Elevated Stand Guidelines

Elevated Stand Location

• Place a stand adjacent to game trails or where game sign is abundant.
• 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.
• Locate the stand downwind from the animals’ expected route.
• Never place stands on fence lines or near another landowner’s property.

Elevated Stand Safety

Merely climbing into or out of a tree stand or other elevated platform to hunt puts you at risk. Long hours spent waiting in a stand, as well as poor hunting techniques, can lead to accidental falls. To protect yourself, use good judgment and follow these recommendations, always putting safety first.

• Purchase a commercial stand that is manufactured, certified, or tested to TMA standards.
• Read the manufacturer’s instructions and watch the video that accompany the stand. Review this information each season before using the stand.
  • Contact the manufacturer if the instructions are missing or confusing.
  • Share the information with anyone else who uses your stand.
• Attach your FAS to the tree while at ground level, and keep it attached throughout your hunt – from the time you leave the ground until you get back down.
• Use a tree stand only during daylight hours.
• Practice first with your tree stand and FAS at ground level, using all safety devices that were included with the stand. Then continue to practice, gradually going higher.
• Get enough sleep to ensure that you are well rested before using a tree stand.
• Carry a signaling device, such as a whistle, to let others know if you have a problem.
• Take your time and plan every move you make while installing and using an elevated stand.
• Check your stand carefully prior to each use. Do not leave a stand attached to a tree for more than two weeks.
• Never exceed the weight limit of your stand or FAS. Remember that the weight includes you plus your equipment.
• Do not climb with anything in your hands or on your back.
• Use a haul line.
• Raise and lower all hunting equipment on the opposite side of the tree from your climbing route.

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 arrow fletching points 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 FAS, 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.