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Safety line /life line

6K views 66 replies 31 participants last post by  jjlrrw 
#1 · (Edited)
So I always hunt from 30 to 35 feet. I have been looking at these life lines. I always climb into my stand and then secure myself to the tree with my harness before pulling up my weapon. I like the idea of being secured the entire time from when I leave the ground. Especially with my injuries to my legs. Sometimes I lose feeling and go to step and there is no feeling and I fall down. I’m worried about that happening while climbing the tree. None of these companies that sell the lifeline set ups make a line long enough for my hunting set ups. If I’m hooked to it while in the tree standing up and it’s above my head as high as I can reach I’m guessing I need every bit of a 45’ to 50’ safety line. None of the companies offer that. Has anyone made it themselves? If so what type of rope should you use? Style? Thickness? Accessories needed?Any experience or advise would help. With my leg situation I think it’s just a matter of time before it happens so I’m thinking I want to get this done ASAP before I hunt again.


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#4 ·
I have stands that high also. I at one time found extra ling ones for sale and bought two. If you can't order one you can easily make one from 8 or 11 mm accessory cord. As mentioned above there are plenty of youtube tutorials on how to tie a Prussik knot. Maybe even get fancy and use an ascender instead. Make sure you buy the line at a store that sells climbing gear, not a hardware or a big box store. It's going to cost as much or more to buy the line off a reel there as it would be to order one already made.

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#7 ·
I attach once I get on my platform of the tree stand before I do anything else. When I climb I’m not attached. But I definitely want to be with my leg injury situation. I have always hunted that high. Never been caught by a mature buck yet and I can make quite a few more mistakes a d get away with it that you can’t at 20’. I normally don’t have an issue recovering deer after the shot. I’ve been pretty successful from those heights. When I hunt from stands 20’ or less I just don’t feel confident I can get it done if the opportunity presents itself. One of the benefits is lots of guys on state land won’t consider hunting my stand because of the height. But they sure don’t mind setting up On top of me. I went out Tuesday morning and found someone set up a stand about 50 yds away from me.


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#15 ·
If I’m suspended from a fall I should be able to grab onto my climbing sticks. I always have a climbing stick above the platform of the stand so I can step down into the platform. Plus it comes in handy to hang my back pack on and have all of my stuff accessible right next to me


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#19 ·
I would agree ladder stands are safer - at least they sure "feel like it"

It also makes sense that the majority of injuries and falls occur as people are exiting/entering the stand itself. That's when angles change, awkward contortions, failure of straps, etc.

If I had to pick I'd much rather be clipped into a safety line when climbing/descending rather than attached once sitting in the stand.

But everybody should do both
 
#20 ·
I would use ladder stands if they made them 30 to 35 ft tall. In my experience when a mature buck is standing in front of you the higher the better. I’m betting I wouldn’t have half of my bucks on the wall if I was hunting at 20’ and lower. I used to hunt out of 20’ ladder stands and never had any luck. I’m certain some of my success has come from the height I hunt from. It sure can’t hurt. I’m going to continue to hunt high. I just want to do it safer now that I have a bum leg.


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#25 ·
You have seen my stand out there. So you know first hand how high it is. I’m not sure 25’ would be enough. Your losing some rope by wrapping it around the tree which is also about 7 ‘ higher then the platform because you reach up as high as you can to tie off when in the stand. I was looking at the one you mentioned but I think I need at least 40’ of rope. Thirty feet if I leave the bottom 8 or so feet off the ground. If my stand is 35’ plus 7’ above that that is 42’.


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#24 ·
The rope's that come with Millennium stands are every bit of 30' long, probably longer (my sticks are 20' and I end up with a bunch of extra rope at the bottom). Also, don't forget that you can have the bottom of the rope at eye height, it doesn't need to touch the ground.
 
#27 ·
I think the original poster has a great basis for his question and his rationale.

--you should have a lifeline. Climbing up the stand.

--I have hang on stands with a lifeline with a prussik 20 to 25 feet I climb up. And an additional short above my head 6 foot lifeline. So I don't have to rely on the original climb safety line. So two safety lines. Because the one up top is less restricting, depending on the setup.

