So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I am really afraid of heights, but i went ahead and bought a tree stand to try and force myself to work my way through the fear.

I have been practicing climbing at my inlaws with ok results. I can make it about 10-12 feet up but it takes me awhile to settle in. On the positive side i did shoot a 3 arrow 1.5 inch group at 20 yards on Sunday. No bad considering my knees were quaking and my heart was racing, buck fever will never compare to that :)

my goal for this year is the 15 foot range, then try to work my way up to 20 feet by next year.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I didn' t like heights when I first started using tree stands either,after time it bothered me less and less.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I hated it when I started 4 years ago. But I very quickly got used to it. The longer you say in the stand, the more you get used to it.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

One reason I like my ground blind,to each his own!!:)

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

What type of stand did you start with? I know when I started hunting, I used an old lock on type stand. I didn' t feel secure in it. I tried a few climbers and again I didn' t feel secure.
Ladder stands I have found are pretty stable. Their not mobile at all, so if you have one you won' t move it very often.
If you own or lease land, ladder stands are the way to go. But if you hunt public or multiple properties which you don' t own, climbers and lock-ons are the way to go.
Either way, it just takes time to get over the fear. Hang in there though and wear your harness!;)

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

when i was younger i didnt care, but now that im older and wiser i tend to find myself no higher than i need to be. one thing' s for sure, wear your safety gear

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I' m afraid of heights. Yet I have a strange fascination with roller coasters. ;) I have a hard time adjusting and in some cases I cannot adjust. Such as tall buildings, cliffs, etc. It took me a few weeks to get used to a tree stand. I started out by finding a spot such as a creek bottom where I could setup my stand on a nearby hillside. The natural elevation would be 10=15ft and then I' d put my treestand about 5ft off the ground. :D This worked well for me. As I felt more comfortable I would go a little higher. I now am comfortable up to about 25ft. Though on windy days the swaying of the trees still makes me a bit nervous but doesn' t discourage me.

The biggest thing that helped me was getting a solid treestand with a large platform. My API has a 20x29" platform and is rock solid. It also came with a nice full body harness which helps me feel more secure.

Good luck. As your comfort level goes up you' ll find yourself going higher. :)

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Yep add me to the list. I used to be scared to death of heights. I simply made myself climb into my stand. However over time I have gotten over it. I still don' t love heights but with the proper saftey gear I feel at ease in my stands. The biggest thing that helped me was simply to keep hunting as much as possible. I spend almost 6 weeks straight in a tree stand each season so after a while it doesn' t seem to bother you.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Cant say i was ever really scared of heights...but when i first started climbing, I would get a bit uncomfortable around the 20' range. However, since I am in east Texas and the opportunity is plentiful, I am usually found about 30-40' up if I just want to watch...To hunt, i' ll scoot down so that the shot isnt a vertical one. But being up there 40' with the wind blowing is pretty interesting...I always wear a safety harness, cause it feels a bit like being drunk when you start swaying....

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I know how you feel. Get good safety equipment. If you know you are safe, the less fearful you will be.

Personally I not afraid of heights. I just don' t like that sudden stop at the bottom. :D

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

YES!!!!

Use a strap on/loc on and put it in a tree with alot of branches (around and under you) - white pine is best. If you do not have the severe 15-20ft drop below-the-stand-thing going on - then its not bad at all.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Although heights do not bother me if I know all safety factors are in place and I have control of the situation, in my opinion being fearful of excessive height is no disgrace.

If a person is extremely fearful of heights, especially if long standing or a result of a bad experience, I strongly advise they not try to overcome their fear by using a tree-stand. If you panic while 15-20 feet in the air, the results could be disastrous.

A person whose has a long standing fear of height most likely will not be aware of certain critical things they should do and not do, or what to do should something happen while in the stand. Obviously, since climbing to an excessive height and standing on a small platform may not have been something the person ever planned to do, the critical aspects that need to be known are things he or she probably have not considered, or considered in detail.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

It' s not the heights its the climb that used to get to me. I say used to get to me since over the past two years at my summer job i worked kind of high. I work for the Park District and we have to change light bulbs or cross arms on light poles for baseball fields just about every year. we rent a lift with a cage just big enough for two people. One field isnt bad only about 40 feet up, the other field is awesome, about 65 to 70 feet up, the view is awesome too! So, I' m not too worried about being 10-20 feet up.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I still am very afraid of heights. I have found that I feel most secure in either my climber or a ladder stand. Definitely most secure in my climber, a Summit Viper XLS. I use my seat' o' the pants harness while climbing and once I' m situated. I have actually gone as high as 20-25 feet without any concerns. I wouldn' t go higher because of practicality, but wouldn' t be nervous.
Where I hunt, a lot of guys have put up homemade stands and chain-on stands. I do not feel safe in those, even with my safety gear on.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

its not really heights that im afraid of, just fear of falling and being out of controll of it, i learned the hard way last year, using what seemed like a sturdy branch, used this branch like 20x then one day about 10ft up snap and im on my back, left and went got me a safety strap, 1st-2nd day of gun season, had my SS on and fell again this time only about 2ft, but every stinkin bone in my back cracked and knocked the wind outta me basically those who dont use safety cautions are asking for trouble!

