Do you use a Safety Harness ?

[Geno C]

my question still remains...

the chances of being wheel chair bound are good - trees stands aside. you can hurt yourself in the field of hunting with out having even been in a tree... i mean we carry guns in the woods crying out loud and having said that other people who are not all there carry guns in the woods, you can fall on the terrain and hurt yourself, fall a knife, get attacked by a mtn lion or bear, get mistaken for game. i mean the factors are there. you can not knock people for doing opposite of what you do. there is NO LAW stating one should wear a harness. If a hunter is aware of ANY possibilities and makes a conscious effort to remain safe in any situation, then whats the problem? do you think every hunter wears a harness? i dont and i dont knock the ones who do slash dont.

like i stated earlier, ive seen stands setup by hunters and it really points  out the obvious as to why accidents do occur in the field. or why people fall out of stands and i know for sure i am not the only one who has seen stands lopsided and leaning forward or on a small dia tree i mean c mon if i had a stand like that id strap in too and possibly duct tape my ass to the seat but i do have half a brain on setting a stand up and like i said i do it with my sfatey and best interest in mind.

[ny hunter]

I stay on the ground so I rarely use a harness.I'm a big baby when it comes to hieghts.

[Lawdwaz]

Geno C-

There is a way to be attached all the time, from the ground up and then back down.  After you  have installed your treestand with the aid of a linesman's safety harness (you do use one when installing your stand, correct?)  and your standing on the platform, still wearing your linesman's harness, you attach a 33' length of rope above your head, around the tree.  On this rope is a smaller diameter length of cord tied into a prussic  knot.  When you get ready to climb down, you attach your harness to the prussic hitch and slide it with you as you descend from the stand.  After you get to the ground, detach your harness and tie the loose end of the 33' line around the base of the tree at waist height.

The knot slides up and down but if force is applied to it, it locks in place on the safety line

When your ready to hunt that stand, you just clip your harness to the prussic hitch and slide it up with you as you climb.  Your never not attached to the safety line at any time. 

The safety line can be purchased with the hitch already installed but I have chosen to make my own.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.instructables.com/image/FQF2AGGFZ8J4A88/Prussic-Knot.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-tie-various-knots/step10/Prussic-Knot/&h=273&w=500&sz=15&tbnid=IVQPrpOMLz-TSM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dprussic%2Bknot&usg=__zVyRXnzyDO8mlxW6voeXP-NvLD0=&sa=X&ei=BPhFTPqzCMP7lwfK06nPBA&ved=0CCgQ9QEwBg

[Geno C]

^^ thats pretty cool. i figured it would be some sort of rock climbing getup. However i would have to go with a gut instinct that says slim to none do hunters use a setup like that. i could be wrong but i am very curious to see if hunters actually take the time to hang a set like that?

anyone???

[capt_terry]

What harnesses do you guys recommend? I must honestly say I haven't used one and now that my wife is also hunting we need to use something.

[fasteddie]

The HSS ( hunter safety system ) is quite comfortable but it has a bit of weight due to the buckles . The vest keeps your shirt / jacket close to your body . Yes , it's a bit pricy but cheaper than a wheelchair . IF folks don't want to use them , that's their business . I would just like to see people be safe .

[RangerClay]

Everytime I go up.  I have a HSS vest.

[wztirem]

OSHA mandates that above 6' you are required to wear an approved harness and to be securely tied off.

It saddens me to still see hunters up a tree without being safely tied off.

[fasteddie]

It saddens me to still see hunters up a tree without being safely tied off.

It's one of the ways that the Gene Pool gets thinned out ............. my 2 cents

[ELMER J. FUDD]

OSHA only applies to work, hence "occupational".

[Geno C]

It saddens me to still see hunters up a tree without being safely tied off.

It's one of the ways that the Gene Pool gets thinned out ............. my 2 cents

to each is own eddie....

[Pipecrew]

I'll admit I didn't use one for years. I hunted mostly out of a Tree Lounge climber. I felt very safe climbing up and down with this stand.

