How do you fall from a tree stand?

USCinCEur Finding the answer to that question took me 34 years. Somewhere, it's written that one of every three hunting mishaps involves tree stands, and I'm among that 33 percent. Here's my story. I was back from a short underway period to prepare for deployment and was spending the week between Christmas and New Year's hunting with my father. The two of us were excited that early morning we set off for the family's hunting land. The previous day, I had sighted a 10-point buck--a monster in this neck of the woods. However, fate wasn't on my side that day. The deer disappeared into the thick bush before I had a decent shot.

My father and I scouted for a better spot to put up a tree stand. I wanted a spot that would give me a better shot if the animal returned. To my disappointment, the trees in the surrounding area were tall but thin pines. The ground around the trees was deeply padded with beds of fallen pine needles.

Because I was familiar with the uses and benefits of operational risk management (ORM), we discussed possible options. The first question we asked: "Was it worth spending a strenuous afternoon moving the two tree stands to this location?" The answer was easy: "With the size of that deer, beck yeah!"

The size of the available trees meant we couldn't use tree-climbing stands, but a ladder-type tree stand might work. Being concerned about the security of the stand's legs in the soft ground, I drove the legs as deep as possible. I also gathered a few stones and …