I THINK my first kill was when I was 14. That would be about 28 years ago. (Darn, I'm old!)
I was using one of those old climbing stands that essentially was just a platform with a sharp blade on the back that dug into the tree. I THINK it was an old Baker stand. With the stand on the tree, you would put your feet in what looked like homemade straps, reach up and "bear hug" the tree, then lift up your feet. Keep repeating this until you get to your desiered height. Of course you also ended up wtih a bunch of tree bark all over the front of your shirt/jacket. To go down the tree, you simply reversed the process.
Obvioulsy there was no place to sit once got up in the tree. You just stood as long as you could, and then sat on the platform to rest your legs.
Safety harness? Not.
I was using an old Bear (I think) recurve.
I had a doe come right under my stand. My shot was a little high and forward. I remember seeing the arrow sticking out of her as she ran away.
Could not find any blood, so I just walked in the direction she ran. Found her maybe 80 yards away. Pure luck I found her.
You never forget your first! (Man, that reminds me of another story! I was pretty lucky then as well.)