Dude I will send you one. Free of charge. PM me and use it. I have some brand new ones that came with stands I've bought. I'm not going to be all preachy, it's your choice and right as a citizen. However, it just takes dozing off one and losing your balance, dropping something and leaning over too far to grab at it... No matter how much I love hunting, coming home safe to my little girls beats a day in the woods any time.
If your not going to wear a harness for your own life then where a harness for your freaking family man. I have one that came with one of my stands that I will send you if you dont want to buy one. Ya its not a nice one but seriously man it will save your life. You should always strap yourself to a tree.
Indy thats great of you to offer to send him one and I hope he takes you up on that offer. I don't hunt from trees but if I did I would definetly wear one. You may climb a tree a thousand times and never fall but it only takes once to change your life. And if you are hurt bad enough how long will you lay there before someone realizes your in trouble and should come looking for you? Could be the longest couple hours of your life (or longer) or the the last. Please everyone wear a harness and be safe. Prayers to all hunters to be safe and return home after each hunt.
I used to think that if I ever started hunting out of a stand, id never use one of those. I mean c'mon, you're only fifteen or so feet up, cant be that big of a deal. Anyway, around that time twelve years or so ago, i went on a call to a local nursing home where an old man wanted to report a theft. I got there to find a relatively young, fit, and mentally sharp man of maybe sixty, only being he was in a wheelchair with both legs amputated. After taking his report, I noticed lots of cop related memorabilia along with a bunch of hunting pictures and magazines lying about, so he told me his story. Ten years or so before, he had the world by the ass. A cop of over twenty years, very respected, a Captain with a neighboring county's sheriffs department, wife, grown kids, a nice home...yada yada. Decided one early morning while his wife was away for the weekend, to get in a hunt before an off duty job later that evening. Big hurry, pre-cell phone days, didn't tell anyone where he'd be or when he'd be home, and as you've guessed, he fell from his stand. Compound fractures to both legs, he had to crawl out where he was found hours later lying on a logging road. Doctors couldn't save his legs for the infection, and eventually he got a really nice plaque from the sheriffs office for his service and lost his job. Depression, drinking, wife left him, kids stopped speaking to him, lost his house, all his possessions, and ended up in a small cinder block room in a budget nursing home living off disability and a small pension. And like he told me, all for taking shortcuts believing nothing could go wrong, not telling anyone where he would be, and not spending just a few bucks for a harness, his life essentially ended. In his day, in a stand with rifle or bow, he said if you used a harness your friends would razz you and call you a sissy, but he now lived every day saying "what if". Meeting the old guy made a huge impression on me, and I visited often while i was on patrol until he passed away a few years later. I think of him every time I buckle in.
Man, id really like to think he really uses a harness, and is only posting this to raise awareness. Well said, "Not IF you fall, its WHEN you fall."
I hunt out of a climber 98% of the time. Before I start ascending I attach myself to the tree. Sure it may take an extra 5 minutes of climbing time having to constantly move the strap up the tree but my family depends on me being alive. Accidents can happen to anyone. I recently read on Facebook where a forum member here and also a member of one of the best hunting shows IMO today had a cable break on him. Luckily he was wearing his harness.
One of my best friends had a cable break on him and he went dropping. Thankfully had his harness on or he would have hit. I can give you his number if you want. I was cutting a limb for lane, was up on a fallen log at the top of a hill, I was fully stretched and the log I was standing on broke. I only fell about 5 feet straight on my back and the VERY first thought I had was that this is the reason I wear my harness in my stand. Man heed our warnings. You may never have to use it and I hope you don't have to, but there are a lot of people that wish they would have been wearing one.
I used to not use one but last year I started using one pretty much every sit unless I forgot it. What really made me start wearing one was I knew a guy who was hog hunting and fell about 25-30 ft. out of the tree due to not having a harness. He didn't have any cell reception where he was. They found claw marks around him where he tried to crawl but couldn't and was in so much pain he pulled out his side arm and shot himself to end the suffering. He had a second grandson on the way. After this, I started to wear my harness all the time.
The is the second thing I grab before going out to hunt. If i climbed into tree without harness I would end my hunt early. I know to many people that have had accidents while in stands and noone in hell am I going to take that chance. I highly recommend you get a harness. Its worth every penny. Trust us on this one. Anything can and will happen while your up in that tree. Only a matter of time.
I wear mine 70% of the time, depends on the height. Some stands I put up aren't very high. I don't wear one crawling up or down the tree.
Started wearing one 100% of the time last year. I had a close call a couple of years ago adjusting my climber while up the tree. Scared the $*** out of me. My HSS takes about 20 seconds to hook up, so I see no reason not to wear it.
usually dont wear one gun hunting just because you would literally need to try to fall out of, but as for bow hunting out of a lean on stand, you wont catch me without one
My brother and I always wear harnesses when hunting. On May 20th of this year we were moving a double stand to a new locaton. We got the stand positioned against a tree and my brother went up to make sure it was were he wanted it. We hadn't secured the stand to the tree yet and I was holding the guide ropes. While he was sitting there looking around one of the ropes broke(the stand was left in the woods from previous seasons) and this caused my brother to shift his weight. When he did the ladder started falling forward and he yelled I am falling. I ran around the tree and tried to catch him but wasn't able to. He fell about 12 feet. On the way down his head slammed against the tree and he was knocked unconcious. I didn't know if he was going to live or die or if he was paralyzed. I immediately called 911 and it took them over an hour to find us. My brother was flown to a hospital about a half hour away and had to have emergency brain surgery. When his head hit the tree(possibly up to three times) it cracked his skull like a plus sign on his left side. Fortunately through alot of prayer, great doctors and my brothers strong will to not give up it looks like he will make pretty much a full recovery, but may still have some long lasting effects. As I am typing this he is with his 12yr son in a ground blind taking him hunting. My brother was fortune that I was with him to call 911 but many of us hunt alone and would not have been able to call 911. Most likely if my brother would have been alone he wouldn't be here today because of the bleeding and swelling of the his brain. Through this we have learned many lessons that hopefully you can learn from also and not have to go through this horror. Always were a harness, whether you are hunting or just moving stands. Don't take shortcuts and make sure your equipment is in good working order and if something needs to be replaced, replace it before using it. Always let someone know where you are going to be hunting. Hopefully this helps even one person. Remember if you do decide to not wear a harness, you aren't just affecting yourself, but all your friends and loved ones. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Travis
i always wear one i don't feel comfortable climbing up or down or just sitting in a tree without one. I know the stands made today are strong and sturdy but i just don't trust them 100%
if anyone in your life loves you at all get one and wear it every-time you go hunting. Take it from a 20 foot fall survivor i still have the scares and the pain almost 16 years later.stands fail things can and will break but not seeing your wife and kids again really will make you think.
