Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
07-28-2005, 07:22 PM
#11
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 19
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
Matt / PA what are you thinking,obviously you have not seen the latest episode of drury outdoors Dream Season or whatever its called where some guy shoots a doe and starts bawling like a baby. It is important to be comfortable showing your emotions,last year ieven cried while hunting.Personally the tears started flowing for me when imissed a boone and crockett buck at two hundred yards only to get out of the stand, to go and check for blood, when i get to the spot where the deer was standing when i missed ahuge set ofhorns pop out of the brush and irealize oops my rifle is in the stand 200 yards away. So lung buster real men show emotion. Its okay to cry. But only if you miss a big buck or fake cry to make yourself seem sophisticated and sincere to the ladies.
07-28-2005, 07:26 PM
#12
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Weatherford, TX
Posts: 557
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
I can say, that I have never been scared of the dark or whats in the dark....Like the other fellers said WE are at the top of the food chain so most critter are SCARED of You!! As far as another person goes, on public land I would carry a flash liight of Bright led light just so other hunteres in the area did'nt take a shot at you, there are some jerks out there that would shoot before daylight.. ....
07-28-2005, 07:26 PM
#13
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Round Lake, Il.
Posts: 42
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
Dont worry about animals eating you just be safe EXAMPLE of NOT being safe!
Mid November in South Carolina is a great time for a bow hunter, the morning air has chilled from the north winds, but the mid-day temperatures still climb to the mid seventies. Flying insects are down to almost zero, and most important the bucks are working the does hard.
This week I happened to have Monday and Tuesday off and I was excited knowing not many bow hunters would be in the local public area. I awoke that Monday morning to a calm wind and a temperature of forty-five degrees. The weather forecast for the day was calm wind and a high temperature of sixty-nine degrees, a fantastic day for hunting.
The day before my girlfriend at the time had went to spend a few days with her mother and would not return until the following Friday. I knew in my mind I should have called my brother or hunting partner and let them know where I was going and for them to call the house and check with me at dark. As I dialed the phone I could hear myself saying; "It's only five miles away, and you have been there before," like a dummy I hung up the phone and started gathering my gear.
I got to the area around 5 AM the sky was just starting to lighten a bit and to my joy I saw no other vehicles along the roadside. I loaded up my gear and started the two-mile walk to the swamp, where a week before I watched two huge eight points battle it out. I knew if I could get into the tree and still before seven a.m. I would have a good chance at a nice deer.
I got to the tree, as it just was light enough to see well, I bolted on my climber then attached my bow and pack to my rope hoist. The tree I chose was a tall pine, I estimated the height to the first limb to be about forty feet, I decided to climb up to where when I stood up in the stand I would be about thirty five feet high. I elected to just put my safety belt around my waist and not the tree; pine bark is really difficult to maneuver a safety belt over while climbing. This was to be my biggest mistake of the day.
I started my climb with no problems, I stopped about mid way up to rest a bit and watch two squirrels battle over a nut. After a few minutes I resumed my climb, I got to the point where I knew I could see down to the bank of the swamp. I stood up facing the tree and like an idiot did not take the time to wrap the safety belt (which was around my waist!) to the tree.
I turned around and stepped out from the tree, as I started to bend to get the rope hoist I got this sick feeling in my stomach, I could feel the stands platform shift to the forward right. The sick feeling came as I realized it would not stop, as my upper torso passed through the hand climber I tried to grab it to no avail. I was going to the ground and there was nothing I could do to prevent it! Have you ever been witness to a car accident and noticed how things appear to be going in slow motion? This is how I perceived my fall, I knew it was happening and that it was going to hurt, but it seemed as if it took forever to hit the ground!
I felt the most unbelievable searing pain as I finally did hit the ground; I landed feet first on pretty solid ground and lost consciousness for maybe a minute? I came too with my legs in a pain I have never known, I was laying on my right side with my face firmly in the ground. All I wanted to do was be VERY still each breath I took seemed to increase the pain I was in. After about fifteen minutes I became extremely thirsty, I did have a frozen water bottle in my pack, but as I raised my head to look, I saw it was a few feet away. After about a half hour the pain numbed a bit, I pulled myself to my pack and retrieved the water from it, I also saw the bottle of Advil I had bought a week earlier for a headache I had gotten on another trip. I popped nine or ten of the Advil and gulped down about half of the water, then decided to lay still awhile longer.
About an hour later the pain had numbed enough so that I could turn myself over, I rolled over which put my shoulder blade against the tree I had fell from. Looking up I could see the platform of the stand bent downward and got the full vision of just how I fell. I then looked down my left leg, my pants leg sticking up in the middle of my shin, told me just how serious this fall had been. There was a bit of blood soaked through, but not bad from the looks of it, the right leg was hurting badly but nothing sticking out of it, that I could see.
I had no watch on, but guessed the time to be about 9 AM. I fought the urge off to look at the wound to my left leg; afraid this may cause me to panic. I thought to myself, "okay here you are, two miles from the main road seriously injured. No one knows where you are and it's a weekday" The only thing I could do was to yell for help and hope someone heard me. For the next few hours I yelled help three or four times about every ten minutes about noon I had become very hoarse and drank most of the water that was left.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on things other than my pain, I fought myself from dropping off to sleep, fearing no one would find me. The pain started to increase again; I popped seven or eight more of the Advil and swallowed the last of the water. I then started my yelling again, as I would be quiet to listen for a response I began to hear what I thought were responses? I think it may have been voices carrying through the hills from a construction site five or six miles away?
