CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Hey guys,

Just a friendly reminder to all you guys who hunt from ladder or hang on stands to check them every time you get in/out of your stand. Saturday evening I took my fiance out hunting and set her up in a ladder stand. She climbed up and sat down and everything was fine. The hunt went without a hitch (besides only seeing 4 deer), but things got interesting when I climbed down out of my climber beside her and headed towards her. She lowered her bow to me and I stood back for her to climb down. As she was climbing down I watched the stand twist away from the tree and she fell. Luckily she was more than half way down and she probablly fell around 6 feet. She landed on her back on top of a fallen down tree. Thank God she only had a little cut on her finger but she is still really sore. The only thing that I can figure is either that the rain softened the ground and allowed on side of the ladder to sink into the ground which allowed the top to twist off the tree or that strong winds had shifted the tree around enough to loosen the ratchet strap.

Be careful out there guys and remember to check your stands everytime you go into the woods.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Also check your stand when hunting ground that you do not exclusively have rights to. There are jerks out there that will loosen the straps if they think you are intruding where they want to hunt. Happened to me and the DNR guy for the area caught them the 2nd time they were doing it. Result: Assault W/Intent to Commit Bodily Harm. They were PO'd because I had a stand in a honey spot they wanted. They figured they'd "scare" me out.

Like BM says, check your stand and I'll add in:don't go up without a harness and once you get up there, use the dang thing! Not worth dying over or being disabled!!!

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

What the heck, you didn't catch her? :D She is very lucky, and good reminder.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

I will check mine, thanks.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

wow thats not good hope she feels better

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Didn't she have a safety strap on?

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Get her stand a set of these: Leg levelers I have them for mine, they reduce sinking and slipping.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

She wears a safety harness when she is in stand, but as I said, she was climbing down the ladder when this happened.

Thanks Kevin, I will definetly invest in a set of those. Thanks again for the tip buddy.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

ive also had squirrells chew through the strap

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

I have found that most of the time the strap will loosen from the wind blowing the tree back and forth when it gets windy.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Don't take it wrong, but there's no way if you set a stand up right that it should twist around the tree. If the system on the stand won't prevent it you should add a rachet strap or something to keep it from shifting. Your bad, not the weather. Don't rely on a manufactuers system alone. Sometimes you got to add an anchor. You get it tied down right you should beable to saw a leg off and still climb down. But yes, check your stands everytime in. First thing I look for is cut ropes, straps, unscrewed steps or whatever. Too many vandles out there screwing with other peoples stuff. Before I step off a stick to a stand I grab it and shake the heck out of it to see if it's secure. I strap my vest on the tree and then climb on. I don't unsnap the vest until I'm safely on the stick again.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

We always use chains with eye bolts to tighten and hold our stands in place. seems to do the trick. Straps make me nervous, seems like they could come loose to easy.
Either way I am glad she is ok.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

i think the wind would have a hard time looseing a chain.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

I also kinda agree with this. I've had bottom of the stand sink in the ground to the point where it fell off, but the top part you could still climb up on b/c it was strapped to the tree like it was "supposed" to be.

Not trying to put you down or anything, but I really don't see how this could have happened if the stand was "hung" properly. On those little flimsy metal ladders that you can buy from wal-mart and such, I put a ratchet strap on the seat and put it tight enough that theres no way it is going to move. Then I put another ratchet strap about 1/2 down the ladder where the "support" rod ancors to the tree. Then I go back to the seat and put a rope or chain around it.

I'm just glad to hear that she is ok.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

you know that is what ois wrong with us, A guy is trying to save some lives and we bash them.

This is why this is my site of choice.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

No one is bashing anyone...

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

yeah they are they are saying his stand is put on wrong.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Well Dang JIM... and we are trying to help by telling he hung it wrong. I think if you'll notice I also agreed we should always check them. I wasn't trying to save live but get him to look at the way he hung the thing. You call it bashing... I call it pointing out the obvious. So we know what happened and we're suppose to tell the guy, "yeh, you are the hero, you're right, we should check our stands"???? When really this all could have been avoided with a better job of installation. This crap about one leg settling in the dirt because of rain is just that, a wild Azzzzzzzzz guess. If you stand on that stand when you're hooking it up and jump up and down a time or two on the first run in the beginning it settles in... usually almost if not to the firstrung which will prevent the dreaded "Sinking because of rain".

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

I tend to agree,it is amazing what a $5.00 ratchet strap can do to secure even a $35.00 hang on stand.They aren't worth a crap without it but with it,they are as secure as any stand I have.I even have one for my Lone wolf Alpha hang on.

I have never had a problem with a ratchet coming loose and we have been using them for years,but there is always a first and I always give my stands a good tug before getting in them.


Good advice

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

sounds like a good idea...i like hunting on the ground more due to these reasons

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

David, I am not taking it the wrong way, but trust me, I have hung enough ladder stands in my day to know that when I set that stand up, there was no way to do it any better. It is a older LocOn Titan ladder stand. At the top of the stand, on each side of the seat are hooks which I used to put a ratchet strap on. I had it tightened down as much as I physically could when I installed it. Half way up the 12' stand there is a brace bar that is jammed against the tree, which I had tightened down with yet another ratchet strap. When I installed this stand (which has been hunted out of around a dozen times this season), I pulled and tugged trying to get the stand to move at all and it wouldn't budge. I don't think that there is anything else that anybody could do besides putting a ratchet strap on every step and screwing the stand into place that could have helped. Call me crazy, but having two ratchet straps on the stand in the correct places doesn't exactly sound like a "shoddy" set-up to me!

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

I check mine every day I hunt. I check my ladder stand starting from the ground make sure theres no bend in the ladder, do a walk around to make sure the strap on the stabelizer bar is secure and not torn or broke, then make a slow climb up checking each section of ladder, before I step onto the platform I make sure I can see the strap is secured to the stand and give a small side to side jerk on the stand to make sure its not going to go anywhere, if it moves I reach to the back of the stand and give the strap another good wrathcet as far as I can. The step on the patform and settle in. My hang ons I prettty much do the same thing since I use climbing sticks. I inspect from the ground, tighten the lower ones that i can reach if needed. climb up with climbing harness so I can have both hands free if needed tighten any higher ones. Reach the stand and make surethe straps are in good condition, tighten if needed, and climb ontostand attachm my self to my safety harness, remove the climbingstap, sit down and pull up my bow. Sounds like alot of extra work before a hunt but in all reality, whats 5-10 minutes that could ssave your lifeout of a 3-4 hour hunt.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

I'm very glad to hear that she is OK.

There are still ways to be protected. Most accidents don't happen when you are actually in the stand.

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

Ratchet strap at the top

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

glad to hear she is ok

RE: CHECK YOUR STANDS!!!!!
 

glad she is OK i got in my ladder stand a week ago and it dropped about 8 inch's one of the cheap straps come loss when i went to go down to move it my weight on the ladder pushed it back up and i just tightend the strap
good luck and i hope it does not discourage her