Oh no not me....I've hung a thousand stands if I've hung one....
Home alone, feeling deer season coming up in my bones. Took my binoculars down behind the house and checked the white oak stand on the flat above the lake. No acorns at all. We had a late freeze this spring that killed the buds. So I decided to move that ladder stand up on the clearcut were the muscadines and the persimmons look pretty good.
I use ladderstands and this one had all the sections in it. 18' to the seat. They have a post that goes back to the tree in about halfway up. It bolts to a rung and uses a strap around the tree trunk. This holds the stand sturdy (sturdily?) enough that you can climb up and secure the top with a chain. Of course, the proceedure is reversed to take it down.
I should've checked the condition of the strap as the stand has been there since last Oct.
But......I didn't.......
Got the chain loose on top and flipped it off the tree, started down and the dang thing fell backwards in slow motion just like on Animal House.
All I could think of was laying there with a broken back while the fireants ate my fat ass up.
Jill wouldn't be home for 7 hours.
I hit a 4" pine about halfway down and it knocked me off the ladder. I was too scared to jump and I figured the best thing was to ride it down. Anyway, I guess it broke my fall cause I hit the ground and did a shoulder roll right back up on my feet. (c'mon, ya'll knew I was gonna roll) Anyway, I have a few scratches and a sore elbow but that's it.
The squirrels had chewed thru the strap till it was only a few threads. They set me up good, little bastards.
Piece of advise from someone who's been doing this for 42 years. NEVER TAKE ANYTHING ABOUT A STAND FOR GRANTED.
I'm gonna go read my Bible for awhile now...
LOL! Not at you Biggie just the way ya told the story about the fire ants. Thank God your all right. Next time be more carful.<><
Better to have a brusied ego than a busted head. Glad your ok.
Its all part of our Master Plan....
The Sqwerls
I took a real bad fall about 6 years ago.Fell out of a freinds home made stand when the nail pulled through the board as I was climbing down,,I'll never hunt out of those types as long as I live,,I'd rather hunt on the ground,,I'm glad your ok and you only got a bump and couple scratches from it,,God bless and be carefull,,Jason B.
Everyone out there be careful! Few people know how little height it takes to really be seriously hurt or killed. Just tripping and falling incorrectly can be serios. Glad your ok Biggie!
Man, it good that you're ok!! That being said, the way you wrote that damn near made me fall off my chair laughing!! Again, glad you're ok!
Bret
Good advice buddy.
So if a Biggie falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear, does it make a sound???
Just kidding...glad to hear your ok...I would have to have a change of gitch after that one if that was me!! :eek:
and i thought those tree rats were cute LOL!!! how wrong can a guy be. i hope ya ok biggie now that ya crapped ya self does that belt i sent ya fit? :biglaugh: :biglaugh: first ya have me walking in to a broadhead then you falling off a ladder whos next?
Glad your alright!Are you going tree rat hunting this year?
Thought I felt sumthin'; figured it for a tremor.....glad you're OK
It'll take a heap of ants!!!!!!!
BOY..be careful...I'm looking really forward to huntin wid you in Montana!!!!!!!
Biggie, I'm glad you're O.K., but the animal rights people are going to freak when they found out how many bugs you squashed! Poor little buggers never saw you coming!
Glad that you have that cat like skills to pop up on your feet. :banghead: :banghead:
Wish I could go take a couple dozen out today, but will have to wait till October. Will have some arrows made up special for them little critters this year....
Now I understand the tremor I felt!
Glad the injuries are minor for such a major lesson.
Glad you're OK Biggie! I haven't fallen out of a tree stand yet (I'm 51) but I have been hunting 100% from the ground for the last couple of years.
Now go get revenge on the little saboteurs.
Dennis
Biggie...
Glad that your OK....
Replace the strap with a chain....
Oh and next time ya hang or take down a stand, take your video camera, we want pictures.... :bigsmyl:
Thanks for swallowing your pride and posting this. It is easy to forget safety rules. That is why we have weekly safety meetings at work.
I am sure you ar enot the only person here that has done something that they new better about. I know I have and I am a safety manager full time! Glad you are OK!
