hunter trapped in treestand
 

don't know if anybody here has heard this or not, but took it off of our local news website.


MOUNT HOLLY, Ark. -- A hunter suffered hypothermia and kidney damage after becoming entangled in his deer stand and dangling upside down 30 feet above the ground in sleet for 8½ hours.

Raybon E. Upton was hunting by himself Wednesday when his ankle became caught on the deer stand and he slipped. He was trapped there until about midnight when rescuers called by his wife were finally able to free him.

"I had cooked a big supper and he wasn't home, then I just got this gut feeling that something wasn't right. And I went out there and found him," Tammy Upton said Friday.

Upton was conscious but trapped when his wife found him about 8:30 p.m. and call for help. A firefighter was able to secure him with a rope until a fire crew with a ladder could free himself.
[/align]Upton underwent surgery on Thursday and had another scheduled Saturday and Monday, his wife said.

"He thought he was going to die there," Tammy Upton said. "He had made his peace with God and everything."


thank god he was all right! Mastevt.

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

jess thats scary. I've had a couple of times were i thought i was in trouble climbing trees, old stands or whatever.thank godthe guy will live. man it just makes ya think of all those close calls you've had while hunting ya know.

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

Sounds like he was very lucky. I worry about falling from a stand even though I wear a full body harness. I think a person would stand a chance at getting back in their stand if they just slipped off the platform but what if the stand broke and you were just left dangling with no platform to try and climb back on to?

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

I hung from my full body harness when my stand broke and fell to the ground(25ft).I had to hug the tree and cut the harness then"shimmy' down the tree. Glad to hear he was ok.No more stands for this little jedi.Ground hunting only
Nathan

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

It almost sounds as if he didn't have a safety strap on. Otherwide he could've pulled himself back up or at least free enough to shinney back down. I suppose what happened is still better than falling and breaking ones neck. How many guys a year die that way?

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

but what if the stand broke and you were just left dangling with no platform to try and climb back on to?

I was thinking about that today as I was in my Summit. Sure my mind tells me to just grab the tree etc. etc.etc. BUT...when you are over weight and are older you are going to be in trouble. It seems reasonable though that if you are on a platform and the platform breaks you will be hanging upward. i carry a razor sharp knife in my vest pocket. Like a paratrooper stuck in a tree......simply cut the harness. ..and jump.I never go above 12 feet anyway. You fellows going above 12' ....you may be in trouble unless you can lift your own weight and grag the tree , free yourself and shimmy down. OUCH

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

I normally don't go any higher than 15-18' in my Summit but there are a few locations that I will go 25'. I carry a knife as well but I wonder if I could cut the harness, and drop the knife without puncturing myself on the way down. I think I could shimmy down the tree but I really do not want to test my tree shimming abilities at this point in life!!!!;)

RE: hunter trapped in tree stand
 

I think I could shimmy down the tree but I really do not want to test my tree shimming abilities at this point in life!!!!;)

I don't think the cables on my Summit will break. I did have one come out before about 3 feet off the ground because I did not have the cable lined up appropriately ...it was a little crooked and slid out. So now I make sure the cable is straight dead center before I get in it. I usially use long leaf pine trees in Florida so the stand bites very good into the tree. In Missouri I used the oak trees. Great trees. They really bite in them. They have Red Oak, White oak and Black Oak. You are right about that knife.I never thought about that.The sudden drop will be instant . Your main thought will be landing on your feet. With all this in mine I may start putting a hook inthe tree to hold my rifle like I do my bow in archery season. It's good to have a plan just in case. This is one reason I didn't go cheap on buying a stand. I studied the reviews and Summit won. Money is no object when your safety is on the line.
Chuck7

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Thats why I always have my cell phone with me when I hunt alone.

dd

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Mine don't work in the swamp. Tried many times. I do believe though... a God fearing Country Boy will Survive.;)

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

That would be scary

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Man, glad he's okay. That has got to be scary!

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

I agree with you about the cables...they are definately very strong. Myconcern is one of the welds coming loose on the V-Brace in the back of the stand. Just by looking at that design, it looks to me like if that breaks, down you go. I try tokeep an eye on thoseand make sure the welds appear to be in good shape. I feel safe in my stand and I feel the engineers at Summit have designed an excellent stand.

.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Yow.... I'm glad he's going to be okay. Man, what a thing to go through! [&:][:o] I ALWAYS have my cell phone with me when I'm hunting. I too have a Summit Viper climber and the Seat 'o the pants harness. I won't climb a tree with out it!

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

but what if the stand broke and you were just left dangling with no platform to try and climb back on to?


Most people don't realize, unless you can cut yourself free, you would still be in serious trouble. It only takes a FEW MINUTES for the blood circulation in your legs to get cut off with a body harness. Being up there for as long as he was, besides the excrutiating pain, he would possibly lose his legs. There is even an accessory now, strapsthat come down from the harness to your feet for you to stand on. Takes the load off of your legsfor those extended mishaps. Good luck to the poor guy.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Most people don't realize, unless you can cut yourself free, you would still be in serious trouble. It only takes a FEW MINUTES for the blood circulation in your legs to get cut off with a body harness. Being up there for as long as he was, besides the excrutiating pain, he would possibly lose his legs. There is even an accessory now, strapsthat come down from the harness to your feet for you to stand on. Takes the load off of your legsfor those extended mishaps. Good luck to the poor guy.

