Elevated Stand Guidelines

Elevated Stand Location

• Place a stand no higher than necessary.
• Never place a stand in a dead tree, in trees with large overhanging dead limbs, or on or near utility poles.
• Select only trees that are straight.
• Never place stands on fence lines or near another landowner’s property.

Hauling Hunting Equipment into a Stand

• Never carry your hunting equipment up or down the tree with you as you climb. Always use a haul line.
• Before attaching the haul line to your hunting equipment:
  • If using a firearm, unload it and open the action.
  • If using a bow, put the arrows in a covered quiver and secure the quiver to your bow.
• Use a haul line of heavy cord attached to your stand to bring up your hunting equipment or to lower it prior to climbing down from your stand.
  • If using a firearm, attach the haul line to the firearm’s sling so that the firearm hangs with the muzzle pointed down.
  • If using a bow, attach the haul line between the bow’s limb and the bowstring so that the arrows point down.
• Slip the end of the haul line through your belt—leave it untied so that it can pull free if you fall. Put on your fall-arrest system, secure yourself to the tree, and climb to your stand.
• After you are in the stand and secure, haul up your hunting equipment and untie the haul line.

Before hauling a firearm into a stand, make sure it is unloaded. Also, you can avoid getting debris in the barrel by placing a cover over the muzzle. Once you are securely in the stand, check for obstructions before you load.