Tree stand claims another life

[Mike P]

It chills me each year when I read about the news of another hunter falling to his death while pursuing the whitetail. This thread about another death from a fall prompted me to tell you what I do to remain safe. As many of you know, I almost died from my fall during the 1997 season. “Once burned, twice shy” is a good adage to describe my philosophy regarding hunting from heights now.

My Summit climber came with a rope with a prussic knot that attaches to your harness to compliment the climber. Sliding the rope and knot up and down while assending/decending is quite easy and certainly instills confidence due to the fact you are attached to the tree at all times.
They are available from Summit.com.
I wouldn't climb any other way.
Be safe everyone.
Norm

This thread and Enormous' reply to my post prompted me to re-read my treestand's manual for the first time in 2 years. It turns out that there is a way to climb while harnessed to the tree the entire time. The problem was that I had slid into my own climbing style, which was not well-suited for harness use.

If you're like me, please take the time to read your manual again; you might be surprised at what you have forgotten . If you can't find your manual, contact the manufacturer or go to their website.

Ninepointer

I also use the prussic knot attachment system and mine also came from Summit. This system makes using a climbing stand one of the safest ways to go. You are attached all the way up and all the way down. Unless you use one of the tether systems that attach you when “CLIMBING” a ladder stand or hang on stand, I feel the climber is actually safer then both of these type of stands. More falls come from hunters getting on and off of hang on stands every year in my estimation. A system that attaches you before you take your first step off of mother earth is mandatory in my book regardless of the type of stand you are hunting. It’s tempting to just climb ladder stands without protection, but you hear every year of hunters falling while climbing the ladders.



The use of a “PROPERLY AJUSTED AND PROPER FITTING” full body harness in conjunction with a “ground to sky” tether system is really important. Hanging 15 ft. in the air in a harness that is not adjusted properly is dangerous. We all hear the stories of the hunter asphyxiated after falling and find out he was just wearing a one piece system that went around his chest. But now we also start to hear stories of guys having injuries with the full body systems. I can only assume these were poorly designed systems or poorly adjusted or both.

The way to adjust the full body harness is usually printed on every piece of literature that comes with the harness. There are more disclaimers about the product then actual instructions in most cases. I am not going to attempt to tell you how to adjust you harness. What I am going to tell you is that finding out it is adjusted poorly when you are hanging twenty feet in the air after a fall from your stand is not the best time to realize this fact.

HANG YOURSELF! Give it a try. I do it with every full body harness I use. The way I do it is very convenient. I have a hydraulic lift in my garage and I just hook myself to it with controls in hand and raise it and lower it with me hanging in my harness. But you can do it by just attaching to a sturdy tree. Just attach to the tree as high as you can while standing on the ground then just slowly lift your knees up till you are suspended.

See how it feels. But beware! Some designs are real crotch busters. I know of one full body harness on the market that should you use it and fall you will want to die just to put you out of your misery from the pain “down there”. Make sure all the pressure points where the harness is gripping you are equalized as best as possible. On the harness I use the most I have painted some bright orange marks on the webbing where I adjust the leg loops so I get the proper adjustment every time. The rest of the harness is all permanently set after the initial adjustment so the leg loops are the only ones that need this marking.

I always have a knife on my body also. I hope I never have to cut away the harness, but if I have to, I will be able. I also adjust the entire setup with the least slack possible both climbing and while hunting so that if I fall, I can get my hands on the stand an attempt to get out of my predicament.

In 97 when I fell, my cell phone was in my fanny pack. I took my fanny pack off and attached it to a part of the tree. It didn’t fall. Now my cell phone is on my body along with my knife.

Some say to have a screw in step on your body just in case you have to use it to take pressure off of your restraining system should you fall. I have mixed opinions about having a sharp screw end in one of my pockets.

What little things do you do to remain safe in the trees? Got any tips to share?

You can never hear enough about this subject.

[pokynojoe]

I've been reading this thread with some interest and I guess I feel compelled to respond.

I'm a bridge inspector by trade(over 25 years on the job) As such I've been trained and certified in high angle rope work for some years now. I've been trained by the Tennessee Mountain Rescue and also the Dept. of Public Safety(read Highway Patrol) SWAT team. I've seen brain injuries which required months of rehab from falls of less than 10'. The main reason: NO HELMET! I'm not saying WEAR A HELMET, I'm just throwing that out there for your consideration. Certainly, those of you hunting with children, you owe it your child to stick a LID on him/her. Our RULE #1 at work, if your climbing higher than your height, WEAR YOUR HELMET.

Take mike's suggestion to heart. Test your harness. One more suggestion, limit your Fall Factor to 1:1 or less, if more, throw away the prussic knotted rope that comes with your harness and get yourself some good 11MM Dynamic rope. Also, I carry with me Etriers and a self belaying device called a climbing shunt(wouldn't recommend the use of this without some training). We practice self-rescue techniques all the time, this takes time, know-how and training. Ask yourself "How am I going to get out of this predicament once I fall?" Are you going to cut yourself out of the harness? Call someone on your cell phone? Hope and pray? All of these options are less than satisfactory, believe me. The best solution is never hunt alone. However, this can be problematic if your partner doesn't know what to do to help you. Rehearse this with your buddy, BEFORE you head out. Even if it's knowing where to go or who to call. Would you scuba dive alone? Barring that, give some SERIOUS consideration as to what you would do if you (god forbid) found yourself hanging from a tree. I have a system that I use, doesn't cost much, it's been tested, and I have the training and experience to use it.

All I'm saying is; if your gonna hunt alone, and your going to hang yourself in a tree, know what to do if the worse case scenario happens, practice it, if you don't know what to do, get youself some training. It's not rocket science, but it does require some know-how.

Finally, if this seems preachy please forgive me, its not my intention. It's just that I've seen individuals fall and get injuried needlessly. It doesn't have to happen. Enjoy the hunt by all means, just don't do something risky for the sake of killing game, your life is more valuable than that. Please take care, each and every one of you!

Best regards
Joe

PS: Just one more thing. With all due respect, in all my years of work and training, I have never, not one time, heard anyone suggest cutting myself out of my harness. The only time I've done this was to somebody else I was rescuing, and not before I had another harness secured on the victim and his and mine descent under my control. You can take that for whatever you think its worth.

[raydaughety]

It's a shame that we are discussing this issue of full body harnesses because another hunter has died from a fall. Guys, this is serious and I don't mind preaching about it because I care about each and every one of you. Simple, If you don't own a "quality" Full Body Safety Harness, please get one. Like the commercial says, "there are people that depend on you to come home safely". Do it for them, do it for us, your friends. Put it on your Christmas list. Buy one for your buddy of loved one as a gift. My uncle that I hunt with so much swore that he wouldn't wear one because he just uses ladder stands and he hasn't fallen out of one "yet". We bought him one for Christmas last year and about a month ago he came by with the harness and said ok, you win,help me get this thing to fit. Tickled me to death. I'm glad to see so many of you taking this serious .

God Bless,