This is an article from today's local TV station here in WV. Man fell from his tree stand Bowhunting


JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A man from Milton was killed in a hunting accident in Jackson County, W.Va.

The accident happened about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the woods near the Rock Castle area of the county.

Hoy Murphy with the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources tells WSAZ.com Mark Alan Metz, 53, of Milton, was bow hunting when he stood up to leave and fell approximately 18 feet to the ground.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture lists Metz a forester with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Cross Lanes.

Metz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Murphy said fatal falls from tree stands outnumber accidental shooting deaths during the hunting seasons. The DNR recommends hunters wear a harness while in trees.

I used to be one of those that never wore a safety harness in the tree. Then I would wear one if I hunted a hang on or climber, but not in a ladder stand. Last year, a friend that I go to church with fell while hunting from a ladder stand. Spent the rest of the season in the hospital. I wear my Hunter Safety System every time I'm in the tree, regardless of the. Stand I'm using. By the way, for all you Hunter Education Instructors, HSS offers serious discounts on their systems for Hunter Ed Instructors. Check them out. When I'm teaching that segment of the class, tree stand safety, I use my vest in the instruction and I promote their system.

its simple no harness No Tree !!!!
its way to easy to fall, I have had many a close call and thanks to harness I didnt fall outa my tree personally your stupid if you dont wear one, not to be harsh

Why is it that it's against your states hunting regulations to go into the woods during hunting season without wearing hunter orange but it's ok for you to go 30-feet in the air without a safety harness??????

hunter orange is so others can see you. you can die from hanging in the air after a fall..mighta lived if ya just fell. 6 of one or a haf dozen of another, sometimes when your number is up, its up.
sometimes things that are designed to be safe can backfire and be anything but. its just part of life

Thanks. I will look into this.

I fell last yr, 61 yrs young. Broken heel. If I climb now its on. it's a long ways down a 16 ft ladder stand. Use a climber you can always be tied to the tree both up and down. Not so with a ladder stand. I was lucky. I am well and lived to see my kids again.

The odds of recovery from hanging "in the air" compared to hitting the ground from 15 plus feet in the air is significantly higher. Especially if one reads the directions i.e. if you do fall out and are hanging in the air, you are able to step back into the stand or use some other strategy to keep blood flowing.

No excuse for not wearing a harness.

Found out a couple weeks ago that a friend of a friend is now a comatose veg in the hospital after falling out of his stand. He is either dead now, or will be soon. Wife, kids, all distraught and grieving heavily. All over not wearing a harness. Sad, but also just plain irresponsible.

I posted this in another forum but bears repeating :
Ten years back I took a 19' fall out of a hang on and caught the tree stick peg in the the leg just below my right cheek and in gashed around to the side almost to my pants side seam line and then another peg caught my other knee and almost removed my knee cap. End result was 12 hrs in surgery, almost bled out, and around 400+ stitches to put me together. Not fun and since I hadnt worn a harness before, I purchased 3 to hunt with.
I was back out hunting in 3 weeks after but didnt climb a tree for a year. I feel it every time the weather changes and "I'm lucky to be alive" (surgens quote) and it has changed me forever. Please secure yourself before leaving the ground, someone wants you to come back home after the hunt!

I second Brookie's post...I am scared of heights, so I will not get in a tree without it. I use a climber, so the safety factor is doubled!! My brother-in-law refuses to wear one...I just don't get it....