Climb that tree Boy!

     As I  picked up bow hunting probably around the age of 18 or 19, I was forced to leave the ground and even venture away from ladder stands.   I made the decision that I needed my first climber.  Rather than going out and making a hard earned investment for a new stand,  I bought a used stand.   I purchased an A-Mach style stand and was ready.  This stand had a small seat that you used to pull yourself up with.   The stand required allot of upper-arm strength to use and really was a bad design.  I however was determined to bow hunt with it.
    I went to my Grandmas place in Oak Grove, Alabama.    I picked myself a nice, slick ,red oak.  I was very green with climbing and knew nothing about what trees to climb and how to be careful.  I climb out of red oaks now but never knew of the dangers and how hard they are to climb at that age of my life.   (But I digress).  So I put the stand up and was ready for my hunt that afternoon.
     The afternoon came.   I went to the tree with my Bear "Whitetail 2" bow and new real tree overalls.  I was very dumb at this stage, but I was ready to hunt!  I made it down into the hollow behind my Grandma's farm.   The stand was a good walk from the house, but was a known deer area.
     (We will call this the event).   It was a nice warm afternoon in Alabama.  Bow season in Bama, is more like time to be scouting and not really so much hunting.  I was however ready to draw blood, so into the briar's and down the hollow  I went.   I don't really know how I made it up 12 feet into the air but I did.   I was climbing and the bottom of the climber fell from my feet.   This wouldn't be such of a problem if I had the top and bottom  tied together, but I however did not.   So the bottom of the stand went to ground barely missing my bow at the bottom of the tree.  I was stuck hanging from the top of the stand.    I was there hanging from the top of the stand trying to figure out what to do.    I decided to let go.    So as my arms started burning,  I let go.    I did however bear hug the tree on the way down.   I guess that did slow me down enough to keep from breaking any bones as I hit the bottom of the tree onto the bottom of the stand.  The stand was bent after I hit it.   I was badly bruised, and my arms were bleeding.  The oak tree had rubbed all the skin off on the inside of my arms on the way down. 
     I can remember laying on the ground and feeling like I was dead.  The fall had scared me and I was in bad shape from the fall..  I regrouped and pulled myself together.  I made a few choice comments to the tree stand and them got my bow and went home.
     I was lucky!   The stand was not tied together properly.   I had not practised at home before climbing the tree.  I could have been killed the first time I climbed, but I was lucky.  I still climb to this day and love it.  That old tree stand however stayed there for years  till my brother in law went and got it out of the tree  ( I gave it to him and never climbed it again).  That old climber would not be in my climber arsenal again!
    I do love to hunt in climbing tree stands.  I hope to be able to hunt in them till they tell me I am not able to use them due to being to old!!   Please be smarter than me  Please tie off in your climbers.  Tie them together.  Get yourself a good climber, and let someone know where you will be hunting.   Don't be dumb butt like myself!    Safe hunting.