Dumbest thing u ever did in the stand

[firehunter48]

Went 4 hours during gun season without loading the rifle. Good thing i decided that I wasn't going to pop a doe that day since I had them all over me all morning. Wasn't until late morning when I had to take a leak and went to unload the gun to get down when I realized I never put any in it

[Ryan3m]

Just this past friday, got down at dark in my brand new stand and walked 10 minutes to my dads car. Realizing i forgot something extremely important at the tree.....my bow. Rain predicted that night i spent 15 minutes getting back to my stand and 15 minutes back to the car with an almost dead flashlight. Wasnt fun 

[Woodjr55]

I had a coyote sneak in on me at 20 yards last year I set my bow In the snow and the pulled it into my stand. I knocked a arrow or so I thought. When I went to draw on the yote my arrow didn't move. I had some snow in the knock and it prevented me from securing it to my string. I was pissed

[Two Track]

Climbed up into the stand and took off my glove to load up the shells.  Dropped camo glove into the leaves below. In the dim pre-morning light, couldn't see the glove.  Sat fours in the stand freezing my hand because I didn't want to touch the metal ladder rungs in the 32-35 degree temps to go down and back up.

[ny hunter]

I walked to my stand and got to the tree it was still dark climbed up the tree,pulled up my gun and was sweating pretty good,I took off my glasses to wipe the sweat off my face and forehead,sat up to turn around and my glasses fell off my lap and down on the ground,so it was still dark I climbed back down the tree and found the glasses after I heard them crunch under my boot.Went all the way back to the cabin to get the spare glasses that were in my car and kicked up a huge buck on the way back in.....

[upstate]

I walked to my stand and got to the tree it was still dark climbed up the tree,pulled up my gun and was sweating pretty good,I took off my glasses to wipe the sweat off my face and forehead,sat up to turn around and my glasses fell off my lap and down on the ground,so it was still dark I climbed back down the tree and found the glasses after I heard them crunch under my boot.Went all the way back to the cabin to get the spare glasses that were in my car and kicked up a huge buck on the way back in.....

 

Same exact thing happened to me last year opening day northern bow except my glasses never hit the ground. The were in a bush. I found them after 20 minutes and the sun coming up 

[philoshop]

Half mile + hike into my stand and I'm running late. Stuff the camo outerwear into the pack and jog to the stand just in time for early daylight. Standing in a treestand mostly naked trying to get my gear together when I notice a nice buck watching me rather curiously from about 25 feet away. I'll never forget the look on that deer's face as he watched my epic failure to hunt well.

[ny hunter]

Same exact thing happened to me last year opening day northern bow except my glasses never hit the ground. The were in a bush. I found them after 20 minutes and the sun coming up 

Now I only hunt with my contacts!

[AaronBlaine]

damn I made the field point error lol got all set up and realized I had all field points and no broadheads lol SOB!

[Red]

I hunted close to 10 years without a harness in some pretty sketch setups hanging over one of the cliffs in letchworth. Pissing in the wind a few times lol. Dropped my bag last week and had to go back.down.with the climber pulled the trigger on a deer and never had a bullet chambered after shooting a nice.8pt with the bow a single lung shot and nicked the spine the buck was laying down but still moving so.I got down to end it only I forgot to climb down I jumped out of the stand and left my bow in the tree lol

[SteveNY]

This first one isn't really dumb, I think most hunters do this, and I thought it was the best way to do it at the time.

 

1) Early doe season, PA. Was about half way up a tree with my climber, saw a doe walk past at about 15 yards. My bow lay on the ground tied to my pull-up rope. I look 12 feet down at my bow, then at her, then back at my bow, then back at her. All I could do is sigh. I now have a bow holder that holds my bow while I climb!

 

2) Last year, leave home a little later then I wanted to. Kick up about 15 deer on my way into stand, I think to myself, "Well great, there's no deer within 2 miles of me now." Get into my stand, take a breather and look around. To my amazement, see a deer in the brush off about 60 yards or so. I pull up my day pack quickly to get my binos out. It's just a doe. I take my pack off my lap so I can hang it from the side of my stand as I usually do and then see my binoculars slip off my pack, between my legs, and straight down 20 feet to the hard ground. I forgot to put the neck strap around my neck. I just grin and bear it. Thoughts of an early day and a hot lunch back at home dance through my head, I'm not happy with the events of the day so far. Two minutes later, I still haven't even put on my face mask or gloves, and an 8 pointer shows up to my left. My arrow hit both lungs and he ran only 35 yards. It was my first deer with a bow! Scored 98" and weighed in dressed at 128 lbs. The day wasn't so bad after all... 