After reading about numerous people falling I decided to buy a Loggy Bayou Transformer harness. With 2 kids I can't take a chance of falling. I also added a Fall Guy retractor strap. It is awesome, it works like a seat belt if you were to fall. Only negative is they are around $80 or so. If you have more than one stand it would get expensive quickly.

[A6A6]

well.

truthfully, i wear one when i am going into a hang on or i intend to use one when i buy a climber.

for years past.

i dont use one in a double wide  ladder stand that i have.

i feel very secure in one and the most dangerous period in that stand is my climb up and down and there isnt much to attach on to at that point but once in the seat, the shooting rail is lowered and i feel very secure .

i think i may start wearing one in that stand as well .

now that i am talking about it, it may bring me the bad luck.

lol

[Bernie P.]

I always attach the rope to the tree before stepping on the stand and after I'm back on the steps when getting down.I clear away any rocks/branches on the ground I might hit should I fall before I begin putting in the steps.I doubt it will help much but it's worth the slight effort.

[wztirem]

OSHA only applies to work, hence "occupational".

The point is that a fall from a height of 6' or more can be potentially fatal or result in a serious injury. The OHA regulation which I referred to further denotes the dangers of not being safely restrained/tied off when hunting in a tree or tree stand. Tree stand manufacturer's usually furnish an "OSHA"approved safety harness along with their treestands.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

I'm just pointing out that it does not legally aplly to us (although it should)... BTW OSHA doesn't "approve" anything either, organizations like ANSI and ASTM create regs/standards that must be met by manufacturers. All the OSHA regs refer to "per the manufacturer's recomended use", and the manufacturer must meet the ANSI regs. When I took one of my courses, the instructor offered a bet if anyone could find an OSHA approved device,he'd give $100 or something to that affect. I'm still looking!

  So what do all the guys that use 2-piece climber treestands do? The beauty of a climber is mobility from spot to spot, no?

[wztirem]

I'm just pointing out that it does not legally aplly to us (although it should)... BTW OSHA doesn't "approve" anything either, organizations like ANSI and ASTM create regs/standards that must be met by manufacturers. All the OSHA regs refer to "per the manufacturer's recomended use", and the manufacturer must meet the ANSI regs. When I took one of my courses, the instructor offered a bet if anyone could find an OSHA approved device,he'd give $100 or something to that affect. I'm still looking!

  So what do all the guys that use 2-piece climber treestands do? The beauty of a climber is mobility from spot to spot, no?

You are correct OSHA does not approve such devices. OSHA's goal is to protect and ensure the safety of workers by instituting regulations,rules and procedures which employerrs are required to follow to protect their workers. Organizations such as UL,ASTM and ANSI create standards which manufacturers must meet.

As far as 2 piece climbers go,like any stand they pose a potential risk.

[wellsley]

No, my rock is only two feet off the ground. ;D

[Cabin Fever]

ALWAYS!! Even more so now though, as I use the HSS Life line also.... keep reading and learn from my mistake.... PLEASE!!

Last Sept. I was out checking treestands. I climbed up the tree steps 20' and shook the stand to make sure it was secure. Once satisfied, I grabbed a large branch that I usually grab as I transfer my weight from the tree steps to the stand. I just remember hearing a "snap"..... then rolling down the hill at the base of the tree. I laid there for a few seconds and moved my arms and legs, doing a physical check. When I realized I could move everything, I almost chuckled to myself, thinking it was amazing to fall 20' and not get hurt.

I stood up and immediately fell back to the ground with excruciating pain in my foot. I guess the adreneline from the fall supressed the pain in my foot until I stood up! I was screaming in pain, all alone, and was ~1/2 mile from camp. Luckily, I had my cell phone with me, so I called my wife before trying to get out of the woods. I didn't know if anything else was wrong and I wanted someone to know roughly where I was at incase I passed out somewhere trying to get out of the woods. I tried crawling, but everytime my foot bumped a stick or got caught on vegetation, I was screamed in pain! I found a large stick/limb that I could use as a crutch and hopped out 1/2 mile back to camp. My wife was pulling in, just as I was getting there. Went to the emergency room and it was so swollen that it didn't look like a human foot!! BROKEN!

I was in a cast then boot for months, which meant I missed out on my beloved bowhunting and gun hunting last fall, which KILLED me! I can't explain how depressing it is to know how one STUPID mistake can really screw things up for you! I have spent over $1500 in medical co-pays and was out of work for months also.

I ALWAYS use a safety harnass, once I get in the stand! After my fall, I invested in the HSS Life Line, which you tie off above your stand and then at the base of the tree. These things keep you safely attached to the tree from the time you step up off the ground until your feet get back on the ground! It has a prusset knot that you clip onto and it slides up and down with you and you climb up and down from the stand. A sudden jerk, from a fall, will make the knot lock up, so you won't fall. If I would have had this last Sept, it would have saved me from a lot of pain, agony, a missed hunting season, and financially. I never wanted to spend the money before on these things, but after seeing what the fall has cost me, these things are a blessing!

I'm now over 10 months since my fall. I'm still in pain every day, limp terribly, my foot is still REALLY swollen, and the docs can't explain whats causing all the pain and swelling! They're saying ligament damage, which could take 2 years to heal! I'm afraid this will hinder the upcoming hunting season as well.

PLEASE learn from my mistake and wear those safety harnasses and invest in the life lines! Don't be fooled into thinking you don't need one in a ladder stand or a stand with a railing. Straps break, stands collapse, medical conditions happen, ect... Last fall a hunter (near Auburn NY, I believe) was climbing into his ladder stand. When he reached the top, he was startled by a family of mice that had made a nest on his seat and they started jumping everywhere. He fell backwards, broke his back, had to crawl out of the woods, and will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your wife, kids, family, and friends!

[Doc]

In spite of that misfortune, you can still consider yourself lucky. Yeah I know it's hard to understand how anything about that could be considered "lucky". But there are a whole lot of people who have taken that same kind of fall that have had a lot worse results, including death.

We always feel so darn invincible until some of that reality is brought to us in a rather unpleasant way.

I hope that foot starts getting better soon. You may have some additional difficulties this season, but you'll probably figure out a way around it all. There are others that will never figure out a way around the results of a serious treestand fall.

Doc

[fasteddie]

Make sure any brush that you trim near the base of the tree  is cut as close to the ground as possible . If you should slip and fall , you don't want to be impaled . Probably a rarity but it can happen .

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I have a vest and 3 of these in my primary stands. I don't use this in my ladder stands but I do in my lock ons since I had a riviet break loose in a folding screw in step. I use no retractable anchor points in my ladder stands.

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0032873416873a.shtml

The only thing that kept me from hitting the ground was I ended up straddling the next step down and I am not sure what would have hurt worse....that abrupt stop using my groin or making it the 15' to the ground....It was a LONG SLOW walk out of the woods that night.

[Doc]

Make sure any brush that you trim near the base of the tree  is cut as close to the ground as possible . If you should slip and fall , you don't want to be impaled . Probably a rarity but it can happen .

Speaking of trimming brush, I suppose it might be useful to mention the care that should be taken when doing the high-wire act in the tree-tops trying to remove those branches that want to dangle down in your arrow's path. I've seen guys running around in the tree-tops like some sort of chimp, dangling from one limb and stretching out to cut another.

You can mangle your body falling from doing those kinds of acrobatics just as easily as falling from a treestand. I don't think I have any good safety equipment to recommend for those excusions out on a limb other than to recommend not chosing a tree that needs that kind of dangerous pruning.

Doc

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Best advice I can give on that Doc...is pole saws...pole chainsaws....and ALWAYS with a partner there...I am as guilty as the next for going in alone but probably should be with someone if your doing high risk work...Can't dial 911 when unconscious

[wztirem]

A safety harness is only good if you know how to use it. As with any fall restraint device, not knowing how to use it properly can cause you bodily harm.

By the way, once one is dangling what does one do? I can assure you that you will need help to right yourself!