But because I arrived late on the first day, I opted to climb into an existing ladder stand rather than wait until the next morning to begin my hunt.
At the ladder, I noticed the severely angled, obviously neglected stand that was almost impossible to access safely. One big issue was the strap attaching the horizontal metal ladder-stabilizing bar to the tree had either rotted away or been gnawed apart by squirrels or raccoons. Luckily, I remembered the ratchet strap in the bottom of my pack. The quick fix saved that hunt.
Over the years, I’ve also used ratchet straps to better anchor a ground blind during ultra-windy conditions, and to replace damaged straps on hang-ons set deep on public land, literally saving hunts. I also recall maybe the most-welcome use of a few handy ratchet straps: Anchoring packs and hunt-gear duffles to my 4x4 SUV’s roof rack — to make room inside for a freshly harvested, many-tined deer.