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Treestand Fall

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A friend of mine just fell 20 feet, his harness broke. His nickname his Full Throttle ( Nyles ), he is a horse, played football for Indiana University. He is a great hunter and knows his stuff. It can happen to anyone.

Heading to the hospital now, he broke his pelvis, lucky to be alive! If you remember a couple years ago we lost a young guy in Monona County from a fall.

We are going to do an article, my 31 years and Ernie who uses them and has 40 years of bowhunting experience. Nyles has agreed and we will do some good. I vow today to have them in every tree I hunt out of....

Got to go! Be safe!
 
Tragic. My prayers are with him for a speedy recovery. Do you know? What kind of harness and how old was it?
 
Wow that is scary!! I wish him a quick recovery. Please try to find out more on why harness failed. What brand, how old, what actually failed. Thanks!
 
i used to hunt without a harness. I started using them this year. wish him a godspeed recovery.
 
I know after like 2-3 years you are suppose to get a new harness, but if you never put any real stress on the harness why would you technically need to buy a new one?
 
Can't talk but a second, we are talking about the Lifeline System is what we all need to wear. A line on you from the time you leave the ground until you are are back down. Don't have the link, Google it and add someone, please.

Nyles is fine, tough guy, it sucks but we are good hard bow hunters and want to help people understand. It's the climb up and down that is the most dangerous !

Talk later!

TH
 
I hope your friend recovers well and quickly, thankfully it is "only" a broken pelvis which can heal in time.

This year we have been installing lifelines with sliding prussic knots on all of our non-ladder stands. I urge others to do the same. Yes, they are expensive at $30-$40 per stand, but one fall could cost you hundreds time more and possibly your life.

Practically speaking, does it make sense to install these on ladder type stands too? If so, where do you connect the lower end of the line?
 
I certainly do like the idea of a lifeline. My one gripe is for someone that moves stands regularly or hangs and hunts a lot, it is some what counter-productive. To install the lifeline you have to obviously first go up and install, which means you have to go up once without the system in place. In a hang-in hunt application that just doesn't make sense.
 
Sorry to hear about your friends fall. Best wishes on recovery. I have the muddy harness with the linemans rope. Works great. No possible way you can fall when used correctly. Is kind of time consuming on trees with branches, but foolproof when used correctly. Although I don't use it as often as I should.
 
Daver said:
Practically speaking, does it make sense to install these on ladder type stands too? If so, where do you connect the lower end of the line?
Click to expand...

I don't know a whole lot about them but couldn't you just tie it to the bottom step of your ladder? It should still prevent you from falling.
 
All good stuff guys truly, this guy is quite a cat, one of the most knowledgable woodsman I know. He is good, and I mean at almost everything he does, All American.

Anyway, Nyles is native to Indiana, the guy that fell and just died, Indiana too, that was on the news lately he (guy that died) pulled his own plug that's how messed up he was, Nyle's wants to make a difference. He has the personality and the energy to get this message out there.

I am proud to have started this website, Chris and everyone involved does a great job with it and there is NO bulletin board that is read more. Why, because we have the biggest and best deer and deer hunting. Well guess what, none of it matters if we don't do it safe!

Here is our chance to look at a safety system, critique it and make it the best. I am embarrassed and ashamed I don't use one. I brag about my years but I am not smart enough to take my own advice. My mentor told me, and hardcore hunter me just keeps climbing like a squirrel.

No matter what, Nyles and I understand it is November and the rut is on, keep hunting, don't let up but be safe. We know everyone takes a chance hunting. We want to be leaders in this because it happened to us, we have the years and I think I have the connections to move this one safety feature out to those of us that love to hunt whitetail deer.

I spilled my guts here, my hunting buddy is a stud and he is broke up now.listen to this...After the fall he has a 6 x 6 scoring in the 190's walk by to add some insult to the injury but you know what, that buck was right. Crazy, huh only to Full Throttle.

I can't go back and fourth on this but will check in...

I spit this out fast on my phone, later on!
 
I got a call earlier today from someone who said there was a treestand fall death in the Iowa City area. I don't see anything in the local news...

Anybody heard anything?
 
thanks for keeping the light on this subject and thanks to God that your friend is still with us with minimal injury, all things considered.

A question on the lifeline. Do you use a cable to tether to? In my woods and stand experience the tree rats will have nawed through the life line or close to it in a couple of months and so it would be ruined and a roll of the dice to trust it each climb up or down.
 
Can't answer the Lifeline question, I am with Ernie tomorrow and will update then, he has used for 5 years.

Here is the link to my website and will update FT's information on there, sorry, on the fast post but I am still trying to catch my breath. Left the house at 4 AM today, yikes. I should sleep in but I won't…

http://www.whitetail-images.com/?p=2657
 
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Prayers & best wishes to "Full Throttle".

I only have ladder stands and am still uneasy until I get my harness hitched after crawling up the ladder. I have thought about a prussic line but keep thinking "that is for old people, not for me". Will have to give it some thought, especially after how cold/numb my hands were climbing down this AM.
 
Prayers sent your buddies way! Please be safe guys and gals! We all want to return home to family and friends... not to mention spend many more seasons perched in a tree!
 
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