I'd been thinking about packing a climber, strapping it to my pack. But I was just in Gander Mtn and saw this ... It weighs 17 lbs but rolls up tight enough that I could strap it to the outside of my pack ... If I hunted below the HB trail or at Bear Den, don't ya think this would work?

Shoot yeah it would work. But you don't even really need that. It will let you get away with more movement. But if I'm makin the journey, like going hours from the road, less stuff the better, you would have just as good of chance without it, just some good camo and sit straight on the ground, just bring a cushion.
But if you hunt close to the top, I will show you camping spot up top, I would use a climber over there at bear den, bear den point trail is pretty long but you don't really have to go to far to see deer

I took a climber way down one time and we didn't kill a deer that weekend so had to tote it back out, won't be doin that again. Any time after that I just started sitting on the ground when we went all the way to the cemetery and hunted the other mountain

I'm thinking that until I get the hang of what will spook deer and what won't this would be nice but ... I suppose I need to decide after I figure out where to hunt.

My tent weighs 6 lbs so if I leave it behind and take this then I only add 11 lbs to my pack.

You ever climb before? Get a harness if you plan to.
I sit on the ground on gun hunts most of the time.
But a stand or a blind is a must for bow hunting

Nope, I've never tried one before

You got one you can borrow? If so find a good soft bark tree and practice in your yard. I wouldn't go buy one tho if I was you. Don't have to be in a tree stand to kill a deer. I shot my first buck sitting on the ground. Key is to stay as scent free as possible, I don't pump gas on trips, cuz the fumes stick to your hands. And just be quiet and still as possible, could be hours before you see a deer, could be twenty minutes, or you might not even see a deer at all. But the wma is loaded, I seen deer every trip, as long as I sit daylight to dark and only go back to camp for lunch

No I don't have one I can borrow. I think I can afford to buy either a climber or that stand up blind by next fall. I guess I'll figure out where I'm going to hunt then decide which one to invest in.

buy a fold up camo chair doesn't weigh much i have killed alot of deer out of mine at bankhead. a chair will keep you more comfortable than setting on the ground or buy a Summit tree seat. they work well also.the chair may seem weard but you can set back in the rocks or get in a blown down tree top and be comfortable all day.

the only problem i have found with a blind is that it seems like deer are scared of them. i put one up this year about 150 yards from where we had a ton of deer on a game camera. we didn't get anothed picture for a month

Same thing headshot said.... I don't like using ground blinds if I am not about to set them up and allow deer to get accustom to it first. Deer seem to spook when they encounter something new in the woods

Well I guess that makes sense too

I won't be able to camp. But I can meet you at the cemetery saturday morning if I can manage to find a baby sitter. Check out the camp spot up top before you walk down Friday, once you get to the cemetery parking lot( hiking trail) instead of goin down the mountain there is a trail to the right of the parking lot, follow it a little ways and there is a small field on the left, the camp spot is in the back corner of the field on the bluff line. If you hunt bear den or anywhere close to the top it's the way to go, much more convienent

I understand, I was a single dad and raised two daughters on my own for 10+ years. Hope you can find a sitter, would be fun ...

Found the campground :

Yep that's it

Leopard, Look up TVA recreation maps on like, you have some good areas to hunt close to you, plus I hunt a good bit on Skyline and kill plenty deer every year, I can hook you up with some spots that I kill deer on every year since I moved to Alabama in 2008, Little River has some good hunting too, I kill there every year too, shoot me a message when ever, I don't work been disabled since 2001

Will do thanks!

Anyone have any recommendations for a good climber that I can strap to my backpack?

Also, a friend was describing to me how to field quarter a deer so I went YouTubing and watched some videos of the process ... It does not look all that complicated. I'm starting to think that just quartering it up in the field and packing it out is going to be my best bet since I don't have a 4WD or ATV.

Lone Wolf on the climber.

Don't have any advice on the other - a deer ain't worth that much effort to me. If Skyline was my only option to deer hunt, I would probably quit deer hunting based on my past two years experience hunting Jackson County mountains.

Well I've never killed a deer so my perspective is different. I've dreamed of it all my life but the opportunity didn't present itself to me. Then one day, encouraged by my incredibly supportive wife, I decided that I was going to just make it happen.

I'm willing to put a great deal of effort into killing my first. The adventure of packing in to a remote area with little or no other folks around, spending the night in the area, waking up to the excitement of a hunt, experiencing my first kill, learning to dress it out, the physical challenge of retrieving the animal,
doing all the things you experienced guys consider normal ... All that I find incredibly exciting.

Plus, I may be 51 but I am a very strong 51 physically and mentally. I have confidence in myself to be able to rise to the occasion and overcome any obstacles that get in my way. I want this really bad and the fact that it's going to be hard just makes it that more desirable to me. If it was easy, I doubt that I would have taken an interest in it anyway