They say it happens quick................

[23feetupandhappy]

And its no lie    

It dosnt take long to travel 15' the ground.......

Last night after my hunt I needed to pull my treestand down and after lowering it to the ground I went to unhook the chain from around the tree while standing on top of my 16' climbing sticks, lost my balance, grabbed for a branch,
 ( which ended up being dead and broke opon me touching it ) and went over backwards to the ground    

Now Im writing this while Im at work today and outside of being stiff and sore, Im OK    

Be carful out there, slow down because gravity (as of last night) still works    

Ben

[JEFF B]

you need to get a safety harness buddy  

[23feetupandhappy]

Originally posted by JEFF B:
you need to get a safety harness buddy      

Got one, I just don't wear it while climbing out of the tree, but am looking at some kind of lineman's belt while messing with a stand  

[KentuckyTJ]

Wow, that is super scary. Glad you are ok.

[KAZ]

Indeed Ben, I'm very thankful you're okay and Praise God for protecting you from severe injury or even death. The thought of this accident leaving your family, friends, co-workers, etc. without you is cause for deep reflection in Faith and practice/behaviors for all of us. Injury, paralysis,  death are all possible in this type of scenario.... We need to slow down and utilize protective measures  from the moment we leave the ground until we return. Also work together with a friend if it makes the best sense. Thank you for sharing your accident with us in hopes of preventing anyone else from the same or worse! I Praise God that this will pass, though we have a choice to learn from it.... Happy you're still intact and with us my friend!!!!

[sweeney3]

I helped a friend hang a stand for bear on some property we have access too.  Her stand, so not like the ones I use (when I stand hunt, which is rare these days.)  First time I've used climbing sticks.  I used a lineman's belt to help stay on and free up both hands.  Super handy and much safer than scrabbling around unattached. Glad you're not too scuffed up after a fall like that.

[sheepdogreno]

Glad your OK that could have been so much worse...i used to not wear a harness until a climber I was using let go and I almost fell 20ft! Glad your OK!

[A.S.]

First off, I'm glad you are ok.  most falls happen getting in and out of the stand. I know....that's how mine happened as well!

I always use either a life line or two lineman's belts, so I'm never unattached when I step off the ground.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Glad you are ok. Just another reason to hunt the ground.

[Dorado]

Glad you're alright. I fell from less height August of last year and haven't been able to hunt since. I had 3 surgeries and need another before I can walk unassisted. I'm 29 and was in decent shape so I was allowed to keep my foot.
Don't risk it. Use whatever safety equipment you can. A little more comfort or speed isn't worth the $70,000 and over a year wasted. Trust me on that.

By the way, relearning how to walk is extremely painful.

[huntnmuleys]

wow, scary deal.  glad it ended well.

[DoubleLung]

Glad you're unhurt. You might need to rethink the name now though!  

[bofish-IL]

Glad your ok. I learned my lesson the hard way years ago, to always use the harness and lineman belt hanging and removing stands.

[1flyfish]

Ditto on using a lineman belt,I have also started using a static line when I leavie my stand up with 20 ft  of rope with a prussic knot I am connected going up and down at all times.

[Altiman94]

Glad that you were not seriously hurt.  I imagine that the fall was quite scary and hope that you recover physically and emotionally from it.  I know it won't deter you from hunting and sharing more success stories with us.  

I use a lineman's belt when hanging, but have yet to find a good way to move from my top stick to my stand or stand to my top stick and still being tied in.  I get using a static line but since I mostly hang and hunt - I still need to get from the top stick to the stand and back down without a static line.  Any pointers that can help us all?

[reddogge]

Make a promise to yourself you'll never be unhooked in a tree again. Harness, tree attachment rope and lineman's belt.

[jax]

Did your safety belt break?

[Sam McMichael]

You are lucky! Go buy a lottery ticket. Glad you were not seriously hurt.

[23feetupandhappy]

Originally posted by jax:
Did your safety belt break?

No it did not break!
I had unhooked it to climb down as well as pull the setup down.

[23feetupandhappy]

Originally posted by Dorado:
Glad you're alright. I fell from less height August of last year and haven't been able to hunt since. I had 3 surgeries and need another before I can walk unassisted. I'm 29 and was in decent shape so I was allowed to keep my foot.
Don't risk it. Use whatever safety equipment you can. A little more comfort or speed isn't worth the $70,000 and over a year wasted. Trust me on that.

By the way, relearning how to walk is extremely painful.

Man I can not imagine......

I landed flat on my back so I'm sure that helped distribut the weight as where it sounds like you landed on your legs?

I'm so thankful The Lord provided a log/tree/rock free landing or my back would be busted up pretty good!