Hunter falls 22 feet

http://www.gon.com/hunting/hunter-survives-22-foot-fall-from-tree-stand

That being said, on Oct. 7 of this year, I found myself a victim of the two pilot adages mentioned before, but during a deer hunting trip. I fell 22 feet, upside down and backward, all the way to the ground.

Click to expand...

As an outfitter, I put up and take down 50-plus lock-ons each year. I wear the appropriate safety gear and take the appropriate precautions. I can do this in my sleep (old and bold). I’m privileged to be a state Hunter Safety Instructor, and I know all too well that tree-stand accidents are the No. 1 cause of injury and death in our state. I teach this stuff to aspiring hunters, how could this possibly have happened to me?

Click to expand...

It only takes one second of not thinking for something bad to happen. Glad this guy got out without a scratch. Wal-Mart has good prices on Lifelines. I bought one for every stand I hunt out of.

Been it that position and you are rite it only takes a spit second and you are gone,like you lucky and not injured, but have a friend that fell same distance as is permantly disabled. I think that if you play with the bull long enough eventually you will get the horns.

Not to mention most now have reflective line sewn in. I can see my stands from hundreds of feet away.

Very well written and hard hitting story!

I also lifeline all of my stands. But never for $20. I just can't see that possible. A 200 pound hunter falling over 5 feet before the lifeline becomes involved is well beyond most ropes sold in normal stores.

I buy mine from REI, $ hundreds for 100 feet. But it's my life, and in the end it's pennies on the dollar.

I hope I NEVER have to use one!

Lucky guy. He had someone watching over him.

I will never forget the story of you finding him dbaile

Dang that story parallels my tree stand "gear up" landing in 1994. I wasn't quite that lucky as I did have injuries that still plague me almost daily but I too had a miracle. The miracle is that I did survive. I use the life line (commercial, expensive ones no cutting corners for me on a life line) and I DO NOT leave tierra firma without being hooked in from the time I leave the ground until I'm back on solid ground. I ALWAYS use a lineman's belt the first time up a tree to secure the life line. There again I'm secured to the tree for up to down.

I also remove all ratchet straps and store them after deer season. I inspect them thoroughly when I go to hand the stands before each deer season. AND all of my stands are secured with chains and I use the ratchet straps only for complete stability.

Like he stated with his old pilots sayings I'll add another: "Any landing you can walk away from was a good landing". I guess we both have had our "good landing" and I for one don't want to have another one.

For all you care about, for all who love you PLEASE always use an approved safety restraint.

All of this reminds me of when I was 12. Every Thanksgiving we would rake under the pecan tree, pick up what was on the ground and I would climb up in the tree to shake the limbs for the remaining pecans. I was a good 25 feet up the tree, reaching for a limb when I lost my footing and went into free fall. Somehow I caught on to a limb on the way down and never made it to the ground. After I climbed down Mama said I said, "I almost fell". Don't think I could handle that nearly 50 years later.

blackice said:

I will never forget the story of you finding him dbaile

Click to expand...

Was that posted here?

DOn't want to bring up bad memories, but posts about near tragedies do have a way of making an impression on me.

NCST8GUY said:

Very well written and hard hitting story!

I also lifeline all of my stands. But never for $20. I just can't see that possible. A 200 pound hunter falling over 5 feet before the lifeline becomes involved is well beyond most ropes sold in normal stores.

I buy mine from REI, $ hundreds for 100 feet. But it's my life, and in the end it's pennies on the dollar.

I hope I NEVER have to use one!

Click to expand...

A five foot fall is bone jarring, possibly spinal injuries. In Arboriculture, we say never let the slack get to your knees. Even that far and it's bad.

I fell 15 feet to hard ga clay back 8 years ago still seeing chiro monthly , my ladder stand broke in half i was trying to climb up to secure the top of the stand to a pine tree was not using hss i certainly do now every time i climb. God was watching over me how i missed being impaled on the broken ladder i'll never know / only my guardian angel knows.

My chiro tells his staff i took a fall for them.

Justin said:

A five foot fall is bone jarring, possibly spinal injuries. In Arboriculture, we say never let the slack get to your knees. Even that far and it's bad.

Click to expand...

Working in Construction, I attend a few safety demonstrations. It's quite eye opening.

They use a 200 pound manequinn (first time I've every typed that word), in a normal harness. They demonstrated that a worker must fall, reach all of the slack of a 6 foot line, then the absorption factor comes into play. So basically, a worker's feet have to fall a LONG ways under normal conditions, before they become slowed down. Up to 12 feet under the right circumstances (if working head high at the same height as your tie off).

Now, bring into play that some places say you have to "tie off" above 7 feet, when the deck is 10-12. Why? LOL.

Hunting wise, we ALL have to make that "initial" climb up a tree. That first climb if putting up sticks or a ladder, is mostly, unprotected. It is quite honestly what I fear most in the deer woods. I am more nervous putting up a loc on or ladder than any big buck has made me. Once I have that life line installed however, I feel almost, but NOT, bulletproof. Let's call it "safety confident".

NCST8GUY said:

Working in Construction, I attend a few safety demonstrations. It's quite eye opening.

They use a 200 pound manequinn (first time I've every typed that word), in a normal harness. They demonstrated that a worker must fall, reach all of the slack of a 6 foot line, then the absorption factor comes into play. So basically, a worker's feet have to fall a LONG ways under normal conditions, before they become slowed down. Up to 12 feet under the right circumstances (if working head high at the same height as your tie off).

Now, bring into play that some places say you have to "tie off" above 7 feet, when the deck is 10-12. Why? LOL.

Hunting wise, we ALL have to make that "initial" climb up a tree. That first climb if putting up sticks or a ladder, is mostly, unprotected. It is quite honestly what I fear most in the deer woods. I am more nervous putting up a loc on or ladder than any big buck has made me. Once I have that life line installed however, I feel almost, but NOT, bulletproof. Let's call it "safety confident".

Click to expand...

I worked a lot of construction in high school. 99% of the people wore harnesses and safety hats. 99% of the people never connected the harness to anything. I was like spiderman on the scaffolding. Glad I never fell.

There is a stand at my aunts house that has 3-4 things of climbing sticks and then a hang on stand. I almost had a panic attack when I climbed that thing to put a lifeline up.