Be careful in those tree stands

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  • charlie12

    Not a Fed.
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Apr 21, 2008
    8,518
    63
    Pride
    It was Robert Blades Jr. we know him as Bobby. He was a life long hunter he was 10 years younger than me and went to Pride High School
     

    Emperor

    Seriously Misunderstood!
    Rating - 100%
    11   0   0
    Mar 7, 2011
    8,376
    113
    Nether region
    Any details on what caused the fall? Was it a climber or a ladder? Catastrophic equipment failure? No harness? Fall asleep?

    Don't need gory details, just would like to know what went wrong because I still climb! High too!
     

    John_

    Shooter
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Nov 23, 2013
    3,451
    113
    Hammond, LA
    When I was in the hunter phase of my life, prob mid 1980s, I was hunting in my portable AL ladder stand, seat height about 14 or 15'. North of Jackson LA, right on the Thompson River. Had borrowed my father n law's Winchester semi auto 12 gauge shotgun with a shorter fiberglass wrapped barrel. A really cool, lightweight shotgun. Had the shotgun across my lap with the safety off. Dumb, and I learned a valuable lesson that day. Anyways, I dozed off for who knows how long and the shotgun fell off my lap and discharged below me. Careless and dumb. Thankfully I was not hit. The shotgun must have hit the ground somewhat off angle BC it jammed, failed to reload the next round. Lesson of a lifetime, always safety on until ready to fire on a target. Could have cost me dearly that day but I was fortunate.
     

    Bigchillin83

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    94   0   1
    Feb 27, 2012
    6,187
    113
    Livingston
    35ft up a tree is crazy!!! Sure hope he wasn’t in a climber on a pine tree… bout the guest I ever go is 18-20ft… and at the age of 60, I’d say 35ft was a little more than he could handle… very sad, condolences and prayers for his family

    Ahh he was in a lockon… very sad!!!
     

    Magdump

    Don’t troll me bro!
    Rating - 100%
    163   0   0
    Dec 31, 2013
    9,396
    113
    Hammond, Louisiana
    Amen! We still see hunters come in on a regular basis starting about October every year. Many while building or testing stands. Lot of sad stories. The worst was a guy who wound up falling on arrows. The entire stand failed with him in it. Any of you guys who cheat on the harness when using a climber, especially when bow hunting, please reconsider! And remember to let someone know your plans in case you get injured and can’t make contact so you’ll hopefully be found in time.
     

    John_

    Shooter
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Nov 23, 2013
    3,451
    113
    Hammond, LA
    I cant even do that with my mossberg shotguns, they arent drop safe. Id have to leave the chamber empty until ready to shoot.

    Interesting. So after reading your comment above I searched and read about Mossbergs and drop safety. Reading from several forums, the consensus seems newer Mossberg shotguns are now drop safe, where the older models are not. Seems most all shotgun manufacturers in the last 10 or 20 years have made improvements (most likely I'm guessing heavier trigger pulls/more sear engagement contact surfaces, or an actual mechanical firing pin block similar in function to a series 80 Colt 1911 or a Glock pistol) to make their new production shotguns drop safe. Also read many users claimed the older Remington shotguns are not drop safe, but also read Remington could not reproduce ADs from dropping them in their testing. I'm also guessing shotgun manufacturers made improvements (drop safe) both to produce a safer weapon, and avoid any possible litigation/law suits/liability. I bet Kenny @meplatgroup could comment on this from his experience, and any historical shotgun drop AD lawsuits.

    They (shotgun manufacturers) must now have a drop standard too for shotguns, for their in house testing procedures. Like a 8' drop on the buttstock. Or perhaps 6 or 8' on the muzzle end. Read one report on line of a fellow duck hunting grabbed his shotgun by the barrel and dropped it. It discharged and severely damaged his hand, he ultimately lost his hand. One would think the safety was off, but the report did not say one way or the other. So perhaps even if the safety was indeed engaged when I dropped the older model Winchester 13 or 14 feet, it may have discharged anyway.
     

    Xeon64

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Jan 26, 2021
    790
    93
    Prairieville, LA
    Amen! We still see hunters come in on a regular basis starting about October every year. Many while building or testing stands. Lot of sad stories. The worst was a guy who wound up falling on arrows. The entire stand failed with him in it. Any of you guys who cheat on the harness when using a climber, especially when bow hunting, please reconsider! And remember to let someone know your plans in case you get injured and can’t make contact so you’ll hopefully be found in time.
    I never wear a harness but do not go up more than 12ft. Still can get hurt at that height I just take the risk.
     

    sawgrass

    Hunka Hunka burning lead.
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Mar 17, 2008
    802
    28
    Hammond
    A very good friend from Summit recovered his son two days after he fell from his stand and was impaled by a Cypress knee through a femoral artery. Tragic to say the least.
     

