September is Tree Stand Safety Awareness Month. It’s the month most deer hunters head back to the woods to either put up stands or begin hunting. Pursuing whitetails from a tree stand is a safe and enjoyable way to hunt as long as you follow a few basic safety principles called the ABCs of Tree Stand Safety. Thanks to a concerted effort from across the outdoors and hunting industries, there has been a significant reduction in tree stand accidents – 40 percent reduction during the last 4 years of the estimated number of tree stand falls requiring emergency care.
This fall, the Tree Stand Safety Awareness Foundation (TSSA) has three major initiatives underway.
1. The TSSA has expanded the ABCs of Tree Stand Safety to include the letter “D.” The “D” stands for share your “Destination” (see below). Each year there are reports of where hunters involved in tree stand incidents couldn’t be located for hours, and for some the next day. In a trauma or medical emergency, every minute counts. Here are the ABCDs of Tree Stand Safety:
- Always remove and inspect your equipment
- Buckle on your full-body harness
- Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground
- Destination – share your tree stand location before every hunt
“By practicing these four simple steps, you can fully enjoy your tree stand hunting experience and come home safe to your family and friends,” said TSSA President Glen Mayhew. If you don’t have your full-body harness, don’t climb. Instead, simply hunt from the ground.
2. The TSSA values the contributions and feedback it receives from its volunteer hunter educators across the country. One such piece of feedback was a request to make the ABCs of Tree Stand Safety interactive. The organization is in the final stages of editing video content to make the platform more engaging and informational.
3. The TSSA will be announcing a huge hunt giveaway in mid-September that will focus on bringing more awareness to tree stand safety. More details to come.
