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John Flores’ son, Jason Flores, and grandson, Gabriel Flores, put up a deer stand during the 2014-2015 deer season. (Submitted Photo/Courtesy of John K. Flores)

How safe is your deer stand?

By JOHN K. FLORES

With many bow hunters taking to the woods across the state this week, there still are plenty of others preparing for the upcoming primitive weapon and regular gun seasons later this month.
One of the preparations that is part of the annual process is erecting or relocating elevated stands in productive areas to increase one’s chance of harvesting a deer. Invariably, one of the biggest things overlooked when it comes to elevated heights is safety.
Proper use of firearms typically is at the forefront of hunting safety and where emphasis is placed on hunters annually. As a result, when it comes to tree stand-related injuries in the field, few statistics are available to analyze what happened.
“Since 1990, we have 39 incidents on record in Louisiana in our database where the major factor to injury was related to falling from a stand,” said Eric Shanks, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Hunter Education Program manager. “Because fall injuries are not required to be reported, like (a) gunshot wound is, I suspect these incidents are severely underreported, and the real number is much higher. But, all I can go by is what was reported and investigated.”
Annually, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issues a press release and posts on social media reminders to practice tree stand safety. Suggested safety practices include never using a homemade stand, only Treestand Manufacturer’s Association stands.
Other practices include wearing a Treestand Manufacturer’s Association approved full-body harness, knowing your tree stand, use of a rope and attaching it to the opposite sides of your tree stand for a climbing aide, using healthy trees to secure your stand and letting someone know where you’re hunting.
The department also has produced several tree stand videos that are available on its website at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting-safety-videos.
In spite of a plethora of information and tree stand videos available, one of the biggest mistakes hunters make is not securing themselves once situated in a stand.
“Whether you’re hanging a lean-to stand or standing on the bucket of a front end loader while putting up a box blind, any time you are more than a couple of feet off the ground, you should employ the proper safety equipment,” Shanks said. “Just for the record, falling 6 feet still hurts. It’s just less likely to kill you.”
With more than 30 years of experience hunting whitetail deer in the marshes of St. Mary Parish, when it comes to tree stands, I have discovered that tree stands made of thin steel tubing can fool you.
During my annual preparations, on more than one occasion I have arrived at tree stands that on the outside looked as good as the day I put them up the previous year only for the rungs to break upon inspection. The brackish waters of the coastal marshes and year-round high humidity can be corrosive when it comes to exposed steel.
Shanks said those who hunt these coastal areas should inspect their stands more frequently.
Emphasis needs to be placed on annual inspection of tree stands, whether purchased from a retailer or homemade and handcrafted from treated lumber. Treated lumber exposed to the elements — rain or shine — still breaks down in time. Nails and screws back out, extremes in temperatures fracture wood and contrary to popular belief, given enough time, insects still do their best to eat treated lumber. Apparently, it’s an acquired taste.
Perhaps the biggest mistake hunters make annually when it comes to tree stands is complacency.
“In my opinion, complacency could be considered a major factor for most fall injuries associated with deer stands,” Shanks said. “It starts with complacency about reading and following manufacturers’ installation directions, which lead to improper installation resulting in failure. Complacency is also an issue with stand inspection, particularly on private land, where hunters may leave the stand up for multiple years. I’m sure that being busy is part of it since hunting season always seems to slip up on us, as well as inconvenience and cost. Probably the biggest thing hunters get complacent about is wearing and using a harness and tethers when hunting from elevated stands.”
Deer stand safety begins with each individual. There is plenty of information available, whether it is the manufacturers’ instructions, or a YouTube video. It’s up to each hunter to read and employ the techniques recommended.
“I’m not going to say that the, ‘It can’t happen to me,’ attitude causes all of the accidents, but there is an element to it for all accidents,” Shanks said. “To be frank, if you knew that if you didn’t wear a safety harness you would fall and hurt yourself, you would wear it.”
However, Shanks said because people don’t fall all the time when not using the correct safety equipment, he said hunters form an “It-can’t-happen-to-me attitude.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Flores is The Daily Review’s Outdoor Writer. If you wish to make a comment or have an anecdote, recipe or story to share, you can contact Flores at 985-395-5586, gowiththeflo@cox.net or visit his Facebook page at gowiththeflo outdoors.
Hunters for the Hungry
food drive
Hunters For the Hungry will hold a food drive Sunday at First Assembly of God Church in Youngsville and at Academy Sports and Outdoors in Lafayette from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for hunters interested in cleaning out their freezers for the upcoming year. Frozen processed game and fish will be accepted to help provide meals to the impoverished in local communities.

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