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Old March 1, 2018, 04:37 AM   #1
bamaranger
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hunting safety reminder

I had an episode the other day that turned out OK, but had things gone just a little bit worse, I could have been in really big trouble. Not quite sure how it happened, (other than darn quick) but I turned my 4-wheeler/ATV over. Dropped a front wheel off a slight embankment, and the rest of the rig followed, with me aboard. Providence, slight rise in the ground opposite, and a lucky sapling in just the right place, kept the rig from going all the way over and pinning me. As it was, with the rig leaned over at about 100 degrees, I could wrestle my slightly pinned left leg and crawl free. Virtually unhurt, except for what is probably some lightly bruised ribs. I had a chainsaw along, and was able to cut some poles and props, and about an hour later, levering and propping in increments, flopped the rig upright, it cranked, and was able to run it clear, the ATV is unscathed too. One lucky 'feller. But.....

I HAD COMMITTED A CARDINAL SIN BY NOT INFORMING ANYBODY WHERE i WAS GOING NOR HOW LONG I MIGHT BE GONE. Had I been worse hurt, unconscious, lacked a cell signal, etc, it may have been a LONG time before anybody found me. Bamawife was home, but other than telling her I was going to cut an access trail while the weather was nice, I'd left towing the ATV and did not describe my intentions further, nor did I spec out how long I'd be gone. She's used to me being really late. It could easily have been nightfall before she got concerned. Once they found my Bronco, I could have been tracked to the area (it was muddy) and located. But I have seen ATL's/searches, locally, and finding the Bronco alone, especially at night, would have been accomplishment for our small staffed rural SO. Most search functions end up in the VFD hands and are not well conducted, despite good intentions.

It could have been a LOT worse. That ATV weighs well in excess of 500 lbs.
I wasn't hot-dogging, nor was the terrain especially difficult. But I got overturned, badly, in a remote area. I escaped serious injury, and got reminded of an important safety practice. Tell somebody where your going in some detail, and how long you could be.
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Old March 1, 2018, 07:17 AM   #2
Mobuck
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A couple of weeks back, a semi-local guy died after rolling his ATV into a washout while looking for deer sheds. Bopping along looking across the field and DUMP he's dead.
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Old March 1, 2018, 08:39 AM   #3
buck460XVR
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Years ago, I slipped one rainy morning using my climbing tree stand, about a mile in on public land. Bruised a shin and my ego. Thought long and hard that day sitting in that stand about how long it would have taken folks to find me had I really been hurt bad. No way I coulda crawled that far thru the terrain I was in, to get back to any road. Since then I always told my wife where I am going, either verbally or with a note, and will leave a map on the dash of the truck/jeep of where my stand is in the woods. With today's technology, I use GPS coordinates as well. Might not make a difference as to whether I live or die, but at least will make the recovery of my body easier.
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Old March 1, 2018, 10:32 AM   #4
jimbob86
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Glad you are OK. Noted ..... a good anecdotal story for any Hunter Ed class.
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Old March 1, 2018, 11:20 AM   #5
Doyle
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Glad to hear you made it OK. Buck brings up a good point about technology. Meaning, boaters who go offshore are smart to carry an EPIRB with them. Such a device for hunters might not be a bad idea. With technology getting smaller and smaller these days, it shouldn't take much to make a shirt-pocket sized version of an EPIRB.
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Old March 1, 2018, 02:07 PM   #6
BIGR
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Quote:
Glad to hear you made it OK. Buck brings up a good point about technology. Meaning, boaters who go offshore are smart to carry an EPIRB with them. Such a device for hunters might not be a bad idea. With technology getting smaller and smaller these days, it shouldn't take much to make a shirt-pocket sized version of an EPIRB.


Great idea for sure, even though I carry my cell phone in my top shirt pocket, cell service can be spotty on our deer lease. Seems like no matter how careful we are in the woods or the outdoors, accidents do happen. I often hunt alone on our deer lease since I am retired. Sometimes I am there for weeks and don't see any of my hunting buddies for a week or so. Other than the land owner of our deer lease land I never see anyone else unless I go to town. I usually text my brother in law at lunch time to give him a deer status report. Other than that I don't talk to anyone until after 6 PM at night when I call home.

The biggest danger for me would be to fall out of the ladder stand while climbing up the ladder. I don't strap in with the full body harness till I get to the top platform of my stand. I try to be real careful climbing up and down the ladder. Never had any problems much except when there is a heavy frost or ice on the metal ladder and stand. I don't carry my rifle up the ladder, I raise and lower it from the stand(unloaded or course) with a pull cord. So yea, if I fell and got hurt while climbing up or down the ladder I could be there till after dark and no one would have a clue I was hurt unless the land owner saw my truck sitting there well after dark.

