Treestands and archery tourney's

gpalma · 12-12-2007, 01:44 PM

How many of the clubs that you shoot at have "home built" treestands or elevated platforms on the shooting course?

When you have a tourney, do you offer ground stakes for young shooters, older archers or those that prefer to shoot from terra firma (the acrophobic)? In the latter case, possibly at a slightly longer distance since the shooter took the option to shoot from the ground?

With these tresstands/elevated platforms, does you club maintain liability insurance should anyone take a tumble? Do you believe that your club would ever be able to get liability insurance again in the event that somebody did take a tumble?

The reason that I ask this is that many clubs in WI have really gone hog wild with treestands. Some of these are pretty rickety and they are a course bottleneck because a single person may have to go up 3 flights of stairs to shoot one arrow.

Our club wants to put some in and I think they are far more trouble than what they are worth.

What say you.

Mr. Bowtech · 12-28-2007, 09:47 PM

For insur.reasons no elevated stands. But we put out 2 climbing stands bottoms on trees (on the ground) next to deep ravines. Gives the results of the same thing. The old men love it shoot from a stand let the kids go down the steps to pull arrows.

BUNNYMAN · 12-28-2007, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Bowtech

For insur.reasons no elevated stands. But we put out 2 climbing stands bottoms on trees (on the ground) next to deep ravines. Gives the results of the same thing. The old men love it shoot from a stand let the kids go down the steps to pull arrows.

where you from??

UltraElite 06 · 12-28-2007, 10:13 PM

That sounds like the shots at Saugerties fish and game in Saugerties N.Y.

bullfiddle · 12-28-2007, 10:17 PM

One Of the clubs I shoot at has Platforms with guard rails mounted on top of 4 telephone poles the platforms are probably 5 feet square. I believe they have 3 of these on the course. The platforms have steps leading up to them. They are really quite safe but I have no idea if the insurance company charges the club a higher premium for having these?...

BUNNYMAN · 12-28-2007, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UltraElite 06

That sounds like the shots at Saugerties fish and game in Saugerties N.Y.

funny, thats EXACTLY what i thought when i read it.......

Archerdad · 12-28-2007, 10:41 PM

we have 2 clubs in our area that do. one of them is ours.
we carry ASA insurance.
someone does not have to fall from a stand to sue for damages.
slipping on rocks, falling down a ravine, etc etc.
i can't imagine a club not being insured these days.

gpalma · 01-01-2008, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archerdad

we have 2 clubs in our area that do. one of them is ours.
we carry ASA insurance.
someone does not have to fall from a stand to sue for damages.
slipping on rocks, falling down a ravine, etc etc.
i can't imagine a club not being insured these days.

It isn't the issue of "being insured" as that is a given, the issue is "will you be insured after somebody takes a tumble"?

The other question is do your clubs make allowances for those that prefer not to shoot from high places?

Some of the stands in our state are up in nosebleed territory and you have to wait for openings in the clouds so that you can see the target

As God is my witness, some have 3 rickety flights of stairs leading to the platform. Once up there, the aging 2x4 platforms flex under your feet (and I'm a pretty average weight kinda guy). These course bottlenecks are a tad unsettling at times.

We once had a league in Central state where it was mandatory that ground stakes be provided at every club for cadets, seniors and those that prefered not to shoot from the platform.

Just curious how other clubs handle these obstacles on their courses. I know that they are forbidden at MAC shoots.

Archerdad · 01-01-2008, 10:57 AM

never had anyone complain about the heights. ours are only 8-10 ft and we don't use them everytime. we set ground stakes for the little kids or cubs.
no one has ever mentioned not liking shooting from those heights that i can remember.
you would have to call ASA to find out about retaining coverage after an incident. i imagine the rates might go up just like any other insurer.
i know we maintain our stands every year. before anyone goes on the range we check that stuff.
that does not mean that something could not happen but we sure try to maintain the trail, the stairs, the rails, the platform itself, the practice range, and we try to make sure no one is shooting towards anyone or anything at any time.
back to the platform if anyone would ask that they not shoot from a platform we would accomodate that for sure. no one ever has to date that i am aware of.
that has been one of the big attractors for our range is the tree stands.
i need to go to the range and take some pics of ours and post on here.
having owned my own business for 18 years i know about some liabilty issues and stuff just scares the dickens out of me at times.
ASA requires that everyone sign a waiver for the year at the ranges or you don't shoot. how good those are i don't really know.
stuff can happen for sure, we try to prevent and we try to cover our butt.

gpalma · 01-01-2008, 11:40 AM

You tend to hear some complaints from the 3D types in the unlimited classes having to drag their long stabilizers up. But, not enough to make clubs rethink the treestand usage. Where the real complaints come is when you start to bottleneck the course at the stands. Some of these structures are 20+ feet high and only one shooter can go up at a time.

For me it is more an issue with heights and vertigo. Had a pretty good knock on my bonnet while in the service and I simply cannot get off the ground anymore. It has gotten worse over time and even standing on a big platform 3' high is troubling. Couldn't hunt out of a treestand at all this fall and that was a real bummer.

I get to these clubs now and they keep putting more and more treestands up on the courses that are higher and higher. May just have to get out the fishing rods more if this trend continues.

Archerdad · 01-01-2008, 01:00 PM

vertigo is not funny. i understand that. most places i have shot at do not have stands at all. maybe that is something our club should consider also.
it is tough to make everyone happy. some want a real easy course others want super tough. others want just hunting situations.
we try to meet in the middle somewhere.

brokenarrow · 01-01-2008, 01:52 PM

There are a handful of shoots like that around here...Some are really well thought out and others are downright scary...The better ones give the option of shooting from the ground next to the raised platform...Some are as simple as shooting down at the target from a ridge, same effect without leaving "Terra Firma"

gpalma · 01-01-2008, 02:41 PM

Our local range has downhill shots along a river bottom and a couple are downright steep. Many of the clubs in the central portion of the state are on hilly terrain as well. So, the downhill angle shots are no problem and really never have been. It's just being off the ground. My situation may be unique, however there are many folks over 50 that simply do not have the steadiness that they once had. Something that the younger 25-35 YO archers should keep in mind.

Ohioarcher · 01-08-2008, 02:55 PM

My club has one huge tree stand for all classes to shoot from. This thing could hold a semi truck. Its made from telephone poles and is about 15 ft high. We shoot into a river bottom. Its enclosed with safety rails and have never had anyone complain. We also have several ground blinds set out to shoot from.

We have stakes out for all classes (traditional, bowhunter, open, and one other) and for cubs. We have a large varity in ages shooting we have also had a few handicap shooters come out.

gpalma · 04-06-2008, 08:48 AM

It doesn't matter how large or safe a treestand is to someone with acrophobia and/or vertigo. The fact that it is up in the air at all is the primary issue.

I find myself not going back to those clubs where I get terrified shooting the course and I certainly cannot be the least bit competitive shooting from the stands because my focus isn't on shooting...it is singularly on containing the fear.

dbdcougar · 04-06-2008, 03:23 PM

Our club has 2. 1 is very low just a step or 2 to get you out far enough to shoot down the side of a hill. The second is ~12' and very solid with rails all around, there are multiple targets and you shoot whatever one is assigned for your stake. I love the stand shots.

trussoni · 04-06-2008, 06:43 PM

not a member of it but i am thinking on joining the one in Black River Falls Wisconsin and they use the elevated stands for there shoots. There is one next Sunday as a matter of fact.