I love trad archery, but…

[MnFn]

It pays to be careful. What are some things that have happened to you?  We have new people taking up archery all the time and many of them have never hunted before. We could possibly save some people some grief.

So here are a few of my life lessons.

1. Regularly check your arrows. I shot a damaged arrow that I should have inspected better. I heard a click sound on the previous sho, when the arrow it the target. My POC arrow shattered (exploded would be a better description)at my release. Fortunately all I got was good scratch on my bow hand.

2. Check you strings. I was standing next to my dad while target practicing. His string broke on release snapping me across my cheek. An inch or two up and over would have hit my eye.

3.Be really careful when climbing into trees. We were pushing some trees once and my dad was posting at one end.  When I reached him he had fallen out of a tree(a limb broke). He was bothered by a sore back for the rest of his life.

A friend of mine was hunting alone and using a tree stand. He fell out of the tree, broke an ankle and fractured his back. Fortunately a guy was driving by the field and saw his hat as he was crawling thru the CRP.

There are stories where a guy has gotten his leg wedged in a fork of a tree and was stuck hanging there are until help came.

There must be other stories out there- what ya got?

[McDave]

This is something we always warn people about in classes we teach, but it is one of the many things that people yawn about rather than pay attention to.

A few weeks back I was drawing my bow to shoot a target when a woman stepped out from behind a tree that was behind the target. She was looking for a lost arrow, but nobody was warning people off, and her bow was in her hands, not propped on the target. It was shocking to me: one moment there was nobody there; the next moment a woman was standing in my line of fire. I gave her a safety lecture of course and tried to be friendly. But it was obvious that all she wanted was to be away from the scary old man and wasn’t listening to a word I said.  Have someone warning people off or prop your bow on the target when you look for lost arrows, folks.

[PrimitivePete]

Seeing that tree stand falls contribute in a large way to accidental injuries and fatalities, I would highly recommend to a new bow hunter to know the proper use of the stand and practice putting it on the tree while using all safety gear. Also don't feel the pressure to use a tree stand if you are worried or concerned about being in a tree. Life has more to offer than a bad fall. If you are just starting out, try the stand from a lower height to get comfortable using it. There isn't a requirement to go up 25 feet on your first attempt.

[M60gunner]

No white or yellow fletch on hunting arrows that show when walking through the woods early in morning or just before dark. Read an article years ago how a guy with white fletch was mistaken for a deers butt. He caught one of those razor blade broadheads in the gut. I stopped shooting the public range in San Diego because of people ignoring the danger signs and walking between targets across the line of fire. Remember what Forest said, “ stupid is as stupid does”.

[JR Chambers]

good points guys. Just because it is bow season also doesn't mean there are not rifle hunting poachers out there. Especially here in WV.

[Archie]

Always do the safe thing.  I try not to ever set my bow down where it could get forgotten and lost, run over by a vehicle, or otherwise damaged.    I learned this when I heard that a couple girls in my music group (25+ years ago) set their fiddles on the ground behind the tour bus, forgot about them, and the bus backed over them.   Don't want to ever drive off with your bow sitting on the top of your car?  Don't ever set it on top of your car.

When I was a about 12 years old, I was helping in my Dad's archery shop.  Someone was re-fletching some arrows, and one of the arrows had a 3-blade bodkin glued on at the tip... they didn't remove it.  They had turned the arrow upside down and put it in a 5-gallon can of acetone.  It was pointing straight up, with a couple of other arrows with no tips on them.  I stepped up on a stool to grab something off a shelf, then turned around and stepped down, and that Bodkin went right through my leg.  Made two separate holes in my jeans, and a big hole in my leg... it was the first time I rode in an ambulance.  That easily could have killed me if I had been stabbed elsewhere.

As a result... Now that I'm the grown man tinkering with archery stuff in the garage.... I try to never set a broadhead down in a place where it could do harm.  In the event that I forget it, it should be OK.   In like manner, I endeavor to never lean my bow up in a place where it could fall and be damaged, or set it on the ground where I could step on it.  If I have to set it down where I could forget it, I'll snap my car keys on the bowstring so I can't leave without it.  This general concept is one I try to live by.

Just my $0.02.

[Terry Green]

Great stuff guys!!!!!!!!!!!