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Safety harnesses and other safety

Smawgunner2

Active Member
1,230
63
Athens County
Man, I went to get in my stand and noticed the vertical ladder part up to the first rung was busted like a frozen copper pipe. How the hell does that even happen? It's assembled correctly. It a pretty beefy stand too compared to most. It's TOO freaking years old. Check ALL your gear gents!
 

Boarhead

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
I have had this set of sticks for 20+years and this happened yesterday..I was climbing up to pull a stand I hung after noticing one of the cables was in bad shape..I ordered a new set of cables from millennium and switched em out. I was hooked up to a lifeline and had 3 points of contact when the step broke on the sticks. That was a first for me.. make sure you guys inspect your equiptment.
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Actually I do use some home adapted ladder stands... They all look like this one. They are made by cutting sections from a fire truck's extending ladder. I don't think they will be a problem in my lifetime.
 

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Suspension trauma is a killer also - when you fall out of your stand and are hanging there - how ya going to get down to the ground
I wear a camo vest suspension system with a lifeline when I go up. The vest goes over my shoulders and under my crotch and around my mid section. I wear it with my climber as well. i set it so I can't fall more than about a foot total, including the stretch.

On a related note, I share venison with a paralyzed former hunter and his family, who didn't do this and had a bad outcome. He loved the woods and archery hunting in particular. He would tell us all that we should never take safety for granted. I know another guy who dropped an arrow with broadhead on his way in to hunt. On his way out, while looking for it he tripped on it. It went through his La Crosse Burley into his calf and out again... He was found by his buddy he was hunting with and Life Flighted out and saved by the Para meds, and after several surgeries and skin grafts has almost fully recovered. That was 25 years ago. stuff happens.

I once slid down a tree when getting ready to descend after an un eventful hunt. 20 feet straight down the tree while standing there facing the trunk. I left fingernail scratch marks the whole way I swear! The slide slowed as I got closer to the ground. In total the trip took about a second/or an eternity depending upon your perspective... My lower back, already damaged in a car accident years earlier hurt for like 6 months after that. The worst part was having to go back up and get all my stuff hanging on hooks. Don't think things can't happen to you!
 
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I wear a camo vest suspension system with a lifeline when I go up. The vest goes over my shoulders and under my crotch and around my mid section. I wear it with my climber as well. i set it so I can't fall more than about a foot total, including the stretch.

On a related note, I share venison with a paralyzed former hunter and his family, who didn't do this and had a bad outcome. He loved the woods and archery hunting in particular. He would tell us all that we should never take safety for granted. I know another guy who dropped an arrow with broadhead on his way in to hunt. On his way out, while looking for it he tripped on it. It went through his La Crosse Burley into his calf and out again... He was found by his buddy he was hunting with and Life Flighted out and saved by the Para meds, and after several surgeries and skin grafts has almost fully recovered. That was 25 years ago. stuff happens.

I once slid down a tree when getting ready to descend after an un eventful hunt. 20 feet straight down the tree while standing there facing the trunk. I left fingernail scratch marks the whole way I swear! The slide slowed as I got closer to the ground. In total the trip took about a second/or an eternity depending upon your perspective... My lower back, already damaged in a car accident years earlier hurt for like 6 months after that. The worst part was having to go back up and get all my stuff hanging on hooks. Don't think things can't happen to you!
My point being....after my verbal rabbit trail...besides be careful, was that if you do it properly you will not be below your stand and can get back on it. My climber has two parts and they are independently secured to the tree to help avoid suspension trauma. But that stand spends most of it's time looking out the window as I go hunting with the folding stool most often. If i were younger I might invest in Eberhart's system.
 

Tipmoose

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
2,678
85
Grove City
Im too fat and old to try and get into a lock on. I don't own a climber anymore, and saddles are just not gonna happen. Pretty much all of my hunts now are either from the ground or from permanent box stands.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Alright, who has found a bad stand this year? I know someone has and just hasn't said anything.

How about an area of dead Ash trees? They are starting to look very tempting to me as those areas have grown into some nice thickets. Sure would be nice to get some elevation in a dead Ash area...but I know better.
 

Boarhead

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
Yep I try to avoid the dead ash when hanging stands or just cut em down if they are too close.
I did checks on all my stands this year and changed out one set of cables...got rid of a set of ladder sticks when one step broke when I was 18 feet up..glad I was hooked up to a lifeline.
 
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