I was hunting with Willyb down at his farm in Boligee this morning. I was about halfway up my tree in the front side of the property when my cell went off. Luckily I had forgotten to put it on silent. Willyb was on the other end and told me he needed my help. His treestand had cut loose on him when he got up to hunting height. He slide down the tree until his SAFETY HARNESS, let me say it again in case you missed it his SAFETY HARNESS, caught him. He was able to catch the top half of the stand and position it so he could stand on it until I got there. The bottom was tied off to the top half, but because he was at the end of his tether rope and the angle the bottom half was on the tree, he couldn't reach it or pull it back up. I had to take my climber and climb up and position the stand where he could get back in it.
I'm making this post not to poke fun at Willyb, but to hopefully wake some of you knuckleheads up that refuse to use a fall restraint system. Willyb agreed saying if this saves one person from falling, it would be worth it.
Mistakes made:
1. We were running late and got in a hurry. Willyb chose a hickory tree to climb, because it was in the "right" spot and he wouldn't have to take the time to limb another softer barked tree.
2. Because he was in a hurry his stand wasn't adjusted correctly for the tree taper. It was tipping away from the tree. If you find yourself in this situation, take the time to climb back down and readjust the stand.
3. Although he was wearing a harness and was tethered to the tree, his prussic knot was pulled too far away from the tree. Keep your prussic knot no more than 2ft. from the tree. The farther the knot is away from the tree, the further you will fall before it stops you.
Other tips:
1. If your safety vest has a pocket large enough, keep a screw in step in it. If you can't store one in your vest, store it in a pocket on your climber. This step can be used to either help get yourself back in your stand or used to take the pressure of the safety harness off of your legs in case you need to wait for help to arrive. You can also use a strap that hooks to the waistband part of your vest so you place a foot in to relieved the pressure on your legs. All Hunter Safety System harnesses come with the strap.
3. Carry your cell phone to the stand, if you get a signal in your hunting area.
4. Keep a sharp knife where you can get to it easily. This may sound crazy, but if you fall and the tether rope was to get wrapped around you neck, you will either have to suffocate or cut the tether and take your chances with the fall.
5. SLOW DOWN take the extra time to think about what you're doing before you do it.
6. Attach the damn tether to the tree as you go up and come down. I know it's a pain in the arse, but believe me, it's worth the extra couple of minutes. After you do it a few times, it'll be second nature.
I know some of you think you're bulletproof and it will never happen to you, but it's not a question of if you will have a mishap but when. Stop being selfish and wear your damn harness! Trust me on this, having been through a fall, a broken neck, surgery to fix it and another surgery on my lower back, you don't want to go through it or put your family through it.
This post might rub some of you the wrong, sorry if it does. Hopefully it'll be stuck in your head when you use a treestand next time.
