Brett/IL

I wanted to share this with all of my fellow bowhunters in the hopes that it will remind all of you to be safe and how your whole world can change in the blink of an eye.

Tuesday morning dawned cool and overcast. A northeast wind of 10 m.p.h. told my friend, who we will call Jim, which stand he should head to. He arrived to our lease a little later than he had planned. Once outside the truck, Jim hastily got dressed, gathered his gear, and set off in the morning darkness to the stand. When he got to the base of the tree Jim realized that he had left his haul rope in the truck. For a moment he thought about quickly going back to retrieve it, but shooting time was fast approaching and he wanted to be in position from the first moment on. Jim slung his full pack over his shoulder, secured his bow to his safety harness, and started his ascent of the climbing stick leading to his stand. Just as he reached the platform, Jim tried to readjust his load in order to step into the stand. In an instant Jim felt himself slip and then he felt the sickening feeling falling through the air. He landed with a loud "Thump!" at the base of the tree. For a moment he laid motionless, trying to process what had just happened. Slowly, he began to move. First he made sure that he could move his arms and legs. Luckily, all of his limbs responded to the command to move. As soon as Jim moved his right leg, white hot pain shot through his whole body making him want to cry out in the dark. He struggled to his feet and started to assess the damage. He found a large tear in his jacket that revealed an equally large scrape on his stomach. He began to check his lower extremities and while he didn't find any more tears in clothing or skin, his right leg was protesting any attempt to bear weight. With great care and great discomfort, Jim gathered his gear and painfully made his way back to his truck. As soon as he was back inside the vehicle he called me.

When the call came in so early on a morning when I knew that my friend had planned on being in the woods, my thought as I answered was "He must need help getting one out." Unfortunately, I was greeted with the words no hunter wants to hear from his friend "I just fell" was the first thing he said.

Luckily for Jim the x-rays showed nothing more than a bad sprain of his right knee. A little while on crutches and a little physical therapy are all my friend will need to get back in the woods. We all know his fall could have had far worse consequences.

I cannot stress enough to all of you PLEASE BE CAREFUL and AWARE every time you head to a stand. Don't take shortcuts when it comes to safety. Do not climb with anything in your hand(s). If you can, make sure you are tied off from the time you leave the ground, until the time you are back on it. ALWAYS wear a safety harness in the tree. Take your time going up and coming down the tree. Make sure someone knows where you are hunting. Carry a cell phone, even if you don't use one personally pick up one of the prepaid phones and use it for emergencies only.

I know this may sound like the same old same old to many of you, and that many will have that "It will never happen to me" mentality. Truth is, it can happen to ANY of us.

I just wanted to take the time to write this in the hopes that it will remind everyone to take that extra moment to insure that they are being as careful as possible. Remember, we all have families that count on us and care about us. We owe it to them to make sure the time we spend afield is spent as safely as it can be.