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Yes....my WIFE! This is her first year bowhunting and she is very skeptical of climbing and sitting in a tree. She is getting more and more comfortable! I preach to her all the time about safety and that she should never sit in a tree stand without a safety harness.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I think more are or used to be afraid than are willing to admit. I used to be somewhat and am still very extra careful. Gotta tell you though......after going through training climbing telephone poles with gaffs....using treesteps or a good climbing stand is a walk in the park!

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I also had a problem with heights. I have used ladder stands with no problem but the lock on stands make me uncomfortable when I stand up on the platform. The Summit Climbing stand has helped me with my height issues. For whatevere reason I feel comfortable climbing, standing and desending in it.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Not scared of the height, it is more the falling part that worries me;). It usually takes me a couple of hours in the stand to get the feeling of it again. I have went to only ladder stands, there is just something about being able to look down and know that the stand is touching the ground.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I' m weird when it comes to this area. I always wear my safety belt, but on real windy days, i have more of a fear of the tree uprooting and me getting crushed when it falls, than I ever had of falling out of it. My first treestand was a baker mighty mite....if anyone remembers that. I will say that the first few trips up the tree to shoot preseason get me a little nervous but after a few rounds of shooting, I' m fine.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

It isn' t even the falling that bothers me. It is hitting the ground going really fast that I don' t like. I used to only be willing to climb up as high as I was willing to fall. About ten feet. But now I use my safty harness every time and climb weel over 20 feet without a problem. I am still carefull but I trust myself and my safty equipment. If I didn' t, I would stay a lot closer to the ground.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

yep ,thats why i went out and got a summit viper , i have an ol man an when i got up in the tree with it i was scared to death , it felt like it was going to fall any second , the sumit isn' t like that it' s nice and solid so i' m not as scared when i get up in the tree because it has a solid hold , but it still takes some getting used to when i first get up in the tree![:o] and don' t forget to always wear a saftey harness

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I don' t like heights too much either, but I find myself getting more confident and secure with going higher and higher each trip out. Usually the first part of the season I get to maybe 12 feet up or so, just to make sure everything is working. As the season progresses, I get up higher. By shotgun season in late November, I' m usually up so high that I reach the end of my pull string (to bring up the shotgun or bow).

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I will add my $.02, I used to roof and thought that the tree stand would be a piece of cake. I tried it out in the backyard and it was a little nerve racking but keeping with it, just like roofing, you get used to it. The other thing I would recommend it to use the safety harness and at a low height go ahead and hang from it, helps to build the confidence, much like leaning out the first time you rappel. Just want to get the trust level up for the equipment. Hang in there!

uh - I mean good luck.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

[>:]When I fall out of a tree, I like that feeling you get after you hit the ground and your starting to get air back in your lungs and then you realize your legs and arms move, that' s such a warm fuzzy feeling.
Seriously, I' m scared of heights but I climb with my summit. I wear my safety belt and I don' t go higher than I have to. I try to find a tree to climb that has smaller trees around it and then I can go up 12 or 15 ft and hide above the canopy of the small trees. If you fall, you can also ride the small trees down and I' ve done that in the days before saftey harnessess. I also check the ground around the trees I' m going to climb for tree stumps and rocks that might injure me if everything went wrong and I fell.
I' m trying to get my wife to use a climber, she ain' t scared of nothing much but that climbing seems to get on her nerves a little. Probably because I' ve told her alot of stories about me and other people falling out of trees.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Thanks for the replies everyone, it makes me feel better to know that i am not alone.

By the way I bought a summit viper xls and i have been spending some time in my brother-in-laws ladder stand.

Good luck to everyone!!

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

That would be me, have always been afraid of heights. I won' t put a stand more than 15 feet. I always feel like I' m going to fall out of the thing. The climb up doesn' t bother me at all, it' s when I get up there that I don' t like it.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Like everyone else , heights dont bother me , the fear of falling does! I must say , from my experiences alone and others I know who are afraid of falling , we' re the ones who dont usually fall! The ones who normally fall have no fear which leads to stupidity! The ones with fear are extra cautious!

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

Heights don' t bother me, it' s the walk in the dark that scares me :D

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I was terrified of tree stands at first,, after 10 years or so,, I have gotten use to them,, I purchased a " hunters safety vest system" and am more comfortable now.
maybe too comfortable,, I actually dozed off for first time in ladder sand, eyes closed mabye a nano second, ahhhhhhhhhhh, weird feeling. Tree stands do take a while getting comfortable with if you are leery of them. Thank god I have never fallen out,

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

I always used a 12' ladder stand in the past, but this year I graduated up to a 16'
ladder and am climbing up to 16-20' in my climber. It takes a little getting used to but eventually you will get comfortable with it, believe me I don' t like the heights at all but it doesn' t really bother me anymore.

RE: So is anyone else afraid of heights but still forces themselves into a tree stand?
 

i am that is why i have my hubby make my stands....some may rag on me, but i' m up high enough to see aboce everything and i haven' t spooked a critter yet...well that one buck when my arrow fell as i pulled back, he busted me....lol....i plan on going up a foot or towo with each new atnd, i havea platform one i can pack in with me and strap to a tree anf jump up , and i have a 6' and a 7' ladder.....and i have a safety harness, lol....but i rarely use it..only when i am tired and i might fall asleep......Fl. HUntress just leans forawrd when she goes to sleep ,i think i' ll try to stay awake, don' t think i want to findout in the middle of a good dream that my harness came undone, lol.....