Walking outside into the cool, crisp morning weather lately instills two thoughts into one's mind: winter's around the corner and hunting season is here! Stroll into any sporting goods shop and you'll be overwhelmed with wall-to-wall shelves filled from floor to ceiling with any type of hunting gear you can imagine. Today, we're going to take a look at one product that'll raise you up off the forest floor when in search of some big game like the whitetail deer. Now, you're probably wondering what in the world does a tree stand have to do with ATVs . . . right? Take a close look next time you're in the forest and see for yourself just how ATVs and hunting go together as well as peanut butter and jelly.
      A company called Bear River manufactures the Grizzly fixed-position tree stand. With its oversized platform measuring 24"x 30" and the super-thick padded seat covered in Advantage Camo, this seemed to be the ticket for parking a body up in a tree and still maintaining some mobility for hunting other locations while using a quad for transportation. Let's take a closer look at the Grizzly and see if this is the route you should take for tree stand hunting.

Construction:
    The Grizzly tree stand is aluminum tubing that has been welded together, rather than some of the conventional riveted platforms we've seen from other manufacturers. It looks solid and strong so far. Next, we followed the detailed instructions and bolted on the hardware and seat support tubes with a few basic tools to complete the assembly process. No problems there. The seat folds up nicely against the platform, allowing you to have a nice package that'll strap somewhere onto your ATV. Using all aluminum materials gave this large portable tree stand a good lightweight approach--only 17 lb.

How'd it perform?
       After arriving at our hunting location, we strapped the Grizzly onto our back with the included backpack straps, which were even adjustable. Walking and scouting through the forest for a place to set up the stand was pretty comfy, even though we had the Grizzly on our back.      
    Once we located what we thought would be a productive area, we selected a medium-sized tree to perform Operation "Clamp-on". As with ATV riding, our concern for safety (we really want to make it home each night) is the most crucial detail. We opted to mount the Grizzly just four feet of the ground to check it out before venturing higher up the tree (do this at home if necessary, but practice mounting the stand at lower elevations).
    While holding the Grizzly at approximately a 45� - 90� angle, wrap the rubber-coated chain snugly around the tree, then place the chain over the Grizzly's platform and hook the free end of the chain onto the Grizzly's platform bolt. Now push down on the front of the Grizzly's platform until it's firmly in place against the tree. Check and make sure that the chain isn't too loose or too tight. If so, readjust accordingly. Next, lift up the seat, wrap the 1000-lb. test nylon strap around the tree to secure the seat upright.
    Since we were only a few feet above the ground for testing purposes, we decided to forego the safety strap from our body to the tree at this time. After climbing up onto the Grizzly's platform, we arrived at a very stable "safe feeling". Weighing in at around 180 lb., I spent a good deal of time standing on the very corner of the platform, trying to make it break or shift positions on the tree--NO GO! More than likely it's because of Bear River's patented Cam-Lock system. After leaning, sitting, twisting and jumping on the platform, NO SQUEAKS! Bear River's lucky because it guarantees that this big bad Grizzly won't sound like a mouse.

Up we went:
    All safety factors checking out fine so far, up we went another ten feet for our evening perch. This time, when climbing up the tree and adjusting the platform, we used our safety strap that was provided with the Grizzly (make sure you do, too!). While thinking about sitting on top of the world (well, 14 feet anyway), we still wanted to test this Grizzly's demeanor to its fullest. So, as determined as we are, we wrapped a tow strap around the platform and then--you guessed it--attached our Superwinch to the strap. No, we're not that crazy to try to winch the Polaris Xplorer 500 up into the stand, but we did want to put a little heavier weight onto the Grizzly to test the 350-lb. weight limit rating. After the front tires of the Xplorer 500 started lifting off the ground, we decided to crank it up some more until the Xplorer's front tires were about a foot and a half off the ground. With the front end of a 600-lb. quad hanging from the Grizzly, we felt that was pretty close to the weight limit rating. Any damage? None at all; we didn't even hear a squeak. Now we felt safe enough to put our butt up in a tree.

The following list of instructions are for your benefit each and every time you use a tree stand.

Always use a safety belt when climbing, descending, sitting on or standing on a stand.

Do not stand on the seat.

Do not make any alterations to the stand. Always inspect the stand thoroughly before use to ensure that there are no malfunctions or broken parts.

Do not stand on dead or diseased trees.

Inspect safety belt and locking straps each time before use for broken stitching, cuts, or tears that would affect the strength. If the belt or any parts are suspect, have them repaired or replaced.

Do not stand if under the influence of medications, alcohol, drugs or if you have dizzy spells, heart problems or fear of heights.

Do not climb or descend with any type of weapon. Always use a rope or cord to raise the weapon when in the stand and in proper position to hunt and lower the weapon when finished hunting. MAKE SURE THE WEAPON IS UNLOADED when raising or lowering.

Do not sleep on stand.

Do not use in excess of the 350-lb.weight limit.

Did the Grizzly turn Cub?
    After several adventures in different hunting territories, we found that the Grizzly performed very well and was easy to climb onto, since no side cables or supports are used. The seat height and softness was comfortable and should accommodate most users. Bear River even included a carrying pouch for the rubber-coated chain so excessive noise or a dragging chain wasn't a concern while backpacking the stand in the woods or strapping it on the quad. The electrostatically applied powdercoat finish held up nicely to the bumps and scrapes.      
    The $159 price tag might dent your wallet some, but it looks like Bear River builds quality tree stands that should last a long time. We didn't have to call on the company's squeak guarantee because the Grizzly never squeaked, but we thought we saw a guarantee about bagging a whitetail in the paperwork somewhere........Nope, we were wrong. That part's up to us alone....the Grizzly did its job.