Hunting & Fishing God looks after fools

[Jon Lester]

Yep , I am the fool this time.

I have tree stands scattered across the wilderness area behind my house. Some of these stands have been in the woods as long as 3-4 years. Saturday I am out on the first hunt of the year and daylight sees me perched in a stand of Oaks that has been productive in the past.
Midday I go to another stand that I had planned on moving last year and never got the chance. I climb up and take the stand down, move it to another spot about 1/2 mile away and the fun begins. I climb about 20 feet up a huge Buckeye and set the stand, Climb back down , tie on the bow and back pack and back up I go. Now here is the good part, I ease out onto the stand TIE OFF THE SAFETY and sit down. I then hand the Binos up and start to pull up the gear.
Now when the anchor strap broke I clearly heard it pop, clean, And I knew what had happened. What came next was that I could feel the stitches in the harness that are designed to fail and ease the shock ripping. Next I was just setting there swinging in the harness, The stand hung in the Crotch of the tree just above ground level and me on the end of a rope about 17 feet up. I was able to use the safety rope to pull myself around to the tree and then climb back up, get the binos, then back down to tera firma.
Lesson:
1 Always Always WEAR A SAFETY HARNESS!!!! I have been in stands without one, or have not tied off until I pulled up everything and got the coat on. Bad results would have come from either.
2 Check your stuff, my strap had rotted to the point that the tightening device would break it. Stupid...Stupid....Stupid
3 Let people know your plans; I was alone 2 miles deep in a wilderness area. This could have been bad.
4 Take comms. I was lucky that I had the B-Berry; I did plan this so I would have a means of contact and GPS coords. available.

God does look out for us fools

 

[sierra2]

Re: God looks after fools

Glad you're ok. Safety equipment was developed for a reason, but unfortunately there are still those who chose to not use it, and we read about them every year. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!!!

 

[cbosshog79]

Re: God looks after fools

Glad you weren't hunt and thanks for the reminder! I have a really bad habit about hanging my stands a little too high and I rarely ever wear a harness... I might just pull the fall-guy jacket out of the closet before I head into the tree next time.

 

[Jon Lester]

Re: God looks after fools

At the mine I work At we have had a guy loose a Foot broken so badly ended up loosing it, Another with a broke Back and a vendor with a broke neck all from tree stand falls.

 

[mdesign]

Re: God looks after fools

Glad you're okay Jon, good reminder to all of us!

 

[Raven34]

Re: God looks after fools

WOW man. Glad your ok. Very good reminder for the rest of us.

 

[Jered Joplin]

Re: God looks after fools

Close calls like that will teach you a lesson you will never forget. I used to work at some pretty high altitudes at one point in time. Being up in a tree didn't phase me a bit because I had zero fear of it. Well one day I leaned a little too far while doing some stupid crap and ended up hanging on the outside of my climber with it locked sideways on a tree 30 ft in the air. I was going head first but managed to snag the rail on the way out. Had my climbing skills not been what they were at the time I would have been a 200 human lawn dart. Puts things in perspective fast.

I'm glad you are ok. Hope the rest of the family is doing well.

 

[SmokeRolls]

Re: God looks after fools

Glad you are ok.
Close calls burn safety measures into our brains.
Lesson learned.
Don't take it too hard if someone razes you.
Everyone has had a close call from time to time most are just to puffed up to admit it.
Humans trip on flat ground.
..........SmokeRolls

 

[bohem]

Re: God looks after fools

Wow, good call on the harness. I wasn't planning to wear my harness on my climber as I'd been told several times it was unnecessary... I think this just changed my mind. Glad to hear you're not hurt and I can take a lesson from it.

 

[Laser1]

Re: God looks after fools

Friend of mine fell 26' when the treestand he was in lost its grip on a pine tree. He skinned the tree all the way down and broke both his legs. Fortunately, a friend and his son where there and were able to 4 wheel him back to the truck and into the hospital in town. He was life flighted back to Houston for surgery. When the Doc saw him the first statement he had for him was "you shouldn't be alive, what are you doing here?" Needless to say we are all focused on safety equipment since his accident. Crippled him up for life. Terribly hard lesson to learn.

 

[Laser1]

Re: God looks after fools

Another friend of mine had his climber break way up in an oak tree. As it was falling apart, he was able to jump and grab onto another tree and shimmy down. He's built like a cat squirrel anyway. Very lucky man. Use safety equipment.

 

[Dagsta]

Re: God looks after fools

Spent many years jacking up trees with no fall protection. Then had 3 friends fall over a 2 season period. Messed them up pretty bad, 1 killed!

You won't see me without it again!!!

 

[lovain1932]

Re: God looks after fools

Anyone who would go in a tree stand without a safety harness really takes a very dangerous chance and could easily lose their life that's just irresponsible. Think about the ones you would leave behind

 

[battlestick]

Re: God looks after fools

Nahhh, fools would NOT have had a harness on.

Glad you are well.

 

[LDA338UM]

Re: God looks after fools

Glad your ok, I will be wearing my gear this year.

 

[sierra2]

Re: God looks after fools

Just had a local boy fall 22ft out of his tree stand. Fortunately for him, his buddy was expecting to meet up with him and, when he didn't show, buddy went searching and found him piled up beneath his stand. They flew him out with head injuries and, after some uneasy moments, it looks like a good prognoses for a full recovery.

 

[eddief]

Re: God looks after fools

Wow, glad your okay Jon.

More stand accidents happen when actually climbing up or down the tree. The new retractable harnesses that are available today should be mandatory for anyone in a tree.

 

[smack]

Re: God looks after fools

Bad deal, a fall like that would be tragic no matter the outcome. Glad it just got the heart rate up and you took it all home in one piece.

 

[vman]

Re: God looks after fools

Its scary to think what can happen out there while your alone.

I had a fall late in 2009, fell about 2 meters and landed on the side of my thigh. Landed on a decent rock to boot!

Lucky my femur did not snap AND i had a friend around to help me... It took me 3 hours to climb back up to the top of this mountain that we were on, reach the 4x4 and drive back to camp.

Didnt want to hijack this thread but just thought I would demonstrate what even a small 2 meter fall can do to your body. Had I actually broken my thigh and been alone, I would be swimming up shit creek without a paddle and my mouth wide open!

The fall actually caused a puncture in my skin. The last pic was taken the day after... note, the size of the bruise compared to my hand! Sorry for crappy pics.

 

[patriotoutlaw]

Re: God looks after fools

Broke my neck after a limb broke with me, falling 25 ft and landing on my R eye, back in '93. Ain't been the same since, but I DO wear a safety harness now. I figure I am very fortunate to be alive.

 

[shaman]

Re: God looks after fools

You're not a fool because you are still alive and walking. You're just a man who saved his own life.

 

[RJW]

Re: God looks after fools

Most people here in Indiana tree stand hunt. Tree stands have accounted for more deaths over the years than firearms. Tree stands have also been the cause of most hunter injuries.

I teach hunter safety and we spend 3 hours of the 10 hour course on tree stand safety. The DNR has given us a lot of photos of tree stand and hunter use failures. I hope it make a difference.