Millennium Tree Stands and Hunting Chairs

What Millennium makes for deer hunters

Millennium tree stands cover the ways a hunter gets off the ground, plus a seat for when you stay on it. On this site that's five product types:

• Hang-on stands and tree seats: a seat and platform you strap to the trunk at height
• Ladder stands: single and double, with the seat on top of a ladder
• Climbing sticks: strap-on ladder sections for reaching a hang-on
• Hunting chairs: swivel chairs for ground blinds
• An elevated box blind: the Q400 Guard House Buck Hut

The grid above shows what's on Amazon right now, with filters by type. Listings come and go, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not how many there are this week. Most of the specs come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them that way.

The maker's own site lists more than that: tripod stands, ground blinds, turkey seats, shooting tripods, feeders and apparel. None of those are in this grid, and this site doesn't list turkey seats, shooting tripods or feeders at all. For tripods and blinds from other brands, see the tripod deer stand page and the ground blind page.

Millennium hang-on tree stands and tree seats

A hang-on stand is a platform and seat you carry to the tree, hang at height and strap to the trunk. You climb to it on sticks or steps. It moves with you from tree to tree, and it's the most work of any stand type to hang.

The Millennium hang-ons in the grid, per their listings:

• M50: steel; one listing gives a 300-pound rating and a 24 x 32.5-inch platform
• M100U Ultralite: aluminum, 300 pounds
• M150 Monster: aluminum; the listing gives no rating, so the grid shows a dash
• Pro-Lite: aluminum, 300 pounds, a 20.5 x 20-inch platform, trees from 9 to 22 inches across
• Run & Gun Hang-On Combo: a hang-on sold as a combo; the listing gives the type and little else

Here's what actually changes across them: material and platform. Steel is heavier to carry in. Aluminum is lighter. A bigger platform is more room for your boots and less carrying comfort. The Pro-Lite is the only listing that names a tree diameter range, and it's worth checking against the trees you hunt before you buy, not after.

Tree seats

The M300 and M350 Tree Seats are listed as aluminum. The M300 lists 400 pounds and the M350 lists 300. Read the listings for what's in the box; a tree seat is still a stand at height, and everything in the safety section below applies to it.

The hang-on tree stand page compares hang-ons across brands, and the tree stand page covers the types side by side.

Millennium ladder stands

A ladder stand is a seat and platform on top of a ladder. The ladder leans against the tree and gets strapped to it. You climb it like a ladder, because it is one.

The Millennium ladders in the grid are all steel:

• Lite 18 ft Single: 1 person, 300 pounds, a 20 x 32-inch platform, a 20-inch seat, a shooting rail
• Lite 18 ft Double: 2 people, 500 pounds, a 39.5 x 32-inch platform, a 40-inch seat, a shooting rail
• Assassin Lite Double: 2 people, 500 pounds, 18 feet, a 39.75 x 22-inch platform, a 40-inch seat, a shooting rail
• L118 Bowlite Single: 1 person; the listing gives no height or rating

The Assassin Lite listing title carries the Ol' Man Treestands name. The maker's warranty page covers both Millennium and Ol' Man products, which is why it sits in this grid.

A double has a seat for two. That also means two harnesses, two tethers and two people connected from the ground up and all the way back down.

The maker's about page says its ladder stands are welded steel with a fold-flat design. Fold-flat matters at the truck. A ladder section that lies flat stacks; one that doesn't, argues with the tailgate. More on ladders across brands is on the ladder stand page.

Millennium climbing sticks

Climbing sticks are short ladder sections you strap to the trunk one above the other to reach a hang-on stand. The grid has four kinds:

• M210 Stick Climber: steel, listed at 20 feet, 300 pounds, cam straps
• Steel Hang-On Climbing Sticks: steel, double steps, cam straps
• M250 4-pack: aluminum, four sticks
• Vulcan 4-pack: aluminum, 19-inch sticks, single steps, cam straps, 300 pounds

Double steps give each foot its own step. Single steps are lighter and pack smaller. Aluminum is lighter than steel to carry in, and steel is the one people stop complaining about once it's up. (I've carried both. My knees voted for aluminum. My back abstained.)

