Pennsylvania Game News - August 2015 - 59

pathologists around 1972. The condition refers to the pooling of blood in
leg veins, and it occurs when an individual is caught in a harnesses or a
confined space and forced to hang vertically with the legs relaxed.
If a fall should happen, things can
quickly go wrong because unconsciousness can result in fewer than 10
minutes, and death can occur within
15 minutes of the mishap.
The reason is that the heart is unable
to pump blood from the legs back to
the brain and therefore blood flow to
the brain is limited.
Therefore, in the event of a fall,
a hunter must have a way to quickly
get back into the stand or to safely descend to the ground. If neither of these
actions is possible, the individual must
be able to relieve the strap pressure on
the legs until help arrives.
Even if help is available, the rescue
could be problematic if the wouldbe rescuer can't get the victim to the
ground.

Life-Saving Solution

I hunt alone most of the time and
as a result, I've become acutely aware
that, in the event of a fall, my life and
safety depend solely on being able to
save myself. Consequently, the last
thing I want to do is to hang suspended
from my harness, so I've formulated a
plan to get to the ground safely.
Once in my stand I attach myself to
the only product currently and readily
available that will safely lower me to
the ground even if I'm unconscious.
The Livewire is a hands-free descent system designed for one-time
emergency use and is to be used in
conjunction with a full-body harness.
The device is attached to the tree and
AUGUST 2015	

the carabineer of the hunter's safety
harness tether is attached to it. The
carabineer is an oblong metal ring
with one spring-hinged side.
In the unlikely case of a catastrophic
stand collapse, or if the hunter falls
asleep, has a heart attack or becomes
unconscious for any reason, the
Livewire will activate automatically
and safely ratchet the hunter up to 25
feet downward.
However, using the Livewire
system is only half the battle because
the majority of tree-stand accidents
occur while a hunter is ascending or
descending the tree, or when he or
she is entering or leaving a stand. If
the hunter should fall, he or she must
be able to self-recover and get into the
stand or to the ground before suffering
the effects of suspension trauma.
While I'm in my stand, I'm always
attached to the Livewire system, but
when ascending or descending the
tree, I'm attached to the prussic knot
on my safety line.
If I should fall, I'm comfortable
knowing that, in an emergency, I have
the ability to make a secure hand- or
foothold to relieve the pressure on my
legs or to pull myself up to reach the
safety of a nearby branch.
As a precaution, I keep a screw-in
tree step in the pocket of my safety
vest in case I need something to step
on or to grab if I need to relieve strap
pressure.
Hunters should always be aware
of the serious consequences of hanging from a safety harness, and even if
rescue is imminent, they must be able
to keep blood circulating to the heart.
Currently, all full-body harness
systems furnished with TMA-certified
tree stands come with a suspension59
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - August 2015
