What was your "close call"

[Steiger3208]

I was thinking back of all the hunting I have done over the years, some with family, some with friends and some alone with only the sounds of nature to recharge my internal batteries. One hunt that stands out the most was one that I thought I would share that may keep someone else from doing the same mistake I done.
When I approached my stand one morning during a light rain I proceeded to climb my climbing stick. Has I reached the top  I stepped over onto my tree stand, like I had done many times before, but on this occasion the base of my tree stand swiveled sending me head first, 18' to the ground. Luckily I managed to land on my side, (away from my bow and arrows), without any serious injuries. I believe the cause of the "V" shape based tree stand swiveling was due to the wet tree.  This took place in the early 80's and has alway been a reminder to wear a safety belt and solidly secure your tree stand. God was watching over me. Wes

[Kingsnake]

That is a FRIGHTENINGLY familiar story, Steiger.  Mine also happened in the 80's on a "Baker-style" treestand.  In my case, the platform of my stand and my hand-climber/seat were not connected by a line (as they are now). I also did not know to use ratchet straps of bungies to secure the stand to the tree.      


Anyhow, at some point shortly into the morning hunt, I shifted just a bit too much weight to the seat, removing most of my weight from the platform.  That was apparently all it took to allow the platform to head to the ground.  Fortunately, I was wearing a safety belt, and since I have a fear of heights I was only hunting about 10 feet up.  After a little un-puckering, I was able to swivel around and bear hug my way down the tree.  Lesson Learned!  

Kingsnake

[Guru]

This is mine...

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000044

[Steiger3208]

Wow Curt you are a very lucky man!  That is one reason I only hunt my 5 acre patch woods during gun season. Two much lead flying with little regard to anything in the background.

[Stumpkiller]

I have nothing like Curts, and for that I am grateful.  Had a rifled slug pass me in a cornfield once.  Fip-Fip-Fip-Fap-Fap-Fap.  I ran out hollering "Human!  Human!"

My bow-hunting close call was a borrowed tree-stand.  First time I had ever hunted from one.  First stupid error was it was home-made.  Second stupid error was it was home-made by someone else.

The design was a "V" metal bracked hinged at the edge away from the tree and a "V" notch in the 1/2" plywood (!) platform that snugged the tree.  A Poly line went around the tree to tie it up snug.

I got it attached and got onto it OK and was seeing deer.  The owner had warned me - keep your weight on the front lip.  Well, after a while I shifted a bit . . . and the whole thing dropped a foot.  

My hair stood on end and I hugged the tree (held onto my bow!) and, after my eyes stopped spinning I climbed down.  Later the owner came up on me - feet on the ground and the stand attached to the tree two feet off the ground for a seat.  "Ya gotta pound the point in."

[Kid's Pastor]

The two that come to mind was a bluff charge by a boar black bear when I stalked way to close to him when he was mounting a hot sow that was feeding in a burned out clear cut. That almost got extremely ugly as I took a step back to find better footing to shoot and I tripped over a small burnt stump. When I got to my knees with an arrow both the sow and boar had put about 50 yards between me and went back to feeding on the thistles and berries in the cut.

The second was a cougar that came into my cow elk calls. I had called a small four point bull in, but he winded me and busted out of there. I stood up from a kneeling position to see a cougar less then ten yards away, crouched down and staring right into my eyes. I will never forget those burning yellow/amber eyes...never. I froze like a deer caught in the headlights, and the cougar slowly rose and followed in the direction the four point had gone.
Those are nothing compared to what Curt went though.

[wetfeathers]

Nothing close to death, but I had the bottom of my climber drop out from underneath me at 10 feet.  I was able to climb out of the upper piece, hang and drop to the ground.  Very glad I wasn't 20 feet up!  I have not hunted from a climber in years but I did learn why guys tie the two platforms together.

[Huntrdfk]

I was bowhunting a small piece of woods not far from my house during gun season. I was in my stand at the edge of a an overgrown thicket that had a lot of apple trees in it. I heard something coming through the thicket and could make out hunter coming through, As he got to the edge of the thicket he got down on one knee and pointed his shotgun right at me, looking through his scope. (I'm 15 feet up in a tree).  I yelled at him and he got up an walked away. I followed and confronted him, he told me that he thought I was a grouse!! I'm 6', 210.......true story, when he came out of the woods there was a fish and game officer waiting for him.

David

[Roger Norris]

This...happened today. Damn near cut my shooting hand in 1/2..

 

 

 

[Brianlocal3]

I was hunting in Jacksonville county IL when one of mine had happened.  There are big gullies and washouts (i guess thats what they are). so one ridge to the next is only about 30 feet across but it may be a near vertical drop of 10-50 feet and I wanted to get to another side.  As I was still hunting the top of one there was a fallen tree that connected two and since Im not afraid of heights (i do respect them though) I figured Id just walk across the tree.

