Be careful...

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Shanghai McCoy

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OK guys, we all know the upcoming seasons have us excited, anticipating the hunts and checking our stands. So, Be Careful out there...

Today I went out back to set up a short ladder stand, just enough to see over the Tall Blue stem prairie grass that grows there. Found a spot on the fence line and leaned the stand against the tree then climbed up a couple steps just to wrap the strap and tighten it up. Dang thing leaned over and I rode it down, "pausing" to have my left had get caught between the top of the fence,(barbed wire..) and the side of the ladder stand. Finished the trip down and rolled a bit. A nasty gash on the hand and some ugly bruising. Washed it up and wrapped it then a one hand drive to Lawrence hospital E R for x-rays and tetanus shot.

So, I repeat, take care out there everyone and remember, the leading cause of us "old guys" getting hurt is our thinking we're still "young guys."
 
Hope everyone a safe season, some of the first words I remember my dad saying to me when hunting was take your time there's no need to rush, he wasn't big on walking out in the pitch black either. Lol remember my first time by myself walking out early in the dark, walked up on a steaming pile of bear crap mostly all corn and not thinking and in 20-25 yards bumping into the back side of the bear because I was looking at were the sun was just coming up and not paying attention.

I've seen some guys use stands you couldn't pay me to get into, so it's better to just fine a good ground spot then risking a rickety stand. Good to have a simple first aid kit in your pack to.
 
Getting older I don't do steep inclines any more.
I use to sit in old abandon tree trends, not no more. And when I go deer hunting I go out on flat ground or up hill so it lessens the chance of a heart attack from dragging a deer out.
Things change when you get over sixty. You still feel like your younger you, but you are an old man so you need to cut back on things.
Falls off of ladders are a common every day acurancs. Every day of the year every hospital gets patients that come in from ladder falls. The most common reasons is over reaching left or right instead of mowing the ladder a few inches. Missing a fung descending down the ladder or the ladder itself slipping and causing you to let gravity take its course.
There was an old guy in California that fell out of a tree stand a few years ago that was suspended upside down for two days before he was found.
 
I have read that most deaths and injuries deer hunting don't involve a weapon, or a snakebite, or the usual suspects- they involve deer stands. Another problem for everyone (especially people who may not be super athletic) is shooting something and not having a good plan to get it out, and overextending themselves. I ALWAYS wear a safety harness when I go up a stand. Prior and during season I check all my stands to make sure that they are still secure and the squirrels havent chewed through ratchet straps, and replace the straps when they need to be replaced. When I was a youngster I hunted from the most ricketty garbage in the woods made from scraps and dismantled pallets, and I never tied in. No more. I also try to let Mrs. Fl-NC know what stand I'm hunting and I carry my fully charged phone. Have someone on standby you can call to help you drag out that deer that ran down into a swamp and died, or whatever you need to do to not kill yourself dealing with a deer you already killed. .
 
If I remember right bassmaster/fisherman hank parkers son was killed falling from a stand, think his safety harness broke his neck but it's been awhile maybe I'm remembering it wrong. Either way don't just reliey on a harness if you have one.
 
Shanghai McCoy said:
So, I repeat, take care out there everyone and remember, the leading cause of us "old guys" getting hurt is our thinking we're still "young guys."
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My whole life I thought is was only young guys that got hurt because the old guys were sitting in rocking chairs on the porch. I do miss watching my body instantly heal itself after injury though, like when I was younger but healing slowly beats turning into an old guy... ;)
 
If you have wood tree stands check for critter damage. When I was till in high school helped a friend build a really nice stand on his uncles land. we did it in middle of summer so deer would be used to it by hunting season. made it out of pallets since his dad got them foe free at work. come opening day he climbed into the stand and went right through the floor. a possum ate all the under side of the plywood, found out later they like the glue. A few years ago I went to check on my ladder stand that stays up all year. and found a red tail hawk nested in it.
 
I used to wrap a rope around the deer’s head and front legs, the other half a few times around my waist and start dragging.

At some point I realized I was sweating and stopping for breaths every ten steps or so if the temp was above freezing.

I usually hunted by myself, finally figured one day they were going to find me and the deer both dead. That was about 8 years ago when I was only 67.
 
Always wear a hunter safety system harness and treestand wingman when climbing in stands. I had some medical issues that halted my gym time and I went from 260lbs to 340lbs. I’ve turned my buddies down several times this year when they want to bow hunt because I know I’m too heavy to be in a stand.
 
I'm 64. I stopped climbing trees about 10 years ago. I'm still in pretty decent shape and can out walk a lot of guys younger than me. But I'm not as agile as I once was. Just not worth the risk and I have always enjoyed hunting on the ground better anyway even if it's a handicap.