I tripped at work once and did a funny little roll and jumped right back up. I looked arround and saw my whole crew laughing at me. Now, I weigh 280 lbs. so I knew it was quite a sight. One guy stopped laughing long enough to say, "Bumbles bounce!"
Brant
GLAD YOUR OK BIGGIE!!!!! :scared:
I ain't as tough as I use to be....I gotta admit it shook me up......... but only for a few minutes :-)
Glad to hear that your ok Biggie. Man that had to be one heck of a scary ride.
Tommorow ur going to be sore!!! Glad ur ok, buddy. Double bull is calling ur name !!!! marco#78
Glad you are OK.
We all need to keep telling these stories as they happen so the rest of us get it through our heads that all it takes is one second of bad luck, and in-attentiveness to get hurt out there.
As you all saw me report last fall, two commercial strap on steps broke under my weight and I came straight down....maybe 4' only, onto a stiff leg, right on a main root that didn't give...and I though I broke something for a while. Unlike above...NOTHING went thru my mind cause it was over before it started. Scared...you bet. And I only fell 4' or so.
Please be careful everyone.
ChuckC
QuoteEveryone out there be careful! Few people know how little height it takes to really be seriously hurt or killed. Just tripping and falling incorrectly can be serios. Glad your ok Biggie!
Due to my OSHA training I know this useless fact.
"Out of all fatalities due to a fall, 90% of them are from under 6 ft."
Glad you are OK, I climb telephone poles for a living and I've taken a fall or two. It's always in slow motion but happens in a split second.
Dang Biggie, Glad you are ok and everything came out alright.
Be careful out there folks.
Tracy
Biggie,
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - BOW in one hand - ARROWS in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming - WOO HOO! What a Ride!
I guess in your case you can sub the bow and arrows for a "Ladder Stand". LOL. Glad you are Okay and thanks for the reminder the not just fire ants can bite you in the back end!
Thanks for the lesson! A friend of mine had not made SURE that his safety rope was attached right and fell asleep, pitched forward off his stand and broke his neck, one millimeter away from certain death! (Broke it in the "hangman's spot" but not all the way through). He's OK now but still has indentations years after they put the halo on him. All of this for not checking his equipment! You may have saved someone's life today Biggie! Thank you again!
Steve
Sounds like you need to take a few hex heads with you to that stand.Whack some of the bushy-tailed Suprano's
Glad you're ok... I use those same types of stands...
I need to go move mine and will remember to check those straps...
hope you're healed up soon!!!
Glad you're okay makes me happy we don't have trees here Delin
Can you demonstrate again????? Hang on, I'm going to get my camera. :saywhat:
Glad you are alright! CK
Thanks for the warning Biggie, I have yet to check my stands. I will be alot more cautious due to what you posted. Glad it wasnt worse and hope you heal fast... and thanks for not helping the fire ant population. LOL :p :thumbsup: :D
Biggie, What the heck are you moving stands in July for? :)
I just came in from doing the same thing. LOL
Sure glad you're OK. Get out the Biofreeze!
See Biggie look at all the sympathy your getting. :bigsmyl: <><
We're glad you're fine! I've got a couple of buddies who weren't as lucky......One of them is walking, barely, and the other one isn't. It's easy to take any tree stand for granted that it's OK, I think it's because we've all climbed up and down them so many times and never had a problem but then one day........Be Careful everyone and wear that harness. Don and Skyler
Biggie, forgot to mention that squirrels were the culprit in one of my buddy's accident also...
LOL where's the video camera when you need one? Glad to see you made it through ok. Now I'm gonna go check my straps on my stand from last year.
Biggie: Glad you are ok.had something similar happen to me on a ladder stand.shook me up for a few days.when I go up in a stand now ,for however short a period,I always wear some sort of lineman's belt or safety strap.
KPaul
It's a good thing that you were not seriously hurt. you have to watch out for them chains also. The trees grow a lot in a years time, I have had chain links broken because of that. Look em over good.
Glad you're OK.
Enjoy today, Monday's gonna hurt.
...and I can't get up!!
Thank God that wasn't the case. I used to love the view from a tree stand, but I am just as happy not to hassle with them. Go now, and shin up no more trees!
