Son fell from tree stand

[Here We Go]

Hunting today and Jason (my son) slipped and fell out of the tree stand. He was knocked unconscious and on the ground for 2 hours before he came too and seeked help. We were about 1/4 mile apart and even though we take safety seriously there we loop holes, we now will each have small air horns in our gear bag for emergency use. He has a knot on his head the size of a golf ball, face was all bloody from a severe nose bleed. Thank God it was like a TKO punch and not broke limbs or internal bleeding...he wouldn't have made it out of the woods! St. Mary's ER was great and he was thoroughly checked out and not even a concussion, he's resting now on pain meds.

We do use safety harnesses but while climbing a ladder stand there is no way to tether yourself off until you get onto the platform. He is very lucky not to be really messed up.

Where we hunt cell phones have iffy reception, we do use two way radios but cross talk is terrible and most of the time get turned off so I think the air horn for emergency is a good idea. Throwing that out there so others may not have the misfortune we did today.

I was one scared dad at 9:30 this morning when he made it to us!

[seminar]

Keith, glad to hear Jason is okay.

Bob

[ghiggins]

Thank GOD your son is recovering. I have bow hunted for 35 years. started using a harness 2 years ago. This year for the first time used a tether from the ground to the stand. This product is available commercially.(about 30 bucks). Climb tree once ,install safety line and the safety knot (called a prussic knot) slides along as you go. This is the same safety line mountain climbers use. Please consider researching this safety system.

[BottomKnocker]

I've always carried around a whistle in my gear just in case, small but very loud and can be used with little effort if you are injured. Glad your son turned out OK !

[joe sportsman]

Thank god he is ok! Thats scary as hell! I just started using the hunter safety system 3 yrs ago. Been hunting 30 yrs and lucky I haven't taken a spill. I had a close call a few years ago going up a crooked polar in my climber, scared the hell out of me! Now I'm attached to the tree when going up and down, I use the linemans rope and can slide it up and down as I jack-up.
Here's a link to the life-line. This is used for ladder and lock on stands.

DB

Hunter Safety System : Tree Stand Life Line [LLS] - $39.95 (http://www.huntersafetysystem.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=9)

[Here We Go]

Thanks for the link...he is OK thank God.

[fish-on]

Keith, I am glad your son is ok.* I know that it was hard to see your son in that condition, the air horn is a great idea.** Doug.

[guzzi]

im glad to here he's ok.... how old is your son? tell him not to feel bad, i fell out of a stand too

[N4ZNH]

Glad to hear that your son was not seriously injured.

[Here We Go]

He's 17 and been hunting with me since 5. I started cutting him loose in the woods last year, guess I have to have him in my pocket again...LOL

He just woke up and is stiff as a board.

[crabby and son]

I was afraid to read this post! I hunt with my 9 year old and it would be a heart stopper. I'm glad your Son is fine and I think the air horn is a good idea along with being EXTRA careful...........Gary

[BLUEYZWAITN]

the one scene no daddy wants to walk up on. Glad it worked out and he's ok.. far to many other hunters aren't that lucky...
I like a climbing stand , used fixed position stands for decades but my fell out of 3 of them.. My fixed keeps me in the confort zone

Lone wolf Alpha climber... I am scared of ladder stands..

[rhahn427]

Sure hope you went to church today ......... you owe the big guy a ton of thanks ......... 2 years ago a lady I know became a widow when her husband fell out of a deer stand 3 weeks before Christmas ............

VERY glad he's ok ............ :yes::thumbup::yes:

[Bay Bob]

I always wear a full body harness, and I pre rig a safety line from a trunk/branch location above the stand.

I use a figure 8 descender and take up the slack every two steps.

There are other, easier to use descenders and belays, but since you have proved murphy's law, I know you will emply something in the future.

A buddy of mine has a rope with dropper loops tied every two feet, he snaps himself in to each loop with a high strength caribiner as he reaches each loop.

The proper mindset is that you will eventually lose your grip and fall, so be prepared to survive your eventual slip.

Mine came when I stepped on to an icy platform on a clamp on stand, fortunately I had an industrial style wide belt on and I just had to hug the tree to get back in to control. But I was bruised and sore for a month.

But that experience moved me to a full body harness.

If you climb often enough you will eventually fall, you can trust to luck, or take adequate precautions, I think I have used up about 8 lives, so I am double cautious.

Stay safe !
BB

[Hakuna Matata]

In addition to the well-wishes and advice given by other members of the board, I would reconsider the advice you were given at the ER about your son not having a concussion. If he was knocked unconscious for two hours then I would consider that a major brain injury. It's possible to receive a concussion without ever loosing consciousness, so being out for two hours is down-right scary. I'm no doctor and I'm not saying that he's not OK, but he definitely sustained a concussion. Keep a close eye on him.

I yahoo-ed concussion and there are quite a few articles on the subject- here's one from webmd.com Concussion: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention (http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concussion-overview)

-JB

[Here We Go]

I concur JB, he had a CT and X-Rays done and the doc said there was no indication plus no nausea or vomiting. The rest of the symptons though were pretty much on key, he has played football before so I knew he had to go to the ER and get fully checked out.

Thanks for everybody's support.

Air horns are now in our gear packs.

