Mid Season Reminder-Tree Stand Safety- Fall Caught on Camera

[splitrockoutdoors]

Be careful everyone!  Harnesses, Lifeline, Tree stand Wingman, etc.

This was a suggested video that came up on my Youtube.  Fall is at 8:50

 

 

[nmc02]

Crazy. Lucky he didn't get seriously hurt. All my stands have lifelines. Scary

[hammer4reel]

4 minutes ago, nmc02 said:

Crazy. Lucky he didn't get seriously hurt. All my stands have lifelines. Scary

I started doing lifelines on my remote stands in Ohio .

as falls in those areas could be a problem being found 

i find they are a PIA as I continually need to make sure my tether isn’t around a step going up and down .

i think I’m going to try just a 1’ tether just for that purpose 

[BHC]

Besides a safety harness. If/when I use a lock on the ladder sticks I set up so it will be a foot or so higher then the stand so I step into the stand 

[Bonefreak]

Yikes!  Crazy it was caught on camera!  Dead branches are widow makers in more ways than one!  He used a dead branch and it gave way. I fell 6 ft on to my butt while sitting on a dead branch putting up a climbing stick last year….was lucky no serious injuries…just saw stars!

[mazzgolf]

This is one reason why I want to try 2TC climbing... tethered to the tree before even making the first move up, and you are tethered in all the up and back down... and you don't need to have anything setup beforehand, and don't even need sticks at all. Still practicing it and getting my gear the way I like it, but so far it seems promising. Might even not take me forever to get to the top this way  

[bowguide]

one of the dumbest set ups I have ever seen

[Bonefreak]

3 minutes ago, bowguide said:

one of the dumbest set ups I have ever seen

Yep. He only looked to be about 10 ft high. 

[Pathman]

1 hour ago, hammer4reel said:

I started doing lifelines on my remote stands in Ohio .

as falls in those areas could be a problem being found 

i find they are a PIA as I continually need to make sure my tether isn’t around a step going up and down .

i think I’m going to try just a 1’ tether just for that purpose 

So I get the impression you’re not using the lifelines at your local hunting locations? 
You’re rolling the dice for sure Hammer, it’s just like the motor vehicle accident statistics, you’re more likely to have an accident close to home simply due to the increased driving frequency. 
So I would view this in a similar manner. 
 

I know what you’re saying about the lifeline hitting the steps, but there are a couple of ways to mitigate the PIA impact. 
 

What I have done for years now is attach an extension to my safety harness tether strap that allows me to shift the lifeline a foot or so away from the steps, thus eliminating the tangles you mention. Mybstands all have shooting rails, so this is also a way to detach the strap from the lifeline, bring it under the shooting rail, and attach to the tree tether. 
*Note; you can eliminate this extra step in a stand with a shooting rail if you run the lifeline through the inside of the shooting rail instead of on the outside. But I don’t like that method because it puts the lifeline between you and the stand instead of the lifeline on the outside of the steps and stand. 

The other thing it allows is, once I step into the stand ( from above the level of the platform) I’m able to use the extra carabiners on the tether to attach one to the tree tether, while still being attached to the lifeline simultaneously with the other carabiner. 
This way you’re never ever detached from either the tether or the lifeline for a split second, which as we know is all it takes for a fall to occur. 
 

It may be hard to picture, so I’ll post some pics a bit later of what the harness tether extension and extra biners looks like. 

[BowhunterNJ]

I have no idea wth he was even doing putting his foot outside the cable on the edge of the platform.  There's so much wrong with that setup and what he was doing.  Guy is lucky to be alive.

Agree with the lifelines, I use them on all my stands and have for years now.  Much better level of comfort while hunting knowing you're connected from when you leave the ground until you get back down to it.

[bowguide]

22 minutes ago, Bonefreak said:

Yep. He only looked to be about 10 ft high. 

besides that the way his entrance/exit to the stand was set up is absolutely horrible   he was an accident waiting to happen

[Jcol6268]

So many things going against treestand safety. Glad he can look back on it. That thud! 

[mazzgolf]

3 hours ago, BowhunterNJ said:

I have no idea wth he was even doing putting his foot outside the cable on the edge of the platform

It looked like to me that he was reaching down with his foot looking for the top of his stick to balance on, and he just missed.

[BowhunterNJ]

10 minutes ago, mazzgolf said:

It looked like to me that he was reaching down with his foot looking for the top of his stick to balance on, and he just missed.

with one hand trying to hold onto the bark of the tree and the other hand holding onto a dead branch and trying to maneuver under it to get to steps set well below the level of the treestand platform.  It was the dead branch that broke and caused him to lose all his balance with no secure points of contact.  FWIW, on sets like that, I always put a treestep as a hand hold on the backside of the tree (opposite side of the treestand).  I would have also sawed off that dead branch, no way I would have trusted that as a hand hold or tried navigating under it like he did.

[KEITH STONE]

Was he grabbing a dead branch and trying to climb under it?