    mforsta

    Pops
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jun 25, 2012
    494
    28
    Denham Springs
    I never wear a harness but do not go up more than 12ft. Still can get hurt at that height I just take the risk.
    Please be careful. I fell out of a ladder stand two years ago. I was climbing up to get in the stand when I fell. I got to the top and put my rifle on the seat so I could get up on the platform. I stepped up on the last rung to get up to the platform but I missed the rung. I fell backward but fortunately my leg got caught on the rung as I fell. This caused me to tumble down the ladder slowing my fall before I hit the ground. I landed on my back and left side. As I hit the ground I felt something hit my chest. It as my .45 that I was carrying. It had come out of the holster and landed on my chest. Luckily it did not discharge. After a few seconds of getting my wits about me I took inventory of my body making sure everything was working. With everything working I climbed back up and made the hunt. The next few days I felt like someone had beat the ever living crap out of me. I had a bruise from my hip to my knee on my left leg that lasted weeks. The following Monday I went and purchased safety lines for all of our ladders stands. We already had them on all of lock-on stands but we figured who could fall from a ladder stand. Well I found out you can and it hurts when you hit the ground.
     

    dantheman

    I despise ARFCOM
    Premium Member
    Rating - 100%
    65   0   0
    Jan 9, 2008
    7,439
    113
    City of Central
    I tripped over a parking log and fractured my wrist when I landed on it . I can imagine the damage that can be done falling out of a Deer stand .
     

    Xeon64

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Jan 26, 2021
    790
    93
    Prairieville, LA
    Everyone should practice three points of contact at all times when climbing. Two hands and a foot or two feet and a hand holding on. All while moving slowly and making sure you have a firm grip. Also having yourself mentally prepared for things like a coon being in your stand or wasp.
     

    SVT Bansheeman

    No more laughing dog
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Jan 24, 2011
    429
    43
    Lockport, LA
    Interesting. So after reading your comment above I searched and read about Mossbergs and drop safety. Reading from several forums, the consensus seems newer Mossberg shotguns are now drop safe, where the older models are not. Seems most all shotgun manufacturers in the last 10 or 20 years have made improvements (most likely I'm guessing heavier trigger pulls/more sear engagement contact surfaces, or an actual mechanical firing pin block similar in function to a series 80 Colt 1911 or a Glock pistol) to make their new production shotguns drop safe. Also read many users claimed the older Remington shotguns are not drop safe, but also read Remington could not reproduce ADs from dropping them in their testing. I'm also guessing shotgun manufacturers made improvements (drop safe) both to produce a safer weapon, and avoid any possible litigation/law suits/liability. I bet Kenny @meplatgroup could comment on this from his experience, and any historical shotgun drop AD lawsuits.

    They (shotgun manufacturers) must now have a drop standard too for shotguns, for their in house testing procedures. Like a 8' drop on the buttstock. Or perhaps 6 or 8' on the muzzle end. Read one report on line of a fellow duck hunting grabbed his shotgun by the barrel and dropped it. It discharged and severely damaged his hand, he ultimately lost his hand. One would think the safety was off, but the report did not say one way or the other. So perhaps even if the safety was indeed engaged when I dropped the older model Winchester 13 or 14 feet, it may have discharged anyway.
    Thank you for bringing that up. I will talk to my gun smith the next time I go and have his thoughts on it with the trigger group in his hands if needed. Unfortunately I assumed they were not drop safe due to the many people saying that on facebook groups.
     

    Kraut

    LEO
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Oct 3, 2007
    1,799
    83
    Slidell, LA
    A friend of mine broke his pelvis in a tree stand fall a few years back, but luckily was not in the woods alone. He had a really long recovery.
     

    drill sgt

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Oct 19, 2019
    621
    63
    denham springs ,la
    Back in the middle 70"s one of my cousins during early bow season fell out of a deer stand when it collapsed and fell from approx 20/25ft..... He suffered at least a broken legs/badly bruised ribs/etc ...... got medical help and then was back in the woods on opening day of gun season in a wheelchair still bandaged up and sucesfully bagged a buck with a nice rack. He was parked underneath the same tree that he fell from. ................................................... drill sgt.
     

    charlie12

    Not a Fed.
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Apr 21, 2008
    8,518
    63
    Pride
    Back in the late 70's I was in the FD. We had a call for a guy that fell out of a stand way back in the woods.
    We got back where he was and cleared a LZ for the LSP helicopter to land. Didn't have EMS and Airmed in EBR back then. Got the helicopter down and the backboard we had him on was a little to wide for the helicopter so we removed some of the trim inside and got him loaded up. LSP flew him to BR and I took the other Trooper and stokes basket back to Troop A. The guy had a broken back.
     

    Will Penny

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 23, 2023
    32
    8
    Baton Rouge
    Back in the late 70's I was in the FD. We had a call for a guy that fell out of a stand way back in the woods.
    We got back where he was and cleared a LZ for the LSP helicopter to land. Didn't have EMS and Airmed in EBR back then. Got the helicopter down and the backboard we had him on was a little to wide for the helicopter so we removed some of the trim inside and got him loaded up. LSP flew him to BR and I took the other Trooper and stokes basket back to Troop A. The guy had a broken back.
    Sounds familiar. Had a high school buddy fall from a stand in either late 70’s or early 80’s. He broke his back and wound up paralyzed. He was from Central.
     

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