Trad archery/hunting injuries

[knobby]

Had a stringer break once as I was just about to set the loop into the string grooves on a 60# recurve. I took the upper limb across the bridge of my nose. That'll bring tears to your eyes!

[TooManyHobbies]

I wore glasses for 38 yrs before cataract surgery. Now I feel that my eyes are always vulnerable. And sure enough, I got half a doz. twigs in the eye this past season (nothing serious). Protective glasses from now on, to and from stand, but mostly in the dark.

[bofish-IL]

I shot a small gar and the arrow went all the way through it as I was trying to shove the arrow back through the hole the gar started flopping all around.

As it flopped the arrow with a muzzy tip flew up in the air and pricked the side of my Lacroose rubber boot in front of the heel. Never felt any thing poke me so never thought anything about it. That night when I removed my sock I noticed I had one small dot of blood on it.

Long story short 2 days later I had a red streak going up my leg and a sore foot.  Doctor pumped me full of antibiotics for infection and had to lance the spot to drain the infection.

Dr. told me there is nothing worse than fish slime that will cause an infection in an open wound.

Started cutting the string and reattaching it to the arrow after that on a pass through shot.

[hockey7]

Pulling an arrow out of a what I thought was a rotten stump. When it finally let go, the nock came back hard and sunk full length into the soft part beside my knee cap. Couple stitches later, everything was OK.

[Zradix]

had NO idea nock impalings were so common..I'm going to be a little more mindful of the possibility.

[Dave Lay]

oh crap, i wish ya hadnt brought this up,
  but your right, others may learn from our screw ups...
10 years or so ago, i was climbing a tree in the dark with line mans gaffs, using a belt, i had to unhook to go around a limb, when i re connected, i missed the loop with the carabiner when i leaned back against the rope i fell 18 feet, luckily somehow i managed to land on my feet, but that drove my knee into my chin, chipping a couple teeth and severly knocking the wind out of me. I was VERY lucky on that. I quit using gaffs and have gone to a 2 rope system where I am always connected to the tree.
      4 or 5 years ago, i was stepping out of a stand onto a limb , then below that i had screw in steps. I still had my harness rope on the tree, but the limb broke, and i guess by instinct i grabbed another limb with my left arm, it caught the impact before the harness did, breaking my left bicep tendon. ( i shoot left handed) it was in the early rut and i knew what i had done so put off going to the doc when i found i could still shoot my 63# bow ( with pain, but i could do it) i killed my biggest buck and 2 does with it broken. Went to the doc after rut and had my surgery which was really complicated by the fact i waited and was shooting a bow.
    2 years ago. i was setting up a douple bull blind, and for some reason i couldnt get it to pop up in the recommended way, so i got frustrated and was really pushing the hub assembly and kinda twisting my arm somehow and dang if i didnt break the right bicep tendon again completly severed it, this time i went to the doc sooner. but was glad to hear i was the only one anyone had ever heard of who had broken 2 of them. and that it wasnt a age or conditioning thing, i just needed to quit being a DA ...
  i had a wood arrow break a few years ago as well, impaling my bow hand, i have learned to turn the grain run out where that wont happen...
  there are several misc. broadhead cuts here and there while sharpening or whatever, between bowhunting 45 years and just a pretty active out door life style i kinda look like frankenstien with all the scars

[Jmatt1957]

back in the 80's I woke up one sunday morning got out of bead ,picked up my bow and quiver went straight out side to shoot. First arrow(probably 5 min after leaving the bed) I drew to anchor and when I released felt a sharp pain in my neck and my head was tilted over to the right.I dislocated a vertibra and tore a disk in my neck. I had to wear a stiff neck brace for a month. Luckly did not require surgery. Needless to say I never shoot with out stretching.

[gringol]

Good grief! What a bunch of clutzes.      
Stay safe guys.

[Kip]

Hay I did the nock thing also pulling it out of a 1" sapling.Kip

[Bladepeek]

Not exactly trad archery, but still trad related. I was stitching a sheath for one of my knives. I had punched the holes a bit small with my awl and the needles were REALLY pulling hard through the 3 layers of leather. I was pushing down with the sheath in my left hand and pulling up on the needle with a pair of pliers in my right hand. The needle slipped out of the pliers and slammed back into my thigh. 2/3 the length of that needle went into my thigh, eye first. Took forever for that puncture wound to heal, antibiotics and all.

[Jasper2]

Learned some valuable lessons the hard way at a local Traditional Shoot in the summer of 2012. Morrison Dakota antler tip 1....my face 0...we have a clear winner!

Notes to self: It is called a stringer for a reason, some guys don't need one, you are NOT one of those guys. The top loop of a longbow string can be too big. When checking to see if the string is seated in the grooves properly....keep the string toward you in case it lets go.

Please let my idiocy be a reminder. Never get careless, lose your focus, or let your guard down even on tasks you have performed successfully hundreds of times.

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[Walt Francis]

About 15 ago I had a bow that had some cloudiness appear on the belly side of the upper limb. Didn't think to much about it and was drawing it when it delaminated, the top belly glass went into the web of my left hand between the thumb and pointer finger, through he meaty part of the hand.  You could feel the tip just below the pinky finger bulging against the skin. I was extremely lucky none of the tendons were cut and I didn't lose the ability to close any of the fingers.

[Uncle Buck]

numerous scars on my hands from sharp broadheads

[Al Natural]

I have a Morrison Dakota it's 58" 52 @ 25" for sale, if anyone is interested. It has some really wicked antler tip overlays! Just ask Jasper2. Sorry buddy just had to!
Al

[Over&Under]

Originally posted by OBXarcher:
Darn near ripping my nose off every time I try switching to 3 under.

Glad I ain't the only one:)

[SELFBOW19953]

Not everyone has to worry about this, but on more than one occasion, I have had long beard hair pulled out by the bowstring. I usually have my hair in a ponytail.  When I hunt, I wear a camo, face net.  My beard is pretty short in this picture, but you get the idea.

 

[bendotwood]

I recently stabbed my thigh with a nock when pulling it from a target.  

I have also managed to give myself a scar on the bottom of my right pointer finger.  I was shooting a tab with no finger spacer, and I was pinching the nock enough and shooting enough that I created a blister, and then a wound.  It scarred up because I wouldn't stop shooting long enough to let it heal.

I have since adjusted how I grip the string so I don't pinch the nock as much.

[Michael Arnette]

Gosh, this is as bad as watching "Shark week "before that beach vacation!

[JDunlap]

Back in the early 90's I had a sixty five pound Dick Palmer longbow. I went hunting by myself, stepped out of the truck grabbed my bow and began to string it using the push pull method as I still always do. The 65 pounds and about 70 inches was too much for me back then. I got one side of the string on the tip but the other side was off. I was still pushing and pulling with all my might, and stuck my thumb up there to push it on the other side of the tip. As I did so, my thumb went THROUGH THE STRING LOOP and I strung my thumb up in that bow! I don't think it'S possible to do such a thing even if you tried..but somehow it happened. I'm out there BY MYSELF with my thumb strung up in that bow, in some pretty excruciating pain, and there is nothing I could do except yank it hard as I could. Exactly half of my thumb was numb for about 1 yr!

[Petros]

My dad was always being cheap and made some new tree stands from a magazine article. I was the designated evaluator guinea pig. Third perch on the stand and the Chinese finger holding it to the tree give way. I ended up only falling a couple feet to the end of the old style waste safety belt and getting a tree step jammed in my ribs. Hurt like heck, but no damaging permanent injuries, just sore for weeks. I really dislike portable tree stands because of that. Also had a store bought stand that the cable came out of the ferule, good thing the other side held.