I have a friend about 7-8 years younger than me fall out of a tree a couple of years ago. He spent about 2 weeks in the hospital and months in therapy. He had a fractured back, broken hip and punctured lung. Would have probably died if his hunting partner about 50 yards away hadn't heard him fall.
 
Shanghai McCoy said:
OK guys, we all know the upcoming seasons have us excited, anticipating the hunts and checking our stands. So, Be Careful out there...

Today I went out back to set up a short ladder stand, just enough to see over the Tall Blue stem prairie grass that grows there. Found a spot on the fence line and leaned the stand against the tree then climbed up a couple steps just to wrap the strap and tighten it up. Dang thing leaned over and I rode it down, "pausing" to have my left had get caught between the top of the fence,(barbed wire..) and the side of the ladder stand. Finished the trip down and rolled a bit. A nasty gash on the hand and some ugly bruising. Washed it up and wrapped it then a one hand drive to Lawrence hospital E R for x-rays and tetanus shot.

So, I repeat, take care out there everyone and remember, the leading cause of us "old guys" getting hurt is our thinking we're still "young guys."
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you survived! Not a fan of heights either!

Next time, drop me a line and I'll come over and help. I'm looking for excuses to get out of chores (around here).

One of our LTCs took a nasty fall a couple years ago from a stand and messed himself up; stitches, a surgery for torn ligaments, and a couple compressed discs.
 
There are other situations to be mindful of! My brother Mike used to hunt with some high schools friends and they would enter the woods early while it was still dark. Mike didn't carry a light for whatever reason but this one morning he was convinced to carry one. After entering the woods Mike heard a noise and remembering that he had a light switched it on and the noise maker was a large skunk. Luckily it didn't spray and Mike never entered the woods again without a light and it being on.
 
Chuck R. said:
Glad to hear you survived! Not a fan of heights either!

Next time, drop me a line and I'll come over and help. I'm looking for excuses to get out of chores (around here).

One of our LTCs took a nasty fall a couple years ago from a stand and messed himself up; stitches, a surgery for torn ligaments, and a couple compressed discs.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer Chuck. :thumbup:
The left hand is messy and a bit swollen but nothing serious, (though the x-ray found some arthritis..:uhoh:)
Still not sure how my ear got cut up tho..? o_O
 
I hear ya Mac. I moved a ladder stand last week and it took every ounce of strength that I had to lift and lean it against the tree. It will be there when I am dead and gone. Then Saturday I popped a doe with my smokepole. She bailed off of the ridge for 150-200 yards into some of the steepest, gnarliest cedar thicket that you can imagine. Don't know how she made it that far because I double-lunged her tight behind the shoulder. Having dragged several out of there I decided that it was best to go downhill to the lower field. An hour and a half later I had her back to the truck. I came out into the field over a 1/4 mile from where I intended, then had to hike 1/2 mile back to my ATV. Half of it was up a 30 degree grade. I would find some youngsters to hunt with but I have been told not to bring anyone else onto the farm. The next one that I shoot will be in the middle of the road and I will high-shoulder it. Fun takes on a new meaning when you hit 70 years old.
 
FL-NC said:
I have read that most deaths and injuries deer hunting don't involve a weapon, or a snakebite, or the usual suspects- they involve deer stands.
Click to expand...
Highland Lofts said:
I use to sit in old abandon tree trends, not no more. And when I go deer hunting I go out on flat ground or up hill so it lessens the chance of a heart attack from dragging a deer out.
Click to expand...
TarDevil said:
Bad back, bad knees, old age...I stay off any climbing apparatus.
Glad it wasn't worse!
Click to expand...

As I’ve said before, I’ve never even seen a tree stand. I’ve seen pictures of them, and I’ve read quite a bit about them, but I’ve never seen one for real.
Nevertheless, there’s plenty of hazards that come along with outdoor activities (like hunting) that can kill you, or at least mess you up if you’re not careful. I’m 74, and I’ve been hunting, backpacking, climbing, camping and fishing my whole life. Yet this year I stupidly let myself get badly dehydrated on opening day of deer season - Monday, the 10th. And because I was still dragging around and barely able to move the following Wednesday, my wife took me to Urgent Care at the clinic thinking I might have covid or worse - heart problems.
I didn’t have either. They ran a bunch of tests and determined that I was badly dehydrated, and the dehydration had resulted in a urinary tract infection. So, I’m on antibiotics (which always mess me up if I don’t eat enough pro-biotics like yogurt) and I’m drinking a lot of water and Gatorade.
I’m glad I got a deer on opening day because my wife (who still has a tag) and I haven’t been able to get back out hunting because I just don’t feel up to it. Besides, even though there wasn’t any “dragging" involved (I was able to back the truck right up to the dead deer) my wife pulled a muscle in her back trying to help load it.
It could have been worse. We’ll most likely be around to go deer hunting again next year. But my wife and I have just got to remember that we’re not in our 40s anymore, and dehydration (which is so very easy to avoid) can be a killer at any age. :eek:
 
