What was YOUR moment of truth?

[Jtaylor]

My dad had a life changing event when I was pretty young falling from a homeade plywood stand nailed to a tree. Drizzling rain and near freezing temps made for a slick platform and down he went. He crushed his heel like an egg and had to crawl back to the pickup to drive the 5 speed Chevy Luv back home. He said the fall didn't hurt as much as pushing the clutch in to put the pickup into gear and to shift once and awhile. He hobbles around on that foot to this day. He absolutely will not hunt elevated anymore. I vowed to always wear a safety harness.

Flash forward to about 15 years later and I was taking a few steps up a cottonwood tree on the limbs before attaching my harness to climb. I had been in the same tree before with no issues and was standing on pretty solid limbs. I was maybe 8 feet off the ground when a limb gave way (cottonwoods self prune and are very unpredictable with their limb integrity apparently) I landed smack dab on my tail bone and had the worst shock sent up my spine I ever experienced. I layed flat on my back until I was able to gain my senses. That small fall of only 8 ft or so was enough for me to tether in at the base of the tree or sit on the ground if I don't think I can get up the tree quietly and efficiently.

An event that can change your life permanently or kill you and change the lives of others around you permanently just isn't worth a deer. I've never asked, but I'm sure my dad would've let every deer he ever got walk on by if it meant having full mobility and no pain in that foot.

 

[Patriot]

I'm going with @MattMan81. SLOW DOWN!! I was topping a 150 foot white pine for a friend of mine. While I was taking off the branches at about 80 feet I had to go over the next branch whorl with my 2n1 I mistakenly hooked onto an accessory loop on the side of my saddle, as I was about to lean back on it I got a funny feeling ( for no reason my chest got tight and the hair raised on the back of my neck)( I believe it was Divine intervention) so I double checked the hookup....damn. My legs went weak when I saw where I was hooked up. What we all do in the trees is unforgiving. Pay attention, and be deliberate.

divine intervention, intuition etc has always fascinated me. It’s very real, more common than we think and I attribute it to God.

 

[Exhumis]

I’ve had two cuz I’ve got a thick skull, one when using tree stand and one saddle hunting. During my tree stand days I was in a hurry to get in the stand as I was running late. Climbed up, got set and all was well. Heard movement behind me, got up and turned to look and leaned into my harness and then the world went upside down. In my haste to get set I forgot to clip into my tree strap and I fell straight out the tree, 20ish feet up. Luckily I was set up by a creek/river and it had just rained and was swollen so I splashed down in a deep spot. It took me quite awhile to get back into a stand after that.
My second was setting up trees and clearing shooting lanes in a saddle. Threw some sticks on a tree and figured I can just hang onto the tree with one arm and cut with my sawzall with the other. No lineman’s belt. Well, I got to the third step of my aider and was transitioning to the wrung and the stick shifted, causing me to swing and smash my face into the tree, break my glasses and prolly my nose, drop my sawzall into a briar bush and me slide painfully down the tree. Lesson learned. Always wear a lineman’s belt.
It’s been said God watches out for the foolish and unfortunate. I definitely fit into the former category.
Now I'm ATGATT to use a motorcycle safety term. All The Gear, All The Time

 

[DB4x4]

I am 100x safer hunting out of a saddle than I ever used to be when I hunted out of tree stands. The only pucker moments I get anymore are when I think back to all the dumb things I used to do and wonder how I ever survived...

Notable Dumb Things:
- Hunting out of an open front climber for 15 years with an upper-body-only, chest-collapsing, death-trap harness...
- Hunting out of an open front climber for 15 years and only hooking in once at hunting height...
- Disconnecting from tree strap at 30' because it was in the way during a shot...
- No back up plan for getting down or self rescue...
- Hanging ladder sticks and hang on stands with no lineman belt or safety connection...
- Sliding down wet/icy trees ~1' when climber teeth slipped - The Puckerest of all Pucker Moments...

 

[DB4x4]

I hunted with the death-harness because that's all I had at the time...and thought it made me safe. It came with a seat belt style tree strap that was a pain to adjust or move. "I'm not moving this up every time I make a move in my climber. Screw that. I will just set it when I am up at height."

