Safey harness practice

How many guys out there practice with your harness & have a self-rescue plan? Since we're all public land hunters here & most make it a point to get as far away from everyone else as we can while hunting, I think it's very important to have a self-rescue plan. If or when you fall getting help in a timely manner isn't an option so we must be able to get back in our stand, get to our sticks, or get to the ground safely.

I'll start things off with my setup & plan. I wear an Alpine BOD rock climbing harness, it's extremely light weight, doesn't interfere with my shots in any direction, reasonably priced ($40), & the safest harness I have ever worn. With the rock climbing style the hook up point is in front the harness. This means when you fall you always end up facing the tree. I feel that in this position it’s much easier to climb back into the stand or climb down.

I hook up my rope tether to the tree with minimal slack which prevents a fall it’s more of a roll to the right & just weighting the rope. Once I’m sitting in my harness facing the tree I can grab the rope & use my legs against the tree to step up & back into my stand. In the rare case of total stand failure & just assuming my sticks or steps are out of reach, I keep a sling on my harness to girth hitch the tree making a foot hold to climb down. Using the harness & sling I can climb much like you do in a climbing stand.

i got a hunter safety system with a nylon strap for a foot hold. bout tha same idea u got, Huh, a rock climbing harness, i have never thought of that, thats pretty cool

I just used my summit saftey harness and made darn sure I was anchored well above my stand so I didn't fall below it. I case of a fall to be honest I didn't give it much thought I assumed I would be able to roll back to my stand if it fell well I would have been in trouble now I have something to think about. I like the idea of using the webbing to climb down. I will add that when I use my climber. Thanks for bringing this up. It does need to be somthing you really plan for.

I finally got around to shooting a video of using my Alpine harness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yceXR7VK1Yc

loc on makes a good treestand, thats a limit aint it? I got a super spirit and a mag 3, excellent treestands.

Yep limit. Love it.

This is a good topic. Suspension Trauma can kill you rather quickly, so don't ever think you can just hang there until help comes.

http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib032404.html

It is very dangerous to not try and extricate yourself if you do find yourself hanging. At the very least, one should carry their cell phone and a screw in step on their person (not in the gear bag you can no longer reach once you have fallen) so you can call for help. Then use the screw in step (and or foot harness) to stand on to minimize the danger.

Kicking off the tree to keep your blood from pooling would also help, but you will tire quickly doing this,and it is only a temporary fix.

Worst case scenario, you should also have a sharp knife to cut yourself loose and create a controlled fall. Broken legs and ankles are preferable to death from hanging in a device designed to save your life.

Very true slobow. Compartment syndrome is a ugly slow way to die. I have seen it one or twice in my proffesion. THe methods Shown by big were great for preventing it. Thanks for the tips and videohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002204/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush_syndrome Here is the difference in compartment syndrome and crush syndrome. when you die from hangning in your tree stand it's compartment syndrome. The two are mistaken often hope this helps clarrify.

I do not use a harness-

But I do have a retrieval plan and I have been Graciously Blessed in not having to use it. But I am sure that when, and if, the time comes, that I will be carried to a Shinning Throne by a brighly garmented enterage of supporters....