One of the lease members was out at the lease last weekend and while getting down from the tripod, it fell on top of him. Thankfully he wasn't hurt but it was a very close call! I am going back this weekend to repair the tripod and get a second chance at a deer. Wish me luck! Lets hope everything goes to plan! Y'all stay safe out there!

Dang. Glad they weren't injured. Couple of stakes or t-post on the legs or strap it to a tree. Good luck on your hunt

I was going to strap it to a tree behind it. Thanks txshntr!!

My ladder on a platform stand slipped two weeks ago-wet wood gave way after the rain that weekend. I fell about six feet into the crook of a large cedar. Bruised my, er, ego and tore up my hand.

Knee folded up coming down the ladder stand last lease trip. Only two steps up so no injuries but I have a string to pull the bow up now. With two hands I wouldn't have had a problem stopping a fall. One hand on the bow left me dangling to the side with a foot hung in the rung.

I have 3 tripods and I always scale those with the utmost level of care and concern. I understand the fact that they're out in the elements, 24x7 so I do not take a thing for granted regarding perceived stability, anchoring, etc. Have read and heard about way too many life threatening or fatal injuries not to treat it any other way.

When I was young - too young to hunt - I fell out out of a stand half way down the ladder. Landed flat on my back. Luckily no injury.

there was a tree house incident like this for me... First time I had the wind knocked out of me I wasn't really hurt but I was SCARED...

Too many stories of hunters getting seriously injured or killed falling out of tree stands.

Get a lifeline. Use a harness. Stay connected going up and down. Be familiar with usage of the suspension relief band too, just in case you need it!

Be safe out there...

I'll bet you didn't have any trouble keeping your hand off your ego for a while afterwards...

This reminds me of a dangerously close call at our lease around 20 years ago. One of our lease members, Amos, set up his 16' tripod with a feeder well over 150 yards from the neighbor's fenceline about a month before deer season. You could see the fence in places and even see a box blind across the fence. It was easy to hear the neighbor's feeder go off, so presumably the neighbor could hear Amos' feeder too.

Well opening morning, Amos made his way in the dark to his tripod and began climbing. Near the top, the tripod suddenly collapsed and Amos hit the ground rather heavily on his back but wasn't seriously injured. When it got light enough to see, he found that someone had removed the 3/8" bolts holding the tripod together and had jammed mesquite twigs in the bolt holes. Thus the tripod would stand until Amos' weight caused the whole thing to come down. He also discovered that the battery in his feeder was gone and so the feeder no worky either.

Amos, not being a confrontational sort, moved his tripod much farther away from the fence and had no further problems that year. Nonetheless, he dropped off the lease at the end of the year. To a man, our other lease members wanted Amos to hold his ground. One guy even took a large piece of cardboard and with a rattle can of black paint, wrote, "We know you did it, Buddy!" and hung the sign on the fence in plain view of the neighbor's stand.

The moral of this story is that some hunters are territorial to the point of being certifiably crazy, and they have little regard for the well-being of their neighbors. So, periodically inspect your stands and feeders, especially if they're rather close to the fenceline. An idiot bent on sabotage can get nefariously creative...

That's not an accident. That's a malicious attack.

Guy would have found a tailless rattler in his box blind next time he hunted.

Or me in the blind waiting on him in the dark.

Well update on the hunt! We went out and had a south wind (not good for our stands.) However not only was the wind wrong, but the weather had the deer completely messed up. I left the blind at 10 that morning and when we went to go put up the new stand, we saw deer at the feeders at 11:30. Just a weird weekend for hunting. Still need that first kill though

Was scouting my new lease before bow season and tried to go up this dry rocky creek bank. Well I didn't make it and got sideways half way up. It threw me and my new rancher rolled over my leg and me and kept going three more flips. I popped up and got the rancher back on 4 wheels, she cranked right up.. Handle bars were bent down with broken switches and scratches. I didn't feel anything till I got back yo camp then I was getting stiff and my leg wasn't working too good. I was alone and no cell service..

Be careful out there!