It’s 2026, and despite hunting with the most advanced equipment in history, tree stand falls continue to injure and kill hunters every season.
Why?
At this point, I can only come up with two answers: ego or ignorance. One tells us, “It won’t happen to me.” The other simply doesn’t know any better. Both can be overcome.
Neither, however, will cushion your fall if you decide to argue with Sir Isaac Newton’s 1687 Law of Universal Gravitation.
Gravity has never lost that debate.
It only takes one mistake.
The numbers don’t lie. Tree stand falls remain the leading cause of serious hunting injuries. Ironically, most don’t happen while you’re at full draw on a mature buck. They happen climbing up or climbing down, when you unclip because “it’s just for a second,” or worse, never clip in at all. Did you know a review highlighted by the Mayo Clinic found that 77% of tree stand fall victims suffered multiple injuries, with spinal, chest, and thoracic injuries being common. So, chances are if you fall, you're going to hurt a lot more than your pride.
As bowhunters, we’re especially vulnerable.
Modern full-body harnesses are lightweight, quiet, comfortable, and easy to wear. Lifelines let you stay connected from the moment your feet leave the ground until they’re safely back on it. Lineman’s belts make hanging stands significantly safer than they used to be.
This isn’t extra gear anymore. It’s simply how responsible hunters hunt.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and everyone else with an ounce of sense, recommends staying connected throughout the entire climb, inspecting your stand and straps every season, using a haul line for your bow or firearm, and letting someone know where you’ll be hunting. You think dragging a deer out of the woods is painful, imagine how hard it might be for your son, or daughter, or buddy, to have to carry you out.
Man, tree stand harnesses restrict me. They ruin the hunt.
You know what really ruins a hunt?
- A fall that leaves you paralyzed.
- A child watching their father hit the ground.
- A wife or husband answering the phone to hear a game warden say their loved one isn’t coming home today.
That’s what skipping a harness risks.
If you think wearing a harness isn’t tough, ask yourself what’s tougher: clipping into a tether for thirty seconds or spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair because your ego won an argument with gravity.
For me, a harness doesn’t distract from the hunt. It lets me focus on it. It gives my family one less thing to worry about when I disappear into the woods before daylight. It reminds me that the hunt isn’t over when I release an arrow. It’s over when I pull back into the driveway.
No deer is worth not coming home for.
This fall, inspect your stand before opening day. Replace worn straps. Wear your harness. Stay connected from the first step up until the last step down. Use a haul line. Slow down. And if you’re introducing a new hunter to our tradition, teach them that tree stand safety matters just as much as shooting straight or playing the wind.
Because the best hunting story you’ll tell this season won’t be about the buck you killed.
It’ll be the one you got to come home and tell.
– Jay Pinsky