Dang I just fell

[RPolk]

Glad you're OK.

Enjoy today, Monday's gonna hurt.

[Killdeer]

...and I  can't  get up!!

Thank God that wasn't the case. I used to love the view from a tree stand, but I am just as happy not to hassle with them. Go now, and shin up no more trees!

You are obviously not keeping a handle on the squirrel population. They are being allowed to grow too old and too wise. And if you think  humans  get crotchety with age, squirrels grow a mean streak to put a man to shame! Cull the old professers, and keep the remainder young, ignorant, and tender. It is a demanding job, but it is better than a pantsload of fire ants. Wait a minnit. I said that to a man with no pants. Never mind.

Emily Litella  

[Biggie Hoffman]

Thanks everyone...I'm sorry I didn't get it on film for you.

I always remember the irony of Fred Richter who co-wrote the treestand safety book for Hunters Ed.
He fell in Montana a few years after it was published and broke his back. It CAN happen to anyone.

[Shawn Leonard]

Glad your all right. I know I shoulsd not say this but I would of liked to seen that!    Shawn

[RC]

Call me next time you got to move a stand Big redneck , I feel obligated to help the older folks out.RC

[Barney]

I was just gonna mention Fred. Glad you're O.K.

Thank goodness for padding  

[Pinecone]

Glad you're okay, Biggie.  That is scary stuff and your note is a good reminder of how quickly a good day can become a bad day when tree stands are on the agenda.  Let's all stay safe out there...

Claudia

[Gun]

I've been climbing trees since I was a little tyke. Am starting to see some limitations lately though. Using more ladder stands the last few years as well. I'll be 54 in Sept. I'm going to need more time to get set for a shot too as my knees pop now when I stand up. Thanks for the safety reminder. Got to check my stands in the next week or two. Glad you're alright Biggie.

[draco]

Do you always hunt that high? I`ve never hunted over 12 ft. and usually lower. It seems the older I get the lower I get.I`m even starting to hunt on the ground more,and I seem to be killing just as many deer. But then we have a lot of low brush and trees that keep leaves all winter long. I`ve even started to think about pit blinds if I could get someone to dig it for me. Nah, we got too many rattlesnakes that might get in there with me. I fell off a 10ft. ladder last year while welding on cattle pens and broke both wrists,fractured my right upper arm, took a bunch of hide off my face,broke my nose and shoved dirt over an inch deep up both nostrils. the doctor dug the dirt out with something called a nose spoon. Owww--did that hurt. I always thought people hunted that high so if they did fall it would kill them instantly with no pain or suffering. Seriously, I`m so glad to know you came thru mostly unscathed.Keep hunting and be safe.

[Pat B.]

I've fallen twice... Both times were about 25 years ago.. Once I only fell about 6', a lower limb stopped my decent. Hurt..

Second time I wasn't so lucky. I shot an old doe and decided to get down and go tend to her. Had been in and out of this hang on stand several times. There was an arm sized limb just above my head. I untied myself and reached up and grabbed this limb. Being young, athletic and dumb, I swung out away from the stand while holding this limb. By all appearences it was sound, appearences were deceiving and it broke under my weight. Remember I had done this exact same thing several times on this same limb. I fell straight down at what we later determined was nearly 17 feet. I hit the ground feet first but my legs immediatly collapsed under me. I'm sure the impact dazed me and when I came to I opened my eyes and all I could see was grass and leaves, I couldn't move ---- anything execpt my eyes.. Pretty spooky stuff.. Nobody had any idea where I was. After a few minutes I found I could move my fingers, then hands, toes, etc.. I was finally able to roll over and sit up. My knees seemed useless. Eventually I started towards my truck a few hundred yards away. I pulled myself along with my arms finally getting some use out of my legs but couldn't come close to standing.
After what seemed like a very long time I reached my truck and pulled myself in.......
     Recovery took months and remembering this event spooks me to this day. Still hunt by myself and still use tree stands. I'm not foolish enough to say it won't ever happen to me again but I'm extremely cautious. Guys, one of these "little scares" is enough for any bowhunter.
     Biggie, glad your fall ended so gracefully and you didn't wind up using that plastic lined trash pail for a bed pan..

[dorris]

were was your saftey belt ?????

[RayMO]

Biggie thank God you are ok!

This is one of the reason I am heading more and more to hunting on the ground. I sure do like hunting from the trees, but I think it is just a matter of time before something goes bad and when you are 60 years old hitting the ground from 15 feet in the air does not sound good to me.  :D  

I am sure I will be up in the air some this year, I know I will be for bears in Sept, but I have a lot of respect when I leave the ground.

You know the scary part are the things you can not control, them Squirrels’ is a good example.

Anyway, have a great season Biggie, and we don't want to hear anymore about hitting the ground    


RayMO

[joel smith]

glad you're okay Biggie and thanks for the reminder that even the most seasoned (notice how I didn't say old) of us can be felled by fuzzy gremlins (or any of a hundred other stupid litle things that can happen when humans get off the ground). Every time I hear about a treestand-related fall i think of all those years we hunted without safety belts, in home-made deathtrap stands (or Bakers   ), and many times with no stand at all (yep, lots of us used to climb trees and stand on limbs--sometimes with those KK quivers with no hoods slung over our shoulder--just four sharp broadheads sticking up from the top limb looking for something to cut). Many of us are very lucky to be walking around....


Biggie, i'll have David check all the stands for squirrel damage before we get to Tejas

[Rich LaBombard]

Glad you are ALL o.k.  Scary stuff.  
lessons to be learned, and wear those safety belts!

[George Tsoukalas]

Thank God. You are ok. George

[Randy Morin]

From another famous movie..."Bumbles Bounce"!

Glad you are ok Biggie...only 8 lives left.

[James Wrenn]

I did the same thing in the spring taking a stand down,Did not have a ladder to break my fall however.Fell 18ft and landed on my back in a mud puddle.Just lucky the ground was soft but my shoulder go whacked pretty bad and I am just getting where I can pull over 40lbs on a bow.Be carefull no matter how many times you have done it before. jmo

[Ray Hammond]

hey, we're doing business now...I don't think you should climb trees at all, dude.

Glad you are OK...reminds me of the urban hunting situation when I first used Rapid Rails- didn't tie the chinese rope around itself underneath the ladder rungs to tie it off..just snugged it and up I went.

On the way into the stand in the morning didn't realize my boot had got hung up on the last rail, just below the platform..18 feet up. As I stepped off the rail into the stand my boot lifted the rail up and the rope came loose and it fell to the ground.

NO way to get out of the tree...had to call my buddy to drive to my stand, climb up ladder and re-set the rail..thank goodness for cell phones, and FRIENDS who will help you out. Could have been bad if I had been there long enough to get hungry!

[JC]

Really glad to hear you are OK Biggie. You've got to stay healthy till we can share a camp at least a few times. I really want to be able to tell people I hunted with THE Biggie Hoffman.

Joking aside, I'll be sure to check the straps on the stands left in the woods.

[eagle24]

Glad you did'nt get hurt.  I had a couple of close calls due to carelessness, stupidness, doneittoomanytimesness, or whatever.  Sometimes the more we fool around in the trees the more we take things for granted.  Thanx for the warning to pay more attention!