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View Full Version : Harness Anchor, stand safety


camper4lyfe
September 3, 2008, 01:58 PM
Hello all.

This is my first post here. I'm hoping to get some input from some of you, as I don't have much family that hunts.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm afraid of heights, however, I don't like ground hunting (deer). I've taken 2 deer from the ground, and one from a stand, but I much prefer the height/sight advantage from a tree. For the most part, once I'm in a stand, and settled in, I'm fine. The hardest part for me (and also the most dangerous) is getting in and out of a stand, and getting my harness tied in.

What I've done in the past is actually put the harness on after I've gotten dressed, before I hit the woods, that way I can see what I'm doing. Once I'm in the tree, I tie myself in. However, I'm extremely uneasy moving around in the stand.

My parents just purchased 5.5 acres of wooded land that I plan to hunt either this year, or next, depending on how much time I can get in down there this fall.

My idea is this: Instead of having to strap myself into the tree, has anyone ever just screwed an eye bolt into a tree and used a caribiner to clip into the tree, rather than having to mess around with the harness straps on the tree?

Also, I see a lot of people recommending tieing in or using ropes to climb up into the stand. For those of you that do it, how exactly DO you use a safety rope to climb up? I've rock climbed before, but doing something like that has always required a 2nd person to help. Obviously that's not an option, so what do you do?

Pahoo
September 3, 2008, 02:33 PM
I started out as a bow hunter, many years ago and use to make my own stands, steps, hangers and whatevers. When I think about how I moved in these home made stands, It only confirms that God truly loves fools. About ten years ago in +5 above temp. I started climbing up my home made tree spikes, to my stand and had trouble with my fingers not working very well. I stopped and asked myself; "How old are you??" and came back down and have been hunting from ground blinds ever since. So you see, I'm no longer in a good position to answer your questions.

However,
I have a video that I would be more than happy to mail to you. Perhaps after you get through with it, you can send it on to someone else. Email me your address and I will send it to you. Kind of my way of welcoming you to this forum.

Be Safe !!!

Wild Bill Bucks
September 3, 2008, 03:13 PM
The trees around southeastern Oklahoma are mostly Oaks, where I hunt, and make using a climbing harness all but impossible. The way I make my stand is to, find a suitable tree, that gives me enough branches to climb as easily as possible, without having to strain to get from one branch to another. I tie a small rope to my stand, and the other end to my belt loop on the first trip up the tree. I also attach a small tree saw to another rope and tie it to my belt loop also. Put on your safety harness and your ready to climb.( Put the clip on your harness, in the front for now)

Carry a good (but not to heavy) piece of chain, with an eye attached to a link in the chain, and a good chain tightener, up the tree on your first climb.

Decide from the ground the best location on the tree for the stand, remembering that higher isn't always better. If you are to high, it will become harder to see game coming. I like about 10 to 12 feet, any higher and I begin to get into the branches to far to see.

Once you decide where you are going, climb the tree to a spot just above where you intend to put your stand. Wrap your chain around the tree and close it with your tightener, then clip your safety harness, to the eye in the chain. Now you can work without worrying about falling.

Bring your saw up first, and clean out any branches that may be in the way. When you are through with the saw, lower it back to the ground. Don't untie the saw, as you will probably see other things you will want to cut, after you get your stand in place. BUT DO NOT keep the saw in the tree with you while you are putting your stand up. ( I won't go into how I came to acquire this knowledge)

After you have lowered your saw, bring your stand up on the other rope, and mount it the way you want. I try to position my stand where I have at least one limb I can reach with my hand, so if I want to shift a little in my stand, it gives me a little security to do so. This is generally the limb I will tie my string to, that I use for raising my rifle up and down with. NEVER CLIMB WITH YOUR RIFLE OVER YOUR SHOULDER.

When you are finished with your stand, untie any ropes you have attached to you and drop them, before climbing down. Now you have made one trip up and one trip down, and are ready to hunt, when you come back to the stand.

Turn the harness with the safety clip around, and when you go hunting, you can easily attach the harness to your safety chain in the tree, and enjoy your hunt.

Climbing any tree should be done with caution, and take every precaution you can, to make it as safe as possible. There isn't any kind of safety feature I know of for climbing, and this is generally where most people get hurt. Once your in your stand and attached to your harness, you are pretty safe, just be careful getting up and down. There ain't nothing that will take the passion out of hunting faster than falling out of your tree.:D

rantingredneck
September 3, 2008, 03:41 PM
Look into the prussic knot style ascent/descent systems.

Be careful up there...........(a little light reading for you below) ;)

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263730

davlandrum
September 3, 2008, 03:44 PM
If you are using the same tree frequently, tie off one end of a rope above your stand and one end at the base of the tree. Make the rope in between fairly snug.

Use some parachute cord and rig up a Prusik Knot (should be able to google that) on main rope. You can then clip into the prusik knot as you go up and down. The prusik knot is designed to slip up and down when slack, but bind when you put weight on it.

Watch the Army Ranger competition sometime to see what can be done with a prusik :eek: