Ten Falls, Two Injuries
This wasn’t a theoretical hazard—GSM Outdoors had ten actual reports of these cables failing and dropping hunters. Two of those ten falls resulted in injuries serious enough to get reported to the company.
Specific Batch Only
Only treestands with serial/batch number 2M-0121 were recalled. You can find this number on a metal plate riveted to the frame support—it’s not printed on packaging or manuals.
The Captain Model Details
Model BGM-FP0050 is a black hang-on style treestand with a flip-back seat that has “Big Game Treestands” imprinted on it, plus a foot rest. The model number appears on the product box and instruction manual.
Wide Retail Distribution
These sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods and a long list of regional outdoor retailers including Al & Bob’s Sports, Hilltop Sports, Perfect 10 Outdoors, Rocky’s Great Outdoors, and many others. Big Game moved a lot of these through different channels from August through October 2021.
The $60 to $80 Price Range
At $60 to $80, The Captain was positioned as an affordable hang-on stand. But there’s no acceptable price point for equipment that drops you out of a tree when the cables slip.
Cable Crimp Failure Mechanism
The crimps holding the plastic-coated cables would slip under load. When those crimps let go, the standing platform has nothing securing it to the tree, and down you go.
Plastic Coating Complications
Plastic-coated cables present unique crimping challenges because the coating can compress differently than the metal core. If the crimp doesn’t account for this properly, it creates a weak point that can slip over time.
Two Remedy Options
Big Game offered either replacement cables or a full refund. They said they’d arrange pickup of defective cables and delivery of replacements, or provide a prepaid label for returning the entire stand.
Direct Consumer Contact
The company claimed they were contacting all known consumers directly. But “known consumers” only includes people who registered their purchase or bought directly—not everyone who grabbed one at a retail store.
The Three-Month Sales Window
These sold from August through October 2021, then got recalled in December. That’s barely three months on the market before the recall, suggesting the cable problems showed up fast.
Quick Failure Timeline
If people bought these stands in August and failures started getting reported by December, some cables slipped within just a few months of use. That indicates a serious manufacturing or design defect, not normal wear and tear.
Manufacturing in China
Big Game Treestands distributed these, but they were manufactured in China. Quality control on those cable crimps should have caught the slipping issue before any stands shipped.
Crimp Quality Testing
Cable crimps for life-safety equipment need pull testing to verify they’ll hold under maximum expected loads with safety margins. The slip failures suggest either inadequate testing or disregarding test results that showed problems.
The Platform Release Danger
When your standing platform releases while you’re hunting from height, you don’t get time to react. One second you’re stable, the next you’re falling—potentially 15 to 25 feet straight down.
Injury Severity Unknown
Big Game reported two injuries but didn’t specify their nature or severity. Falls from treestand heights cause everything from sprains and bruises to spinal injuries, broken bones, traumatic brain damage, and death.
The Eight Unreported Falls
Ten falls with only two reported injuries means eight people fell but apparently didn’t get hurt badly enough to report it—or they got lucky with how they landed. That’s still eight dangerous failures that shouldn’t happen.
Batch-Specific Problem
Only serial number 2M-0121 was affected, which points to something going wrong during that specific production run. Different cable supplier, rushed manufacturing, skipped testing—something changed for that batch.
Breach of Safety Standards
Selling hang-on treestands with cable crimps that slip and release the platform violates basic safety expectations for hunting equipment. These stands are specifically designed to support people at dangerous heights—the cables are literally life-support components.
Contact an Attorney
If you fell from a Big Game “The Captain” treestand when the cables released and you were injured, contact a product liability lawyer immediately. Save the failed treestand and cables without attempting repairs, photograph the failed crimps clearly showing how they slipped, and gather all medical records from your fall injuries.
References
1. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2022/Big-Game-Treestands-Recalls-2021-The-Captain-Hang-on-Treestands-Due-to-Fall-and-Injury-Hazards