Treestands and Safety Belts

[Autumnarcher]

On the eve of Michigan Opening Day 2009, I thought would be a good time for a reminder-

This season, WEAR A SAFETY BELT! You are not invincible.
You are not somehow miraculously immune to gravity.

IT DOESNT ALWAYS HAPPEN TO "THE OTHER GUY".

Falls can kill you. Really. They can kill you.

If you think wearing a safety belt is uncomfortable, try wearing a wheelchair. They really suck.

If your feet leave the ground, wear a belt. Every time. All the time.

Refuse to allow others in your camp to hunt without a safety belt. Unless you like doing CPR, or holding on to your hunting partner while they take their last breath, or bleed all over you. Make it a camp rule. And Make sure they have a belt/harness/vest whatever.

The numbers and statistics don't lie. 1 of 3 hunters who climb will fall. 70-80% will be injured.10% of those will die. Many will be permanently disabled. Its not worth it. Wear the belt. Make your partner wear a belt.

Be safe, and have a successful season.

[PhilNY]

Amen to that brother. Well said. Thank you for the reminder.

[Ratatat]

For sure.  Good friend of mine on the farm I hunt has been a quadriplegic for 20 some years now because he fell 20 feet out of a treestand.  My uncle was hunting close enough to hear him hit the ground, or he would be dead.  If you forget your belt, please just hunt from the ground.

[robtattoo]

TTT

[Whip]

Good reminder, but even better than a belt - get a good quality full body harness.  

If you can't do it for yourself do it for those that love you!

[John Scifres]

This is a fellow hoosier hunter and his son.

 

This is his full story.  Full Story  

This is the gist:

 

I decided I had enough at 11:00. I had called my wife to let her know I was coming home. She was leaving to go down to her parent's, a half-mile down the road, to do some cleaning for her mom while she was out of town. I had purchased a brand-new Hunter Safety Systems Pro Series on our trip to Montana that year. We had stopped at a Cabela’s in South Dakota. I had just unfastened by harness and had decided to climb down. That is when it happened. I had stepped down onto my second tree step when I slipped. That is when everything started happening in slow motion. I fell somewhere between 18 and 20 feet. I laid there knowing, but not quite totally grasping what had just happened. There was a lot of praying, a lot of crying, and a lot of yelling. I was lying in some briars in front of the tree with my head looking to my right. I could not tell you how many times my cell phone in my front bid pocket vibrated from calls.

My wife got home at about 2:00. She realized that I had not been home, and found that strange. She immediately called her brother who knew what tree stand I was hunting out of. Finally, I heard that sound of a diesel truck coming. As soon as he shut his door I began yelling. He did not grasp immediately when he got to me what had happened. He just told me, "Get up and let's go." I said no, "Don't touch me. You need to go call for help." He was not back yet but I heard the sounds of many sirens coming. I had to be lifelined to Methodist Hospital. After the initial x-rays they could tell that I fractured My Cervical Vertebrae 3-5. Somewhere around 2 AM the next morning I had my first of two surgeries. After the first surgery the doctor immediately told my wife that I was diagnosed with quadriplegia, and that I would never talk again, breathe on my own without a ventilator, have any movement in any of my extremities, and the obvious never walk again.  

[hickstick]

Absolutely!   as said above, forget the belt, buy a quality harness.   if you don't have one, ask someone you know who buys a lot of treestands.  most of the come with one now!    

also STATIC LINE!   you should be connected before your feet leave the ground and until your feet touch the ground again!

[Three Arrows]

Very sobering story indeed...  1989, I fell from a tree limb I was using for a stand 15 ft.  1992, I fell out of a rock maple while climbing down 18 ft.  1993, I shot a buck and crashed down from a broken Baker 12 ft.  1997, I fell while pruning my shooting holes 22 ft.  2006, I fell while pulling up my bow, ( I disengaged my platform latch with the haul rope) 26ft.  I am the poster boy for not wearing a safety belt/harness!  I wear one now.  Not because I am worried or scared to fall, but because I love my wife and kids.  I hardly ever use a stand anymore.  I use a saddle harness or the ground.  I realize that most if not all of you will find me utterly stupid for not wearing a safety belt or harness all these years.  I frankly did not see the need to since I had defied the odds so many times and at times actually just jumped out instead of climbing.  I don't really want to end up paralized or leave my wife and kids without me.  Thank You AutumnArcher and John Scrifes for your brotherhood.  If I had come here sooner, I might have wised up much earlier than I did!  

[Three Arrows]

I must also add that I only had one accident involving a climber.  The rest were fixed stands I had to climb in or out of in the dark.  The climber incident was from a safety pin that was to prevent the latch from opening not being used.  You can be as stubborn/stupid as I was if you care to see if you are as lucky!

[mrpenguin]

A tip for Climbers..

Attach your harness to the tree as soon as you mount the stand to climb.  As you climb move the harness up with you.  This creates 3 points of contact between you and the tree.  Plus. there have been a few times the bottom/platform of my climbers have snagged and dropped, only to be caught by the connecting line to the seat... leaving me hanging there until I pulled the stand up.  Without a harness, this is a dodgy situation to say the least... I have climbed without the harness once, it wasn't much faster, and my life is not worth a few minutes extra.

[Jim Jackson]

Don't forget a safety line on the way up and back down.  Most falls occur during this transition period.   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  


Also:

  http://www.geocities.com/safetreehunt/systems.html  

Has a good testimonial and product although it is more expensive than putting it together yourself.

[Fletcher]

I'm gonna echo what Hickstick said:  WEAR A FULL BODY HARNESS!!!   Forget the belt, it can and will injure/kill you just like the fall.  

One out of three of us IS GOING TO FALL!!  Don't think it can't happen to you!

[Autumnarcher]

John, thanks for sharing that story. Leaves me speechless.

It brings up the important point that most falls take place ascending/descending, or stepping or or offthe stand,when most hunters who are wearing a blet or harness are unhooked.

The best method is a fall arrest rope attached to the harness with a prussek knot/loop.

Yes, it is a bit of a pain in the butt to set up, but once its done, you're all set. And, it is far less a pain inthe butt that a wheelchair.

[hickstick]

I prefer the  Klemheist    knot over the Prussik   it only grabs in one direction and is way easier to slide up the static line with one hand.
  and if for some reason it has to grab (ie saving your a$$)...it can be released with one hand (actually usually a simple flick of one thumb))

to test it out I actually used a pair of them (on for feet, one for hands) to ascend up a climbing rope about five feet.

[Three Arrows]

Been using this for my safety for about 12 years now.  I tied this by mistake and found out it was an actual knot for climbing.  It is very easy to do and would work great for the 20 ft tethers.

[straitera]

Nearly hung myself last time I used the belt and haven't since. Everyone's valuable input & credibility made the point. Think I'll check into the harness. Much obliged.