Almost Tragic Fall From A Treestand

[WildmanSC]

Around 25 years ago a friend of mine almost fell out of a treestand about 35' up a tree in his yard.  I say almost because he did fall, however, his feet got hung up in the stand and that's probably the only thing that saved his life.

He was trimming limbs on a tree with a chain saw, without a safety harness, and the saw kicked and he lost his balance and fell backwards.  As stated above, his feet got hung up in the stand and he ended up hanging upside down.

They called the fire department and a ladder truck was sent to his home.  Unfortunately, the ladder truck's ladder was too short to reach him.  The fire department started calling around and found a truck that had a ladder that would go to 45'.

By the time they located the second ladder truck and it got to his home and got him down he had hung upside down for 45 minutes.  He was in pretty bad shape for the rest of his life, especially after he started having strokes and then it transitioned into dimentia.  He died several years ago.

Bill

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

That's a shame.  When we're off the ground we all need to wear fall protection.  Not for ourselves but for the others that love us.

[vtmtnman]

Drives the point home to wear that safety harness.With the HSS or similiar setups they have out today,it's so easy to use one.

[Rick P]

Exactly why I advocate for getting out of the trees and hunting on the ground......we don't have wings after all.

[Dave Bulla]

I had a supervisor at work one time throw out a phrase during a safety talk that stuck with me ever since.....

"Situational Awareness"

Always be aware of the risks involved in whatever you do be it work or play.  You can do all sorts of things that people think are very dangerous if only you take all the proper precautions and keep your wits about you.

[Basinboy]

I forgot my HSS harness the other evening when I went hunt.
I felt naked up in that tree! I got so worried, that I texted messaged my friend where I was just in case. Seems the older I get the more I worry about things like that. What my kids would do without me! They need their Dad!

[Pete]

I've helped teach Archery Ed for years, always put a stand up about 3' off the ground. Let the student get on it and strap in.Then show them you only need 3' of slack ,just enough to sit down only. You can never take a header falling asleep that way. I have A couple times woke up with a start, when I tipped forward! Thats the story I hear from guys that did fall and were not strapped in. Pete

[oddan]

Hunting Nov 20 I got a text from my friend, his NEW stand broke and he fell 25ft. Ran like hell to get there. The platform had snapped in two on his Ole Man climber, he slid down the tree best he could when the platform hung up about 6 ft from the bottom and his feet went down into it. Bounced up breaking the foot-straps and was slingshoted to the ground on his head. Luck was with him. He suffred severe bruising on his arms swollen ankles but no permenant injuries. He was attaching his harness to the tree when it broke. You just never no. The stand was bought new last season.

[Mint]

I've always worn a safety belt and when they came out with a full body harness I was the first in my group to buy one. This year I started using the HSS lifelines and it is great. So far none got stolen so I am sure glad i bought them.

[mickeys4]

I watched Fred Eichler today climb into a stand using one hand while carrying his bow in the other hand.I thought to myself Whooooooo! I couldn't tell if he was attached via rope but if he didn't have a rope to pull up his bow I doubt he was attached to the tree on the way up.