The dangers of cammo netting.

[ion]

Yesterday evening was the second last day of the newly extended Irish male deer season. This is a seat that my landowner put up about 20 years ago. He placed the cammo netting on and it has stood the test of time until this season. This winters gales finally ripped the military cammo off the staples and this was the result. It was a sad end and I suspect that the sika pricket had been entangled for at least 48 hours. I picked up him up from 400 yards away and stayed in cover for as long as possible in order not to spook him any further. I managed to dispatch him at last light, hence the poor quality photo.
I've always been ambivalent about netting. It's expensive, rarely lasts before being shredded and usually gets entangled in person or rifle. In this case MOD surplus had stood the test of time.
Similarly I don't like leaving a rope attached to the seat for the purposes of drawing up the rifle. I've seen one too many fallow bucks entangled in play ropes or swings.

 

[VSS]

Whenever I see cammo net around a highseat I think it's just a disaster waiting to happen. Very sad end for any animal.

As for using a rope to pull a rifle up to the seat, is that actually a thing that people do?

 

[ion]

Whenever I see cammo net around a highseat I think it's just a disaster waiting to happen. Very sad end for any animal.

As for using a rope to pull a rifle up to the seat, is that actually a thing that people do?

I have one team member in his seventies who finds it awkward to access a seat with a rifle on his shoulder.

 

[phillc]

As for using a rope to pull a rifle up to the seat, is that actually a thing that people do?

In many states in the USA it is now mandatory to complete a basic hunter education course before a hunting licence will be issued. These courses are generally available online and take around 8 - 12 hours in total to complete. I’ve done the one for Texas, offered free by the NRA and I’ve done the one for Montana, on a website called Hunter-Ed, for US$25.

Anyway, as part of this course there is a safety section regarding high seats. Both courses were very insistent that firearms were raised to the highseat with a rope. They were also very keen that everyone be attached by a safety arrest system to the highseat/tree in the case of falls. The focus here was more portable highseats than the permanent kind, but the safety steps were supposed to be relevant for all.

 

[The Singing Stalker]

I have never felt I needed camo around a high seat. Mind you, I don’t shoot many fallow, but certainly Roe and Muntjac, not needed, I shot one the other night at about 20 yards, 30 tops.
And I can understand the use of a rope, but, bring the rope with you, then take it away when you are finished.

 

[FISH BOY]

Had to wrestle my way into a double seat Saturday am in the dark via some old military netting surrounding it.

Not only does it catch on everything, but jeez is it frigging noisy - picture a ghillie suit with 100 crisp packets on it.

Hate the stuff.

 

[Dunwaters]

That animal would most likely have been fine if you hadn’t shot him.
He would have dropped his antlers in a few days and the net with them.

 

[Len the dog]

They were also very keen that everyone be attached by a safety arrest system to the highseat/tree in the case of falls.

If alone then a safety harness should never be worn, if you fall and are left dangling there is no way you can get yourself out of it and will invariably succumb to suspension trauma.

 

[phillc]

If alone then a safety harness should never be worn, if you fall and are left dangling there is no way you can get yourself out of it and will invariably succumb to suspension trauma.

No, it’s supposed to be one of those that you can let yourself slowly down to the ground with. The course also covered what to do if you couldn’t reach the handle. I thought it was pretty reasonable advice overall. Apparently the number one safety incident in US hunting is falls from highseats.

 

[Len the dog]

No, it’s supposed to be one of those that you can let yourself slowly down to the ground with. The course also covered what to do if you couldn’t reach the handle. I thought it was pretty reasonable advice overall. Apparently the number one safety incident in US hunting is falls from highseats.

You would still have to be in a harness, even if that was attached to an inertia reel or other device. It used to be drummed into anyone working at height to use a harness and lanyard, times have changed because it was found that there were far worse consequences from being left suspended if there was nobody else there to get you down. Even then, a full grown man hanging in a harness would be extremely difficult for someone else to rescue on their own.
You would be far better off taking steps to avoid the fall rather than having to deal with the situation after the fall.

 

[ion]

That animal would most likely have been fine if you hadn’t shot him.
He would have dropped his antlers in a few days and the net with them.

Unfortunately he was a short spiked pricket. Not only were the base of his pedicles entangled but also his lower jaw. The MOD cammo had twisted into a rope. The older stags are well into velvet at this stage

 

[ion]

You would still have to be in a harness, even if that was attached to an inertia reel or other device. It used to be drummed into anyone working at height to use a harness and lanyard, times have changed because it was found that there were far worse consequences from being left suspended if there was nobody else there to get you down. Even then, a full grown man hanging in a harness would be extremely difficult for someone else to rescue on their own.
You would be far better off taking steps to avoid the fall rather than having to deal with the situation after the fall.

I tried the harnesses that came with some Cabela's seats . Even at ground level, just sitting into the harness and taking the weight off my feet was an unpleasant and painful experience. All the pressure was in the thigh region which I believe can lead to constriction of blood flow. I presume there are a lot of people standing up to take bow shots. Talking to the camera guys at the racecourses, they had to undergo fall simulation every year and their harnesses were far superior. They didn't like it even though it was a controlled situation.

 

[Miceton]

This really makes you think doesn’t it. There’s probably countless things out there we leave in situ that would cause this sort of case.

 

[Len the dog]

I tried the harnesses that came with some Cabela's seats . Even at ground level, just sitting into the harness and taking the weight off my feet was an unpleasant and painful experience. All the pressure was in the thigh region which I believe can lead to constriction of blood flow. I presume there are a lot of people standing up to take bow shots. Talking to the camera guys at the racecourses, they had to undergo fall simulation every year and their harnesses were far superior. They didn't like it even though it was a controlled situation.

That's exactly it, suspension trauma is where the blood flow to the lower limbs is cut off by the straps, then when you are rescued and the rescuer doesn't know what to do the problem can be made worse by the body going into deep shock as the blood that was pooled in the legs and is deficient in oxygen is suddenly reintroduced to the major organs.
Having said that, the alternative could be hitting the ground hard from a relatively moderate height, something I am personally all too familiar with. Like I said earlier, you are better off preventing the chance of a fall in the first place.