# Another Ladder stand story



## cducer

After reading Chris' story it reminded me of one of my mishaps.

My first ladderstand was an Ocala from Warren and Sweat( no longer in business)
Great ladderstand... 12' that broke down to 3 4 foot sections and you could back pack it.
Anyway I used to hunt Wooster Mountain in Danbury Ct. ( steep climb but full of big bucks). Going up in the morning was no problem. hunted all day, packed up and started down to the truck.
The last 10 feet is an almost sheer bank and when I started down it( remember the 4 foot ladder on my back?) the stand planted into the bank and lifted me off my feet. At this point I knew what was going to happen next so I tossed my bow to the side and prepared for pain. as I fell forward I was able to roll so I landed on my back on top of the stand !!! All I could do was laugh through the pain and listen to my buddies tell their stories watching the whole thing unfold.

I looked like the coyote hanging in mid air before falling off the cliff !!!!

I still have the stand... in fact I have 2. At least the newer one is 4 3foot sections !!! oh, I put them on a cart now, not on my back !!!!


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## Finger_Mullet

*Stand story*

There was a guy that I used to bowhunt with. He ran the local bow shop.
He had a secret spot on the Uwharrie game lands about 1.5 miles off the road that he shared the location with no one. He hunted it by himself. Only his wife knew the location.

He had a lock on stand about 30 feet up the tree and used screw in steps to get up in the stand. He used the steps that you run a lag bolt in and then hang the step on the bolt locking it securely in place. I don't think they sell them anymore.

Well, several years ago he hunted that stand in early bow season (Early September) one afternoon. He made the hike to the stand location and proceeded to put the steps on the lag bolts as he went up. He got to the top step and as he put that step onto the bolt the step that he was standing on broke. Well, the lag bolt broke. Down he started at a uncontrolled fall. He tried to grab a step on the way down but it just ripped thru his hand. On the way down those steps caught under his arms ripping his shirt and then skin. Somewhere along the way one catches his crotch. Rips his pants and snags his sack tearing it before he hit the ground. 

He laid on the ground for a few minutes trying to figure out if he was going to live or die. He decided that he was going to live but it was going to be tough.
He started checking himself and found his skin ripped under his arms, hands and on his chest where the steps snagged him on the way down. He noticed the crotch ripped out of his pants and reached down to check to make sure everything was still attached. He brought back up a hand full of blood. The step ripped his scrotum open and one of his testicles was hanging out. He held it back in and made the 1.5 mile hike to his car. He did not know where the nearest hospital was so he drives over an hour to his home town hospital. He started to feel like he was going to pass out so he stopped at a gas station and blew the horn. The attendant came out and asked what was wrong. He said I fell out of a deer stand, I need a drink, candybar and a roll of papertowels. The guy looked in and saw all the blood and ran back and got his stuff. He threw him a $20 bill and headed to the hospital. 

After an untold number of stitches everything was back in place and he got to go home. He said he was sore for weeks. His crotch was black and blue and it was impossible to fool around with his wife for months. 

He sued the manufacturor of the screw in steps and won a pile of money. They had used defective lag bolts and did not recall them.

I quit hunting lock on stands immediately after that. Ladder stands, box stands and climbing stands are the only thing I hunt out of now.

Darin


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## cducer

Now that is a new kind of pain.... I too will never use the screw in steps... most state lands I hunt they are outlawed any way, no tree damage, even the solid bar climbers are iffy.
as I get older I use my Ol man climber less and less... just prefer the ladder more.


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## chriscustom

*Dude!*

DUDE! I crossed my legs and could just about feel his pain! OWW! glad I have a safty rope for the ups and downs.


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## jstgsn

*hope this isn't too late to post...*

I thought...this is the way it usually starts and then goes downhill from there... but anyway, I thought it would be a way to save myself some walking if I cut accross the snow covered marsh area to the point of woods where the state built ladder stand stood. It had been freezing for weeks, and the marsh looked just like a field. I only had to cross 40 or so yards to get to the point of woods the stand was in, and it would save me a hundred yard walk from the parking lot down the regular trail. Halfway accross the parking lot, the ice began to make a squeeky sound with each step, and it crossed my mind that the trail may be the way to go. A little hesitation was all it took and the ice burst open and down I went. I landed butt first in the hole in the ice and laid there as my bottom began to absob the freezing water. My arms and legs were sticking up in the air, my gun lay beside me on the ice and my back pack kept me from sinking deeper in the hole. After what seemed to be an hour, I was able to roll from the ice hole and crawl to the point of woods. My kness burst through the ice as did my hands and arms. I stood on the bank and looked accross the little marsh and saw my vehicle sitting in the parking lot. My arms and my butt were soaked, but from the effort of crossing, I wasn't actually that cold. Plus I was embarrassed. I looked into the woods and saw the wooden ladder stand leaning against the tree. I looked on the ground and saw deer tracks everywhere. I would not be stopped. I walked to the treestand, shouldered my gun, and began to climb. One rung, two rungs, three... As I reached the top of the stand, my hand went to grab the edge of the top rung. What I did not see was the top rung was flush with the seat. My fingers touched down past the rung, but instead of grasping rung, they slid on "seat". My hand shot back to my shoulder, and I hung in mid air for just a moment before crashing to the ground. The back pack, gun, and snow cushioned my fall. As I lay there I could feel my allready wet butt begin to freeze. My hands and arms felt like ice. I admitted defeat. I took the trail back to my car. On the way home, with the heater on full, I still could not get warm. Even now, years later, I still get a chill from that hunt.


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## chriscustom

Probably one morning you should have stayed in bed.


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