Twice. The first time was about 1981 with an old Baker before hand climbers and you had to hug the tree. The bottom part cut out on me at about 12-15 feet and I skidded all the way down landing on my bow which was leaning against the tree busting all my arrows. I took all the skin off my chin, nose, arms and knees. I was hugging for all I was worth but once I started it was just like someone took a wood rasp to me.

The second was a new model of Loggy called the "Master Hunter" that was yanked before it ever really hit the stores. I bought it at the Jamboree in Harrisburg off the floor. I tried it in the yard 3 or 4 times and having an old style Loggy for a few years felt comfortable with it. The extending slide arms were made of a composite. I hiked a mile back in the Adirondacks my first hunt with it, got to about 12 feet and the handclimber arms snapped pitching me backward shoulders first on to the platform which then snapped, leaving me dangling upside down from my safety belt. I got righted, unhooked, climbed down a little sore and sat on the ground right there. 10 minutes later I arrowed a buck at 7 yards. Bad story with a happy ending. I won't even go into the "NON-HELP" I got from the old loggy manufacturer who soon claimed chapter 11.

thanks for the replies. Sounds like the biggest saftey hazzard is the stand, and not the rifle!

VC I have a Remington Ultra ladder system. Haven't used it yet though.

I did buy a harness (not over the crotch) but around the arms and torso. I really don't see how I can attach my harness on until I'm in my seat, as the ladder is pretty far from the tree at the base.

any suggestions?

"Out of the woman comes the man, who spends the rest of his life getting back again". Peter Gabriel

Well they do make those systems where you hang a rope and are hooked onto it when you leave the ground. They're pricy but work. An alternative that I use is leave a belt on the tree. I own and have owned a lot of treestands. Almost all come with some type of belt. When I hang a hang on I sometimes put a belt around the tree just above the stand so that when I get to the top of my climb I can slip the belt over my head and under my arms before attempting to swing into the stand. These stands with cables and things running from the seat bracket to the platform to hold the platform are very dangerous I think. I'm always catching a foot on the cables in the dark. With the belt I just reach up through one arm at a time and at least I'm somewhat secured. If you have a harness then snap it on once in the tree. When climbing ALWAYS have 3 points of contact. That is, 2 feet and one hand while the other reaches or two hands and one foot while the other steps up. I always make sure to add a couple steps or something to grab ahold of to swing in. An extra step here or there can make a difficult entry safe and easy. It beats the heck out of a tumble.

P.S. I always try to have steps right up to the level of the platform so you're stepping on to it rather than UP to it. If you only have two points of contact and one slips you're going to fall. With 3 points you got a chance to catch yourself.



Edited by - davidmil on 11/20/2002 10:02:11

In over 20 years of bowhunting, I've never fallen from a treestand. I always use a harness now, but only while I'm actually in the stand since I like branched trees for their outline breaking tendencies. Nearly all of my friends have fallen and most were saved by their safety belts. And <u>everyone</u> of my friends that owns a loggy bayou stand has had it fail and has taken a spill. One friend broke his leg after shooting a buck while descending the tree.

I have a harness (5point) that allows me to adjust the slack between me and the tree&gt; I also have a climbing system that once in place allows me to tether to the rope with my safety harness and slide the know up as I go. It will catch you. The only problem is trying to slide the knot up the climbing rope with no tension on the rope underneath the catching know. It can be alittle cumbersome climbing onto the stand. I also put in extra steps so I have three hand hold getting onto my stand. Two that I normally use and a backup grab step if I need it. My cables do get in the way while getting into the stand. With my system I can't fall however and that let's me relax a little. I am wary of heights.

THWACK!

Never from the stand but while hanging a stand.I was hanging an api al100 about 20 feet up on the side of a hill.It was a good 30 feet to the bottom and rocks and downed tree limbs were everyplace.I had my foot braced on a tree limb that looked good and solid for extra leverage.The limb snapped without warning and down I came.Lucky for me I was wearing a climbing belt.I got a little scuffed but that was all.

DaveH, What kind of Loggy Bayou treestand are you referring to that always fails? I have 4 Loggy Bayou hang on treestands and have never had a problem out of them.


HANKFAN

Because we all climb up into and down out of treestands during the hunting seasons, we all tend to take for granted the risk. That does not diminish the risk however. We are usually climbing in or out of our stands IN TOTAL DARKNESS. That is <u>nuts</u>, but we do it regularly. It is no wonder that every year we hear of hunters falling from a stand.

This thread is testimony to how common it is, even though we all think it happens &quot;to the other guy.&quot;

Please read the following carefully. I have no interest in providing this information, except that I wish to share an ingenious idea that my oldest son showed me that virtually eliminates the risk of falling from your lock-on stands. I have no vested interest in any of the equipment that I recommend, for those among us that are terminally pessimistic.

I will gladly explain in more detail anything that I have not made clear in the following text.

http://www.gearreview.com/ascenders.asp

Click on the above link and scroll down till you see the Wild Country Ropeman Mark II ascender. It is what I use. After all my buddies saw my outfit, they all purchased a Ropeman ascender, a caribener and some rope for their lock-on (fixed position) stands also.

My son is a rock-climber. He showed me this outstanding idea as he was nervously watching me hang my tree stands, climbing up and down...

Here's the deal...

You hang your stand as you would normally.

Then while in the stand you tie a good quality 1/2 rope as high as you can reach while in the stand.

Let the other end dangle onto the ground and carefully climb down.

You then tie the rope around the bottom of the tree at about waist level.

The ascender easily snaps onto the rope. You then use a caribener and snap it onto the ascender and then onto your full body harness. It is that simple.

The ascender slide easily up the rope as you climb. It grips the rope if you happen to fall...very tightly...you WILL stop. There is a release lever on it that allows you to slide it down as you climb down...if you let go of the release lever, it once again grips the rope!

Therefore, you are &quot;clipped in&quot; from the moment you leave the ground, during the entire hunt, and all the way down as you climb down.

The Ropeman ascender can be purchased for about $35 and the caribener which attaches it to your harness is about $10. Both items are lightweight (rock-climbers are extremely concerned about weight) and fit in the palm of your hand.

I would suggest you purchase a caribener that also &quot;locks,&quot; which means it cannot spring open if you fall.

The best $45 you will ever spend.

If you employ this simple and inexpensive system, you CANNOT fall more than the length of the tether on your harness, going up, hunting, or climbing down.

(And before anyone suggests that a prusic knot will do the same thing, be advised...I tried using a prusic knot instead. It is very awkward to slide as you climb up or down, and actually increases the risk of falling.)

I strongly recommend that you guys invest in this outfit for your fixed position stands.

The caribener and ascender are extremely lightweight, quiet, and simple to use. You only need one ascender and one caribener and a quality full body harness no matter how many stands you hang and use. Of course, you'll need to hang the rope on each stand, so you'll have to purchase enough rope for all your stands, but the rope is relatively inexpensive. I sprung for the extra money and bought the rock-climber type rope. Its about 60 cents a foot, but it has a little elasticity to it, so it will stretch a bit if you fall, thus cushioning the impact a bit. You can get by with ordinary (but quality) 1/2 rope.

The peace of mind alone is worth the money.

It may very well save your life.

I hope you guys give this a try. It is an outstanding system and I no longer worry about falling. I can concentrate on my hunting. My family worries a heck of a lot less about me falling also.

Hope this helps, Scott.



Edited by - vc1111 on 11/20/2002 20:43:12

Great idea vc1111 !

I have been looking for a system to get in/out of the stand as I feel that is by far the most dangerous time. All my trees have branches which makes other climbing systems awkward. I'll start rigging up the ropes and ascender next season...

thanks VC. I've seen that system on my saftey video, it doesn't look like it will do the job, but I know that rock climbers wouldn't use rig that does not work.

When I make my permanet stands, I will use that system.

&quot;Out of the woman comes the man, who spends the rest of his life getting back again&quot;. Peter Gabriel