In the South almost all of the deer hunters are hunting from the tree stands. Hunting from above gives you several advantages, such as remaining above a deer's field of view, keeping your scent above the deers nose, as well as often increasing our visibility of the woods. Unfortunately, as the use of tree stands increases, so has the number of hunters injuring themselves through there use. Deer hunting has become one of the safest sports you can engage in. With some common sense precautions it can become even safer.

Tree stands can be used safely. I have used many types of stands, often in conjunction with climbing spurs. I have used both ladder-type stands climbing stands, lock-on-stands as well as boards nailed to a tree as deer stands. I've been using tree stands for deer hunting ever since I started hunting and I've never been injured.

I won't use a stand if it seems unsafe to me, because where I hunt, I am usually hunting by myself well away from home. If I were to be injured and couldn't notify anyone it would be many hours before I could expect anyone to start searching for me. Risk is not a something that should be taken lightly. Every time you climb into a stand you are taking some risk. It only takes a second to kill yourself.

It might help you to know some of the common ways people are injured using tree stands. Falling asleep, slipping when climbing in or out of the stand and having components break are the most common ways that hunters are injured. There is a common cure for all of these possibilities. A safety harness. But having a safety harness will not help you unless you wear it. It is not good enough to put the harness in use after you have settled into your stand. Remember climbing into or out of your stand is when you are most likely to be hurt. Ideally you should be tied off and secured as you climb, when getting in or out of your stand as well as when you are waiting on the big buck. The hassle this causes is small when you really look at it. It is more of a mental hassle than anything else. The delay is usually not more than a minute. Thats a small price to pay to ensure that you will go home at the end of the hunt.