With deer season coming in soon and even underway in some parts I feel like I need to tell you guys a little story and a valuable lesson that we all need to be reminded of.
Two years ago, my dad and I were on a late season quota hunt in west Tennessee. I shot a buck that afternoon and was climbing down to retrieve the deer. I was set up about 15 feet off the ground in my old summit climber stand (by old I mean 20+ year old hand-me down). When I got to around the 8-10 feet mark on my decent the rubber bands that wrap around the back of your feet gave out when I pushed back on them to move the bottom portion of the climber down the tree. When this happened the stand fell about 4 feet down the tree. I should mention that I *USED* to wear a safety harness only when I'm up in the stand but not when I'm climbing up and down. Fortunately, I'm strong enough that I was able to hold all 220 some-odd pounds of myself on the upper half of the stand even after the seat of my stand slapped the taste out of my mouth.
From there I had only one option, let go and drop to the bottom section that was, thankfully, directly below me and pray that it bit the tree when my weight hit it. Thank the Lord that stand bit into that tree perfectly and I was able to reach up and pull the top section down then jump the remaining 4 feet to the ground to remove the bottom section that nearly killed me, or at best, did some permanent damage.
Why am I telling you guys about my hands down dumbest 30 seconds of my hunting career thus far? Because I know some of you hunt with old equipment and/or improperly used safety equipment. A minor inconvenience of being attached to the tree from the moment you leave the ground could mean the difference between life , death, or a bad maiming. No deer or whatever you may be hunting is worth your life and health. Don't be a stupid redneck like me and wing it. I was 20 years old at the time and I wouldn't have the great job I have now if i had been paralyzed from landing wrong. Please just be smart and be safe this season. You owe it to your families.