To this day I still get cold chills lookin back on some of the crazy crap I have done. Just a wonder...
True story there barney. If I get up to my foodplot soon for a hunt I’ll take a pic of a stand I hung about 14 years ago. I welded that pos in high school and I’m really not a good welder. It’s well over 30 feet and never wore nothing. Iv got a stand 5 yards from it and every time I’m in it I look up say WTH was you thinking. I never got busted in it though and shot a bunch of deer. I wouldn’t climb back in that SOB now for all the gold in Knox
All I know is I am fine on the ground, but when I get more than 5 feet off the ground and lose my three points of contacts, it immediately starts. Anxiety of falling, knees weak, light dizziness/unsteadiness. It may not be vertigo, it may just be major uncomfortableness when unstable and in the air. In my summit climber I am better, but still not carefree up there like many people. That feeling is always there the minute I leave the ground.
I welded up several climbers and hang ons as well. I was young and dumb, but in God's hands for sure.
About 4 years ago on a farm I trap a bow hunter fell.Broke his neck and killed him.Left a wife and 2 kids.Boys you can’t be too carefull.
I have worked a few grizzly looking falls from tree stands. Those steps will gut ya and those clips that holds the ladder steps together leave nasty cuts
A friend of mine is paralyzed from chest down, Fell asleep in stand woke up on ground. Always wear a safety vest and Lifeline.
Using a ladder stand neither. Using climbers, I’m connected to the tree shortly after stepping in. Don’t use lock ons. Don’t trust them, don’t like them. Not gonna use them
@Capttrae @bgkyarcher Guys, please strap in when using a ladder. Better yet, use a lifeline so you're connected all the time. Lots of people fall while climbing up or down. Ladder stands are not immune from breaking. Come home to your family at the end of the day. Friendly advice/warning. For those of you who don't use a lifeline with a climber, but do use a strap...why? It's so easy to climb with a lifeline, just move it up the tree with you. If your climber happens to slip or break, you're safe. For those who use a lifeline, put two prussic loops on it. Hook your carabiner to the top one, and make the bottom one big enough that you can put your boot in the loop. If you fall, you can slide that loop down to where you can get your boot in it, and then you can take the weight of your harness to prevent suspension trauma. By alternating, you can even ascend or descend the lifeline as necessary. It's a great piece of safety equipment. There's no excuse for anyone to get hurt falling from a deer stand these days. Y'all be careful out there, fellas.
Again, I will say, most falls don’t take place from the stand but the ascend/descend. Know a guy that had hunted years, safe for the most part, feet slipped coming down a ladder stand and he was laid up with a broke back for 9 months. He always strapped up but not going up and down. He used a tow rope and made sure he had 4 points touching at all times but things still happen. The thing I like about lifelines is that you’re strapped the entire time. Don’t have to strap up once your in because you’re always in. Stay safe y’all.
I think it about it all the time,...in the dark plus flat in the middle of no where with no cell phone. Absolutely some of the dumbest stuff I ever did
I’ve got too much to live for, and I don’t want the last few minutes of my life to be me laying at the bottom of a tree. So I wear a climbing harness the entire time I’m in a climber. I also don’t want my wife to be burdened with me at home in a paralyzed state. All because I was dumb enough to not wear a harness??? Nah, that’s a hard pass.