Wood goes to hell in a few years. I prefer metal, less work and lasts forever. I have platforms that are 40 years old. I took about 3 days to build the platform for this stand. Put it up one morning.
Agreed! If it had been my project, I would have made different choices. When I showed up to help, there was a pile of lumber already there so I was just "the muscle" on this particular setup. I bought two really nice metal tree stands for my contribution.
This last deer season, a coworker was kind enough to invite me out to hunt on his family's lease but when I got there I was assigned a wooden stand that I had some serious doubts about so I stayed on the ground instead. Not my favorite material by a long shot having taken a hard fall one night after sunset when a wooden rung ripped off a ladder because of rotten screws. I think metal is the better investment & one serious injury will convince most people of that.
