Don't be like me

[Chad Gus]

Just a quick update. MRI come back clear of any spinal cord damage, so it's physical therapy for the next 6-8 weeks. Cleared for light duty work starting 10 days from now. Considering what happened, i think i ended up with about the best possible outcome

 

[MO Betta]

Man, glad you’re ok! Dad fell out of a tree when I was young, I never get in a tree without one after seeing the shape that left him in.

I know these cables are quiet and supposed to be very strong, but I immediately swap the cables for chains when I get one

 

[Nick87]

Man, glad you’re ok! Dad fell out of a tree when I was young, I never get in a tree without one after seeing the shape that left him in.

I know these cables are quiet and supposed to be very strong, but I immediately swap the cables for chains when I get one

Not a half bad idea.

 

[johnp]

That is great to hear.Do you know yet if the cable actually broke or if the crimp on loop clamp was not torqued enough to keep the cable from slipping out . Those cables always worry me. i should get a roll of chain and some quick connections as insurance for the cables and the rachet strap around the tree trunk.
Had a rodent chewed rachet strap give way and fell about 12 feet , injured my pelvic bone . fortunately I still had my backpack on and that absorbed much of the fall. After 45 years of no harness , I started using one about 5 years ago . Hope you have a speedy recovery and thanks for posting this as it is a great reminder to check over what you can and get the harness attached pronto.

 

[Hem]

Hope you heal up quickly. Frightening experience.
Makes me want to bolster my ancient stands...but no worries...I can't find a place to hunt in this shitass valley.

 

[MarvB]

Damn Gussy scary stuff right there, hope you mend quick! I had a tree step pull out mid climb years ago in a rotten cottonwood and only fell about ten feet and that was PLENTY!

I don’t see how I kept from getting nutted by the other steps on the way down, still spooks me to this day

 

[Chad Gus]

There's now been a recall on the stand that broke on me.

Safety Recall Notice – Big Game Treestands

www.biggametreestands.com

 

[Dan O]

Before you do anything you may want to contact a attorney and seek advise. You might be able to get your medical bills covered.
I wonder how many others found out the hard way that there was an issue with the cable's?

 

[Bullshot]

Glad you will be OK and your situation is not worse. Heal up and thank the Lord for this lesson.

I use a full harness in the treestand, and TWO climbing ropes each clipped in separately while climbing, after I once “trusted” the rope and leaned back off the tree with it to install a step. The tag end of the knot came through and I fell backwards about 18 feet, landing on my heels while tilted back and then onto my butt and back. I felt “compressed” but was OK. Now I knot and tape all tag ends on the two ropes, and it also allows me to clip out over branches while always remaining clipped in.

One scary things about falls is there IS time to think “oh sh$$&&t!” as you go down. The difference between living, dying, and being seriously or not seriously hurt is a matter of luck after that. Not luck you can count on.

Everyone wear your harnesses!!!

 

[BAKPAKR]

Wow! I am glad your injuries were not worse and I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[EKYHunter]

Glad you are relatively fine. I sure have seen a lot of stories of chains breaking on hang on stands this year. Lots of folks talking about substandard materials coming from China.

 

[mdcrossbow]

Good to hear your OK. Angles aren't always in the outfield.

 

[steveshuntn1]

Not to steal this thread…Be careful moving old stands as well. This happened to me almost a week ago and I’m still in the hospital with two fractured vertebrae and the L2 that’s shattered(Luckily only one large chunk was pressed against my spinal cord). I was airlifted to a trauma center 500 miles away. Everything is on the repair and I should make a good and decent recovery 2 rods and 10 screws fuse my spine together. I’ll never hunt without a safety rope from the ground up again! Be safe everyone.

 

[PrairieHunter]

Get a good attorney and best of luck recovering.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Glad to see your alive and I wish you a speedy recovery!

 

[COEngineer]

Not to steal this thread…Be careful moving old stands as well. This happened to me almost a week ago and I’m still in the hospital with two shattered vertebrae and several other ones that shattered into bone shrapnel. (Luckily only one large chunk was pressed against my spinal cord) and after the emt’s said I had no choice but to walk out because of where I was I finally got to the road and was airlifted to a trauma center 500 miles away. Everything is on the repair and I should make a good and decent recovery. 3 rods and 10 screws fuse my spine together. I’ll never hunt without a safety rope from the ground up again! Be safe everyone.

I have to ask. How old is that stand - it looks like it's in good shape, but was it rusty, previously damaged? What's the load limit and were you exceeding that number? Was there anything else going on that caused it to collapse? My dad and I use one that is very similar and my dad is a large man (300+), although I think ours only has 2 ladder sections and the seat section, so maybe not as tall.

 

[steveshuntn1]

I have to ask. How old is that stand - it looks like it's in good shape, but was it rusty, previously damaged? What's the load limit and were you exceeding that number? Was there anything else going on that caused it to collapse? My dad and I use one that is very similar and my dad is a large man (300+), although I think ours only has 2 ladder sections and the seat section, so maybe not as tall.

I weigh 218. The stand itself wasn’t that old the problem was I had added a 4’ ladder section to it(same model big game stand and it was a little older but I didn’t notice any rust). At every 3 foot interval I wrap a strap around the tree once I’m above that mid brace. I hadn’t checked on that stand in a couple seasons and didn’t look at the straps. I climbed to the top and unbuckled the top strap. I wasn’t wearing safety gear…the stand started pulling away from the tree…then the strap below the top strap snapped at the buckle and then the stand just folded over. I was at 19 feet in height. I did a lot of things wrong and had several equipment failures as well. It definitely could’ve been avoided. I haven’t been back to it but once able I will be checking it out to see what went wrong.

 

[clross]

Scary stuff. I have a portable tripod treestand that is self-standing - seems safer.

 

[COEngineer]

the problem was I had added a 4’ ladder section to it

Yea, going outside of the original engineering design is always risky. Thanks for sharing this and hopefully giving everyone a reminder to be careful.

 

[Chad Gus]

Since this thread got revived, i will provide a quick update. Still have back pain of varying degrees, on a daily basis. Can't run or jump, hurts way too much to do those things. Sitting on bleachers or similar hard surfaces, is only an hour or so max, then i have to get up and move and stretch out. Walking on hard surfaces like concrete or blacktop or ceramic tiles causes my back to hurt if I'm on them for a couple hours or more. Still haven't been back up in a treestand and being off of the ground more then 8 to 10 feet causes some apprehension.
I'm alive and walking so I'm thankful for that.