Simple remedy...just stay seated in your seat. The platform won't break because your weight is in the seat. If the seat breaks you have the platform to get back on. I believe Summit has engineered their stuff to keep from being sued and to hav eless accidents. I don't ever recall one cable breaking anywhere in the US of A.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

one time i was in a hurry and forgot to tie the rope that connected the seat with the platform and i got up about 25-30ft and the platform fell. i didn't try to get down. i sat intill dark hoping to get a big one. then i had to hug the pine tree and ease my way down. it tore my chest and arms up.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

born2kill, i've had to do the same thing, it's sucks...lol.

anyways, a few years back, a good friend of mine knew a guy that was an avid hunter. one day he decided to hunt alone and not tell anyone where he was going. he walked way back in the swamp and decided to climb a cyprus tree with his climbing treestand. the treestand slipped while he was approximately 40 feet up and dumped him out of it. when he fell out, his head hit a cyprus knee at the base of the tree he was in.

he layed there for three days until a search team found him. they immediately transported him to the nearest hospital where x-rays revealed he fractured his skull. he ended up recovering but he now has slight brain damage (from his brain swelling beyond the point of his skull). according to my friend who spoke to him, he said he was in so much pain that if he could have reached his hunting rifle, he would have finished himself off in the swamp. he said after waking up from being unconsious the pain was unbarable. he said he had feeling throughout his entire body but could not move.

he also told my friend that the florida skeeters eating on him for three days was almost as bad as the head trauma. he doesn't hunt anymore due to the brain damage sustained from the fall.

my question to everyone: if this happen to ya'll, could you "finish" yourself off if you were seriously injured and lost hope of survival?

my answer: hard to say unless you're in that situation. i like to think i would prior to this year BUT having my son being born this last october, i think i would try to hang on until the end in hopes of seeing him grow up.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

That is horrible and another reason I try to choose long leaf pine in Florida instead of Cyprus. The trunk of a cyprus may start at 12 " at the base and at 12 ' it is now 8" Real tough tree to climb. However in most bayheads they are the only tree. I've climbed them... but 40 ' ???no way for me. Around the base of cyprus trees you have cyprus knees. Little clubs sticking straight up out of the ground. Florida is very dangerous to hunt in. I've hunted Missouri..Maryland..Virginia..and Pennsylvania and they are not even close to the difficulty of Florida. Yesterday the man at the local WMA said they had over 200 hunters and 0 game took. The game are in these miles and miles of bayheads. See picture below...Nasty hunting. Gators and moccassins everywhere. I never go out there with out quoting Bible verses to myself. You need full confidence.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

This, a cell phone and or a 2 way is all you need

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Scary story, It is a risk we all take and I am thankful we all are still safe when we enter and exit the woods...

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

I think the will to live would be stronger than the will to die. You hear stories all the time of people in life or death circumstances cutting off arms, legs, hands and feet to try and save themselves.
But you just don't know till your in this situation and i hope i never am. I am a single parent of 2 kids and i think my will to survive for them and beliefe in god i would be saved. But i am sure in extreme circumstances i would think about ending it but i don't think i could for reasons stated above.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

That is a horrible situation. I'm really sorry for this individual. But becauseof stories like these it causes me to double check everything. I always check for a triple knot when joining top and bottom sections. Feel and listen for bends or weirdness when climbing. Someone mentioned about leg circulation being hindered from the Seat of the pants. I don't think so. IN the military we had to tie a swiss seat while repelling from cliffs and helicopters.A swiss seat is just a fancy rope tied around and between your legs.We were just fine. The best thing is to keep your head and for me ....don't go to high....and never climb a tree without Jesus ;)
Chuck

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Does anyone know howyou use the tree descender from Summit?

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Not me...never even heard of it till this post.
Chuck7

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

About 10 years ago a friend of mine's 19 year old son was in a stand with his safety harness properly on. He slipped and fell somehow and evidence showed he couldn't get up or down. They found his knife at the base of the tree and part of the harness had been cut. He was dead when the rescuers found him.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

Ground blinds and stalking are starting to look better and better!


firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

I doubt that anyone has ever died from a fall from their folding chair while sitting in a pop-up !
:D

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

For those of you using A climbing treestand try acrrying a screw in tree peg. IF you fall and are not able to get back on your platform, screw the peg in at waist level. You should then be able to get a foot on it and step up. Then lossen your tree strap and slide it down. put weight back on your harness, and move tree peg down. repeat process until your on the ground. I would not suggest cutting yourself away from your harness, after all it did keep you from smacking the ground. An average size guy weghing 200 pounds falling 4 feet will hit the ground with about 1800 pounds of force.

RE: hunter trapped in treestand
 

That actually sounds like it would work! Thanks for the idea.