You are obviously not keeping a handle on the squirrel population. They are being allowed to grow too old and too wise. And if you think humans get crotchety with age, squirrels grow a mean streak to put a man to shame! Cull the old professers, and keep the remainder young, ignorant, and tender. It is a demanding job, but it is better than a pantsload of fire ants. Wait a minnit. I said that to a man with no pants. Never mind.
Emily Litella (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Oddball/emily-719937.jpg)
Thanks everyone...I'm sorry I didn't get it on film for you.
I always remember the irony of Fred Richter who co-wrote the treestand safety book for Hunters Ed.
He fell in Montana a few years after it was published and broke his back. It CAN happen to anyone.
Glad your all right. I know I shoulsd not say this but I would of liked to seen that! :bigsmyl: Shawn
Call me next time you got to move a stand Big redneck , I feel obligated to help the older folks out.RC
I was just gonna mention Fred. Glad you're O.K.
Thank goodness for padding :thumbsup:
Glad you're okay, Biggie. That is scary stuff and your note is a good reminder of how quickly a good day can become a bad day when tree stands are on the agenda. Let's all stay safe out there...
Claudia
I've been climbing trees since I was a little tyke. Am starting to see some limitations lately though. Using more ladder stands the last few years as well. I'll be 54 in Sept. I'm going to need more time to get set for a shot too as my knees pop now when I stand up. Thanks for the safety reminder. Got to check my stands in the next week or two. Glad you're alright Biggie.
Do you always hunt that high? I`ve never hunted over 12 ft. and usually lower. It seems the older I get the lower I get.I`m even starting to hunt on the ground more,and I seem to be killing just as many deer. But then we have a lot of low brush and trees that keep leaves all winter long. I`ve even started to think about pit blinds if I could get someone to dig it for me. Nah, we got too many rattlesnakes that might get in there with me. I fell off a 10ft. ladder last year while welding on cattle pens and broke both wrists,fractured my right upper arm, took a bunch of hide off my face,broke my nose and shoved dirt over an inch deep up both nostrils. the doctor dug the dirt out with something called a nose spoon. Owww--did that hurt. I always thought people hunted that high so if they did fall it would kill them instantly with no pain or suffering. Seriously, I`m so glad to know you came thru mostly unscathed.Keep hunting and be safe.
I've fallen twice... Both times were about 25 years ago.. Once I only fell about 6', a lower limb stopped my decent. Hurt..
Second time I wasn't so lucky. I shot an old doe and decided to get down and go tend to her. Had been in and out of this hang on stand several times. There was an arm sized limb just above my head. I untied myself and reached up and grabbed this limb. Being young, athletic and dumb, I swung out away from the stand while holding this limb. By all appearences it was sound, appearences were deceiving and it broke under my weight. Remember I had done this exact same thing several times on this same limb. I fell straight down at what we later determined was nearly 17 feet. I hit the ground feet first but my legs immediatly collapsed under me. I'm sure the impact dazed me and when I came to I opened my eyes and all I could see was grass and leaves, I couldn't move ---- anything execpt my eyes.. Pretty spooky stuff.. Nobody had any idea where I was. After a few minutes I found I could move my fingers, then hands, toes, etc.. I was finally able to roll over and sit up. My knees seemed useless. Eventually I started towards my truck a few hundred yards away. I pulled myself along with my arms finally getting some use out of my legs but couldn't come close to standing.
After what seemed like a very long time I reached my truck and pulled myself in.......
Recovery took months and remembering this event spooks me to this day. Still hunt by myself and still use tree stands. I'm not foolish enough to say it won't ever happen to me again but I'm extremely cautious. Guys, one of these "little scares" is enough for any bowhunter.
Biggie, glad your fall ended so gracefully and you didn't wind up using that plastic lined trash pail for a bed pan..
were was your saftey belt ?????
Biggie thank God you are ok!
This is one of the reason I am heading more and more to hunting on the ground. I sure do like hunting from the trees, but I think it is just a matter of time before something goes bad and when you are 60 years old hitting the ground from 15 feet in the air does not sound good to me. :D
I am sure I will be up in the air some this year, I know I will be for bears in Sept, but I have a lot of respect when I leave the ground.
You know the scary part are the things you can not control, them Squirrels' is a good example.
Anyway, have a great season Biggie, and we don't want to hear anymore about hitting the ground :scared:
RayMO
glad you're okay Biggie and thanks for the reminder that even the most seasoned (notice how I didn't say old) of us can be felled by fuzzy gremlins (or any of a hundred other stupid litle things that can happen when humans get off the ground). Every time I hear about a treestand-related fall i think of all those years we hunted without safety belts, in home-made deathtrap stands (or Bakers :scared: ), and many times with no stand at all (yep, lots of us used to climb trees and stand on limbs--sometimes with those KK quivers with no hoods slung over our shoulder--just four sharp broadheads sticking up from the top limb looking for something to cut). Many of us are very lucky to be walking around....
Biggie, i'll have David check all the stands for squirrel damage before we get to Tejas
Glad you are ALL o.k. Scary stuff.
lessons to be learned, and wear those safety belts!
Thank God. You are ok. George
From another famous movie..."Bumbles Bounce"!
Glad you are ok Biggie...only 8 lives left.
I did the same thing in the spring taking a stand down,Did not have a ladder to break my fall however.Fell 18ft and landed on my back in a mud puddle.Just lucky the ground was soft but my shoulder go whacked pretty bad and I am just getting where I can pull over 40lbs on a bow.Be carefull no matter how many times you have done it before. jmo
hey, we're doing business now...I don't think you should climb trees at all, dude.
Glad you are OK...reminds me of the urban hunting situation when I first used Rapid Rails- didn't tie the chinese rope around itself underneath the ladder rungs to tie it off..just snugged it and up I went.
On the way into the stand in the morning didn't realize my boot had got hung up on the last rail, just below the platform..18 feet up. As I stepped off the rail into the stand my boot lifted the rail up and the rope came loose and it fell to the ground.
NO way to get out of the tree...had to call my buddy to drive to my stand, climb up ladder and re-set the rail..thank goodness for cell phones, and FRIENDS who will help you out. Could have been bad if I had been there long enough to get hungry!
Really glad to hear you are OK Biggie. You've got to stay healthy till we can share a camp at least a few times. I really want to be able to tell people I hunted with THE Biggie Hoffman.
Joking aside, I'll be sure to check the straps on the stands left in the woods.
Glad you did'nt get hurt. I had a couple of close calls due to carelessness, stupidness, doneittoomanytimesness, or whatever. Sometimes the more we fool around in the trees the more we take things for granted. Thanx for the warning to pay more attention!
Biggie,
How much damage did you do to the 4" pine tree? Wouldn't want the tree huggers coming after you if they managed to come upon this thread! :scared:
Bill
I can only assume you are pretty sore today. We do some foolish things not thinking ahead. I'm so very happy you are OK and did'nt bust your self up. Good friend of mine did the same 2 years ago, he will never walk well again.
When putting up and taking them down, I always use my own heavy rope attached to the top. Hanging down and wrapped around the back side of the tree. Keeping the rope tight going up or down. This along with there attachment devices usually makes it pretty safe. I will not put one up or take it down my out my own rope around the tree. They are just to unpredictable to do otherwise.
Thanks for sharing, and may everyone be safe this season.
:pray:
Brent
I'm sorry biggie but I can't get the picture of you hitting the ground and rolling out of my head..LOL!(bruce-BIGGIE-lee)
hang in there buddy you still got some huntin' ta do here in montana!!(now I know your setting your own stand!)
PS Can't you get your wife to move that dang stand for ya!!!
Glad you are OK.
I bet you hurt more the next day than when you did it.
Thanks for the reminder.
Wasps are another bad thing that can happen to "good stands".
Dan
Once at camp, I was unloading wood from the top of my hunting swamp buggy and I slipped and fell in slow motion a step at a time. Biggie was sitting down watching me work ( as usual) and when I hit the ground he asked if I was OK.As soon as I said I was fine, he broke into his rendition of " Humpty Dumpty". So Biggie, this is for you " Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall"!!!!!!!!!!!
Hah! Marty I knew you couldn't resist.
I tell y'all one thing you're right about, I'm so sore today I can hardly walk!
Wildman...The 4" pine couldn't handle the weight, it broke off about 5' up.
Glad you're OK bud.....I've had some close calls over the years myself...
...did you get a hold of that Iacavazzi fella yet?
I'm glad you are around to write this. Good advice
DONT DO IT AGAIN :knothead:
G