Fixed-position stands, Pye notes, were once fairly uncomfortable compared with other kinds of tree stands, but manufacturers have gotten that problem worked out over the past eight or 10 years.

"They're making platforms wider and seats larger and more cushioned," Pye said. "They've come a long way from having solid wooden platforms and old 9-inch-wide seats. Tree stand manufacturers have made major leaps and bounds.

"Now, in a good fixed-position stand, you can sit for hours and hours -- the entire day. And you can stay seated or stand up and shoot."

Pye said that the advantages of a fixed-position stand are several:

First, a fixed-position stand can be hung from almost any tree. "If you find an area and there's no tree that you can really put a climber or a ladder stand on -- trees with a lot of limbs -- you can almost always find a tree where you can hang a fixed-position stand," Pye said.

"That serves two purposes. You can put it on a tree that gives you a lot of cover -- you can cut out a little place for you to sit -- or you can put it at a place that's the perfect ambush spot. You can hang a fixed-position stand in places where no other stands can go."

Fixed-position stands have long been favorites among bowhunters because of the ease in which a hunter can move around to get the shot that is presented -- straight in front, to either side, even behind the tree on which the stand is hung.

"A fixed-position stand is your basic bowhunting stand," Pye said. "You can stand up and turn around to shoot -- which is good for a bowhunter -- and it's lightweight. It doesn't take much to carry one in, and you can hang one anywhere from 8 feet to 45 feet high -- as low or high as you want to go."

Pye said that paying attention to safety is a must when hunting in a fixed-position stand. He never gets in a stand without a safety harness, and he has made a point of wearing one even when he's just preparing the stand -- screwing in the steps or hanging the stand at the height he's chosen to hunt.

"You have to be careful when you're putting one up, because a fixed-position stand is the kind that you normally fall out of -- especially when you're setting it up," he said.

"You've screwed in the steps, and you're getting it set in place, and your arms are tired, and you're trying to get it hung -- and it's real easy to fall then if you don't have a safety belt or climbing system on."

LADDER STANDS
Of all the "homemade" stands that are in the deer woods today, ladders are the most common, and it's easy to see why. Take a pair of 10-foot 2x4s, nail them together with 2x4 steps, then attach them to a platform and attach the platform to a tree trunk -- either with a lag screw or a chain/strap/belt device.

Manufacturers figured out the ease with which a ladder stand can be assembled and hung years ago, and they made them a regular part of their tree stand offerings.