[tubby]

I am glad all is well. I have two boys that are just starting with me. Ground blinds why they shoot up in the tree with dad when i shoot...Climb with both hands is the lesson always have hands on different spots.

[DocMartin]

I'm so glad that everything is fine with your son. You mentioned that you did not have a way to tether yourself to the ladder of your stand.

I've been using a Fall Guy tether system on my Farm for a couple of years now. The fixture straps to the tree above your seat, and you buckel yourself in. The cool thing about this producy is that it works just like a seat belt. Allows you to move easily slowly, but immediately locks with sudden movement. I wear mine up and down my ladder and simply fix it at the bottom when I climb out of the stand so that its ready at the bottom for the next climb. As you climb it retracts itself up into its housing so that nothing extra is in your way. It isn't cheap, but I like the way it works. Check it out.

[27 sailfish]

Thanks for posting - great reminder to everyone about the hidden danger of a tree stand. I think we all have had a scare or know someone who has.

We can all learn from a mishap. Read years ago about a bow hunter who fell with his bow. He landed on the quiver - three broad heads went into his back and he died. Now most use a rope to bring up the gun or bow.

Great idea with air horn as a signal.

[Here We Go]

I just got finished watching the Hunter Safety System Video and the vertical line with the Prussic Knot is the deal. The vertical deal is like 30 plus bucks at BPS, we hunt from multiple stands on the property and one by one I will get vertical lines on them. I will however buy the rope in bulk and tie my own knots and buy the Harbingers seperately.

Wal Mart has the mini air horns for 7 bucks each, BPS was 9.99. It fit perfectly into the elastic side holds in our back packs.

[FSHNT]

I am glad he is ok. I had a fall two years ago when my climber had a malfunction. I fell 15ft and walked away with sever bruising. I had climbed in that stand a 1000 times. I never go without my harness, and never will again!!! It will happen to everyone eventually, no matter how careful you are.

[2strokerip]

thank god he is alright my boy still way to young to hunt but i can only imagine what was going through your mind



i have fell before too thank god i was young amd some how i walked away

Matt

[hollywood9s]

Here We Go, i am so glad to hear your son is ok, i feared the worst when i clicked on this thread.
I hunted from stands for years without using a harness or any safety device until last year. Last season i bought a Hunter Safety System harness and used it every time i went up in a stand.
I think we have a tendency to feel immortal when we're young, however wisdom comes with age and make us begin to see the error of that thought.

Someone else posted about the fall guy system. I think i am going to order a couple of those and use them i conjunction with my HSS harness, then i can be connected from ground to stand, then back to ground.

For those looking for a place to start the basic HSS system is incredibly easy and fast to put on, as well as comfortable.
Cabela's -- Hunter Safety System Treestalker Harness (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?id=0032878&navCount=1&parentId=cat20053&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=MainCatcat20712-cat20053_TGP&parentType=index&indexId=cat20053&rid=)

Use it in conjunction with one of these and you are safely attached to the tree from ground to stand and back to ground......
Cabela's -- Fall Guy 20+ Retractor (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0032873416873a&navCount=3&podId=0032873&parentId=cat20053&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20712-cat20053&catalogCode=XK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20053&hasJS=true)

This thread is a reminder of the dangers associated with using a treestand. Treestand falls are the number one fatality and cause of injury among hunters almost every year. For years i didn't want to be inconvenienced or slowed down by using a harness or other safety devices, fortunately age has increased my wisdom and caused me to change that outlook.
Be safe!!

[rhahn427]

I just got finished watching the Hunter Safety System Video and the vertical line with the Prussic Knot is the deal. The vertical deal is like 30 plus bucks at BPS, we hunt from multiple stands on the property and one by one I will get vertical lines on them. I will however buy the rope in bulk and tie my own knots and buy the Harbingers seperately.

Wal Mart has the mini air horns for 7 bucks each, BPS was 9.99. It fit perfectly into the elastic side holds in our back packs.

Don't put it in your backpack .......... if you fall out when you are in your stand then the horn is in the pack and you are on the ground ........ keep it on you

[Mallard Cutter]

Glad to hear he is ok. I had a close call a few years ago and it started me wearing a harness !!!!!

[Here We Go]

There will be no more falls at our club. I went to Agri-Supply today and bought enough rope and carabiners to rig 1/2 of our stands with safety lines top to bottom. I will get these on this week them work on the other half.

The safety lines will be taken off at the end of the season and stored to prevent dry rotting.

Thanks for everybody concerns and hope you all have a safe hunting season!

Keith

[mitchmtm1]

Glad to hear he is OK....very scary stuff

Slide a Prusik knot while you climb
Prusik Knot (http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Prusik_Knot.html)


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/Mitchmtm1/Ladderstand.jpg

[Here We Go]

Yep that diagram is very similar to what I put up yesterday, the only difference is I went back to the base of the tree and left enough vertical line to bow out as you climb. That way once you're at the top the rope is not in your way when hunting and it is laid back against the tree.

The system works perfectly, I intentionally hung from one I put up and it did it's job.

I was able to do each stand for around $9.50 for the rope and carabiners. That was buying rope in bulk cause we have about 40 stands on the property.

Taking my son back to the doc this morning for more muscle relaxers.