When it comes to safety checks of treestands, you can’t take enough precautions. It’s a topic where every one of us can improve.
Most hunting properties have a varied inventory of treestands and blinds that range from hang-on stands to ladder stands, box blinds, tower stands and everything in between.
This means that scattered throughout a typical inventory of stands, the only thing standing between a hunter and serious injury, disability or even death, are wire rope cable lanyards, nylon ratchet straps, screw-in tree steps, wooden ladder rungs, ropes, nails, bolts and any number of other fasteners and supports.
The Corrosion Problem
It takes time for corrosion or rust to take their toll on metal objects; but it will happen if given enough time. It’s a totally different story, however, when it comes to straps, ropes and cables.
Damage and weakening caused by UV light and weather can happen amazingly fast. For example, a hang-on or ladder stand can be perfectly safe when you climb down from your last hunt in January but then become a deathtrap by the following October or November.
Always Check
If your treestand has been in place for even a few months, every stand with its cables and fasteners should be looked at closely before ever climbing in to hunt.
You should look at them, tug and pull on them; and if there is the slightest indication of stress, strain, and deterioration, replace them immediately. The wrong time to find out that there is a problem is at 0-dark-30, with your rifle or bow slung across your back.
You may have to buy a few sets of cables each year, but hey, what is the alternative cost of being injured, maimed or even killed?
I never thought of my cables as being the weak point that would cause a fall. I thought of the straps, the tree, my own inattention and stepping off balance. It only took one time. I was in a hurry and left without my harness. No worries, this stand had chains not straps, I’m good. I will forever remember the sound of my cables snapping. Its day 320 since my fall, helicopter ride and the 3 surgeries over 6 days I needed to replace my vertebrae. I walk again and I will “recover” but my life is forever different and I will feel the pain of my fall. Don’t take a chance. Replace your cables annually. You may not be as lucky as I am. You may not survive your fall.