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Bow Hunter Injured

J

JC Walker

New Member
This was just released by the Iowa DNR:

A hunting accident has left an Evansdale man paralyzed. Duane Alcott, 43, was hunting from a tree stand late Saturday afternoon on private property in northern Benton County just south of Brandon when he fell from the tree. According to friends, Alcott apparently fell from a height of at least 15 feet, breaking his back in two places. He was also suffering from hypothermia when found by friends the following morning.
 
i dont say this to sound like an a$$ or anything... but isnt that what safety harnesses are for? i feel terrible for that man... but come on... gotta stay safe!
 
Ever think he might have been climbing out of the stand and slipped? Having been in a similar situation a few years ago I can relate, and feel sorry for the guy. Glad I had my harness on, would've been messy otherwise.
 
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Ever think he might have been climbing out of the stand and slipped? Having been in a similar situation a few years ago I can relate, and feel sorry for the guy. Glad I had my harness on, would've been messy otherwise.

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thats true, might have been climbing down or trying to get into the stand. I have slipped on the steps once but I didn't fall. Im luck I didn't like mud said it could have been messy...
 
I was a professonal bike racer at one time, and was BLESSED to have never been carried away in a ambulance. NOW it's all about the Harness for me, and i painted houses for 15 years, and NOW it's all about the Harness for me, STAY TIED GUYS AND MAY THAT PERSON FIND A SPEEDY RECOVERY!!!
 
Two years ago I fell 16 feet flat on my back. I had just put the stand up and was getting down when a tree branch I grabbed broke. My buddy saw the whole thing. He thought I was dead for sure but I stood back up, brushed myself off and walked away. Very lucky to come away with only a slight concussion.

Point is, accidents can happen at any time. I never thought of wearing my harness while putting the stand up.

I can't imagine if there was a stump or rock below me to land on. If you get anything out of this post please remember to remove all debris around the base of your tree.
 
I admit I'm sloppy. I have never used a lineman's loop/belt (is that what it is called?) while climbing a tree. I do wear a harness and tie in once in the stand.

Today, during the mid day lull of hunting, I started unpacking a tree stand I bought on close out. It is a Gorilla stand and the package was open. Having some time, I decided to read the instructions
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and discovered that "some assembly is required". Well, the stand looked put togethor to me. Closer examination revealed that it wasn't assembled correctly. So I guess, just a word of caution for those with new stands.

Part of the purchase was a lineman's belt and a harness. I might be using the Gorilla harness and belt with my Lone Wolf stand from now on.
 
Man that is just terrible. I hope there is a chance for him to recover but it doesn't sound promising, put in a few extra words for this guy as he is going to need them.

I too fell from a tree about 7 years back, it was a permanent lader stand hung by a buddy and I thought there was a safety belt in the stand and when I arrived and there wasn't one I was a little nervous, stand felt sturdy and up I went. About two hours into the hunt I adjusted my position and bam, the whole thing came crashing down, luckily it was a soft landing and I had lots of clothing on (shotgun season) or it could have been ugly. Haven't stepped in a tree since without a belt and never plan to again.
 
Most tree stand accidents happen while ascending, descending and stepping onto and off of the tree stand. That's why the National Bowhunter Education Foundation (NBEF) and the TMA (Tree Stand Manufacturer's Association) recommend being attached to a safety line from the moment you leave the ground until you are back down on it.

The lineman's belt attachment is only one part of the total FAS (Fall Arrest System). Another item is the safety line that attaches to the tree (or base of the tree stand). There are several models on the market. One has a prusic knot to which you attach your full body harness with an attaching clip. You slide the knot as you ascend or descend--this way you are attached at all times.

All tree stands from TMA members come with a full body harness and most of them also include NBEF's Tree Stand Safety CD.

Just two weeks ago I attended a tree stand safety seminar put on by the TMA in conjunction with a NBEF Regional Coordinators meetinn in Nebraska. It was enlightening to say the least. Three of us in attendace sit on the NBEF board. After the senimar we all discussed and tweeked the content for the tree stand safety course.


