Every year somebody (several somebodies) fall out of deer stands, and down stand ladders. A very close friend broke both legs two years ago at the beginning of bow season when he fell down the ladder of one of my deer stands. It was his own fault, which he freely admits, but he still walks real funny and not very well, and not without a lot of pain. . .
I use stands only during bow hunting and when shooting hogs. When I do use a stand, I use a "Fall Guy" safety setup. Standard harness with the Fallguy strap hooked with a D ring to the harness. The rig works like an inertia seatbelt. Follows you up and down the ladder, and locks up if you even buckle your knees suddenly. Once the reel is hooked to the tree, you are okay going up, sitting, and going down. You leave it in place, so you are only at risk while installing and removing the reel. Strap is about 20 feet long, and retracts for storage when you are gone, leaving a small cord tied to the bottom of the ladder so you can pull it down and hook up the next time.
I don't have any stock in the company--only one I could find at the time was at BassPro, and I never go there unless I have to, but here is a site showing the product if anyone is interested. I think I gave about $90 for mine.
http://www.integratedsafety.us/store/
If you are young and agile, you probably have lots of responsibilities now and in your future. The likelihood of a young healthy hunter falliing is low, but the negative consequences if you do are really ugly. Regular safety straps protect you if you slip or go to sleep, but most falls are while climbing or descending. Give this a thought with your loved ones (or your dependents) in mind. CB
I use stands only during bow hunting and when shooting hogs. When I do use a stand, I use a "Fall Guy" safety setup. Standard harness with the Fallguy strap hooked with a D ring to the harness. The rig works like an inertia seatbelt. Follows you up and down the ladder, and locks up if you even buckle your knees suddenly. Once the reel is hooked to the tree, you are okay going up, sitting, and going down. You leave it in place, so you are only at risk while installing and removing the reel. Strap is about 20 feet long, and retracts for storage when you are gone, leaving a small cord tied to the bottom of the ladder so you can pull it down and hook up the next time.
I don't have any stock in the company--only one I could find at the time was at BassPro, and I never go there unless I have to, but here is a site showing the product if anyone is interested. I think I gave about $90 for mine.
http://www.integratedsafety.us/store/
If you are young and agile, you probably have lots of responsibilities now and in your future. The likelihood of a young healthy hunter falliing is low, but the negative consequences if you do are really ugly. Regular safety straps protect you if you slip or go to sleep, but most falls are while climbing or descending. Give this a thought with your loved ones (or your dependents) in mind. CB
