Post by Lanscam Kennels on Jan 16, 2017 12:30:15 GMT -5
Well as the saying goes, "There is no cure for stupid"
I decided to hunt a metal ladder stand I had set out about 3 or 4 years ago out from an oak tree that was dropping acorns. It was Halloween, muzzle loading season and I was only going to hunt this stand one time. I jerked and pulled on it and looked it over pretty well and determined it was safe to hunt out of. After all I was only going to hunt out of it this one time! Climbed up on the stand and hunted the evening,saw nothing. Took my safety strap loose, lowed my rifle and associated equipment, and proceeded to climb down. Got around the foot platform and was about chin level when the top strap holding the ladder to the tree broke. The ladder started coming away from the tree. I hugged up close to the ladder trying to get the wait closer to the tree. To no avail, oh well the strap and brace half way up the ladder securing the ladder to the tree will hold it! Not a chance. The stand folded at the joint just above the brace. I fell like a sack of potatoes. Left leg hit at about a 45 degree angle then my butt,then my back and then my head. Then I counted my lucky stars for I realized I had not been impaled by one of the many cypress knees or had not hit the palm stump that was below the stand. I then thought about the fact I was in severe pane. Not sure if I could get up. Started thinking I did not tell anyone which of my many stands I was hunting that evening and had forgotten my cell phone in a hurry to get to my stand. After some time I was able to get back to my truck some 3 hundred yards away. Doesn't sound like a long distance unless you have hunted in and around Florida swamps.
I did obviously make it out of the woods under my own power and by God's Will. I tried to tough it out, but two days latter I ended up going to the emergency room to discover I had fractured a vertebra and traumatized the muscles in my back. This could have been so much worse due to my carelessness at so many different levels.
I will now replace the straps on my stands annually and try to be much more careful. This event has made for a painful deer season. Riding in the truck even after lowering the tire pressure to 18 pounds is still tough to take by the end of the day, but I am a die hard dog hunter and just can't stand not to go if God's even a little willing!
I hope my posting this event will make some careless hunter like myself think before taking a chance. Think about the oz of prevention being much better than the pound of cure.
Oh, did I mention, it was Halloween. I guess I got the trick, not the treat.
Happy Hunting
I decided to hunt a metal ladder stand I had set out about 3 or 4 years ago out from an oak tree that was dropping acorns. It was Halloween, muzzle loading season and I was only going to hunt this stand one time. I jerked and pulled on it and looked it over pretty well and determined it was safe to hunt out of. After all I was only going to hunt out of it this one time! Climbed up on the stand and hunted the evening,saw nothing. Took my safety strap loose, lowed my rifle and associated equipment, and proceeded to climb down. Got around the foot platform and was about chin level when the top strap holding the ladder to the tree broke. The ladder started coming away from the tree. I hugged up close to the ladder trying to get the wait closer to the tree. To no avail, oh well the strap and brace half way up the ladder securing the ladder to the tree will hold it! Not a chance. The stand folded at the joint just above the brace. I fell like a sack of potatoes. Left leg hit at about a 45 degree angle then my butt,then my back and then my head. Then I counted my lucky stars for I realized I had not been impaled by one of the many cypress knees or had not hit the palm stump that was below the stand. I then thought about the fact I was in severe pane. Not sure if I could get up. Started thinking I did not tell anyone which of my many stands I was hunting that evening and had forgotten my cell phone in a hurry to get to my stand. After some time I was able to get back to my truck some 3 hundred yards away. Doesn't sound like a long distance unless you have hunted in and around Florida swamps.
I did obviously make it out of the woods under my own power and by God's Will. I tried to tough it out, but two days latter I ended up going to the emergency room to discover I had fractured a vertebra and traumatized the muscles in my back. This could have been so much worse due to my carelessness at so many different levels.
I will now replace the straps on my stands annually and try to be much more careful. This event has made for a painful deer season. Riding in the truck even after lowering the tire pressure to 18 pounds is still tough to take by the end of the day, but I am a die hard dog hunter and just can't stand not to go if God's even a little willing!
I hope my posting this event will make some careless hunter like myself think before taking a chance. Think about the oz of prevention being much better than the pound of cure.
Oh, did I mention, it was Halloween. I guess I got the trick, not the treat.
Happy Hunting