 

3) Decide a the last minute I am going to climb a different tree one morning, not sure what possessed me to do such a thing in complete darkness, but after I was up about 10 feet, I realized the tree was dead and rotting...

Edited October 8, 2014 by SteveNY

[First-light]

As a young buck at 20 years of age I would climb a tree (2x4's nailed in as steps) up 18' and stand on a platform of 2 2x6's for hours. There was no thing as a safety harness. Yeah that has to be the dumbest thing I did. I did kill my first buck from that stand but safety clearly outweighs it.

[TreeSitter]

New to the forum, lots of great info!  Anyway spent last fall trying to get a shot at a nice 10 pt that was on one of my cameras all summer and fall, but would only show at night.  Sat in a tree daily for over a week and just saw does and a few smaller bucks.  Last day of my hunt, totally frustrated I decide to stay in my stand till 11 am unless I see a lot....i see zilch.  Totally frustrated at 10:57 I hook my bow up to my lift line and begin to let it down.  About 3/4's of the way down I catch movement off to my right about 20 yds away.  There taking a  leisurely stroll past my stand and thru a shooting lane was that  buck live and in person!  Talk about getting toasted.  Tried to call him back and pull the bow back up at the same time, but he just ignored me and continued on his pace till I lost sight of him.  Sat for another hour and finally decided that he got the better of me and won.

[TheTruth2]

had a buck come in two years ago that i didnt plan on shooting. Pulled the ole cell phone out to take a few pics and i accidentally turned on my music. Looked behind me and a monster I never saw was outta there faster than a nun in a strip club. 

[New York Hillbilly]

There have been too many over the years, but one of my classics almost (probably should have) landed me in the emergency room. 

 

It was late in the muzzle loader season, and I had been working so much I had little time in the field. On one of the last days I managed to get my work done with time enough to allow my hour drive home, a quick change of clothes, and the last hour on stand. 

 

I raced home, left my truck running in the driveway, and over my dress clothes I pulled my insulated bibs and put on my wool coat. I grabbed my muzzle loader, jumped in my truck and drove across the back lot to my parking spot. Once there, I climbed out of the truck, loaded my muzzle loader and hurried to my old rotted out “camper stand”. 

 

I climbed in and sat on my plastic bucket.  Peering across the field to where the scrub apple orchard begins I prided myself on how my plan had come together. After a fews moments though I began to listen to and feel my stomach rumble. In order to get done in time to allow this late afternoon hunt, I had skipped lunch and was now suffering the consequences.   

 

Then it occurred to me that I just might have something stashed in my jacket pocket. Fumbling around with my right hand while still watching the field, I discovered about a third of a left over Payday candy bar. I have no idea how long it was there, and to be honest didn't care. A little lint and grit was nothing compared to the gurgling. So with just a slight side glance, I peeked at it as I lifted it into my mouth. I was pretty happy at the salty sweetness of the linty peanut treasure I had discovered.  

 

As I slowly chewed and swallowed the candy, I briefly felt something odd with my tongue, then bit down on what I though was a filling that the candy just dislodged. Upset over losing a filling, I placed my hand to my mouth and spit the rest of the candy into my right hand to take a look. My emotion went from upset to pure panic when I discovered what I thought was a filling was not. 

 

What I had bitten down on, and no doubt swallowed in an undetermined number, was my 209 primers! The sticky candy was in the same pocket with a bunch of loose primers that had fallen out of their little box. Totally freaked out, deer hunting be damned. I jumped from my seat and standing in the field I began sticking my finger down my throat trying to make myself puke. Unable to do so because I had not eaten all day; I then ran to my truck and drove back to the house with my mind racing with the thought that at any moment a primer might go off in my guts. 

 

Back at the house I told my wife what happened as she stood there trying to keep me calm but clearly concerned as well. I began guzzling water straight from the kitchen sink faucet and eating everything in the cupboard to get something in my stomach. I was then able to make myself throw up to the point I was dizzy and my voice was hoarse. 

 

I wanted badly to call the ER or poison control but was afraid and pretty darned embarrassed, so instead I sat in my lounge chair all night drifting in and out of sleep. By morning, I still had not exploded or died so I got ready for and went to work. At work I did share with my doctor friend and nurses what had happened, and they went hysterical saying such things only could happen to me. 

 

Needless to say; there has never been another candy bar in my hunting coat since! This incident could have added a whole new meaning to shooting off my mouth!