First I shook it a little and then jumped on it a few time and it seemed solid so I started my tight walk across.  About half way across my entire right leg went thru the tree and I dropped to my butt.  I shoot that off and pulled my leg out.  Very shaken and still facing the way I was going I took one more step and the tree broke in half and down I went.  I held on tighter than a 2 year old holding on to the bathroom door to stay out of the tub.  It swung against the cliff face and luckily for me it was only about another 10-15 feet down so I climbed down holding onto roots and getting footholds to gather my belongings and to change my pants!!!!

It took ALOT of walking to find a suitable place to get out of the tunnel like gully.  

Stay safe everyone, our families want us back home.

[Mike Bolin]

As most of us do, I place my stands in late summer, weeks before the season begins. About 20 years ago, I had a stand in IL about 22' up a hickory on the edge of an old overgrown waterway. Didn't hunt it until mid November. I placed my folding screw in steps pretty far apart in those days and I found them a bit tough to reach with my heavier winter hunting clothes on.
I was about 16' up and the spacing was more than I could reach. I extended my right leg as high as I could and got the toe of my boot onto the step with my right hand grasping the second step overhead.
I guess I kind of "bounced" on my left foot to gain momentum and the step my left foot was on snapped off at the joint and I slammed forward into the tree, impaling my scrotum on the step I was reaching for.
Luckily, I was about 35 and as strong as a bull then. I managed to hold onto the upper step with my right hand and free myself from the other step.
I very cautiously found my way to the ground and found that my left testicle was now outside my scrotum!!
I tried to walk to the truck and quickly realized that I would have to put everything back to where it was originally. I did what I had to do and walked to a friends house and got a ride to the ER.
A painful cleaning session, 11 stitches and 3 weeks of healing. NEVER used a screw in step again!!! Ladders, climbers and climbing sticks and as of late, natural ground blinds.

[Mike Vines]

Damn Roger.  What happened?  We can wait as you hunt and peck with the left hand typing out a response.

I have had many "Should have been worse" calls, but when the Zeiss binoculars showed up at the house and my wife had to sign for them was probably my worse one.

[DennyK]

Dang Roger    Looks familiar-(twice)- but no where near bad as that!   Heal up soon!    Denny

[wooddamon1]

That's a nasty one, Roger, but Mike Bolin gave me the willies with that story! Ouch!

Back when I was still climbing trees every hunt, I used the branches of a big white pine to climb up an honest 18'. Had a branch snap off in my hand and my foot slid off the branch it was on instantly, sending me junk-first down onto another branch, which of course snapped also. My leg looped around another branch that stopped me finally a few feet from the ground, where I recovered somewhat until I could get down and check for missing parts.

Being young and dumb back then I climbed back up and hunted until dark with my arms and belly scratched and bleeding and my lower body throbbing like hell. Didn't see anything but squirrels...

[Walt Francis]

It's hard to limit it to just one, here is the link to number four or five on my list:

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=055765#000000

[doowop]

Had a Red Tail try to take my head off while in a treestand. Guess he saw my hair sticking out from under my hat. Bad thing is I had it happened to me TWICE! Got my hair cut. P.S. Curt,glad you are O.K.

[MnFn]

Nothing like Guru's but one morning a long time ago I was riding a horse to get back into some hunting land.  The horse took exception to the early morning start I guess, and started bucking.  I went flying one way bow went another and arrows with broad heads in a hip quiver if I remember right.  Could  have been bad, but I came out of it relatively unscathed.

When I read one of Fred Asbell's stories about how he disliked horseback riding when bow hunting,  I could relate to that very well.  I have not tried it since that episode.

[joe skipp]

1985 Grizzly attack in Montana. My buddy arrowed the charging Grizzly at 12 feet...my arrow entered from 4 ft as the bear charged in. One photo here was never seen by the public, 2 others posted across the country. The Trial was scarier than the actual attack.

Notice the Radio collar and the Broken Jaw...


 


 


 

[Gen273]

Joe,

Wow, that makes my hair stand up!
How did all of that work out? And would you mind to post the whole story about the attack?

[Bowwild]

I don't know how close this really was but...

It was 1991 when I lived in Newton, Kansas. I was in a treestand about 50 yards or so from a small stream that bordered the farm I hunted. It was an afternoon hunt and someone(s) were target shooting with a semi-auto .30. It was just a noisy nuisance until I heard zinging in the branches of the Osage Orange tree I was in. It sounded harmless until I realized the zinging was caused by bullets richoeting off the stream into my tree.

I hollered at the fellows who were only ignorant of what they were doing until I yelled at them. They then became IDIOTS as they continued shooting while I shinied down the back of the tree.

To this day I'm still amazed at how harmless the sound these bullets made as they went through those limbs.

I slipped in on them (we hadn't seen each other). I saw two of them shooting and I contemplated putting an arrow in their truck. Thinking better of that I went to the landowner and left a letter in his mailbox describing their negligence. I never heard the target shooting again during my times hunting on that property. They probably just ran out of bullets.

The deer hunting in that area sucked by the way.