Treestand Safety 101

© Copyrighted Photos and Text by Lisa Metheny

According to statistics, nearly one out of every three hunters that hunt from an elevated stand will fall at some point during their span of hunting. Too many hunters die every year, plus many more are injured as a result of a fall from a treestand. Reports show that simply carelessness appears to be the main reason for treestand accidents.

One of the most critical aspects of keeping safe while shooting from an elevated shooting stand is the use of a full-body safety harness. A full-body harness is the universal type of harness that has straps that wrap around both of your legs, both of your shoulders and around your waist.  During the early years of hunting from a treestand, a simple chest or waist type of harness was common, but thanks to technology and the ongoing commitment of educators, treestand manufactures, in addition to the demand of hunters who wanted companies to “build a better product” the hunting industry has taken notice, thus designing better safety harnesses.

Wearing a full-body harness that wraps around your waist, under and around both legs, and over the shoulders is the safest option when choosing a harness. Full-body harness like Hunter Safety Systems (HSS) vest harness is one of the best and safest systems on the market today. Gone are the days of fighting the tangle mess of harness that sits in the back of your pick up truck. HSS has made safety harnesses so easy a “caveman can do it” There is simply no excuse to not wear a full –body harness while hunting.

Using a full-body safety harness is highly recommended; still these types of harnesses do come with a warning label telling of the tell-tale dangers of being suspended for any length of time. Take into consideration the dangers of falling and being suspended unable to get back on your stand. Assuming you survived the initial shock of the fall, your body may now be in serious jeopardy of the silent killer, blood clots. A blood clot can form in as little as 6 seconds. Even with the best safety harnesses on the market you are still at serious risk with even the slightest fall from your stand. An ounce of prevention goes a long way. Avoiding a fall to begin with is much wiser.

Research tells us that nearly 75% of falls happen while the hunter is climbing the tree. Securing yourself to the tree and keeping at least three points of contact on the ladder or steps at all times are crucial to keeping safe.

Climbing ropes designed with special Prussic knots that allow the hunter to tether themselves to the tree at all times, is quickly becoming the norm at outfitters across the country. As more and more hunters realize these additional safety systems can provide an extra sense of security without much fuss, many are opting to never climb into a treestand again without such systems in place. Additionally, many outfitters are now adding climbing rope systems to their treestands, as this simple system which provides dramatic increase in safety, while significantly decreasing climbing accidents is becoming the norm.

Every piece of equipment should be inspected each year before using them. Keeping safe while hunting from an elevated stand is much easier when you choose quality equipment that has received the Treestand Manufacturers Association (TMA) stamp of approval. Regardless of the quality of equipment, it is only as good as the user, and using common sense, reading the instructions and following the guidelines will help you avoid treestand accidents, hopefully, keeping you safe to hunt another season. Regardless, any safety system is only good if it is used properly.