Well guys i screwed up this morning but managed comming home in one piece. I have been trying out a stand that im going to buy off a guy i work with, its the summit goliath and i have used it 6 or 7 times and love it. I decided on taking my smoke pole instead of the bow this morning (forgive me[]) as i was hunting an area that you could see pretty far and was hoping on a roaming Big buck comming thru. I got settled in 25' up in a big tree and was sitting down. I decided i wanted the stand to face more to the right so i put my boots around the sides os the platform section and started moving it to the right when it let go and went straight to the ground leaving me sitting with feet dangling 25' up. Great![]On a good note i was wearing my hss pro series vest. stupid meforgot to tie the two sections together in between the two. i took the uncle Mikes sling swivel on my gun apart and hooked the sling around the front rail and re hooked the swivel so the gun would hang there. after sitting there wondering what to do and mad at myself for doing something so stupid ,i decided i had to get turned around somehow. So, i managed to get my right knee on the front bar and my left foot on it and stand up leaning back against the tree. I still needed to get turned around so i grabbed the strap that is attached to the tree and was able to get turned around with my feet on the sides of the top section. Thank God this stand is rock solid. My plan was to slide down the tree bear hugging the tree but i was not going to be able get past the section that im now standing on and it was going to mean unhooking the harness.[&o] As i was thinking of another way, it occured to me that i might be able to hook my feet under the upright tubes that house the cables and lift the stand up and back and get it to walk down the tree as the weight of the gun on the front rail would keep it from plunging to the ground.Holding on to the tree was a chore as it was a big gurthy one, so i got out the deer drag strap that comes with the vest and made a loop on both ends to hold around the tree and ran my hands thru the loops. I tried it and it worked but it took all the strengh i could muster as im also trying to hang on to the tree at the same time. This way i was able to come down with my harness still attached. I use a prussic knot to attach it to the tree and had to work that on the way down as well. Hitting the ground was like finding gold and i was tottaly engulfed with sweat and exhausted but felt lucky to have been able to get out of that situation. My other stand that i have used for years is an ol man and i have moved the bottom section many times and have never had that happen. But when i think about it the olman has extra straps that you hook around the tree that attach to the swivel tubes making it impossable for it to free fall. So, old habits can get you in trouble. I will NOT forget to tie the two sections ever again. After recouping on the ground i decided to climb back up and ended up seeing 7 doe's 3 in one group 2 in another group and 2 singles but no massive horn. Im putting the gun away and getting the bow back out because i think the gun was bad luck[8D] Please guys, hunt safe and hunt smart.
Dan