Another thing that is often on my mind is taking some kind of serious fall down a bank. What if a man hits his head gets knocked out. Do I have enough clothing on at the time to prevent hypothermia? Generally I dress lite when I am walking in to the stand, but most of the time I at least have coveralls and a jacket on, so I think I would be ok in 20 or 30 degree weather.
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Old March 1, 2018, 02:14 PM   #7
doofus47
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Thanks for the reminder.
Glad you ended up ok.
I generally take a rescue beacon when I'm hunting in the backwoods.
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Old March 1, 2018, 06:20 PM   #8
FrankenMauser
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An event from last September comes to mind.

A married man and woman were camping in the mountains with family, during a week of a trail-riding.
They asked if anyone needed anything from a shop about 15 miles away, hopped in their side-by-side in mid-afternoon, headed out, and weren't heard from again.

The family ran the roads and trails for much of the night, and all day, with no trace found.
After 24 hours with no sightings and no communication, they called for Search and Rescue.
Around the time that S&R was arriving at their assembly point, a family member noticed some faint ATV tracks going up, but not back down the bank around a switch-back corner on one of the many trails that could have been used to get to the main road.

Further investigation yielded the couple's fate:
They had dropped two wheels over the edge, and gone down, down, down, more than 300 feet, before coming to rest on a step that was almost impossible to see through the trees from any portion of the trail. Neither had helmets or seat belts on, and were thrown from the SxS (and likely hit by it). The woman appeared to have died within a few minutes, but the scene showed evidence that the man had tried to cover some ground and get help before bleeding out.


A similar incident was in the news about a month ago.
Snowmobiler took off from his group to check out a canyon. ...Sank his machine in a creek. Couldn't get it out. Couldn't hike back up the slope. By the time he made the decision to walk the creek, it was too dark.
In the morning, Search and Rescue found him huddled up under a tree, with his machine frozen solid in the creek.
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Old March 1, 2018, 09:31 PM   #9
Doyle
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Doofus, please tell us about that rescue beacon you take.
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Old March 1, 2018, 10:39 PM   #10
ocharry
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Bama. Glad you are OK man....you really have to be on your toes with those things...as great as they are we all need to pay attention when we are riding...especially when its muddy or the trail is sketchy.... I know my machine is in the 800 lb range and I sure as heck dont want it on top of me

Good ideas all of you guys are talking about if we all use them....EVERY TIME we head out.....I know I'm guilty of being out by myself and....well nobody knows where

Again glad you are safe Bama

Stay safe boys and girls

Ocharry
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Old March 2, 2018, 12:54 AM   #11
Sure Shot Mc Gee
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My brother-in-law 2 yrs ago got his newly purchased Polaris ATV stuck in the mud. Got off. Stood up sank in the mud to his thighs fell over and spent a warm Fall night laying on his back unable to stand up. 200 people searched for him till dark that first afternoon. One {sharp} game warden back tracking where others had previously searched found him around noon time the next day. "Lucky ol Guss had a Angel dressed in Green out in the woods the evening before and the following day." Near 80 yrs old and a Level 2 diabetic Guss thought he may be a gone'er before anyone found him. Yup. I kind'a thought the same when my wife was informed by her sister that her husband was lost in those North woods of MN.. Got'a be really careful when out and about by yourself back in the woods. Easy peasy to get in a jam when not paying enough attention to your surroundings.
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Old March 2, 2018, 10:39 AM   #12
doofus47
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Doyle:
Quote:
Doofus, please tell us about that rescue beacon you take.
Sure, I use a ACR reqQlink+.
It's about 1/2 the size of a burrito you buy at Qdoba or Chipoltle. My wife and I actually refer to it as "the burrito." It's small enough that you can carry it in your daily pack.
We bought it when my hunting buddy couldn't make it one year and I spent a week solo in the woods. Basically, if I really mess something up (break a leg; shoot myself in the foot; get myself stuck under a falling tree (which isn't terribly hard to do with all the beetle kill trees getting older), etc.), I just need to unfold and hit the button and stay alive until found. A Colorado hunting license has a rescue fee included, so that's not an issue. You do have to register the beacon (no $) and a point of contact with a government agency but small pain point IMO.


Here's a good overview:
https://hikingguy.com/hiking-gear/acr-resqlink-review/
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Old March 2, 2018, 08:22 PM   #13
Doyle
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Thanks doofus. That sounds a lot like a marine EPRIB that I was talking about.
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