Tips for being safe come deer hunting season

With the deer season just two weeks away, I feel compelled again to write about deer stand safety.

The vast majority of deer hunting injuries and deaths involve treestand falls, and of those accidents are 100 percent avoidable.

At age 66, I’ve come to the realization that if I wish to continue deer hunting it will be done from a ground blind.

Treestand safety is all important. Careful planning and being familiar with your stands is required. Whether it’s new or old equipment, inspect it first. Then, practice hanging the stand at a low height, no more than four feet off the ground, so hanging it will become second nature to you when you get it set up in the field for hunting.

Several years ago, a good friend of mine, accompanied by his wife, went to the woods on a beautiful January day to take down one of his treestands for the year. This man always used a safety belt while in his stand and relayed that, for the most part, he would use one while putting up or taking down a stand.

This, however, seemed simple as the stand was buckled on and had ladder steps up to the stand. It would only require him to stand on the ladder steps, unbuckle the straps and drop the stand.

The first buckle was simple but the second one hung up. Without thinking, this man, who had put up and taken down up to a dozen stands a year, stepped onto the stand and reached around the tree to jiggle the buckle.

At that time, his wife asked him if he needed his safety belt on, to which he very adamantly replied that he didn’t need it to just take down a stand. As he jiggled the buckle, the strap released and my friend found himself falling headfirst toward the ground 25 feet away.

He said he remembered thinking, “ I cannot hit on my head.” The next thing he recalled was trying to breathe while his wife was calling the hospital. He had no idea how he and his wife walked out of the woods and got to their home.

The final toll for my friend was bad enough. He suffered a concussion, a break in the big bone in his shoulder, several broken ribs, a fractured leg and torn muscles around his rib cage. After months of treatment and rehab, his knees always gave him trouble. Frequent, severe headaches also bothered him for at least a year.

However, he counted himself lucky, as the doctors could not believe he walked into the hospital. He should have been in a wheelchair for life or worse. What he learned was to take treestand safety very seriously.

Following the accident, he made use of the best in climbing belts and safety vests. It wasn’t cheap, but health is something we cannot replace at any cost.

Years later, he still had times when he would freeze, stop and regain his composure while going up a tree.

Most accidents happen while getting into or out of a treestand. Statistics show a great increase in these occurrences after the age of 40.

Statistics say that of the 9.47 million hunters who use treestands or elevated blinds, about 3.5 million will eventually fall.

Technology has come a long way in recent years with treestands and safety belts/ harnesses so that everyone can be secure during the hunting season.

The Treestand Manufacturers Association website can be found at www. tmastands. com. It offers a free online treestand safety quiz and other information as well as apps for your phone.

Remember, no matter how secret your location, you need to tell someone when and where you hunt.

You owe it to your friends and loved ones to come home safe and sound.

Don’t become a statistic.

John Kilgore is the former Greenleaf State Park manager. He can be reached by emailing him at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo. com.