Doug Clayton
 
Yes, that is terrbile and preventable. I feel bad for him and his family. I know I am sometimes not as safe as I should be, will definately learn from this tragedy. No matter how much we love the hunt, remember what is waiting for you at home.
 
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The lineman's belt attachment is only one part of the total FAS (Fall Arrest System). Another item is the safety line that attaches to the tree (or base of the tree stand). There are several models on the market. One has a prusic knot to which you attach your full body harness with an attaching clip. You slide the knot as you ascend or descend--this way you are attached at all times.
Doug Clayton

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That's good information that I guess I'll have to check into, because most trees that I have a stand in are all but impossible to climb and descend using a lineman's belt.

I assume one would need a rope attached to each stand to "clip into" and it wouldn't require "flipping" a belt around a tree covered with limbs, snags and forks.

I'm pretty much like this right now:

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I have never used a lineman's loop/belt (is that what it is called?) while climbing a tree. I do wear a harness and tie in once in the stand.

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I have seen men who's lives virtually came to an end after falling from a stand. Left in the same shape as Christopher Reeves, but eventually abandoned by wife and family.

It's certainly not something to be taken lightly
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I too fell from my stand 5 years ago. Got pretty lucky, spent a day and a half in the hospital with a torn lung coughing up blood, but nothing was broken. The ground was hard...I didn't know people bounce.
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I couldn't walk for 3 days I was so bruised up. This happened putting up a stand. I am much more careful now and make sure I'm strapped in. I now think about my wife and two little children and how it's selfish not to wear a harness. Oh, and after a month of healing up I finished hanging that stand and shot a 168" 9 pt. the first time I sat in it.
A friend of the family fell out of his stand about 10 years ago and broke his neck, but was lucky and was not paralyzed. He did have to wear a hallo for quiet some time.
We spend hundreds of dollars on clothes and equipment, spend $100 and get a good harness.
 
My Gorilla stand collapsed (my fault) in '02 as I prepared to get down. Luckily I was stilling wearing the harness and was just reaching for my pack. If you think you can catch yourself and stop the fall in that situation you are kidding yourself. It happens way too fast.
Heck, I just slipped last night on a LW climbing stick (mud on boots) but had both hands on the next stick so I was able to stay above ground.
I would love to have that ascend/descend rope on all my setups but it would be tough. I counted last night and I have 21 stand setups plus areas I go to only once with a LW stand and sticks. I do like to have a cheapy belt attached above my stand that I leave on each tree. I hook up to that before stepping on the stand in case of squirrel sabotage etc, then after I get up there get my good rope hooked up and switch over. Makes a nice backup in case you forget your rope as well.

If anybody cant afford a harness, shoot me a PM. I have a couple you can have that came with stands.
 
Good point Joel, I have 2 extras as well. I got a hunter saftey system last year so I have 2 to give away. Shoot me a PM as well.
 
also you should make sure you can get back up into the tree if you do fall. Or have a phone on you to call for help. I wear a safety harness alot at work. We had a safety meeting on them a while back and they brought up an incident of a man falling off a bridge while wearing a harness, nobody noticed him, he only fell a few feet, they figured it wasn't more than 30 min. And he was dead when they found him. I believe they said it was because his circulation was cut off but I don't remember that part.
 
I know I will probably get yelled at but normally, when I hunt out of our ladder stands, I don't wear one. The platforms and the siderails on the Strong Built stanst are so big you would almost have to try to fall out. But, whenever I hunt out of a hanging stand, I ALWAYS wear one. This might influence my choices now though.
 
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also you should make sure you can get back up into the tree if you do fall.

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That reminds me that there was a little pouch on the Gorilla harness. I wondered what it was, opened it to find a little strap cutter. I guess it allows you to cut yourself out if you fall, as long as that doesn't resume your downward progress.
 
Yea muddy i can understand.. after i posted this i felt stupid cuz the other week i slipped off the treestand pegs and i slid the rest of the way down... not to pretty tho
 
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