One of the last calls that I ran on Truck 12 involved a person who had fallen from a tree stand and died. C-shift had gone to the initial call and we were sent back after shift change, to assist game wardens with their investigation. The tree stand was found to be 33 feet 7 inches off of the ground. The tree stand was a self-climber. It appears that the victim fell while attempting to either remove a coat or put it on. This call is forever engraved in my mind for a number of reasons. In 2002, I fell from a tree stand that broke loose from the ground while I was climbing it. My fall was about 8 feet, but it resulted in a significant break to my collarbone. Hunting is something that many of us enjoy. As this hunting season is getting started, it is imperative that we have a good plan surrounding our going into the field. Tree stand safety is only one piece of this plan. It is my hope that this article will prompt you and I to consider those things that will bring us home each evening uninjured.
Continuing the discussion about tree stands, ladder stands should have already been checked prior to the start of the season. Checks on a ladder stand include stability of the ladder, the viability of the straps that are securing the stand to the tree, the overall condition of the stand, and the condition of the tree that the stand is connected to. I start with these stands because most ladder stands stay in place during the off-season, enduring the changes in the weather. If your stand is a self-climber, there are things that need to be checked on these as well. The overall condition of the stand is vital, as is the condition of the tree that you choose to climb. With every tree stand, you should wear a full-body harness. Most people climb the tree or ladder, connecting the harness to the tree, after climbing. What happens if you fall while climbing? Once you are securely in the tree, this is the point to hoist your weapon into your stand. For a bow hunter, this is just to give you the opportunity to climb unhindered. The same goes for the gun hunter, but your gun must remain unloaded until hoisted into your stand. Even to those that will be standing on the ground, your gun should remain unloaded until hoisted in your stand. Once the hunt is over, you should unload your gun as you are walking out.
A huge part of your hunting plan is: Who knows that you are going hunting? We live in the age of cell phones, which means that we have communication with us, as long as we have a signal. It is important that not only someone knows that you are hunting, but where you are hunting. Hunters are like fishermen: No one wants to share “their” spot. This is not about giving up scouting information, but it is about someone being able to find you if something goes wrong. There are many things that could delay a hunter from getting home on time, and nothing has to be wrong. A phone call home can prevent undue worry and concern from family. If you harvest an animal, you have potentially delayed your getting home by about two hours. If a problem occurs, you want people to be headed your way as soon as possible, especially if you have become unable to walk. This means people will have to find you, but then they will have to get you out of the situation you are in.
Another important part of the plan is to know where others are hunting. Our hunt club has big blocks of land that could be hunted by multiple people. Our check-in process involves writing our hunting locations on a notepad in a mailbox at each block of land. The more specific we get, the better chance that someone could hunt that same property with no safety issues. A courtesy might be to text the person who has already gone in, letting you know that they are in there. No animal is worth accidentally shooting another person. Good, clear communication is a vital piece of a safe hunt, especially a hunt that involves a large number of people. Just as important as knowing where others are located is being absolutely sure about what you are shooting at. Many people have been shot because the shooter had mistaken them for game. If you do not have a clear shot, do not shoot. Wounding or killing a person must be prevented at all costs, but wounding an animal that you do not find should be prevented, if at all possible.
Being a prudent hunter is vital to the sport that we love. It is vitally important that you know the game laws surrounding the particular game that you are hunting. A good hunter is a sportsperson and a person of character. Plenty of people out there are against hunting, and we do not need to give them ammunition (pun intended) against us. Hunters care about the game they hunt and the land on which they hunt. If you do not have permission to hunt a piece of land, then you should not be hunting there. One key part to hunting is to have the proper license with you at all times. We hold a tremendous amount of responsibility when we decide to go hunting.
I hope that each hunter has a safe, fun and productive hunting season. There is an old saying that goes like this: “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.” My fall in 2002 could have been prevented. The same thing happened to another person the night before, instead of communicating the issue, someone who attempted to secure the ladder unsuccessfully. The only responsibility the other person had was to let everyone know what happened. I did not properly check that stand before I climbed it. That was my first time out that year, and in about 15 minutes after leaving my truck, I was lying on the ground, injured, without communication. My season was over for 2002, and I was out of work from November to the middle of January. Thankfully, I lived through my experience. Had I hit my head on that root instead of my deltoid muscle, the outcome could have been much worse. Hunting is a great sport, but I remember the opening to the Wide World of Sports, something that I watched for years; “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” While this was being said, we would be watching a person winning as well as a person crashing. Enjoy your season by watching out for yourself and others.
