Use those safety belts!!!

[xbowbarry]

I read the post by BuddyBo about his friend falling to his death while hunting. That is so sad and I feel for his family.

The importance of safety belts can not be overstated.
Believe me, I know. 14 years ago this October 30th I fell from a tree-stand and it resulted in me being paralyzed from the chest down.

I was hanging a stand on a Sunday afternoon in preparation for the last week of bow season. I had the stand in place and all I needed to do was stand on the platform and check my shooting lanes. I undid my safety belt in order to step onto the platform of the stand. Figuring I only needed a few seconds to pick out my shooting lanes and to see if any limbs needed to be trimmed, I never reattached my safety belt.

That decision cost me dearly. Before I knew it the stand gave way and I hit the ground headfirst. I lay there stunned for a few minutes, my whole body tingling. It did not take me very long to figure out that something was terribly wrong.

Knowing that I would not be missed until after dark, I prepared for the wait. I knew that I WOULD be found however, because I had stopped at my parents house and told my Dad exactly where I was going to hang a stand. That"™s another important rule to follow, tell someone WHERE you will be when hanging a stand or hunting.

Some of you may think that something like this won"™t happen to you. I thought the same thing. Some of you may think you have too much experience to let this happen. After graduating high school I went to work on the family farm, this allowed me to hunt nearly everyday of the season. For 15 years from the beginning of October to January it was a rare day that I didn"™t hunt for deer when the season was in and most of the time it was from a tree-stand. I HAD the experience but I let my guard down for a few seconds and that was all it took. Experience does not make you immune to accidents.

Should what happened to me scare you? HELL YES it should scare you, look at what it cost me. Even more so it should also educate you. Learn from my mistake.

Just how important are safety belts? Let me answer that with these questions.
How important to you is your family?
How important to you is your job?
How important to you is your life?
Remember these things and best of luck to you this hunting season.

xbowbarry