I remember setting my first set of ladder sticks and hang on stand and thinking myself, "Why the heck do people use these things? This is impossible. How am I supposed to climb the stick ladder and strap it to the tree...when it is not strapped to the tree? How the heck am I supposed to hold this stand in place and strap it to the tree with only one hand?"

"Hey, there is a buck over there to my right. Ah, crap this strap is in the way, I can't draw. Ehh, screw it, I'll just unhook for a second, I have good balance."

My.
God.
How.
Am.
I.
Alive.
Right.
Now?

 

[mejer]

I had a pucker moment many years ago. Baker climbing tree stands were the first commercially available in my area. We got a little freezing rain for the Oct. 1st opener in Michigan and I had climbed to about 15 feet with the stand when all of a sudden it slid down the icy bark on the tree. I bear hugged the tree all the way down to the ground luckily I only bruised my chest very badly. But stupid me I continued using that stand for a few more years.

 

[Bigterp]

I was watch AFV with my kids saw a guy in a climber. The top part came loose smashing down onto bottom part which came loosing sending the whole package screaming down 10-15 feet. I didn’t think it was a funny video.

Poor guy prob didn’t even win the 10k

 

[Tr33_n1nj@]

I’ve climbed trees since I was old enough to pull myself up. Both my parents liked to climb trees so I guess being a monkey is in my blood. I fallen in trees, I’ve fallen out of trees. Been lucky/blessed to never have a serious injury. Never used any equipment until I started hunting. Old rickety stands, climbers, metal, wood, done it all as carefully as possible. My “moment of truth” was some point after the birth of my only child. And it’s weird how things I wouldn’t have thought twice about doing before, I now have a physical almost panic attack type reaction to now. Becoming a parent definitely changes a person.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

[deleted quote]
You're not alone . . . I did all of those thing in my Summit Bushmaster. Never wore a safety harness in it . . .Never! Still have it out back in the garage.

Scariest moment in that climber occurred on day when the only tree available to climb where I wanted to sit was a pair of trees on the off hand side of the trail I wanted to watch. Only one of the trees was limb free so I went up it. The trees were close together so once at height I had the brilliant idea to move the seat portion to the other tree so I would be sitting facing the right way. That warning to stay on the same tree with both parts of the climber is just a suggestion right?

Well I get the upper moved over and attached and I used my hands to place my weight on hand climber portion to seat it fully before strapping it on. Suddenly the base falls off the other tree as I un-weight it. Its still hanging there by the connecting rope but it's not even close to engaged on the tree. It's just hanging there vertically and just out of reach of my toes. Picture this, there I am in a military press position facing the seat. There's no front bar on the Bushmaster so there's no where I can go. I can't lift and spin into the seat because the upper is now balanced by the equal weight of each hand and there's no bar behind me to sit on. After hanging there considering my options for several minutes I finally came to the conclusion the only solution was to get the platform to bite back into the tree. I figured if I lowered myself down to the point where I could just touch the tip of the lower portion when my weight hit it, it would auto-rotate back into position. Only problem was by then I would be past the point of no return to the upper. I took a deep breath and in a semi controlled fall dropped onto the end of the platform. Luckily the plan worked and the platform snapped back into position.

Summit Bushmaster for those not familiar with the old versions

 

[boyne bowhunter]

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Man, that's brutal! It's amazing how bad things can turn so fast. Glad you were able to keep your head and tough your way out.

I can't believe how lucky I've been not to have been really badly hurt with all the sketchy things I've done and the bounces I've taken. Someone above mentioned divine intervention and I've always felt like I must have someone up there looking out for me.

 

[Kurt]

[

Man, that's brutal! It's amazing how bad things can turn so fast. I can't believe how lucky I've been not to have been really badly hurt with all the sketchy things I've done and the bounces I've taken. Someone above mentioned divine intervention and I've always felt like I must have someone up there looking out for me.