Filling feeders from a ladder last year, thought I was on the last rung and stepping onto dirt...Noooo.....I was still 2 rungs up......at 75 years old I fell back into the side of 23 year old pick up. Major dent...the only one on that fine old girl. Thank goodness it was there.
About 4 years ago rode my tree stand down with a 336 at sling arms...I quit tree stands.
 
Shanghai McCoy said:
Thanks for the offer Chuck. :thumbup:
The left hand is messy and a bit swollen but nothing serious, (though the x-ray found some arthritis..:uhoh:)
Still not sure how my ear got cut up tho..? o_O
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I'm thinking arthritis is a given... at a certain age when they don't find it, you start to worry!

Your ear probably connected with something on the way down..
 
You people do realize it's just as easy to kill a deer from the ground, don't you? I have only got one deer while in a stand, all the others have been while stillhunting, sometimes stumpsitting. I was 16 when I shot my first deer while I was in a stand, and I literally jumped out of it after waiting and watching it to make sure it didn't move. Don't think I'd want to do that nowadays. :uhoh:
 
entropy said:
You people do realize it's just as easy to kill a deer from the ground, don't you? I have only got one deer while in a stand, all the others have been while stillhunting, sometimes stumpsitting. I was 16 when I shot my first deer while I was in a stand, and I literally jumped out of it after waiting and watching it to make sure it didn't move. Don't think I'd want to do that nowadays. :uhoh:
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Have to disagree.

Like many things it depends on your terrain. Believe it or not, even here in KS the ground isn't really flat and in a few places hunting from the ground results in staring into a patch of 4' tall buffalo grass. With a lot of terraced fields where a little elevation helps you see over the terraces. Then there's the whole scent/wind thing to think about. Also some guys say deer don't look up and I agree to a point. Educated deer look up, but an awful lot will walk right under a stand as long as your scent doesn't give you away.

I hunt from the ground a lot, but if I'm sitting in overwatch I'll take an elevated position every time. It gives me a lot more visibility, put's my scent over trails, and an awful lot of deer don't look up...
 
I know that I have posted about tree stand safety before, but for the sake of the new members here we go again.

I taught hunter safety for the Arkansas Game and Fish Dept. for several years. Every year they would send out a report of accidents from the previous year. We would average about 2 dozen reported accidents and half of them would be tree stand related. Some were even fatal. Since then I have advocated the use of safety harness'. They work.
 
rdnktrkr said:
Something else to keep in mind, last year my grandson stepped on a yellow jacket nest and got hit several times, not that big a deal except he is allergic, so 2 Benadryl tablets and off to the immediate care with eppy pen in hand, everything came out OK doc said quick dose of Benadryl and cooler weather made it easier
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Yep, as I said, there's plenty of hazards that come along with outdoor activities. My wife, who has struggled with asthma since she was a little girl, carries an inhaler and an eppy pen in a quick access fanny pack while hunting because she knows sagebrush pollen, and sometimes even dust can trigger an asthma attack. She was also wearing a face mask while hunting years and years before covid made face masks "fashionable." ;)
On the other hand, even though my wife now struggles with atrial fibrillation as well and has a "Disabled Hunter Permit" (so she can legally shoot from a motor vehicle as long as it's not moving or on a public road) she's still getting out there. And if one of us dies while out hunting, it will probably be me because until these last few years, I've never had to deal with underlying health issues. Growing old is becoming quite the "learning experience" for me. :confused::)
 
Neighbor invited to go deer hunting.
Got up the next morning to an extremely dense fog.
He drives us back to the hunt are and says, the stand is 150 yards down this trail, on the right. His stand was 400 yards down the road and on another trail.

I start walking, for seemed like a mile. Fog had visibility at 50'. I was beginning to think I had passed the stand, when I caught sight of a ladder.
I grab the ladder and give it a shake. Nice and solid. I climb up. Get to the top and push the door open on the box blind.
A @@$%^ screech owl is inside. It screeches as it flies off.
I find myself on the ground, heart beating at 250 bpm.
I sat on the bottom rung until daylight, then SLOWLY ascended to the stand.
As the fog cleared, I am searching the trees for an owl.
At lunch, neighbor asks if I had that owl, it screeched and about crapped himself.
 
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