Great topic. Will tie in from ground up with climbing stand. If ladder stand doesn't have a safety line I'll attach one the first time up and use from then on. I don't bounce like I used to so won't hunt from an elevated position without safety line and harness.
I am tied to the tree the moment my feet leave the ground until the moment I am about to put my feet back on the ground. I read somewhere, a very high percentage of tree stand falls are during climbing into or out of stand. Only a small percentage were while in stand.
They make a safety strap now that as you climb the tree you can re-adjust the strap incase the climber slides on you. Honestly it just looks like a tow sling.
My first year using life lines because most all stands i have stay in the tree and ladder stands i latch on when i climb up. Looking back at using lock-on's and climbers before life lines or tree slings i was dumb because its hard to support a family if your not around or broken all up. Just isnt worth it guys!!
HSS lifelines on my hang on setups. tree rope/strap when i use my climber. EVERYTIME. My 14 year old son is the same way, I taught him well.
After falling on my first ever climb into a tree stand I'll never not use at least a line man's belt while climbing. Luckily I had one at the time and am still able to type without being paralyzed. My feet don't leave the ground without being tied in and all safety checks have been made on my stand.
I don't use climbers, on my two hang on stands I have two safety lines. I must admit though on my ladder stands, I'm not connected until I climb up and throw my rope around the tree.
Wanna save yourself $3,000? I have 16 stands on my property, every lock on gets a lifeline, and every ladder stand gets a lifeline with two prussics knots. Through amazon they averaged $30 each. So I spent $480 on all of those. Considering my deductible is $3500 I just saved 3 grand I can use on hunting gear. All of this is assuming I'm still alive after the fall, I can assure you a funeral gonna cost more then $3k.
You should look at the little guy next to you in your profile photo and ask yourself why you aren't tied in from the moment you leave the ground. Not trying to be an a######, just saying it because it was my first thought when I read your post
You know your Harley neighbor that will not wear a helmet because he likes to look tough and ride free, I am that guy up in the tree, I like to hunt without any safety equipment because I like the wild experience. Ok, not really.
I'm in no position to tell anyone how to live or hunt. I view a lot of folks on this forum as sort of an extended family. Shultzy incuded. This forum in some ways is like a virtual hunting camp where we all come and share stories of success and failure, debates about aspects of hunting, hunting tactics and equipment knowledge. In my opinion, the wealth of knowledge here is unmatched to any real hunting camp or other online forum. I say these things because I care about what happens to the folks I chat with on here. The prospect of hearing that one of "our own" has fallen from a stand, is busted up, or worse, dead, isn't something I want to think about. Hunting is an enormous part of our lives obviously, but we all have other things, family, friends, jobs, etc., that are more important. When you leave the house in the wee hours of the morning to head to your favorite stand, the last thing on our minds is whether or not we're coming home today. We've climbed trees our whole lives and never had an issue. We've climbed the same tree over and over, used the same stand, climber, etc to the point we can do it blind folded. But, as I said before, it only takes one mishap. One slick step, one bolt on a stand that breaks free, one anomaly, and everything we know and love can be changed forever. I'm not willing to take that chance. I love my wife and kids, family and friends too much to not take every precaution I can to ensure that if I have any sort of mishap, I'm coming home at the end of the day. Bruised up, but alive and well. I also love to hunt more than anything else besides my family. The very real thought of having to hunt out of a wheelchair or blind and not being able to walk into the woods and climb my favorite tree each fall is not something I ever want to do. Do yourselves a favor, look at your kids, your wife and friends and think about what life would be like in a wheelchair or worse, think about not being able to hunt because you're too thickheaded to admit that you're wrong and should be tied in at all times. Admit to yourself that you're not bulletproof, that your family and friends depend on you and need you safe. Then start taking the steps to ensure it.
Just got back from Menards in Apple Valley MN. They have lifelines for 24.99 right now. They aren't listed on line and are only carried in some of their stores. Call them ahead of time to see if some are in stock. That's $15 off.
