Tree Stand Safety Tips The tree stand is one of the most popular pieces of deer hunting equipment. Tree stands can be dangerous if they are used incorrectly or carelessly. Nationally, one in three hunting injuries involves a tree stand. Accidental falls from tree stands can have a variety of causes including failure of the stand itself and incorrect installation. Hunters may fall asleep while on their tree stands, or may be injured while handling a loaded firearm during the process of climbing in and out of their stands.
Safety Precautions Never carry equipment with you while climbing. Use a haul line to raise or lower your gear.
Make sure guns and crossbows are unloaded and broadheads are covered prior to raising or lowering firearms, crossbows, or bows with a haul line.
Always use a climbing belt when climbing up or down a tree. Use a safety harness when hunting from elevated tree stands.
Study manufacturer’s recommendations before using any equipment. Never use a rope to replace a safety harness.
Check permanent tree stands every year before hunting from them. Replace any worn or weak lumber. Read, understand and follow the factory recommended practices and procedures when installing commercial stands.
Inspect portable stands for loose nuts and bolts before each use. Choose only healthy, living trees when using climbing devices. Rough-barked trees such as oak are best. Do not use a tree that is rotten or has dead limbs. Never put all your weight on a single branch. Keep at least one hand and one foot on a secure place when reaching for the next hold.
Climb higher than the stand and step down onto it. Climbing up onto it can dislodge it. Wear boots with non-skid soles, because steps or platforms can be slippery in rain, sleet or snow.
Tell a dependable person where you’re hunting and when you plan to return. Map your whereabouts and leave a note at camp, at home or in your vehicle so that you can be found. If sleepy, move your arms rapidly until you feel alert.
Never wear a ring while climbing. Rings can catch on tree limbs and equipment. As a precautionary measure, clear all debris from the ground below the tree stand. Use updated equipment. Newer tree stand equipment is solid, safe and secure. Updated safety harnesses offer more protection than older ones. Carry a whistle to call for help and carry a first aid kit, flashlight and cellular telephone in a fanny pack.
The Rules What should a tree stand hunter know about safety? First, hunt only from live trees at least 8 inches in diameter at the height of the stand. Dead or partially dead trees are disasters-in-waiting, since they are weak and prone to break. Never trust dead limbs as climbing steps, since they can break without warning, even after repeated successful use. In fact, this is one of the most common causes of tree stand-related accidents.
It should be obvious to match the weight rating of the tree stand to your body weight. Overloaded stands can and do fail. However, many hunters crowd the weight limits of the stands they use in order to carry “lighter” portables into the woods. Inconvenient (and expensive) or not, always buy heavy-duty stands that are matched to your size and weight.
Most importantly, ALWAYS use a fall restraint system that straps you to the tree every moment you are off the ground. Seventy-five percent of all tree stand accidents occur while climbing to and from stands. If the tree trunk is free of limbs, a single strap around the trunk is sufficient. If limbs are present, two climbing straps are needed to avoid being momentarily unprotected. Attach the free strap above the limb before disconnecting the weight-bearing strap below. Climb slowly and carefully, taking time to move the safety strap correctly along the tree as you go.
Full-body or upper-body harnesses are preferred over simple safety belts, though a safety belt is far better than nothing. A harness is designed to keep a hunter upright in a fall (safety belts often leave a hunter hanging upside down) and to keep pressure off the chest, allowing a victim to breathe. Simple safety belts sometimes slip over the ribcage and can tighten enough to cause suffocation. Research shows that harnesses provide minutes more additional consciousness than safety belts in a fall, allowing time for a hanging hunter to escape the problem.
Screw-in tree steps are a fast and convenient way to climb a tree, but improper use can be dangerous. They must be screwed fully into live wood so that the shank of the step rests firmly against the trunk along its length. The step should always be 90 degrees to the trunk. Screw-in steps are safest to use on thin-barked trees. If the bark is thick, it should be cut away at each step location to allow the step threads to penetrate deeply into the wood.
Failure to insert screw-in steps properly can cause breakage during climbing. A sudden fall along a series of tree steps can lead to devastating gashes or even disembowelment. Always position steps on the tree side opposite where the stand is hung and stay attached to a fall restraint system at all times when inserting or climbing them.
A better climbing solution is portable climbing sticks or ladders designed to be carried in and strapped to trees. Though more expensive and more difficult to transport than tree steps, they offer a far safer way to climb to a portable stand.
When climbing, always enter a stand by stepping down onto its center. This allows the stand to remain stable. Never place a portable tree stand in such a manner that requires pulling up into it from the side, which might cause it to shift or slip.
Once on the stand, adjust the tether of the fall restraint system so that it is just long enough to allow you to sit. Too much slack in the tether creates serious problems in a fall. A fall restraint system normally has a “cushion” of about four inches of stretch and slippage when a hunter falls. This helps cushion the impact, but the amount of slack makes a huge difference. For instance, including cushion, a 200-pound hunter falling against 12 inches of slack hits its end with 490 pounds of force. If the slack is 36 inches, the same hunter impacts the end of the strap with 850 pounds of force. So it’s important to keep the system’s slack at a minimum.