Tree Stand Camera Mount

[David Chilson]

Having spent untold hours sitting in a tree stand trying to capture all forms of wildlife, I was very unhappy with all the articulating arm type mounts available. They were all either too flimsy, too bulky and none of them had the range of motion you really need. And with the new generation of small HDV camcorders, a LANC controller is a must and mounting these to the articulating arms are a hassle.
I put together a tree mount that attaches to my Fig Rig for under $50 bucks that gave me everything I was wanting and more!
Attached are two photos, one of the camera facing forward and another of it spun completely around to give you an idea of the range of motion.
The mount that attaches to the tree is actually a tree seat. The name is the “Ultimate Swivel” and is made by Big Game Treestands and their web site is big-gameusa.com. I purchased mine at the local Sporting Goods for $34.99. After you get yours home, turn it over, tear off the cardboard covering, and unscrew the four screws and your there.
I picked up a second ratchet style strap to really hold it in place and keep it from turning, you need that and it was $3.49.
The 1x1 square aluminum stock that attaches to the seat swivel on mine is 13” long. I kept it shorter so that the camera was closer to me and I could still swing the rig and shoot behind me on a tree that was 24” in diameter. (A friend of mine who is a little more “rotund” would have preferred it a couple of inches longer) I drilled two holes approximately 1” from each end. To make it easy to drill the second hole in the 1 X 1 stock to the swivel, I bolted it to the seat base and used the seat base as a guide for drilling the second hole. $4.00.
I used 2- ¼ X 20 X 2” Bolts and lock nuts to attach the aluminum 1 X 1 stock to the seat swivel, and 5 washers per bolt, one on top, two between arm and swivel and one on the bottom. (The reason you need two between was because where the center pivot of the seat post is welded, there is a slight rise you need to compensate for.) Plus I used 1 more 1/4 X 20 bolt & washer to attach the head to the arm. I had the Bogen head just laying around) the total for the miscellaneous hardware was $1.67.
The black strap you see attached to the camera and going up over the arm is a safety strap, one never knows when Murphy is going to raise his ugly head. I use a Velcro strap to keep it from sliding.
As far as how much weight it can hold, when I was initially testing it, I grabbed hold of the tree seat section and pulled myself off the ground, so I’m sure any camera combo would be just fine. The other great aspect is it folds up nicely and fits in a small day pack for easy transport. It's smooth quiet and will allow you to pan unlike any other mount out there. Good Luck!