Outdoors
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Tree stands are so routine for deer hunters that it’s easy to forget how dangerous they can be. I had a humbling reminder of this recently.
A seasoned Massachusetts hunter slipped while stepping from a climbing ladder onto his tree stand platform and fell backward to the ground. The fall left him paralyzed from the “breastbone down,” according to Massachusetts outdoor writer Joe Judd, who writes a monthly column for the Northwoods Sporting Journal.
Two other similar tree stand accidents occurred during this hunting season, all involving serious injuries, Judd reported.
The statistics are sobering. Without question, tree stands, which are a highly effective way to hunt deer and get your scent off the ground, pose a serious risk to hunters.
Between 2005 and 2007, tree stand accidents resulted in 41 deaths and approximately 19,000 serious injuries nationwide, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
More recent data show that the problem hasn’t gone away. An estimated 1,704 hunters required emergency room treatment for tree stand injuries in 2021, based on an analysis of federal injury data by the Tree Stand Safety Awareness Foundation.
The risk isn’t just theoretical. A 2016 Wisconsin study found that deer hunters who hunt during both archery and firearms seasons face a 1-in-20 lifetime chance of suffering a tree stand fall injury.
The danger is especially concerning for older hunters. A 2022 study of Pennsylvania hunting accidents from 1990 through 2017 found that tree stand falls had become the leading cause of deer hunting accidents in the state, with hunters ages 50 to 59 experiencing the highest fall rates. No doubt the same can be said for falling down stairs or when walking the dog.
This is not meant to be a screed against hunters who use tree stands. I have used them for years and still do, even at my advanced age. But I do so oh so carefully.
If you hunt, you know full well that there are, like everything else, many choices of tree stands and mechanical devices to get the hunter elevated and away from the deer’s scent channel.
I have tried them all. The trendy climbing saddle with all the ropes and pulleys and the ugly climber stand with the shark’s teeth and the platform that you haul up behind you with your feet just were not my cup of tea.
I found the harness lashups with the adjustable crotch straps and assorted carabiners were more trouble than they were worth. Not only are they dangerously cumbersome when trying to get up the tree, but what do you do if you wind up falling and hanging from your straps?
I know. I know. There is a device to handle that eventuality. Not for me. Too much gear and folderol. Hunting is supposed to be an escape into solitude and simplicity, not a gear fest.
As a younger hunter, I found that a simple climbing “stick” and a small platform, which was ratchet-strapped to the tree, were ample.
I tried that the other day. Made it to the top, but not without overextending myself and spooking any nearby deer with some choice curses. Not a good setup for an aged hunter. I won’t do that again, Diane, I promise.
I have found that the two-person ladder stand with a shooting rail is the cat’s meow for a senior deer hunter. There is room for my pack and me, and enough space to wiggle around without slipping off the edge.
The rage in tree stands seems to be to go higher and higher. My hunting buddy Mark Cain has one near our northern Maine deer camp that is so high that, I swear, it is unusable when a low-pressure front ushers in the low-hanging clouds.
You do not make any missteps that far up.
For the hunter who uses any kind of tree elevation system, regardless of age, the takeaway is clear: Situational awareness is the key to safe tree stand use.
Putting it another way: “Never lose your edge of awareness.”
There is an alternative to getting up in a tree. Ground blinds have been perfected. They are much easier to put up and take down than they used to be.
And they are a lot more comfortable during extended deer vigils.
Hunt safely.