Edited October 8, 2014 by New York Hillbilly

[crappyice]

Very little time to get an evening hunt in for some pheasant with my Brittany- ran home from work loaded him up with all his gear and my clothes and drove like crazy to get to my spot. No cars in lot when I arrive which is unheard of for this public land area- quickly dress and prepare the dog- all set with about 90 minutes left of a great fall afternoon... Just need to grab my 12 gauge....where's my shotgun!?!? LEANING SAFELY INSIDE MY SAFE! Ever since, I have found myself pulling over as I enter the parkway near m house to re-check all my gear!

[dirt_a_KISS]

MY dad told me a story of his friend who was hunting in the woods on opening day and had seen a nice 8 pointer.  He took a shot and heard a click, loaded another one and nothing.  later they found out when he cleaned the gun the other night he put the firing pin in backwards or something of that nature!

[Elmo]

I used a climber on a birch tree instead of an oak. A shift in weight as I tried to wrap my safety harness around a limb cause the climber to go sliding down the tree with me on it. Resulted in a broken climber and a big o' scrap mark down my chest.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[irish_redneck]

Last year I was using my climber and thought that I could outsmart people who said only climb a straight tree, so I circled around the tree going up and up and up around around around. Get up there just fine. Getting down was not so easy, was a combination of having to use my linesman's belt and my harness. Slid frequently, not too far each time but still enough to keep things puckered.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Edited October 8, 2014 by irish_redneck

[HectorBuckBuster]

OK, i have a could of just basic climbing stand with the metal base, and small metal seat. I was in a hurry the other day and moved a stand. It has old bolts and you need a wrench to get them out. Went there the next morning to sit for a few hours, and hook my bow to my rope to pull it up, then get ready to hop in the treestand and realize that I put the seat on the bottom and base on the top. So I ended up moving the base up the tree a couple feet and then  bend over and bring the seat up a few feet up the tree. After about 5 minutes I was up the tree. Other dumb thing was one time I had a rope connecting the upper and lower climber together and it broke never fixed it, was climbing up a tree one day and the base slipped off my feet and went to the ground. I had to bear hug the tree to get down.

 

 

 

[Hunterny28]

I was  walking back from the stand after dark. I set my back pack down the side by the electric fence where the trail leads to my vehicle, to remove a big branch from the trail that had fallen. I set my phone on my backpack as a light. when I got the stick out of the way i went to grab my phone. Tripped and sent my phone flying over the electric fence. unable to reach it with a stick I had to either walk a good ways in the dark to the entrance or try to climb over the fence. Thinking the farmer shut it off as the cows were out of these fields for hunting season, I grabbed a hold of it. it was still on. ended up getting a little shock and adding about 45 mins to an hour more of walking around in the dark. my son left my regular flashlight on earlier that day killing the battery. 

[growalot]

..In stand dumbest thing ...I fell sound...I mean sound asleep and pitched forward...luckily I keep my tether way above me, so it's tight when I sit. Thats all fine and dandy if I have arm rests too..this stand did not and I swung round off the seat grabbing air as I hit the side of the tree,,,Thankfully my feet glued them selves to the platform and I managed to reach back and catch the seat with my right hand...pretty much looking like a pretzel...yes I did throw up when I righted my self

 

  This wasn't in stand....I shot a nice buck and got down put my gun my little browning... on top of a log, filled tag then went about gutting him...well he was big and I got tired struggling with him...got all done and needed to drag him into a hollow in the ground and behind brush so I could go get the tractor to get him out...Off I went got the tractor ...Got him to the house and hung...... sat down and it hit me....My little.... expensive...browning was still sitting on that log.....sshhhhh never told Mr B. about that one...

[stoneam2006]

Though of another pretty funny one....was bow hunting with dad years ago I was probably 15 or so he shot one and we were tracking it thru some thick stuff. ..so to mark last blood I laid my bow down next to it for refrence...we'll after we found the deer we had to find my bow took a few hrs to find it thru the thicket....

[PREDATE]

Other dumb thing was one time I had a rope connecting the upper and lower climber together and it broke never fixed it, was climbing up a tree one day and the base slipped off my feet and went to the ground. I had to bear hug the tree to get down.

I've done that too.

Also once I walked with my climber 1/2 mile into state land to a nice little patch of old growth pines, found the perfect tree/spot, climbed the tree, hoisted my OLD bow, and as I went to knock an arrow noticed my rest had gotten snapped off. That sucked and I haven't been back there since!

[growalot]

One more reason I'm glad I shoot with out one...