Count the sticks against the height you want to hang. The listing gives the stick length; how far apart you strap them decides how high they reach. Match your stick system to your hang-on before the first trip in, not at the base of the tree in the dark. Sticks from other brands are on the climbing sticks page.

Millennium hunting chairs and the Buck Hut

G-series ground blind chairs

The Millennium chairs in the grid are all 360-degree swivel chairs for ground blinds:

• G100 Shooting Chair: adjustable seat height, 13 to 18 inches
• G200 Shooting Chair: adjustable seat height, 18 to 23 inches
• G400 Ground Blind Chair: listed with four adjustable legs
• G450 Ground Blind Chair: 400 pounds

Seat height is the deciding spec. Your eyes and your bow or gun have to clear the blind's window from a sitting position. A seat that's too low puts the window at your forehead. Too high and you're bent over like you dropped your keys. Measure the window height of your blind, sit in a kitchen chair with a tape measure, and do the math. More on blind chairs across brands is on the hunting blind chair page and the swivel hunting chair page.

Q400 Guard House Buck Hut

The Q400 is an elevated box blind: a blind on a steel tower. Its listing gives a platform height of 8.67 feet and a 500-pound rating. It's the one product in the grid where you sit inside walls at height. It still has a ladder, and you still climb it with three points of contact. Box blinds from other brands are on the box blind page.

How to choose within the Millennium lineup

Start with how you'll get up

Rule of thumb: the stand type follows your trees and your legs.

• Ladder stand: set once, climbed many times; heavy to move, simple to sit in
• Hang-on with sticks: lighter, moves with you, takes more work every time you hang it
• Box blind: walls and a roof at height; set where you'll hunt for a long while

If you move spots every week, a hang-on and sticks fit that. If you hunt the same field edge every Saturday, a ladder or a box blind fits that.

Then the weight rating and the platform

Weigh yourself in hunting clothes with your pack, then compare against the listing's rating. On the doubles, add both people and both packs. Then look at the platform: wider is easier on your feet, smaller is easier on your shoulders on the walk in.

Then steel or aluminum

Steel on the ladders and the M50. Aluminum on the M100U, M150, Pro-Lite, the tree seats and two of the stick sets. Pick by how far you carry it.

Stand safety basics

Wear a full-body harness every time you leave the ground. Wisconsin DNR calls it a fall-arrest system and says to always wear one, and to use a lifeline when climbing up and down.

• Lifeline: stay connected from the time you leave the ground until you're back on it
• Three points of contact: two hands and a foot, or two feet and a hand, every step
• Haul line: raise and lower your unloaded gun or bow with a rope, never climb with it
• Foot strap: NY DEC says suspension trauma is a real risk; use a harness with a foot strap
• Tell someone: where you're hunting and when you'll be back

The maker says it designed SafeLink, a 35-foot rope with a Prusik knot and a carabiner, to help hunters climb up and down hang-on and ladder stands, and that it's now included with all Millennium hang-on and ladder stands. Check the listing's contents for it. NY DEC describes the setup: a carabiner and Prusik knot on your harness tether slide up and down the lifeline and keep you connected at all times.

Read the maker's instructions and warnings before you hang or climb any stand.

Straps, storage and the warranty

Straps and webbing

NY DEC says to check your stand, including straps and chains, every season and to replace worn or missing parts. The maker's warranty excludes webbing, so straps are yours to inspect and replace.

My one opinion on this page: take the stand down at the end of the season. The reason is in NY DEC's own list of best practices: do not leave your stand up all year. Bring it home, look it over at the kitchen table in daylight, and replace what's worn before next fall.

Warranty basics

The maker lists a one-year warranty from the date of purchase from an authorized dealer, against defects in material and workmanship under proper use and storage. Unauthorized sales, seats, paint, plastics and webbing are excluded, and so is damage from misuse. A claim needs proof of purchase and the returned warranty application card. The maker's remedy is repair or replacement of the defective part. The policy page names Millennium Outdoors for customer service.

Who's behind Millennium Treestands

The maker's warranty page covers Millennium Treestand and Ol' Man Treestand products and directs claims to Millennium Outdoors customer service. Its about page describes welded steel ladder stands and the SafeLink rope. This page doesn't cover a founding year or where the stands are made.

Straps checked, harness on, stand down by spring. That's the whole maintenance schedule.