Hunt Smart & Stay Safe: Essential Tree stand Safety Measures

Hunt Smart & Stay Safe: Essential Tree stand Safety Measures

By Kent Boucher

My wife often gets annoyed with my morbid musings that I occasionally think out loud. I don’t know why I do it, but I am certainly compelled to ponder who, what, when, how, and where someone died. Sometimes I put myself in the subject’s shoes, other times I think back to my last memory of the person alive. The scenarios that really leak into my mind, and steal my attention are accidental deaths. I think of how normal the victim’s day was leading up to that tragic moment. I think of how unsuspecting everyone was, and I shudder at the last few thoughts the victim may have sorted out in those final seconds. Deaths resulting from a fall really haunt me. Up until the very point of impact with the ground the deceased was totally healthy, functioning perfectly, filled with potential and a future before them, and then as that last micron separating them from the ground is closed in, it all ends. See, you’re annoyed at my morbid musings too. But as agitating as considering all this may be, it’s important to follow what the grieving loved ones of the victims often state, “I hope others take this tragedy as a warning to prevent it from happening to them”. As a treestand hunter, I take their advice seriously, and so should you.

Unintended Consequences
According to an article from “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel”, a recent study reported that between 300-500 treestand hunters die from treestand related accidents every year, and about 6,000 people sustain injuries from falling from the stand, with 80% of those injuries requiring surgery, and 10% resulting in permanent disability. As shocking as these statistics may be, most of us didn’t need them to be aware of the seriousness of falling from the stand. Likely, we know someone, or more likely multiple people, who have fallen from their treestand.

In every case that I know personally, the victim would have been better off if they had been wearing a harness. It’s that simple. One hunter I know wouldn’t have had a broken back that required paramedics to carry him out the woods, had he been in a harness securely attached to the tree. Another hunter I know, wouldn’t have had a broken neck and a life flight bill. While he was strapped down in the helicopter he overheard an emergency call for another local hunter who fell and died. Still, another hunter would have been spared the agony of bouncing off of tree limbs and running a stick deep into his thigh.

Strap In, Stay Safe
There are so many harness options on the market now that there really is no excuse for not finding one that suits your preferences, and keeps you from sharing a similar fate. I personally prefer using a Hunter Safety System harness that is minimalistic in design. This is simple, no pockets, or built in vest, just something that I can easily slip on over my hunting clothes and buckle as quickly as possible. It’s comfortable and quiet, and because it’s not a vest style harness I don’t have to worry about it holding a lot of additional human scent so it doesn’t negatively impact my hunt.

One huge inconvenience that harnesses can lead to is tangling. The best way to avoid this is to keep the harness buckled while in storage. As soon as I disconnect a buckle to take off part of my harness, I immediately re-buckle to prevent that part of the harness from twisting and tangling. I do the same with my harness loop that connects to the tree strap/lifeline. I use a large(weight rated) carabiner that I clip onto a secure point on the front of my harness for easy access when I need to clip into the tree. When it comes time to store my harness, I lay it as flat as possible in the bottom of my gear tote (It’s the last thing I put on), and this prevents tangling as well.

No More Slip-Ups
Safety harnesses are the foundational tool for safely hunting in treestands, but they are only effective when they are secured to the tree. What about the climb up and down the tree? This is the most accident prone point in the process, so it’s critical to address this threat. The two tools I use for this are safe-lines, also called lifelines, and a lineman’s rope. A properly secured safe-line removes pretty much all risk of fall when hunting permanent tree stands. These ropes should be properly secured to a height above the stand that allows for both comfortable standing and sitting. The rope has pre-tied prusik knots that immediately self-tighten when any weight pulls on them. These knots/loops are the point where the harness carabiner needs to connect to the safe-line. The prusik knot design allows for tension to be released so the user can easily slide the knot up the safe-line as they ascend into the stand and when they descend out of the stand. I still prefer to use a tree strap along with my safe-line to be certain I am sitting as securely as possible, but the safe-line guarantees that I am always connected to the tree.
Now you may be thinking right now, “That’s all great Kent, but how are you connected to the tree when you are hanging the safe-line?!” That’s a fair question, and the answer is found with the lineman’s rope. Unfortunately, this tool isn’t as easy to use, and isn’t as fool proof as the harness and safe-line, but it is still a very effective tool that should be used when securing the safe-line. The lineman’s rope connects into the front loops on the safety harness (yes, you still need to be wearing that harness!), and the rope will be wrapped around the tree while the hunter faces the tree and climbs. Read the instructions, or watch some instructional videos online for how to properly use the lineman’s belt as it does require proper set up and coordination to benefit from it’s capabilities. Once a safe-line has been secured into the tree, the lineman’s belt is no longer needed, as the hunter should now switch to the safe-line for climbing the tree.

Embracing Basic Safety
Beyond having the proper gear for safely setting up, using, and tearing down treestands, there are some general principles that I follow to be as safe as possible. First, I inspect the treestand gear I will be hauling into the woods to be sure that straps, harnesses, and ropes aren’t rotted, frayed, or knotted. Make sure stands and climbing sticks don’t have loose bolts, broken cables, or rusted out metal. Once my gear has passed inspection, I also inspect my chosen tree to be sure it’s not dead or dying, hollowed out, or weakened. I also check to be sure there are no neighboring trees that have a high probability of falling into my tree. Even after I’ve established a permanent stand, I check all of these things again each new season to make sure safety hasn’t been compromised. Another standard I follow is the refusal to use screw in meat hooks, oops – I mean tree steps. Imagine missing a step and falling onto one of those before your harness jerks tight. I heard of a couple unfortunate souls who dangled from these- one through his bicep, the other guy in the groin region. So yeah, never will I ever. And finally, I always keep a sharp knife that I can easily access. Sometimes even with a harness the worst-case scenario unfolds. I heard of a poor old boy in the Pacific Northwest who hung upside down from his harness for multiple days before being rescued. I’m not sure if cutting himself free would have improved his chances of surviving, but I know I don’t ever want to be stuck without options, so an easily accessible sharp knife is a valuable tool that I bring to the stand with me.

Hunting includes plenty of inherent risks, some we know we can’t avoid, others we certainly can. We have to make peace with those threats that come with the territory, and take the appropriate precautions to protect ourselves from those tragedies which are preventable. We owe it to our loved ones, to ourselves, and to the rest of the hunting community.