:)
And Pat, you're definitely a lucky guy!.......or she is I mean! LOL.
Climb with the lineman belt. When you get to the stand, connect your tree tether first so you are temporarily hooked to both. Then unhook the linemans belt. A proper caribiner accomodates this maneuver easily.
No safety Harness you hunt from the ground!
If you are using a lock on and using it to hunt multiple stand locations you can definitely use the 30' prussic system vs. the lineman. its a tad awkward but can easily be slid up the tree as you ascend your tree while putting sticks and stand up.
If you are going to be putting a lock-on up in a tree and leaving it there for the entire season I have a different approach.
Personally I think its safer and possibly quicker especially if you have 2 people and a tree with zero limbs as I do on 99% of our trees on our lease.
(I say let's share how we set up our Lock-on's) so we come up with a Best Practice and share it as a (SOP) Standard Operating Procedure!
Installing a lock-on to a tree with zero limbs and a sit and climb stand;
Equipment needed. Sit and climb stand, Lock on stand, Safety Harness, Fall restraint Rope, Lineman's rope, Pull up cord, Climbing sticks, safety whistle. cell phone.
Step 1. Inspect your harness, tree stands, steps, , linesman rope, fall restraint rope, for wear and fatigue. If you find fatigue or wear do not use the equipment and throw it away and replace with new product.
Step 2. Install your harness as specified by the manufacture. If you have someone to help you install have them go behind you and double check all of your equipment.
Step 3. If hunting and using a tree that has its first limb above the height you will be hunting from use a sit and climb to assist you climbing the tree and installing your lock on and steps. This helps prevent back strain and possible slipping off steps.
Step 4. As you approach your stand lay out your Stand and lock-on steps nice and neat to prevent a trip hazard.
Step 5. Install your linesman rope or your fall prevention rope onto the base of the tree and attach it to your harness. If using a linesman rope to install make sure your fall restraint rope is with you as your will install it before you hang the stand.
Step 6. Use a pull up cord and attach it to a ladder stick and attach to your harness via tying off or storing in a pouch.
Step 7. Attach sit and climb stand onto tree and set yourself into sit and climb stand. While climbing tree make sure you are attached to the tree with your fall restraint rope or linesman rope before even climbing 1 inch up the tree. (Remember the goal is to be attached 100% of the time)
Step 8. Climb to desired height you will be hunting from and go a 3 to 4 feet higher and set up your fall restraint rope. Now attach your carabineer to the prussic knot of your fall restraint rope (you should now be attached to 2 prussic knots at the same time) if you used a linesman rope to climb tree you may now unhook from that prussic knot.
Step 9. Pull up a climbing stick and attach to tree. (You want to be able to step down and off of stick onto tree stand for maximum safety).
Step 10. Drop down to desired stand height placement and with pull up cord pull up your stand and attach your stand to the tree. Once attached properly you may now add another ratchet strap to stand for added safety.
Step 11. Attach each step coming down the tree to manufacture specs with the same distance as the steps distance that are from each other that are on the sticks. This makes for safer climbing at low light.
Step 12. As you finally get to the bottom of the tree base stay connected to your prussic fall restraint rope. Once both feet are on the ground then you may unhook yourself from the tree.
Woot, woot Now your stand is set up with a lock on that has a extra safety strap to secure it to the tree and is setup so safe that your young children can climb it and be secure 100% from the time their boots are on the ground to up in the tree and back down with both feet on the ground.
Here are a few safety things that need to be stressed.
We work under extreme OSHA guidelines and the same guidelines need to be adhered to our fall restraint systems.
1. The harness that Pat used to hoist himself up with should be thrown away as it has been put under Stress. 2. The fall for a hunter attached to a Harness should be no more than 8 inches if possible. 3. In the event there is a fall regardless of 1 inch or greater or the full weight of any hunter regardless of weight the entire fall restraint system should be thrown away and replaced immediately. 4. Never use a homemade fall restraint system. Only Used a safety fall system that has been certified by a 3rd party.
Now if climbing a tree with limbs or using the stand immediately to hunt, obviously a hunter will not be able to use a sit and climb stand. A hunter needs to have 2 fall restraint systems at all times. When the hunter reaches a limb he/she needs to install a second restraint system above the limb and attach the carabineer to the prussic that is above the limb and then detach from lower safety rope. This process should be repeated until the hunter has installed their stand. Once at the top of desired height the hunter can then tie off onto the fall restraint rope until he/she reaches the forest floor and has both feet on the ground.
#1 rule f stand hunting, (NEVER, NEVER, NEVER) be unattached to a safety rope unless (BOTH) feet are on the ground!
Sorry for being so anal but I had spinal fusion a few weeks back and I have been on light duty here at work and corporate has me rewriting SOP's (standard operating procedures) for all of our breweries in the USA.
Please feel free to add anything that you feel can make this task safer. Remember the idea is to be the safest way possible not necessarily the quickest.
Stay safe Bowsiters,
Kelly
P.S. Pat your wife be SMOKIN!!!!!!
LOL. I guess I left some important info out on that one. She's obviously not a guy!
can't wait to hear the excuses why people can't do this! I have most of my stands up for this year, but have one left and will grab a pic in a couple weeks when I do it. again, thanks for all of your efforts Pat, sorry for all of the super fit bowhunting athletes that poked at your stature!
snapcrackpop's Link
Even Pat doesn't talk about it in his video. Worse yet, while hanging in the shed he says "...not cutting off the circulation in my legs..." and "...I could stay up here all day..." Yep. and you would be DEAD. Death can occur in as little as 10 minutes! That harness IS cutting off the circulation to your femoral vein, artery and nerve in your inner thigh with your legs hanging down. That is why you NEED the suspension relief strap/system, and you need it immediately! To suggest otherwise is DANGEROUS.
Will your safety harness kill you?: http://www.elcosh.org/document/1662/d000568/Will%2BYour%2BSafety%2BHarness%2BKill%2BYou%253F.html?show_text=1
Everyone have a SAFE year!