Oh man we do indeed. There's no question in my mind. I seem to have been blessed with a guardian angel who I have truly put through the wringer my whole life. I think back on all the dumb crap I used to do and it is a wonder and a blessing that I'm still here and in one piece. I'd like to think I'm older and wiser but I know I'm only half right.

 

[Topdog]

I'd say your lucky to be alive. thankfully it wasn't your time. Woods work is hard and dangerous. Glad your still here.

I have owned a full time tree service business 17 years and knock on wood never had an incident, logging was something I did in my spare time on family owned property in the winter, yup I was lucky.

 

[Bowmanmike]

divine intervention, intuition etc has always fascinated me. It’s very real, more common than we think and I attribute it to God.

I am an atheist but do believe in something like a guardian angel which makes no sense.
I had some events that led me to believe mine has a good work ethic. None are saddle related. You should not rely on the guardians attentiveness though.

 

[DB4x4]

I have owned a full time tree service business 17 years and knock on wood never had an incident, logging was something I did in my spare time on family owned property in the winter, yup I was lucky.

Pun intended?

 

[elk yinzer]

Never really had any. Couplen of low grade kickouts I guess. Goes and knocks on wood. Guess there's a benefit of being aftaid of heights I've always been really cautious.

 

[PeterHawk22]

My dad had a life changing event when I was pretty young falling from a homeade plywood stand nailed to a tree. Drizzling rain and near freezing temps made for a slick platform and down he went. He crushed his heel like an egg and had to crawl back to the pickup to drive the 5 speed Chevy Luv back home. He said the fall didn't hurt as much as pushing the clutch in to put the pickup into gear and to shift once and awhile. He hobbles around on that foot to this day. He absolutely will not hunt elevated anymore. I vowed to always wear a safety harness.

Flash forward to about 15 years later and I was taking a few steps up a cottonwood tree on the limbs before attaching my harness to climb. I had been in the same tree before with no issues and was standing on pretty solid limbs. I was maybe 8 feet off the ground when a limb gave way (cottonwoods self prune and are very unpredictable with their limb integrity apparently) I landed smack dab on my tail bone and had the worst shock sent up my spine I ever experienced. I layed flat on my back until I was able to gain my senses. That small fall of only 8 ft or so was enough for me to tether in at the base of the tree or sit on the ground if I don't think I can get up the tree quietly and efficiently.

An event that can change your life permanently or kill you and change the lives of others around you permanently just isn't worth a deer. I've never asked, but I'm sure my dad would've let every deer he ever got walk on by if it meant having full mobility and no pain in that foot.

thanks for your story. I read stuff like this and I'm thankful to have bought a harness before ever stepping in a climber. My buddy doesn't wear one, and knows he should. I try to convince him. They are a pain in the ass to wear though. I'd rather spend a few extra minutes putting it on, than having my kids grow up fatherless.

 

[Apex7]

Mine was a work injury. I am a union Pile Driver and was on a job in 2016 when a weld failed and I was thrown about 20 feet and landed on a beam. I was life flighted to a local hospital were I had a shattered pelvic on one side and a broken pelvic on the other a brust fracture in my back broken rib and a concussion. I was lucky to be alive and if I would have flown another 4 feet I would have gone 40 feet down in a lock chamber. I count my blessings.

 

[Topdog]

My was a work injury. I am a union Pile Driver and was on a job in 2016 when a weld failed and I was thrown about 20 feet and landed on a beam. I was life flighted to a local hospital were I had a shattered pelvic on one side and a broken pelvic on the other a brust fracture in my back broken rib and a concussion. I was lucky to be alive and if I would have flown another 4 feet I would have gone 40 feet down in a lock chamber. I count my blessings.

Makes every day alive and in the woods by family more sweet doesn’t it.

 

[Blinginpse]

And There i was smeared in olive oil....light on at the end of the bed, shadows glaring off the wall, Boones farm and marvin gaye

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[catman529]

I was climbing down from a ladder stand in a Bradford pear tree while talking on the phone. Missed a rung and fell a ways, dropped my phone and my buddy on the other end got a little worried till I picked my phone back up. A 15 foot ladder stand in a tree with 150,000 branches isn’t that dangerous or scary but it’s the only time I ever fell.


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