With each step up the tree toward my stand, my blood pressure rises. With every uncertain step I climb, my fear of dying in the woods increases. I begin to weigh the pros and cons of hunting from a tree in my head. I have a better chance at bagging a trophy buck, I think to myself. Then I think, "Is a trophy buck worth my life?" I ignore the voice and climb higher. The higher I climb, the more unstable my feet become. I finally reach the platform and all is well, except the fact that I am sweating from worrying and a deer can smell me two miles away, even with the best cover scent or scent eliminating clothing. The above story was how I hunted for the first 10 years. I hunted from a tree; deathly afraid of falling from my tree stand on the way up or worse, on the way down long after dark.

I have cerebral palsy and although I can walk, getting into a tree has always been a challenge. My dad believed hunting from a tree was the only way to bag a deer, so at the age of 12, I climbed into my tree stand every day, knowing that it was going to be my last. I knew at some point my bad balance would catch up with me and my parents would find my cold body the next day. It was always my fear and although it never came true, to this day I am still afraid of climbing a tree. I am sure I'm not alone. Chances are if you are reading this, you are also afraid of climbing into a tree. Maybe you are like me and are physically challenged. Or you are getting up there in years and are starting to second-guess the whole "hunting from a tree" situation. Some of you may be thinking about throwing in the towel altogether because you can't climb a tree like you once could. Don't give up! If you want to hunt from a tree but have lost your confidence, there are gadgets available to help you get into a tree safely so you won't have to worry about ever falling out again. If you are to the point where you don't want to hunt from a tree, you can kill your deer while hunting from the ground. Although many hunters will tell you it's impossible to kill a trophy deer from the ground, it can be done.

Tools For Safer Hunting
Just about every tree stand manufacturer today offers a tree stand safety device that allows you to be tied in from the moment you leave the ground. One of the first companies to offer a safety harness that was easy to put on, easy to use and comfortable to wear was Summit Treestands. They are not the only company making safety harnesses, but the "Seat-OPants System" they offer is one of the best on the market, especially when used with the 30-foot safety rope and sliding prussic knot. If you are using a ladder stand, a climbing stick or a hang on stand, you simply need to hang the safety rope that comes with the system above your stand and let it dangle. After that, each time you hunt, simply clip the harness you are wearing to the prussic knot and climb the tree. As you climb, you will need to slide the knot up. According to Keith Jones of Summit Treestands, most hunters believe that using a harness and safety rope takes too much extra time. However, in the studies he has conducted, using this system will only take a few extra minutes on your way up and down from the tree. When you consider the alternative of slipping and falling like one third of all hunters will do at some point in their hunting career, the extra minute or two is well worth it.