How Safe Am I In A Tree Stand

How Safe Am I - In A Tree Stand?

By Ron Seevers

I saw two bucks, one big rack and one small four-point. Every time I walked toward them, they would circle and come right back to the same area. Knowing that my buddy had a stand in that area, I decided to hunt from it. The next thing I knew, clang, bang, and down I went. The closest thing I can relate the fall to is the ‘Demon Drop’ at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The result was three broken vertebras in my lower back and my left arm dislocated at the elbow.

It all begin back in 1992 when I was out bow hunting and, on that morning, I learned just how dangerous a tree stand could be, no matter how careful you try to be. My story takes place in the city of Weirton, WV, during the city’s annual bow hunt. This is a day I will never forget for the rest of my life.

It began about 5:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Two hunting buddies and I met at the local greasy spoon restaurant for breakfast prior to going into the woods. One of our crew was on the police force at Weirton and that day he could not go due to obligations at work. He had mentioned where his stand was so we would not hunt within range of his stand, just in case he got off work early and was able to join us.

I had set up my stand about a mile into the woods; my friend had set his up halfway between the police officer’s stand and me. Around 10:00 a.m., my stomach was feeling extremely upset and I remembered I had some Rolaids in my truck. I climbed down out of the tree and sneaked back to where my hunting partner was and told him I was not feeling too well. Something at breakfast had not agreed with me and I was going to my truck and get the Rolaids. I told him I would come back to the woods and try to drive some deer toward his stand.

After walking to the area where the empty stand was (belonging to my buddy that didn’t hunt that morning), I saw two bucks, one with a big rack and one small four-point. Every time I walked toward them, they would circle and come right back to the same area. I assumed there must be a hot doe in the area. Knowing that my buddy had a stand somewhere in that area, I started looking for it. When I found it, I maneuvered to the stand and proceeded to climb the ladder. I tested the stand to make sure it was solid and then stepped out onto the stand. As I was facing the tree, putting on my safety belt (which I always wear), all of a sudden, clang, bang, and down I went. As I indicated earlier, it was pretty much like the ‘Demon Drop’ at Cedar Point.

Although I landed on both feet, I bounced and fell on my back, knocking the wind out of me. In the meantime, my friend in his stand had heard the clanging and banging of the tree stand sliding down the tree, so he got out of his stand and came to see what had happened. When he arrived, he told me to stay where I was and not to move. He was going to get an ambulance.

An ambulance and a rescue team came from Weirton and after a couple of EMTs walked back to where I was laying and reported my condition to the rescue squad, they tried to get a four-wheel-drive vehicle to me and got stuck. They then sent a team on foot with a “Stokes Basket” to carry me out. Six men ended up carrying me in the basket, with one man carrying my left arm on a pillow, to the waiting ambulance.

I was loaded into the ambulance and, with sirens blaring and red lights flashing, we headed for Weirton’s emergency room. Upon arrival, I was given a quick exam. They then called my doctor, who said to get me to Wheeling Hospital. So, once again amidst sirens and red lights, I was on my way to Wheeling Hospital. During the trip to Wheeling, I kept trying to get them to stop at McDonald’s because I was so hungry but, of course, they wouldn’t.

In Wheeling, it was determined I had three broken vertebras in my lower back and my left arm was dislocated at the elbow, the lower part of the arm was out of socket and rotated 180 degrees, and shoved up under the left shoulder. I was taken to the operating room, my arm put back in place and wrapped in a cast. A brace was made for my back, which I had to wear and lay flat on my back for six weeks. When the cast was removed after those six long weeks, it took several weeks of therapy before I could even move my arm. My back brace stayed on for about two months longer.

What did I learn from that morning in the woods? I will never go into a strange tree stand, including a friend’s. The fall was 23 feet and I am still paying for my mistake. I haven’t been in a tree stand or bow hunted since that day because I no longer have the ability to pull back a compound bow.