The very first day of archery a hunter was killed in a tree stand fall. Hunter was found by another hunter who was checking trail cameras. Authorities are not sure, yet, what actually happened. Tree stand failure is suspected. But NO safety harness was being worn at the time of the accident. The accident happened in Fayette county, and only 3 miles from my home.
Be smart and stay harnessed at ALL times. A deer is not worth your life. You might not care, but I suspect your loved ones do.
What a shame, for all the safty devices out there now gor hunting treestands lifelines and such, my wife got me a treestand wingman safely lowers you to ground if something happens and is reusable. And osha approved and made here in pa , check them out on Internet. You tube, prayers to the family.
Got a new harness yesterday- like the buckle up high to keep the shoulder straps from falling off the shoulders when you sit- also has built in clips for binoculars. On sale for $79!
Muddy is a good harness. I heard summit pro series is good too saw a video of a guy hanging in it says it don't feel very tight on you when your hangin from it if something happens. I know alot of guys they don't wear one , I've never climbed a tree with out it, anything can happen.
It's always sad to hear of a death that could have been easily prevented, my prayers go out to that hunter's family. I used to be a funeral director so I've seen a lot of death. Wear your safety harness, wear your seat belts in a vehicle. If I could plug the memories from my brain into yours, you would.
I've used a Hunter's Safety System vest for a good many years but I think I'm going to upgrade this year, I like the looks of that Muddy thanks for the pic Rut Nut.
Years back I started out not wearing a safety belt. I then went to a belt. Then a harness, two years ago I got lucky, slipped off a step just at the stand. Came straight down. I landed on my feet, then my back. I laid there for a few minutes Gathering my thoughts what just happened. My ankle was hurting pretty good but after a few minutes the hurt went away. I said to myself okay I'll climb back up, as soon as I stood up and put weight on my ankle I knew I wasn't getting in any tree. My back was a little sore but not so bad. Well I made my way out to my truck drove home and was on crutches for about 2 weeks. Boy did I beat the reaper that day. I now have and old lineman's belt and strap that I use putting stands up and I use lifeline's on all my tree stands.
Funny thing about some folks here on bowsite. Last year I posted about Field & Stream having a flash sale on lifeline's for only 14.95 ( you can't make them for that price) and if you got over $50 free shipping. Well guys framed me for posting that because it was Field & Stream. Some folks went on to say that they were just cheap Chinese lifelines. The next time I was in Field and Stream I actually took a snapshot of the higher end ones and guess where they were made???? :) yes I got them from that anti second amendment Field and Stream. Now no one is going to any of my stands without using the cheap Field & Stream lifelines. I also gave some away to some of my friends to get them started using them. I got about 25 in them now. Ed
I wear a Black Diamond rock climbing harness. I really like it. The attachment point is at your belt buckle which is really nice because when you are standing, no matter which way you turn the anchor strap never gets in the way of your arm when you draw back.
This was a thread I made on 06-Nov-2017. Just as relevant today as it was 2 years ago.
Titled "You've heard it a thousand times..."
Well, you're gonna hear it a thousand and one times. Use a harness and life-line. Stay attached from ground to stand. My son and I decided to hunt this afternoon in spite of the lousy weather. We got to our stands around 2pm and started to get ready to climb. The tree my stand is in is not the straightest and my climbing sticks follow the contour. Any how, I'm climbing and up to my third stick, next thing I know I'm swinging around the tree. My foot slipped of the step causing me to drop maybe 8-10". My right hand had already gripped the next step of my Muddy Sticks, but it wasn't near strong enough to stop me. The life-line did it's job, prusic knot tightened right up. I was able to turn around and face the tree and get my foot on one of the steps. I feared what my right hand looked like as the steps on the Muddy Sticks are really aggressive. My son came running over as I worked my way down the sticks. Blood was running from the base of the fingers on my right hand. After some clean-up with water and some paper towels I could see that I removed a lot of skin and lacerated the joints. Not deep, but hurts like hell to bend my fingers. Pulled some muscles in my arm as well. I was up about 12'. Needless to say, it was a sobering experience. And it happened so quick. No time at all to react.
Some take aways...
1. Use a lifeline. I do have several stands that have the shorter line at stand level to hook up to once up. They will be replaced with 30' lifelines I ordered on Amazon. 3-pak $77
2. Check how your sticks are positioned relative to the tree and ground level. When I looked closer it was evident the step was not parallel to the ground or perpendicular to the tree, but actually sloping down. Add in wet boots and it was an accident waiting to happen.
3. This goes without saying, wear a harness.
Fortunately this had a "good" ending. My hand is sore, arm hurt, oh yeah, forgot about the nice bruise on my stomach from steps. But, I should be ready for Friday and Saturday. Temps are supposed to drop considerably and I'm excited. Wiser as well.
Just tried out my Muddy Safeguard harness- LOVE it! Found out it even has a suspension relief strap that hangs from the belt ready to deploy. Can’t believe it was under $80!
Safty harness is very important but then you have to worry about getting down , they say you only got 20 minutes or less for blood pulling. That's why I got the wingman now.
Laying on the ground with a broken back 300 yards from the farm house and not being able to stand up is terrifying. Wear a safety harness, if not for you, then for your family.
Here is another great harness. You can have one sent to your local Walmart and pick it up for $39.99 and it comes with a lineman's rope that you can use to safely hang your stands. With that kind of simplicity and affordability It's hard to imagine that someone would ever climb a tree without wearing one.
