Use you lineman's belt and safety harness!!!

[buckeye_hunter]

I though I was fine climbing down 3 sets of sticks this morning from about 12 feet without my lineman's belt. I found out I was wrong.

I missed a step and fell about 6 feet straight on my back. No major damage other than a sore shoulder, some skin off my hand and a slight headache.

Bottom line: Don't be stupid like me, use your safety equiptment at all times. Even one sharp stick could have been the difference between dusting myself off or never coming home. I got lucky. Be safe gals and guys.

[Stumpkiller]

I should.  I have an old Hunter's Specialties harness that hooks up once I get up top.  Doesn't help on the rise or descent.

[rraming]

I had the middle rail of the Lone Wolf climbing sticks come loose on opening day, ripped my Asat jacket in half and I got banged up pretty good. Inevitable as many times as I've been up and down but Hunter Safety Systems got a $200 and some dollar order from me after that. Never thought it would happen, and it hurt.

[Tom]

4 or 5 years ago I fell from about 9 feet in a frog choker rain, landed on my shoulder on a rock.3/4 mile slow walk out and then 8 months until I could even draw a light bow. Never again! Now, thanks to a friend from TG have a lifeine I am attached to up and down on my tallest stand and a belly strap on all others. BE SAFE-gravity wins every time.

[magnus]

Glad you weren't seriously hurt!! Good reminder for you tree stand hunters

[German Dog]

glad you didn't get seriously hurt!
Yeah it's a good reminder to use the safety belt while climbing. Something I have a hard time doing cause as a Powerlineman I've still go the lineman mentality that you free climb until you get to your work hieght.

[mountbkr]

Better use them guys.....Better safe than sorry.

[Mint]

I always do and will continue to do so. I use a HSS lifeline on most stands and on the others where i use my climbing sticks i keep my climbing belt on until i am strapped in with my safety vest. I've heard of to many people losing their lives over this.

[Eugene Slagle]

I just said this in Allen's thread.

In my club it is a rule that can get you dissmissed if broken that you must have a safety harness on & be attached to the tree the whole time you are off the ground.
No exceptions, I've even made safety lines from the top of the stand location to the ground for those ladder stands.

Making the Prussic Hitch & using it as a ascent & decent line from the ground to just above your head while in the stand is very easy to make & works wonderfully & trust me when I say that they will hold any mans weight.
I've kicked a 900 LB transmission off of a forklift once to prove to my co-workers that the line will hold & will save your life.

[awbowman]

"Making the Prussic Hitch & using it as a ascent & decent line from the ground to just above your head while in the stand is very easy to make & works wonderfully & trust me when I say that they will hold any mans weight."  X 1,000,000

Don't be a statistic

[jax]

How do you stay hooked the first time up the tree? Say with a ladder stand

[Jim Jackson]

While they may be a bit safer getting in and out of, I think ladders stands can be the most dangerous when setting them up initially.  

I use a lineman's harness and tether and set up ladder stands with an aluminum extension ladder from the side.  

The only way to hunt off the ground is with a safety line and a prussic knot all the way up and all the way down, even with a ladder stand.  We owe it it our loved ones, and the cost of installing one on each stand is minimal compared to a trip to the ER or worse...

Lots of good resources on TradGang and elsewhere on constructing a good quality rope and friction knot (prussic or prussik) safety line setup:

   http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=036692  

   http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=065711  

   http://www.abc-of-rockclimbing.com/howto/learn_climbing_knots.asp