Climbing Stand Mishap

[scotman]

I would first like to say I only stick to a few forums around here. Never paid much attention to the equipment forum nevertheless knew they had a tree stand category.

Would like to share one story I posted on my blog I posted a few weeks ago called Cold Morning Mist about the story before my mishap..which you can read here..http://treestandguide.com/hunting/cold-morning-mist/

The second part of the story I did not get a chance to write about was how I got down..my accident involved a climbing tree stand when they first hit  the market. The tree stand safety tether did not come with the climbing tree stand like some do now. What happened with me I forgot to tie off the top and bottom half of the climber with a safety tether. I climbed nearly sixteen feet up a tall straight cherry tree and the bottom half slipped out from my feet and crashed to the ground. Luckily I was young and agile enough back then that I managed to slowly climb down with the top half.

The strategy I used was I put my body halfway through the top half of the stand and placed my feet on the trunk for more support. When I had good support and the weight was on my legs I lowered the top half slowly down a few inches readjusted my feet and did it all over again. Not an accident really but it was a very close call.

For any that are new to tree stand hunting make sure your top and bottom halves of your climber stand are securely tied together with a safety tether. Also make sure you are using an approved Tree-stand Manufacture Association approved safety harness or short for TMA fall arrest system. Your loved ones will thank you for it.