I’ve seen some death traps over the years on both private and public land. Don’t have any pictures, just kind of shake my head and keep walking.
As mentioned above, back in the day many hunters built stands that could be considered contenders in a variety of Darwin Award categories, from home made ladder stands, to pallets lodged between the crooks of tree limbs, to something resembling a hang-on stand.
Climbing up the tree was done with the limbs the tree provided or 2x4’s nailed across the tree held in place with regular nails or spikes.
Then the screw-in tree step arrived and - wow - what an invention! Made climbing the tree much easier and many cordless drills went afield.
Safety harnesses were non existent at first, then came out as belts that went around the tree, tethered to another belt that got lassoed around the waist. These contraptions caused death in a few instances as hunters dangled from their waists, unable to get back on the platform (if their platform survived).
Safety has come a long way in the last couple of decades, and for the better.
As mentioned above, back in the day many hunters built stands that could be considered contenders in a variety of Darwin Award categories, from home made ladder stands, to pallets lodged between the crooks of tree limbs, to something resembling a hang-on stand.
Climbing up the tree was done with the limbs the tree provided or 2x4’s nailed across the tree held in place with regular nails or spikes.
Then the screw-in tree step arrived and - wow - what an invention! Made climbing the tree much easier and many cordless drills went afield.
Safety harnesses were non existent at first, then came out as belts that went around the tree, tethered to another belt that got lassoed around the waist. These contraptions caused death in a few instances as hunters dangled from their waists, unable to get back on the platform (if their platform survived).
Safety has come a long way in the last couple of decades, and for the better.