I watched my buddy fall out of his deer stand. Please be careful!!!

[bulletstuffer]

This happened a few days ago and he is ok!  Only a broken nose and some heavy bruising on his chin.  No lost teeth.   He is almost 70 and I thought it was over for him when he hit the ground.  Blood was coming out of his nose and mouth and I feared the worst.  Thankfully I carried my cell phone and immediately called 911.  They got there fairly quickly considering we were out of the cities quite a ways.


I was not expecting him to go up into that stand and he just walked up to the tree and started going up the screw in steps.  I was afraid as he stood on the metal stand and was relieved that he folded the seat and sat down.  That is when the stand gave way and he hit the ground.


Please wear you harness and take as many precautions as you can.  While I was at the hospital I talked to two random people and they both had fathers that had fallen from trees.  One had a broken neck many years ago but he in now in his 80s and survived and the other fell from the tree and shattered his ankle.


Please have a safe hunting season!


Bulletstuffer

[JonnyReb]

 Glad to hear your buddy was ok and thanks for the heads up. When I think of all the 25 year old homebuilt wooden platforms I 1st used in upstate N.Y., and of all the crappy homebuilt and slippery climbers i've used since in N.C, its a wonder i've never fallen out of one. As I get older i'm only comfortable in stable ladderstands and elevated boxes. I don't like climbers much anymore. The seat and a tiny platform chained to a tree with screw in steps is a death warrant, and harness or not i'm not sitting in one. :-).  Jeff

[cabledad]

A friend of mine was unloading his tractor at his deer lease down near Del Rio,Texas.he lost it coming off the trailor.Broke his neck and had to walk 2 miles before he could get his phone to work.Take somebody else with you.

[Land_Owner]

There are so many-many ways to be injured, some permanently, or to die in the woods.  Climbing a tree stand is just one of them.  Machinery is another.  I am glad your friend is OK and not permanently injured - except for his Pride.  He is still pretty spry for being 70, to be the unlucky one to test-to-failure that tree stand, and to survive the experience.  Give him our Best Regards for a swift recovery, then let some younger legs test the remainder of the tree stands for strength and security...also, give that man a vest-type safety harness system for his Birthday or Christmas so he can continue to be your hunting partner for many more years.  Each of us is intrinsically allergic to gravity...

[Spanky]

It's great to hear that your friend is alright. Too often the outcome of a fall is far worse. I tend to stay at ground level when deer hunting... most of the time you'll find me at the base of a big old tree or sitting on a short stump.
 
 
 
Spanky

[jpuke]

I put up a new stand this year about 35 feet up in a large tree (because the base of the tree is in a small depression and I had to go that high to get a more normal tree stand height).  As soon as I started putting in the screw-in steps I realized I'd have to be a bit safer in this one than in my ladder stand.  I ended up putting a large eye-bolt just above my stand and tied some climbing rope from the eye bolt all the way to the bottom of the tree.  I tied a prussic loop (or knot) to the rope that allows me to slide it up and down the rope as I climb or descend so I'm tethered to the tree the entire way.  My fear now is that I slip off one of the steps and end up getting impaled on one of them as I swing around, but hopefully that  result is still better than falling.

I also went through all my other stands and put on new ratchet straps and safety belts to tie myself to.  Meat in the freezer is great but of no use if we don't get back to our families.

[yellowtail3]

As I get older i'm only comfortable in stable ladderstands and elevated boxes. I don't like climbers much anymore. The seat and a tiny platform chained to a tree with screw in steps is a death warrant, and harness or not i'm not sitting in one. :-).  Jeff

If you haven't tried on, try an aluminum Viper by Summit. Comfy comfy comfy, and very secure. I feel a lot better in it than in anything else. I've slept in it...