Tree stand safety

[NYRturkeycall]

Just a friendly reminder from the DEC emails that go out. Please remember to wear your harness, nobody is invincible to a fall.

 

[Fab]

I fell.   I was very very lucky I’m here to tell you all : 

 

Please wear a harness and use a safety line.   !!!!!

u want to get home safe to tell someone   Anyone about your hunt and be able to go make more memories and tell more stories 

 

be connected to a line from the second your off the ground 

 

[BowmanMike]

5 hours ago, Fab said:

I fell.   I was very very lucky I’m here to tell you all : 

 

Please wear a harness and use a safety line.   !!!!!

u want to get home safe to tell someone   Anyone about your hunt and be able to go make more memories and tell more stories 

 

be connected to a line from the second your off the ground 

 

That is a big reason I went with rope climbing...even if I get the throw ball stuck occasionally, minor inconvenience for the safety benefits...

[Bucksnbows]

I agree with @Fab in that you should be connected from the ground up to the top of your stand, and back down to the ground using a lifeline and safety harness. There is no need for your loved ones to get a call that you are busted up and in the hospital or worse. These things are affordable for all.  
 

Just about 5 years ago a guy in the community next to mine fell from his hang on and died.  Another buddy of mine used to pride himself in building rickety wooden stands so others climbing into them would be terrified and climb down. Sure enough, on Monday of the NJ 6 Day firearm season, he fell out of his brand new stand breaking his leg in 17 locations including a compound fracture where the bone sticks out of the skin. He nearly bled to death crawling up a hill to get two way radio contact with his hunting partner. This was before cell phones. He was airlifted to a trauma center and to this day he walks in pain. Something to consider when climbing into a tree stand….

[The_Real_TCIII]

I had a scare this season when the cable slipped out of the lower section of my climber, I think my foot lifted the spring clip. It was a scary reminder to check everything and stay connected to the tree

[The Back 40]

I work in safety for the tower industry and we work at extreme heights. The reality is most people get hurt at home doing similar things that we do at work because they don't use safety equipment at home. I tell my guys, don't let the thing you enjoy doing on your time off get you hurt or killed. tree stand safety harnesses are free and upgraded ones are far less expensive than the hospital bill would be.

This was a post on our internal social from last year.

[Nomad]

I worked on ladders in all conditions wearing 85 pounds of bulky gear for close to 30 years  , today I hire a guy to clean my gutters !

[HeavyUser]

Someone should start a poll one day, I bet the number of people who choose not to wear one outweigh the number of people who do. 

[518BowSlayer]

I don't use them for my ladder stands but always did with my climber... haven't used that climber in a few seasons though 

[broomeguy]

Very easy to put up a life line for each ladder stand. Had a prick cut the carabiner off one of them. Prick.

[boo711]

1 hour ago, 518BowSlayer said:

I don't use them for my ladder stands but always did with my climber... haven't used that climber in a few seasons though 

Have a good friend whose grave site I will be visiting in a few weeks because he didn’t wear a harness in a ladder stand. WEAR IT!  No matter how uncomfortable or shot restrictive it may be ( I love when guys use that line). Going home to your family is WAY more important than any deer you will every see in the woods. Trust me. I see what his wife and kids are going through daily. 

[mowin]

2 hours ago, 518BowSlayer said:

I don't use them for my ladder stands but always did with my climber... haven't used that climber in a few seasons though 

Hate hearing this.. Good friend of mine is still going through a lot of pain because the ratchet strap on his ladder failed when he stood up.  At first I thought I wouldn't like wearing one, but now I'm uncomfortable NOT wearing one.  

[Wolc123]

A life line is not the end all be all of tree stand safety.  Any mechanical device can fail.  Gravity is not your friend.  It might be a little more difficult at times, but many folks actually manage to kill deer from the ground.  
 

Personally, I’m a little more comfortable 4-10 ft up on level, pressured ground.  That gets me out of the crossfire and let’s the ground act as a backstop for my shots, yet stay close enough to the ground so that odds of severe injury or death from a fall is minimized.  I also have 3 ft safety rail/gun/crossbow rests around most of my elevated stands.   Those are way more dependable than a flimsy little lifeline.  
 

When I’m hunting on hilly, unpressurized ground, it’s almost always from the ground.  

[Skillet]

Couple of years back, my son fell when he was halfway up an 18' ladder stand. 

He called me crying, and scared to death. God was looking out for him, because he was uninjured, except for a very sore ankle 

[cas]

I won't go without a harness.

I'd actually like to make up another setup, sort of a short tether for when I'm starting to get sleepy. So I can't even start to fall out. Basically tying myself to the tree. (I'd love to snooze up there. lol)  

I generally don't go real high, the one stand I have up at the moment is like 14ft to the base. Higher up I'll set up a rope tied top and bottom and clip in to it with one of my ascenders going up and down.