Brothers John and Jerry Wydner were hunting in Alabama in fall 2000 when John’s climbing treestand platform suddenly fell. “Only by God’s grace was John able to grab the climbing stand’s upper portion as he fell,” Jerry Wydner, now president of Hunter Safety System, said. “John called me on his two-way radio and said he needed help immediately.”

John had just reached the ground when I arrived,” Wydner recalled. “He was completely breathless, bleeding and obviously shaken. After hearing the details, I asked, ‘John, why weren’t you wearing your harness?’ He looked at me and asked, ‘Were you wearing yours?’ Both of us had our harnesses along, and both of us tried to put them on but gave up after fighting with the tangled straps and buckles. Inconvenience caused us to forsake common sense. I trembled with even the thought of telling John’s wife and kids that he wouldn’t be coming home.

”That night in camp, the Wydner brothers discussed their poor decisions and cemented a plan to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. “After multiple scrap-paper sketches, John returned home and convinced his sister-in-law to sew our first prototype, which is still under glass in our office today,” Wydner said. “Thrilled, we asked her to sew two more, but she refused because it was so difficult. We took the original prototype to a local factory and asked if they would duplicate a couple samples for us. Two weeks later, they called and said, ‘This is impossible to build.’"Undiscouraged, we modified the original and asked the factory to reconsider. Two weeks later, they called and asked us to come check out the new finished version. HSS was born that day.”“The crossbow market is growing rapidly. Our Crossbow harness offers an unencumbered fit and specifically addresses the unique challenges crossbow hunters face, offering storage for a cocking device and other accessories.

“Today, HSS builds more after-market harnesses than any other company. Because we have models to accommodate every hunter out there, we anticipate a bright future.”

For more information, go to www.huntersafetysystem.com.