There was no warning. Only a metallic “snap,” and in an instant the hunter was on the ground... a numbing pain in his back and a razor-sharp broadhead protruding from his thigh.
This day started out like any other opening day. The pre-dawn ritual came easily and as he went through a mental checklist, all appeared to be in order. Buckling his seatbelt, the drive to his favorite hunting area went swiftly. There was 30 minutes of darkness ahead when he finished the hike to his hunting spot. With bright moonlight flooding through the forest canopy, he didn’t need to use a flashlight. If he had, maybe... just maybe... he would have seen the hairline crack in the familiar old treestand as he attached it to the white oak tree.
Every time his climbing treestand “chunked” another step up the tree, the hairline crack grew a fraction. Twenty feet off the ground, the hunter settled in and hauled his bow and pack up by rope. Following the time-honored routine, he dug into the pack for the safety belt and was distraught to find he’d apparently lost it since last season. Everything else was there. Facemask, gloves, masking scent... all the necessary bits and pieces essential for allowing a whitetail deer to walk into bow range.
The orange glow on the eastern horizon reminded him, however, that sunrise was near and the forest was coming to life. The first rustling leaves of a squirrel leaping limb-to-limb. A black-capped chickadee chattered along the bark of a nearby pine. It was time to prepare.
The final touch was the arrow. An anodized graphite shaft tipped by a carbon steel broadhead with four razors attached, designed to bring death, swift and sure. He selected an arrow and eased it quietly from the bow quiver. Just as he prepared to snap the nock onto the string, the hairline crack screamed across the support arm of the treestand.
Less than a second later he was on the ground... bent, broken and dazed.
It was like waking up in the middle of a dream. Those times when you’re really not sure what’s real and what’s imaginary. The hunter tried to shake away the nightmare, but it only got worse.
From behind a mental fog he could hear the birds, the squirrels, and even a car on a very distant highway. Fully aware now, he raised on one elbow and tried to gather his legs beneath him, only to painfully realize they wouldn’t move. That’s when he looked down and saw the broadhead protruding from his thigh.
A skilled hunter, he knew all about the femoral artery. He knew it was about the size of his thumb, so large it makes an easy path for doctors to thread a catheter directly to the heart. He knew a cut to this artery and you lose a lot of blood quickly.
In the dim light of dawn however, he couldn’t see the red carpet spreading across the forest floor beneath his leg. Although the hunter lay very still, he soon grew weary. Twenty minutes later the sun was well above the horizon. The birds and squirrels were even louder, but beneath the white oak and the chattering chickadee, the hunter didn’t stir.
This isn’t a true story, at least as far as I know. But chances are a similar scenario will, or has already, played itself out this year.
Tennessee’s deer season for archers is open through Oct. 31. Nearly every year about half of all hunting accidents are falls from tree stands.
In Georgia, 51 percent of all hunting accidents involve falls from a treestand.
“The actual numbers are probably even higher,” said Phil Neil, TWRA’s Hunter Education Coordinator. “Reporting has gotten a lot better, but we probably don’t hear about all the accidents.”
J.P. Raines with Chattanooga’s Highland Sportsman Club has been teaching hunter safety courses for 25 years. “I hate to say this,” said Raines, “but probably not more than half the hunters in treestands use safety belts.”
Raines says one common reason for falls is when hunters grow bored and fall asleep, the same calamity that happens to many drivers. He says it’s ironic that most hunters wouldn’t think of driving to their favorite hunting spot without wearing a seat belt, but they don’t wear one in the tree. ”In the car or in a tree, a safety belt is an automatic thing with me,” he says.
Flipping through reports listing the names of dead and injured, Neil says the same is true for him, and he hopes for others. "I don't want my name on one of these pieces of paper."
TEN RULES FOR TREE STAND SAFETY:
- Always wear a safety belt when hunting from a stand, including while ascending and descending.
- Never climb into a permanent stand you have not built yourself or carefully checked out.
- Never hunt from tree limbs.
- Be sure the commercial stand you have is safe. Practice with it before using it in the woods.
- Never climb a tree that is too small or too large for your stand to fit safely.
- Be sure your stand is level at the height you wish to hunt.
- Always stand up slowly and be sure of your balance.
- Be sure you are steady and braced before shooting a firearm.
- Always use a haul line for your bow or unloaded firearm. Do not attempt to climb a stand with your equipment.
- Never climb a dead tree or one with dead limbs above your head.