I knew better. As soon as I saw the stand, I should have contacted the guide and asked to switch my spot.

Long ago, there was an outdoor video called Monarchs of Alberta. I was hunting in Alberta and the guide had shown me a trail camera picture. It was one of those monarchs, moving at late afternoon the previous day, strolling right past the stand I now faced.The "stand" was hung in a large cedar tree, with the hunter expected to use the tree's branches as steps. The misty rain was on the edge of sleet. Picturing the buck, I told myself to be careful. I took off my back pack and strapped my bow to it - there was no rope to haul up gear - and started the climb.I nearly made it. As I stretched my right foot towards the stand platform, my left foot slipped from a branch. In a flash, many things happened - the underside of my chin slammed onto the platform. My flailing right arm wrapped around the branch of a neighboring tree. I hung there, legs dangled, suspended at least 15 feet above the ground, held by my chin and right arm.Some instinct made me bicycle my left leg, which gained tenuous purchase on another branch. In panic mode, I pushed hard off that leg, getting the upper part of my body onto the platform. From there I crawled, grabbed and lumbered to security, finally sitting down hard on the stand seat.I watched dumbfounded for a few moments as blood dripped steadily onto the stand in front of me. Finally, as I regained my senses, I realized the blood was mine, coming from my mouth. And then I started to get mad - at myself.I knew better. I'd written about tree stand safety numerous times and preached it to my hunting buddies. And yet in the quest for a big buck I'd broken all the rules.Such as: never use a tree branch as a step. Don't climb while wearing a pack or carrying gear, use a haul rope."Don't use a home-made stand," said Tony Schmalzel, owner of Buck's Sporting Goods, Lehighton. "Always wear a safety harness, which are now commonly sold with the stands, and use a haul rope to pull your gear up into the stand."Here are some interesting statistics from Penn State, which conducted a study of accidents related to tree stand use from 1987 to 2006. The study was published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, with data compiled from hospitals and emergency rooms. Compared to other sports, the injury rate is low - 2.73 per 100,000 licensed hunters, but we can do better.During that time period in the study, 499 people were injured in falls from a tree stand and seven died. The mean age of those injured was 45 (the majority of severe injuries were reported among people aged 40-49), with a range in age from 13 to 82. The mean height of a fall was 18 feet. The seven people who died fell an average of 24 feet.But here's the statistic that just leaps from the page - only eight of those 499 people who were injured by falling from a tree stand were wearing a safety restraint at the time of the fall; 491 people hit the ground.This year, take that extra measure of safety. Don't hunt from a stand unless you're wearing a safety harness, tethered to the tree.DID YOU KNOW?Many lock-on, or portable, stands are only rated to 250 pounds. Keep in mind that total includes you and your gear, including your pack and bow. Check the stand specifications and make sure the stand is certified by the Treestand Manufacturers Association (TMA). Used stands may seem like a good deal, but a new, TMA-approved stand is a safer deal.Tree stand safety harnesses are also rated, with Hunter Safety Systems one company which manufacturers a safety harness rated for people 300 pounds and heavier. Most one-person ladder stands are rated for 300 pounds; with two-person stands rated for 500 pounds.