Do you wear a safety harness?

[LoneWolf73]

Never. But after reading your posts........and that I am over fifty and do not fall as good as I used too.....I'll try the new one that just came with my new stand. Thanks!
Oh and yes some what crazy, foolish at times, part time fire walker(burn scars to prove it), retired Rugby Football player of 20 years. Living on the edge as not to take up much space!LOL

[kctreeman]

I wear it all the time. hate it every minute.  I've got the HSS systemand just can not get used to the confinement it presents. What is the best way to attach it to the tree?  Never seems like it is high enough overhead and then the teather strap interferes with my shooting. I bought the 30'safety rope but it doesn't seem to help.

[JAG]

Like my mother's oldest son too much not to wear it every time.
I teach Hunter Ed. and IBEP.  Some of my best show and tells are guys who have survived a fall!  You need to talk to some of them, or just give them a chance to talk.  May change your mind on not wearing a good fall restraint system!  Better yet talk to someone who will be in a wheelchair the rest of their life, because they thought it would never happen to them.  
Whats your life worth?

[Molson]

Make it the right safety system.  A couple days ago, a fellow was climbing a tree in his climber when the bottom slid out leaving him hanging from his safety BELT.  The belt kept him from falling, so much so that it cut off his ability to breathe.  Searchers found him at 2am.  It was his last hunt.

Wear a harness and, if you use a climber, at least tie the two sections together with a 4 or 5' length of rope.  That way you can pull the bottom back up to you and reset it if it slides out.

[Bob B.]

Absolutely!!  I coach football and every year we play a team that is coached by a man in a wheel chair.  I remember him as a bow hunter who did not use his safety harness one day...hense the chair.  When in a tree a harness is for me.

Bob.

[bmfer]

I'm prone to napping in my stand, so I tie it up so high that when I'm sitting down I can't even lean!!

[The Gopher]

i'm typing this with my 9 month old hunting buddy on my lap, how could i nto wear a safety harness now. although i will admit that in high school when i started bow hunting i didn't.

[Big_Al]

99% of the time I use my HSS.  Only time I don't use one is if I screw up and leave it at home.

[allanburden]

Always, watched my dad fall out of his practice ladder stand in the back yard and break his arm when I was 7.  I was his arrow chaser.  Ever since I started hunting I wore a harness.

[SOS]

I'm mainly using a belt, but lot of caution and cinched up tight so little slack and a short fall if I do lose it.  I know a harness would be better - just can't get comfortable with one.  Not a good excuse, but ALWAYS at least a belt.

[PhilNY]

I have my harness on always. I am tied off all the way up and all the way down. 30 years ago we didn't have as many options. I wouldn't go up now without one.

[WidowEater]

If you sleep while you hunt as much as I do then you best be wearing the best safety harness you can get.

I dont hunt in trees too often though.

[jonsimoneau]

I have to admit...and it is stupid, but I hardly ever wear one.  It's funny this topic came up because I just told my fiance tonight that I need to dig out on of my harnesses.  I'm 30 now.  Not very old, but I feel a little bit of wisdom finally coming on with these things. For 15 years I have bowhunted without one.  Now that I am engaged, my life and well being is important to someone else, and I feel I need to be more responsible.  I'm not very big and I am very agile.  I never felt unsafe without one before, but lately, my brain is kicking in a little more.  I plan to start wearing one until it becomes conditioned into my tiny brain.

[chris K.]

I should but I do not. I have one that someone here sent me. I do not have a tether(spelling) for it so I look kind of goober wearing it while it isn't actually providing any protection.
Chris Kiefner

[nutmeg]

I just can't imagine being in a tree without my harness. I have hunted exclusively from the ground for the last 5-6yrs. but if I do choose to climb I'll be wearing my harness and I buckle up when driving.(nut)

[GG]

A friend of mine fell 15 ft. from a hang on stand when the strap slipped (his nephew hung the stand).It broke 7 or 8 ribs and punctured his spleen and one lung. He was in ICU for 4 days. I spoke to him today and he is home recovering. WEAR YOUR SAFETY HARNESS!!!

[mqqse]

The thought of my next hunt possibly being my last just doesn't set well with me, not to mention leaving my family with a lot of heartache, stress, and a "loving memory".  Wear your harness.  If you don't have one, I'll send you one (have one extra).

[hickstick]

yup...ALWAYS.   if I'm in a fixed stand I always have a static line on the tree and attach to it before ever leaving the ground.  if I'm using the climber I use the little 8 foot line provided with my SOTP before my first pull up the tree...same on the way down.

for the past few years I've been using a klemheist knot to attach the tether to the static line...I like it better than prussik knot...its easier to move with one hand...and lets face it...we only need it to grab in one direction anyway...right?

[BFinegan]

always. and always amazed at the number of seemingly intelligent people I know and meet that don't wear one. a buddy was worried about my tractor not having a tarp on it the other day and I said "it's a $@%% tractor and your worried about a tarp. this coming from the same guy who doesn't wear a safety harness"