How do you get your Rifle or Bow and Pack up into your tree stand? Probably with rope. Did you ever worry about the knot coming undone and your $500 rifle and $400 scope plummeting to the ground? If that has ever happened to you, you know that at a minimum, you have got to get down out of the tree and fetch your equipment. Worse case, hunting season could be over due to a damaged scope.

Ideal Hunting Products of Chesapeake VA has come up with a well engineered and inexpensive rifle and bow hoist. Their Premiere® Rifle & Bow Hoist, attaches to a rifle, bow, and pack in seconds and provides 25 feet of length for climbing. Guaranteed for life, high stress tolerant, and it can also be used as a deer drag, this is one device the hunter does not want to be without. The hoist attaches to your rifle, bow and pack with no knots. They use custom stainless steel trigger hooks, rated at 500 lbs., to attach your equipment. The hoist also includes a 400 denier nylon camouflaged carrying case.

The Premiere® Rifle & Bow Hoist by Ideal Hunting Products, Inc. is the easiest way to get all you gear into the tree stand. Your rifle or bow (or both) attaches in seconds-with no knots to tie-and the stainless-steel trigger hooks allow you to bring all your gear up at the same time. The hoist is 25 feet long and made of strong nylon webbing. It comes with a 400-denier nylon camo carrying case. Extensions in 5, 10 and 15 feet lengths are also available. No we get to the good part, our torture tests.

The first thing we did was use the hoist the way we were instructed to. We pulled a rifle and pack up to our stand without any problem. This is a really quick and quiet system. The hooks allow for the equipment to be disconnected quickly. Ever try untying a knot in nylon rope in the freezing cold, it's not even a concern with this system.

After bringing our equipment up and down from the stand, we decided to start putting the screws to this hoist. The webbing that the hoist is made of is rated at 1,000lbs. We decided to tie it to a limb and that hanging and swinging on it would be a fair test. The hoist passed both the monkey climb and Tarzan swing tests with flying colors.

Our next test, and the one that I thought would put this thing away, was our tug o war test. We secured the hoist around a tree, and tried to pull the attaching hooks loose. After some grunting and groaning, Premier Rifle and Bow Hoist 1, me 0.

Aside from setting the thing on fire or cutting it in half with a knife, I don't think there are too many ways to break the thing.

This is one of those products that can be recommended without reservations. The Premiere Rifle & Bow Hoist retails for only $19.95 + $4.50 shipping and handling. You can contact Ideal Hunting Products on their web site www.idealhunting.com or call 1-800-860-6977

Ideal Hunting Products, Inc.
P.O. Box 6176
Chesapeake VA 23323


By: Ron England