Treestand Safety
Deer season is well underway in many states and provinces in North America. Chances are, if you’re a deer hunter, you’re hunting out of a tree or stand.

Treestands let you see your game better and help keep your scent from spooking the animals. But they also need to be respected. Many hunters are injured each year because they fall out of their stands. Here are a few safety tips to help keep you safe as well as help you better enjoy your time in the woods.

Children under 12 should never sit in a stand by themselves. An adult should always be in the stand with you so they can help you in and out of the stand, connect your safety harness, pull up your gun and give you advice on taking game. Never sit in a treestand without a safety harness.

If using a climbing stand (a portable stand that lets you climb the tree without a ladder or pegs) always climb with a safety harness. Most falls from climbing stands happen when the user is either climbing up or down the tree.

Never climb a stand with your firearm on your shoulder. If you fall, you could land on it and hurt yourself, or it could accidentally fire. Completely unload your gun, and attach one end of a piece of rope to the sling swivel at the butt of the stock.

Attach the other end of the rope to your belt. Lay the gun on the ground and climb into the stand. Once you are seated and at the height you are going to hunt, slowly pull your gun up by the rope. When you are done hunting, empty the gun and lower it to the ground before you climb down.