History of Deer Hunter Tree Stand Company

In 1979 Ken Benfield was a carpet installer.  He had 2 things he disliked,  first was his job, the second his deer stand, he couldn’t find one on the market he liked so he built his own.  He showed it to his friends and they liked it so he built 10 more.  Then he decided he could build some models and take his “show on the road”.  He then built 100 and never laid carpet again.  On our recent trip to Hickory North Carolina Ken gave us those original models.  That was a great gesture and I think a good omen for continued success for the company.

Since then Ken has been building and selling stands from lightweight rigid aluminum, and hunting all across the country.  I fell in love with his work room and all of its “mounts”

Now in 2009

Marty Gibson is a carpet installer (another good omen).  Marty and his wife Elizabeth decide to purchase Marty’s parent’s house in Northeast Iowa and turn it into Gibson Manor Hunt Club. 

While looking for extra income through a tree stand distributorship, the opportunity to purchase Deerhunter Tree Stands Company presents itself.  So Marty enlists the help of his college buddy Doug Walker thus creating Doug & Marty’s  Deerhunter Tree Stand Company.

Update for 2010

After a few bumps in purchasing and moving the company.  The focus of our time and resources in 2010 has been mostly on the production side of the business.  We will be keeping a somewhat low profile so that we can service our existing client base and position ourselves on solid financial ground with a full line of quality tree stands as the economy rebounds. 

The Future

We want your feedback!!!!  Our plan is to continue producing top quality rigid aluminum tree stands in the USA.  Is that important to you as a hunter or should we look at overseas production if it saves you money?  Part of our focus right now is learning what you, the consumer, wants in your stands.  Please use the  "contact us" page to give us your ideas, we will be looking at new American made designs as well as evaluating the option of making some of our current designs overseas.


Doug & Marty