I'm sitting in my office trying to get some work done, but I just can't. You see, We had the horrific task of attending the funeral of one of our members yesterday afternoon. He was only 16 yrs old. and His death was totally uncalled for. He went for a quick afternoon hunt with His father on tuesday. When He didn't show up at the truck shortly after dark, his dad went to his stand and found him hanging from his chest strap style safety harness. He was dead. . The emergency room Doctor said that he probably died from asficiation because of the marks from the strap under his diaphram. His rubber boots lay under the stand as a sign of his struggle. Guys, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE use a full body safety harness. It's not worth it. I think I'll go pick my son up from school and go sit in our blind this afternoon.
I dont know what to say other than Im so sorry...I dont even know that young fellar and my heart is surley hurtin for him and his family..I have to say Im guilty of not wearing a harness in my climber..It seems the climber is a little more safe cause your all up in it. Thats some false security im thinkin..but things can happen..Dammit I wish someone would have come along to help him out..Things happen for reasons we are not sure of..I know now my stubborn self will be wearing a harness now..If it can happen to a young fella like that than we all are vulnerable..prayers are on their way....not for just that family but for all you fellas out there to be safe..
Hoss, I use a climber and a ladder stand and I'm just as guilty. This morning I purchased 2 of the hunter safety system full body harnesses that incorperate the vest. I also bought 2 of the retractors that attach to the harnesses and the tree and have a seat belt type of effect that stops your fall and 2 old timer pocet knives in case of a fall and the strap has to be cut. For a little over $300.00, I'll feel a whole lot better when my son and I climb into our 2 man ladder stand in the morning.
whats worse is his grandfather probably told him that chest ones are safe and likely didnt show him how to use it.
ill admit i use the same type because im cheap but i always attach it to the tree so that it is snug when im sitting so even if i do fall i will be able to climb back on the stand.
alot of people think that it doesnt matter where you attach the strap to the tree but really thats the most important part. if you have it too low when you fall you will be below the stand and wont be able to climb back up so you have to cut the strap. you'd think they would teach these things in the hunting course
I admit that even though I always where my harness I have a long tether and even though I strap it high not sure where I would end up if I fell. Something to look into.
My prayer and thoughts are with everybody affected by this tragedy.
It seem we all are sometimes guilty of breaking the rules of safety, and each year we read of someone who paid the ultimate price for not having the proper equipment, or for taking "shortcuts".
I know that saying I'll be more attentive to safety will not ease the pain this brings to those who knew this young man, but it certainly will make me think of the event when I climb into my stand next time!
I just can't imagine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My worse nightmare !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the sounds of it, the young lad did the right thing to wear his chest harness, but was unable to struggle free from it.
Two years ago I bought a ladder stand from Hunters's View, in the package was a chest harness. I read in Deer and Deer Hunting magazine that these harnesses are CRAP. So to prove this, I donned the harness on, and hung myself from my rafters in my garage. IMMEDIATELY, INSTANTANOUSLY, pain shot into my armpits. It was the most uncomfortable situation I've ever been in. At that point I asked myself, if for some unknown reason I was to fall out of my tree stand, would I want to hang from this death trap. I immediately threw out the harness and purchased a professional safety harness, (with a saddle). With this baby, it would be almost fun to hang there for awhile, kicking the tree trunk, and swinging back and forth.
If that was not bad enough, I purchased a double man ladder stand from Strong Built, yep.............. chucked both those babies out also.
One thing to note about ANY safety harness. Even the best ones, like I have, can restict blood flow through your body, eventually killing you. I'm not a doctor, but its been proven that at a given amount of time, anyone hanging from a harness is in trouble.
this young 16 year old may have been better not having a cheap harness on and falling right to the ground. He would of been found with broken bones rather than dead.
One last thing, always have a sharp object that you can cut yourself loose, if you find yourself in this position. A small jackknife straped to your arm, and not your belt would be easier to get at, in a emergency.
Take out there GUYS, you only have one life.
Grey Owl
P.S. Send my condolences to the family, Ray. This sure jolted me.
Chest strap harnesses need to be outlawed, pure and simple. What a senseless, tragic loss of life My thoughts and condolences go out to that young man's family.
"Those who desire to give up Freedom in order to gain Security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
-Thomas Jefferson
Thanks for all of the prayers guys. To shed a little glimmer of light on the matter, some friends went to the stand site, removed the stand to return it to his dad and while meandering around the area and found a nice little 6 pointer that we can only assume that Jay had shot prior to his fall. I got him to the taxidermist on Saturday. Buy the way, when I said in my original post that I was going to take my 8 yr old son, Tyler to our ground blind, I did and he took a nice 6 pointer with his .243. I wish I knew how to post the pics on the forum. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
. The emergency room Doctor said that he probably died from asficiation because of the marks from the strap under his diaphram. His rubber boots lay under the stand as a sign of his struggle. Guys, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE use a full body safety harness. It's not worth it. I think I'll go pick my son up from school and go sit in our blind this afternoon.
Oh my God thats terrible.
