I know that this has nothing to do with fly fishing but I think it is important. I have heard bow hunters bragging about how a bird hunter had passed below their tree stand and never even knew they were there. I know they are just proud of how well they have concealed themselves but I worry that one of those guys will be in the line of fire when I flush a bird. I agree that it is my respoonsibility to know whats there before I shoot but I can’t do that if your hiding from me. If those of you who bowhunt see bird hunters coming toward you please move a little and say hello. I was taught to always clean and eat whatever I shot and most of you that I do see just don’t look all that appetizing :lol: .
I assume, when I am outside (anywhere, not just hunting), that people are actively trying to shoot me. I would MUCH rather be invisble, and take my chances with random luck, than with letting some stranger with a gun know where I am, especially sitting helplessly in a tree stand. The odds of a bird hunter shooting you in that situation are too small for me to worry about. Like getting hit by a meteor.
Tonights paper said a Indiana Hunter fell out of a tree stand and died in Mich. BILL
Your bird and deer seasons overlap??? That’s dangerous! We don’t do that here in Ga. When it’s deer season, you hunt deer. The only things that overlap here are Small Game, which runs pretty much all year, and Hogs, which does run all year. Niether would get you shot in a tree stand. Except maybe squirrels. If I saw someone hunting squirrels, I would let them know I was there.
Semper Fi!
Most of the states I have hunted include birds and their seasons with small game seasons. In the northern states small game and fall archery seasons run together. Remember that winter in the northern states comes quicker and harder than most of the southern states.
By the way, for decades Pennsylvania has run these seasons together. We have had the most hunters (resident and nonresident combined) and have the fewest hunting accidents year after year in the U.S.
If I pass that close to your stand a hello there will not do any harm. I have already ruined your chances at seeing a deer there for a while anyhow.
Tonights paper said a Indiana Hunter fell out of a tree stand and died in Mich. BILL
Now that had to be one very, very tall tree!!! 
I’m sorry Bill, I just could not resist…
Our hunting seasons here are basically the same season…from late Sept until early Jan for big game, late sept to mid-late Feb for small game. But, we also have very few hunters who use tree stands, as we don’t have alot of large deciduous trees to put them in, and the fir and spruce are just too thick to climb, if you can find them big enough to support a person.
Warren . the tree was on the border. 
Actually all too many hunters are seriously injured in falls from tree stands. Wear a safety harness.
rainbowchaser,
Yes, it seems like each year there are more tree stand accidents. I often wonder if some of them are caused from people falling asleep? They spend a lot of hours in stands and some spend those hours straight from work without any rest.
Bowhunting is one of the safest forms of hunting…unless you do it with Dick Cheney.
Semper Fi!
I have fallen asleep in a tree stand, and been fortunate enough to NOT fall out (thanks to a harness). When you figure that you get up in the middle of the night, drive to your location, tramp through the woods in the dark and then climb into your stand at least 1 hour before the sun rises, I’m surprised more people are not injured or killed by tree stand accidents. Finally gave up deer hunting and kept to small game and waterfowl. Definitely more action and you don’t need help taking out a limit of mallards or bunnies.
Joe