Smluchtel

I learned at a young age to wear a safety harness, not only while sitting in the tree, but on your way out of the tree. When I was 14 I headed out on my family property for an evening bow hunt. I had been in a hurry since I had just gotten out of school. I got to the tree and realized I had no bow rope so I foolishly put the bow on my shoulder and went up the tree. On the way out of the tree I unhooked my harness, put my bow back on my shoulder and stepped off the stand. I had grabbed a branch that was next to the stand to hold myself while stepping onto the first step. The branch broke and I fell head first to the bottom of the tree (about 15 ft). The cam of bow went slicing through my ear and gave me a monster gash. I was knocked out for a few seconds and awoke with blood all over my face and a bleeding jaw. The walk home was one of the longest I've ever experienced in my hunting career. The doc gave me 10 stiches and basically attached half my ear back to my head. Ever since that accident I have not had a close call. I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky!