There are no exceptions to SAFETY.

[suburbanfarmer]

3 minutes ago, mowin said:

Glad you're feeling better. I'd get a second opinion on that arm, just to be sure. 

Buddy of mine fell out of a ladder stand last yr. He just had another surgery. Really messed him up bad. 

Thx, I have been contemplating the second opinion idea myself just for my peace of mind.

Edited September 17, 2021 by suburbanfarmer

[knehrke]

Lots of ways to get messed up in the woods. Here's a simple example that maybe can save somebody else from doing the same thing. My Mom's husband was putting up a ladder stand by himself. When it started to lean back too much, he tried to save it from falling, but instead positioned himself as a human fulcrum. The ladder tipped over and one of the bolts cause inside his wedding ring. It took his finger right off his hand. And he was a pretty good fiddler, too.

This sounds like a freak accident, but turns out to happen with some regularity. Bottom line is: take off your jewelry when you're hanging stands. You don't want there to be anything gets caught if something falls.

[BizCT]

26 minutes ago, knehrke said:

Lots of ways to get messed up in the woods. Here's a simple example that maybe can save somebody else from doing the same thing. My Mom's husband was putting up a ladder stand by himself. When it started to lean back too much, he tried to save it from falling, but instead positioned himself as a human fulcrum. The ladder tipped over and one of the bolts cause inside his wedding ring. It took his finger right off his hand. And he was a pretty good fiddler, too.

This sounds like a freak accident, but turns out to happen with some regularity. Bottom line is: take off your jewelry when you're hanging stands. You don't want there to be anything gets caught if something falls.

I never wore a ring before getting married. I always heard so many stories of guys losing fingers playing sports or doing stuff outside with a ring on. I NEVER wear my ring to do outdoor lawn or hunting stuff, or pool stuff, or sports, or hunting/fishing. It feels too easy for something to catch on it. I only wear my wedding ring to work (when i actually go to office) or out to dinner.

Edited September 17, 2021 by Biz-R-OWorld

[Chef]

Sorry to hear man, I had a close call last year and won’t even climb a ladder stand without one anymore


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nomad]

I went many many  years with never wearing my wedding ring , work as not kind to it or my finger . Many guys today wear a silicone one at work .

[wolc123]

The older I get, the less I like heights.   Two of my coworkers were seriously injured in falls from ladders while doing home repairs.   One hit his head and suffered a concussion a couple years ago, and the other fell just a couple months ago, breaking a rib and his ankle.  An elderly neighbor (in his 90's), died as a result of injuries he suffered after falling off a ladder while cleaning his gutters last year.   Fortunately, while I have lots of friends who hunt from tree stands, I have not heard of any who were injured in a fall.  

Everyone talks about safety straps and harnesses, etc, but few mention an even better way to reduce or eliminate the risk of a fall injury, and that is - hunt closer to the ground.   I know it is hard for some to believe, but deer can actually be killed right from the ground.   Personally, I am most comfortable hunting 6- 8 ft up, on flat lands.   That puts me safely above the line of fire from other hunters, and allows me to throw lead at deer, without risk to others, with the ground acting as a backstop. I am much more worried about getting shot on the ground, than I am of falling from a tree. It almost happened to me once, and that was more than enough of that.   

A fall from 8 ft may still cause injuries, but generally not to the degree of higher falls.   That is why all but one of my stands now have 3 ft safety rail/gun rests.    The non-railed one is about 7 ft up, and I only use it for one or two short hunts a year.   I am reluctant to change anything on that one, because it has produced for me on opening day, the last three years.   Although I have not in the past, I may use a safety strap in it this year.  

Next season, I will probably replace that little uncomfortable hang-on with a big comfortable, railed ladder platform.  I have been hunting recently (early antlerless gun season) from a couple of those, that I started last winter and put up this summer.  One is now "christened" with a kill.  They are super awesome, when it comes to comfort and safety.  I think I have the design fully optimized - 42' x 48" synthetic lumber deck, 8 ft above the ground, lag bolted to tree, with two 8 ft pressure landscape timber front legs ($5 ea at Home Depot), pressure treated frame, barnwood sided 3 ft wall.  They have cushioned swivel chairs in them (the best one is adjustable height with arm rests), and a tree umbrella works good for the rain.    

I had a good supply of "free" lumber (except for the landscape timbers) and barnwood, so besides being the best, most comfortable stands that I have ever hunted from, these were also the cheapest.                    

[Grouse]

Sorry to hear about your fall.  I also am hunting only 10 feet up these days an feel that is high enough.

My BIL was 2 weeks from retirement when he fell on a ladder only 3 rungs up, but got his leg caught and his knee hit the ground hard and broke.  He was on workers comp for two months or so when he should've been retired.  That was two years ago. To this day he still has problems with that knee, especially when he hunts in the cold.

[wolc123]

I have been spending a fair amount of my “free time” on ladders the last few years, working on dismantling a couple of old barns.  I still have a ways to go on the last one, but most of the “real high” work is now completed.  Being up there, on a 24 ft extension ladder, was much scarier than hunting from a tree stand, 8 ft in the air.   

[suburbanfarmer]

30 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

I have been spending a fair amount of my “free time” on ladders the last few years, working on dismantling a couple of old barns.  I still have a ways to go on the last one, but most of the “real high” work is now completed.  Being up there, on a 24 ft extension ladder, was much scarier than hunting from a tree stand, 8 ft in the air.   

My gut tells me, my knees will shake climbing any ladder.

[Einsamer Krieger]

Prayers to for fast healing.   I totally agree with you, no excuse for not being safe when hunting or doing anything, sometimes it will bite you.

[G-Man]

Wear your harness but more importantly take down your stands after the season!! Parts rust,wear, rot ect.. almost all accidents I hear are from.stands that have been left of for years, some decades!! 

The I change straps every year is much easier done on the ground prior to being put up than trying to do it while hung.. 

I get flack from taking down 30 stands a year and putting them back up 95% on same trees I took them out of.. but my friends and family are using them and if I can jump on them 2 ft off the ground with 240lbs and they hold I know they will be OK for use.  I have replaced cables, bolts ,straps and whole attachment systems on stands that go back to late 80s. Proper maintenance/ up keep is the 1st step in reducing your chance of a fall.

[Robhuntandfish]

30 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Wear your harness but more importantly take down your stands after the season!! Parts rust,wear, rot ect.. almost all accidents I hear are from.stands that have been left of for years, some decades!! 

The I change straps every year is much easier done on the ground prior to being put up than trying to do it while hung.. 

I get flack from taking down 30 stands a year and putting them back up 95% on same trees I took them out of.. but my friends and family are using them and if I can jump on them 2 ft off the ground with 240lbs and they hold I know they will be OK for use.  I have replaced cables, bolts ,straps and whole attachment systems on stands that go back to late 80s. Proper maintenance/ up keep is the 1st step in reducing your chance of a fall.

If you have enough room for indoor storage for 30 stands. Lol

I dont take them down cause I just have to store them outside which water gets in the rungs then and pops them.  So I leave them up but I do replace the stands themselves as we need to and always replace the straps every year. 

[Gobbler Chaser]

After reading thru this thread I decided to remove and trash a 13 yr old ladder stand. Very close to opening day but I'm putting a new one up as soon as it's not raining.

[BowmanMike]

21 hours ago, G-Man said:

Wear your harness but more importantly take down your stands after the season!! Parts rust,wear, rot ect.. almost all accidents I hear are from.stands that have been left of for years, some decades!! 

The I change straps every year is much easier done on the ground prior to being put up than trying to do it while hung.. 

I get flack from taking down 30 stands a year and putting them back up 95% on same trees I took them out of.. but my friends and family are using them and if I can jump on them 2 ft off the ground with 240lbs and they hold I know they will be OK for use.  I have replaced cables, bolts ,straps and whole attachment systems on stands that go back to late 80s. Proper maintenance/ up keep is the 1st step in reducing your chance of a fall.

How do you first set up your ladder stands safely? multiple people?

[suburbanfarmer]

2 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

How do you first set up your ladder stands safely? multiple people?

Once the ladder stand is leaning up, which should be done by 2 or 3 ppl , you can take a ratchet strap around the tree at the brace rod height and secure it. Then go up and ratchet the seat strap.

[suburbanfarmer]

2 hours ago, Gobbler Chaser said:

After reading thru this thread I decided to remove and trash a 13 yr old ladder stand. Very close to opening day but I'm putting a new one up as soon as it's not raining.

Thank you. In the grand scheme of things the cost of changing stands is far less than the alternatives.

[Jeremy K]

On 9/17/2021 at 5:31 PM, Biz-R-OWorld said:

I never wore a ring before getting married. I always heard so many stories of guys losing fingers playing sports or doing stuff outside with a ring on. I NEVER wear my ring to do outdoor lawn or hunting stuff, or pool stuff, or sports, or hunting/fishing. It feels too easy for something to catch on it. I only wear my wedding ring to work (when i actually go to office) or out to dinner.

I haven't worn a ring since tje day after we got married . She knew the risks ...

[Steuben Jerry]

1 hour ago, Jeremy K said:

I haven't worn a ring since tje day after we got married . She knew the risks ...

You're a machinist right? I never wear mine either unless it's dinner or another wedding we're attending. I was a toolmaker apprentice when we first got married, and saw a pretty bad finger mutilation from a stock feeder for a punch press. He didn't lose the finger but it was pretty gory.

[BowmanMike]

2 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Once the ladder stand is leaning up, which should be done by 2 or 3 ppl , you can take a ratchet strap around the tree at the brace rod height and secure it. Then go up and ratchet the seat strap.

That is what I thought,you need a crowd to do it safely. 

I was just curious.

[Jeremy K]

8 minutes ago, Steuben Jerry said:

You're a machinist right? I never wear mine either unless it's dinner or another wedding we're attending. I was a toolmaker apprentice when we first got married, and saw a pretty bad finger mutilation from a stock feeder for a punch press. He didn't lose the finger but it was pretty gory.

Ya , her father is as well so she knew tha not wearing a ring was an actual thing LOL

[BizCT]

47 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

Ya , her father is as well so she knew tha not wearing a ring was an actual thing LOL

 

56 minutes ago, Steuben Jerry said:

You're a machinist right? I never wear mine either unless it's dinner or another wedding we're attending. I was a toolmaker apprentice when we first got married, and saw a pretty bad finger mutilation from a stock feeder for a punch press. He didn't lose the finger but it was pretty gory.

In 6th grade shop class a kid in my class cut his finger on a scroll saw the first week of school in september. he got stitches and wasn't allowed to use any saws for the remainder of the calendar year. after xmas break we came back in january and in the first week he cut his finger on a band saw and had to get stitches again and wasn't allowed to use any saw the rest of the year. 

[Steuben Jerry]

12 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

In 6th grade shop class a kid in my class cut his finger on a scroll saw the first week of school in september. he got stitches and wasn't allowed to use any saws for the remainder of the calendar year. after xmas break we came back in january and in the first week he cut his finger on a band saw and had to get stitches again and wasn't allowed to use any saw the rest of the year. 

Yup, keep that boy away from machinery!

[BizCT]

7 minutes ago, Steuben Jerry said:

Yup, keep that boy away from machinery!

that was 1996. he later went on to be the founder of Makita 

[Doc]

I will never die or be injured from a fall from a treestand. I have a natural defense for such things. It's called fear of heights. Yes my productivity in my hunting went down, but I really don't care. I am safe from the fate of my very young cousin (he was in his 20's) who died from a fall out of his treestand several years ago.

I actually know a few people who have come crashing out of their stands. Most of them were relatively unharmed when compared to that cousin.

[Steuben Jerry]

21 minutes ago, Doc said:

It's called fear of heights.

I suffer from the same affliction. You will never, ever see me on a sloped roof.