-- You should climb with a line. You can get static lines from separate climbing sites/lines standard static climbing lines.

--I see no problem with hooking up to hunter life lines after climbing 10 feet up. Great, great suggestion by U of M Fan.
Just hook on 10 feet up. Great solution to the original question.

--Great thread. Good questions, good answers. Great logic.
 
#33 ·
No offense intended, but this paper was published in 1994 and only looked at 24 people injured from falls. Very little can be gleaned from this. There's got to be more current and more comprehensive information available. I happen to believe that ladder stands are infinitely safer than any other type, but I've had trouble proving it because they just don't collect very good data it seems.
I think you're right re ladder stands. First of all, they're better secured, you don't have the stress and weight bearing down on the ratchet or chain like you do with a hang-on. Even if the ratchet's strength is compromised, there's very little pressure on it to cause it to break. I've cut ladderstand ratchets from the top and still have been able to balance and get down without falling. There's also no chain or wire connecting the platform that can fail. Those wires will definitely fail if they aren't carefully maintained. People probably get a little overconfident with ladderstands and neglect to protect themselves on ascents and descents, but they are definitely safer from an inherent danger perspective.

I only hunt ladderstands, box blinds, and from the ground with my ghillie suit these days. I had too many concussions when I was younger to take chances. I have lifelines set up on all my ladderstands.
 
#34 ·
On a side note, this is the first year that I’ve been doing hang and hunts. And the first time using a lineman’s belt. Makes hanging a stand so much easier and safer. Got the Tethrd linesman rope and rope man 2. Cannot believe it took me this long to get it. I’m lucky that I haven’t been hurt before without it.
I don't know how you'd hang a stand without a lineman's belt. I would have rubber arms if I tried that.
 
#35 ·
I hung from my saddle last spring to top a pine tree near the house that needed to come down and maxed out around 40 feet. I did the work on a calm day and still had too much sway to deal with. To each their own I guess.

I use a saddle with a lineman belt and and two short double looped static lines, one as a spare. I imagine in a fall that the lineman belt would snag on a climbing stick, knot on the tree or something, but on a smooth tree with no branches to deal with I want something that already grabs, hence the double looped static line.

I love the roperman and have a love hate relationship with pursik knots. As such, I used the roperman on the lineman belt and the pursik on my static line to hook my bridge into. The lineman belt length is changed often, the static line for my bridge, not so much.

I would think that a dedicated full height static line per stand would probably be the easiest and safest. Not the cheapest. I have seen video on how to leave paracord at each stand and use that to raise your static line but no idea where I saved it.

I like to use https://www.knotandrope.com/
 
#45 ·
Get some climbing rope. I use 50 off Sterling oplux for my climbing and rappeling down. View attachment 591233

Safety is important and I appreciate the lengths some will go to achieve it. But, when I see these 35' high stands, the name brand rope recommendations and jargon I wonder WTF are these people?
 
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#38 ·
On a side note, this is the first year that I’ve been doing hang and hunts. And the first time using a lineman’s belt. Makes hanging a stand so much easier and safer. Got the Tethrd linesman rope and rope man 2. Cannot believe it took me this long to get it. I’m lucky that I haven’t been hurt before without it.
Is the ropeman easier to use than prusic? Seems it would clang around ladders
 
#42 ·
I attach once I get on my platform of the tree stand before I do anything else. When I climb I’m not attached. But I definitely want to be with my leg injury situation. I have always hunted that high. Never been caught by a mature buck yet and I can make quite a few more mistakes a d get away with it that you can’t at 20’. I normally don’t have an issue recovering deer after the shot. I’ve been pretty successful from those heights. When I hunt from stands 20’ or less I just don’t feel confident I can get it done if the opportunity presents itself. One of the benefits is lots of guys on state land won’t consider hunting my stand because of the height. But they sure don’t mind setting up On top of me. I went out Tuesday morning and found someone set up a stand about 50 yds away from me.


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