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Darwin Award tree stands

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.
 
[QUOTE="raisins, post: 518013, member:

I was a daredevil until I fell 15 feet out of a tree (in my mid 20s) and landed on my side. I am very lucky I walked away. I landed almost perfectly to prevent injury. I can still remember the force of the impact.
[/QUOTE]

Man, you nailed that description. Reading it just brought me right back. I had a similar fall when one of the ratchet hooks on my tree stand rotated off of its attachment point when I stepped on for an evening hunt. It was like one of those dunk tanks - the stand was there and then it just wasn't. I hit the ground so hard, couldn't breath (I thought that was it), and was frantically looking for my quiver to see if I had fallen on an arrow. Thankfully I hadn't. My insides (just all of them) hurt for weeks after that. I was lucky to walk away after laying there forever trying to recover. A couple feet either way, and rocks, big roots, etc, would have broken the fall less kindly.

That was with 'modern' equipment. I think the saddle/tether idea looks pretty good in comparison, and just plain smart when compared with some of the old plywood, nails, and prayers 'stands' I used to sit in.
 
Probably 10 plus years ago I waited for some reason until March to take stands down. Wore a harness and lineman's on all but the last one. It was only around 15', so the moron in me took over and I didn't wear the harness. Got up to the loc on, flipped the seat up, and there is a giant black widow staring at me. I pulled out my Gerber tool and smashed it, only to have it skeet liquid spider into my eyes. All I could think about was becoming the first person to go blind by killing a spider. Well after a few moments of normal vision and no signs that venom had gotten into my eye, I then resumed trying to unhook the stand. There was a limb that I used as a pull handle all season. It was green and strong during deer season, but somehow was dead by this point. I grabbed the limb and it snapped. I fell 15' onto my butt. Only to have a broken tail bone. The only reason I didn't have a broken back was because we'd had several monsoons several days before this event. I sunk in the ground probably 5". With all of my adventures fighting fires and shoeing horses my body feels more like 75 than 44. Be safe.
 
Probably 10 plus years ago I waited for some reason until March to take stands down. Wore a harness and lineman's on all but the last one. It was only around 15', so the moron in me took over and I didn't wear the harness. Got up to the loc on, flipped the seat up, and there is a giant black widow staring at me. I pulled out my Gerber tool and smashed it, only to have it skeet liquid spider into my eyes. All I could think about was becoming the first person to go blind by killing a spider. Well after a few moments of normal vision and no signs that venom had gotten into my eye, I then resumed trying to unhook the stand. There was a limb that I used as a pull handle all season. It was green and strong during deer season, but somehow was dead by this point. I grabbed the limb and it snapped. I fell 15' onto my butt. Only to have a broken tail bone. The only reason I didn't have a broken back was because we'd had several monsoons several days before this event. I sunk in the ground probably 5". With all of my adventures fighting fires and shoeing horses my body feels more like 75 than 44. Be safe.
Glad the spider didn't cause issues as well. That would have been nasty.

Just to note, they say in the construction industry more people die from 6' falls than higher falls. There are probably more 6' falls. But hitting your head is the ender there. Old nurse told me when I broke my hands. "We can fix almost anything but your head". Probably why the arborist should be wearing them. Even with a full harness, if you fall and smash your head into the tree can end yah. Or the trauma of being suspended. Sometimes falling may be the better option. If you are still hunting a loc on with a harness make sure you have one of those step up aiders attached to use if you ever need it.
 
I say this only half in jest, but I didn't know or hear anyone that really got hurt doing all those "terrible" things back in the day growing up, so maybe it was the lack of "safety" stuff that made our brains hold on tighter or be more aware of the moment and less prone to mistakes (think Alex Honnold) ? Throw in that most were doing them and the death/injury % was likely less than today, I blame it on the lawyers.
My grandfather nearly died (broken pelvis, nearly impaled) falling out of a homemade stand. (Nothing failed on the stand...not really clear how he fell).

Of course that didn't stop us from putting up plenty of borderline sketchy stands that require significant acrobatics to get to.
 
I say this only half in jest, but I didn't know or hear anyone that really got hurt doing all those "terrible" things back in the day growing up, so maybe it was the lack of "safety" stuff that made our brains hold on tighter or be more aware of the moment and less prone to mistakes (think Alex Honnold) ? Throw in that most were doing them and the death/injury % was likely less than today, I blame it on the lawyers.
The past is always rose-colored because it's certain. Nothing that we hate and fear more than uncertainty. Folks definitely got hurt and died. That's why we stopped doing things that way. As bad as we hate TMA, it could have only gotten a toehold if folks thought there was a problem.

Look at music. Music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, or now even 90s is hailed as awesome. Stuff now sucks. But that's just because we have to aift through the garbage today, and the garbage from the 70s is long since forgotten. Heck, Cream was an "awesome band" that basically had Disrailli Gears. "Clapton is God," but he's the only band member who made a career for himself and his discography is RIDDLED with absolute stinkers.
 
It happened 30 years ago and it still blows my mind every time I walk past that old stand. It's still hanging in that old cherry tree. I need to take a pic of that death trap.

I truly believe that it was the Hand of God that saved me from serious injury that day.
I didn't own a safety harness until the day after that happened...I have ever since then.
Here is what is left of that old stand.

37fb480aaa769e3097bb9030466d57ad.jpg


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I too, have taken a couple of falls from 15 to 20 feet. Both construction accidents and was lucky enough to walk away from both.
But I know plenty of people who have fallen from trees while hunting who weren't so fortunate. One is dead, one in a wheel chair for the last 35 years, another has had a severe limp for 25 years now as well as a couple who are fine now but took months to recover. All with minimal safety equipment or none at all. Be careful out there.
 
I have taken several falls myself from trees higher than 15 ft in my younger days including one from almost 30ft. I was blessed to successfully walk away from all of them sore but largely unscathed. I echo @Allegheny Tom's sentiments from above where he described time seeming to slow down to a crawl as you're falling and the adrenaline kicks in. It seems to take forever to actually impact the ground but time suddenly catches up the moment you do. Luckily I was able to curl into a ball and land on my side every time but I can't help but feel like I had a guardian angel looking over me. I was young and resilient in those days . . . I'd hate to repeat anything like that now.
 
I grew up jumping out of the tops of full grown trees (at least 60' up) into the creek. Wobbly 2x4s was the way up the tree. Ladder stands made out of 2x4s was the preferred tree stand.
 
I have found a few 55 gallon drum tree stands on Chattahoochee national Forest in North Georgia, but I can’t find any pictures of them. The stand in the photo is a pretty good ways in on National Forest9A356E22-7CC3-4B4D-9969-AB2C0EE74460.jpeg. I was surprised someone went to the trouble of carrying that much lumber back up in there.
 
Tsk, back then we got hurts because it was 'boys being boys' or 'use what you got'. I remember using pots and pans as drums, and playing on the roof because it was the perfect hiding place from mom. Broke my arm climbing down the roof but at least I did it for myself if that make any sense. But today's youth are getting hurt over social media because they want attention or following some 'viral' trend. I lost a lot of faith in the future when kids (in their 20s!!!) were eating Tide Pods....or someone falling off a cliff to their death taking a selfie...
 
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