Remember tree stand safety as season begins

Saturday’s a big day for hunters. Grouse, cotton tail rabbits, squirrel, fall turkey, and archery deer open up.

Upwards of 80,000 hunters hope to bag a fall turkey. Over 250,000 hunters bow hunt in Wisconsin. Only the gun season exceeds that.

In number of days hunted per hunter, archery hunting usually exceeds that of individual gun hunters. Some of that comes from the longer season, running until January 7th statewide and January 31st in some metro units. Archery hunting enjoys a long season. Many archery hunters say the major draw of archery hunting involves more mild hunting conditions. More comfortable temperatures increasing the enjoyment of the hunt. Observing and hunting deer going about their normal activities and the close proximity to animals at the time of the shot – often within 15 yards- creates the draw for others. Hunting in the fall colors, the visual appeal, the scent of fallen leaves, and feeling hidden by the fauna, provides enjoyment. Seeing a deer materialize out of seemingly nowhere, just a stone’s throw away, creates a rush. Some hunters talk about feeling stealthy and more like a predator. But you can’t talk about archery hunting without talking about the rut. Those magical few days from late October into early November, when most of whitetail deer breeding activity takes place. When bucks throw aside their usual daytime reclusiveness. Hunters can expect to encounter a mature buck at high noon, not just at dawn or dusk. Heck, hunters can expect to see more bucks midday than they expect to see at dawn or dusk the rest of the season put together. Hunting the rut draws as many hunters to archery season as everything else. Opening weekend is the second best time to harvest a big buck.

Most archery hunters hunt from a tree stand. Tree stands provide numerous advantages. But hunting from a tree stand presents the greatest danger to a hunter today. One in four hunters experience a fall from their stand in their hunting career. Those falls often result in life changing injuries that affect them and their families for the rest of their lives. Hunting safely from a tree stand means planning to hunt safely.

The most important thing a hunter can do to hunt from a tree stand safely is to wear a safety harness from the ground on up. Most falls occur while getting into and out of the stand. Some hunters fall after falling asleep. The safety harness provides the difference between serious injury and simply changing their underwear. Ladder stands account for the most falls from setting it up or takedown. Leaving them in place from year to year causes falls too. As mentioned previously, a good friend of mine sustained life altering injuries from a fall after leaving his stand in a tree from year to year.

Hang-in tree stands rank number two in falls. Most of the falls happen when getting into and out of the stand. The steps should extend up above the platform so that the hunter steps down to the stand to get onto it and up to get off. The steps should extend high enough so the hunter can always maintain three points of contact. Climbing tree stands are the safest to use. Mainly because the hunter wears their safety harness from the ground to the stand height. But practice climbing and descending are important and securing the stand in place is important.

Using a “pull rope” to bring bows, crossbows, firearms, and packs up into a stand is the second most important thing hunters can do to hunt safely from a tree stand. Slinging a bow, rifle, and/or backpack on your back changes everyone’s balance – even an Army Ranger – and 99% of us don’t sport the physic of an Army Ranger. Just saying.

I keep beating this drum since just a few years ago the statistics told us one in three hunters would fall. Don’t be the guy that a friend of mine takes care of in a few weeks; telling that nurse that he wishes he wore his safety harness or used a pull rope. Be the hunter we never meet. Several archers will arrow the best buck of their life this fall. Most will simply put good meat in their freezer. All will enjoy the hunting if they don’t fall from their tree stand.

I’m wishing archery hunters all the luck in the world. May the buck of your dreams walk by, but please remember, Safe Hunting is No Accident!

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