My hunting buddy took a big fall while putting up a deer stand this week. Fell some 18 feet. Broke both legs and a rib, took hours to drag himself to the ATV (where the phone was ) He's recuperating after hours of surgery; will spend 6 days the hosp and much longer in a nursing home until he's able to sit in wheel chair. Reminder: One in three tree stand user experience a fall (ONE IN THREE!!!), perhaps not as serious as this one but a fall nevertheless. Most accidents occur while ascending or descending. So, be sure to use a safety line while doing so and a safety harness while in the stand....one that is properly adjusted.
I took a (ladder stand) for a ride while removing it several years ago. The fall left me bruised and battered for weeks but structurally intact. Word to the wise: don't drop the strap holding ladder to tree drop, rather use it to hold ladder against tree while descending. I did, the wind started to blow me and the ladder over, forcing me to jump, landing on a stump...on my left side.
yeah use a safety harness at all times....i fell asleep in my tree stand back in 82, fell bout 16 foot to the ground....i woke up looking up at my bow in the stand gasping for air when i landed cause the wind got knocked outta me....good thing i landed flat on my back "i think" on kinda soft ground with no rocks or anything....i layed there for bout an hour before i dared to even try moving, then just wiggled my fingers and toes to see if they moved when i told them too....another 30/45 minutes later i sat up slowly and felt no pain internaly and seen no blood coming anywhere....i think waht saved me from any harm is i was asleep when i landed.......bob
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exocet 200. STS dampers.
boo string and trigger work.
munch mount quiver mount.
125 gr slick trick magums.
2" blazers on 2117 XX75 w/ brass inserts.
I read the above posts twice which left a lump in my throat, a strong reminder of what can happen using tree stands. Every fall I meet new hunters in my workplace who ask tree stand advice when asking about deer hunting. I make the time to talk about tree stand safety before I get to the deer questions.
EXCALFFLICTION 1991 ->>----------> 2024
Matrix 355
Huskemaw and Leupold crossbow optics.
Boo Strings
SWAT BH's and TOTA heads.
Teach Your Family How To Hunt So You Don't Have To Hunt For Your Family
Just a reminder. I fell 25 feet last fall. Had the whole safety system. Problem was as I was climbing the tree to attach my safety rope the trunk to which my tree stand was attached twisted in two when I grabbed it to pull myself into the stand. We had used this stand for ten years, checking the webbing each year, etc. However we did not check to see if the trunk was rotten in the middle. I ended up with 7 vertabra fused, and 17 days in the hospital. I'm still recovering but will hunt again this fall. So be sure to check everything twice and don't do the things we know are stupid to do.
Those are instructive stories. I really enjoy using a tree stand (have two climbers and two ladder stands) but it is very easy to become complacent (translate "careless"). I am constantly amazed to meet guys who use a tree stand and do not use a safety harness. Bad things can happen to those who use caution, never mind those who invite disaster.
last year i put my wife in a ladder stand we have had up for a few years ..as i was walking away she said it didnt feel good so i climbed up there with her alittle frustrated that she was taking my time ,,it felt a little lose so i decided to tighten up the strap ..well when i cranked the ratchet up it broke..I just hugged the tree and told her to get down fast ..then i got out very carefuly ..we made it down by the grace of God and we sure learned a great lesson ..CHANGE THOSE STRAPS EVERY YEAR!!!! its a small cost compared to what could have happened..
great post guys ....being in the north i hunt in cold weather and water got in the tubes of my ladder stand resulting in cracks on the tubes on both sides of the ladder who know what might of happened if i put it back up like that ....check all screws etc too...
I fell 14' off a climbing stick a few years ago. Had just climbed up and was getting ready to hook up when my feet slipped off the wet staggered steps. Landed flat on my back on soft soil covered with leaves and was not hurt at all...real lucky. My tip for this thread is to be careful in transition climbing up and down when you are not hooked up. Gary
I posted last year that my wifes uncle fell out of a homemade stand, he is still recovering. Another factor to consider is those of us on medication that could make us woozy, if I get up to fast sometimes I get light headed. Buckle up when going up and coming down tree stands as well when your in it. It takes two seconds to ruin your life be safe.
Don't put your treesteps into the holes used previously!
Did that today trying to get some steps out of a poplar (another thread coming soon) and one step I was standing on came right out of the hole and went flying to the ground!
Lucky for me I had my other leg on another step and my climbing harness (lineman) on and locked! Stopped a short fall (I was only about 6 or 7 feet in the air).
I had to grab on and hang tight while I safely dropped to the next step on the tree!
Mike
2008 Excalibur Equinox
Groundpounder Mount
NGSS
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1992 PSE Edge 5050 Compound Bow
This may be a silly question but, here it goes. How do you safely put up a tree stand before you have something to tie on to ? Once you are up in your tree stand it is easy, just tie off. The initial ascention in my eyes is the most dangerous aspect of putting up a tree stand.
You have not asked a stupid question. In fact you have asked a very good question and one that more people should ask, How does one install a tree stand when there is nothing above to tie your safety harness on to?
In my opinion, the answer is not how one, but how do three people hang a tree stand.
There is no doubt about it that this is a dangerous operation. Some twenty+ years ago, I decided that I would never attempt, ever again, to try and hang a tree stand all by myself.
For me, it takes three people
(1) All three of us raise the stand up against the tree.
(2) Person #1, stands between the ladder and the tree and pulls the ladder towards the tree.
(3) Person #2 takes two steps up the ladder.
(4) Person #3 stands behind Person #2 and holds and steadies both sides of the ladder.
(5) Person #2 climbs the ladder and at the top, he immediately attaches a permanent safety line (that reaches to the ground) around the tree then he immediately attaches his safety harness to the safety line.
(6) The Person #2 is now secured and he proceeds to attach the tree stand to the tree while Persons #1 & #2 hold and steady the ladder.
Others may have a safer way. But for me, lacking a 4x4 bucket-truck in the woods, it is always a three person operation.
) He's recuperating after hours of surgery; will spend 6 days the hosp and much longer in a nursing home until he's able to sit in wheel chair.
....now all my hunting is on the ground since 1985 
.........bob