I have to be honest and say I really did not become scared until about three p.m. that's when the thought of maybe dying set in. The temperature that night would drop to near freezing and a rain shower was expected, I knew I had to now yell as loud as I could. I then began screaming help, as loud as I could possibly do it. Later the sun started to set behind the trees, and I had become hoarse again, I would swallow hard then repeat the yell. Out of the blue I hear "WHERE ARE YOU!" I thought I was dreaming for a second, I yelled back "DOWN THE RAVINE JUST OFF THE TRAIL, NEAR THE SWAMP!" The two hunters came right to me after that, boy were they great to see, one gave me water while the other looked over my legs. Then one ran to call an ambulance while the other talked with me, but just as the one guy ran off he yelled back, "SEE BILL I TOLD YOU I HEARD SOMEONE A FEW HOURS AGO!" I had to grit my teeth a bit and then realized I was just glad they had found me.
To make a long story short, about two months later I was back to normal and a bit wiser, I even hunted with Bill a few times the next year. Sadly he was killed in a non-hunting related accident later that year, I thank Bill in my memories most every day.
Wear those safety belts folks, not just when getting ready to hunt, but the entire time you're on the tree!!!
The lessons I learned:
- Use a safety belt the entire time your on the tree.
- Let someone know where you're hunting and when you plan to return.
- Stay calm, if something does happen.
Mid November in South Carolina is a great time for a bow hunter, the morning air has chilled from the north winds, but the mid-day temperatures still climb to the mid seventies. Flying insects are down to almost zero, and most important the bucks are working the does hard.
This week I happened to have Monday and Tuesday off and I was excited knowing not many bow hunters would be in the local public area. I awoke that Monday morning to a calm wind and a temperature of forty-five degrees. The weather forecast for the day was calm wind and a high temperature of sixty-nine degrees, a fantastic day for hunting.
The day before my girlfriend at the time had went to spend a few days with her mother and would not return until the following Friday. I knew in my mind I should have called my brother or hunting partner and let them know where I was going and for them to call the house and check with me at dark. As I dialed the phone I could hear myself saying; "It's only five miles away, and you have been there before," like a dummy I hung up the phone and started gathering my gear.
I got to the area around 5 AM the sky was just starting to lighten a bit and to my joy I saw no other vehicles along the roadside. I loaded up my gear and started the two-mile walk to the swamp, where a week before I watched two huge eight points battle it out. I knew if I could get into the tree and still before seven a.m. I would have a good chance at a nice deer.
I got to the tree, as it just was light enough to see well, I bolted on my climber then attached my bow and pack to my rope hoist. The tree I chose was a tall pine, I estimated the height to the first limb to be about forty feet, I decided to climb up to where when I stood up in the stand I would be about thirty five feet high. I elected to just put my safety belt around my waist and not the tree; pine bark is really difficult to maneuver a safety belt over while climbing. This was to be my biggest mistake of the day.
I started my climb with no problems, I stopped about mid way up to rest a bit and watch two squirrels battle over a nut. After a few minutes I resumed my climb, I got to the point where I knew I could see down to the bank of the swamp. I stood up facing the tree and like an idiot did not take the time to wrap the safety belt (which was around my waist!) to the tree.
I turned around and stepped out from the tree, as I started to bend to get the rope hoist I got this sick feeling in my stomach, I could feel the stands platform shift to the forward right. The sick feeling came as I realized it would not stop, as my upper torso passed through the hand climber I tried to grab it to no avail. I was going to the ground and there was nothing I could do to prevent it! Have you ever been witness to a car accident and noticed how things appear to be going in slow motion? This is how I perceived my fall, I knew it was happening and that it was going to hurt, but it seemed as if it took forever to hit the ground!
I felt the most unbelievable searing pain as I finally did hit the ground; I landed feet first on pretty solid ground and lost consciousness for maybe a minute? I came too with my legs in a pain I have never known, I was laying on my right side with my face firmly in the ground. All I wanted to do was be VERY still each breath I took seemed to increase the pain I was in. After about fifteen minutes I became extremely thirsty, I did have a frozen water bottle in my pack, but as I raised my head to look, I saw it was a few feet away. After about a half hour the pain numbed a bit, I pulled myself to my pack and retrieved the water from it, I also saw the bottle of Advil I had bought a week earlier for a headache I had gotten on another trip. I popped nine or ten of the Advil and gulped down about half of the water, then decided to lay still awhile longer.
About an hour later the pain had numbed enough so that I could turn myself over, I rolled over which put my shoulder blade against the tree I had fell from. Looking up I could see the platform of the stand bent downward and got the full vision of just how I fell. I then looked down my left leg, my pants leg sticking up in the middle of my shin, told me just how serious this fall had been. There was a bit of blood soaked through, but not bad from the looks of it, the right leg was hurting badly but nothing sticking out of it, that I could see.
I had no watch on, but guessed the time to be about 9 AM. I fought the urge off to look at the wound to my left leg; afraid this may cause me to panic. I thought to myself, "okay here you are, two miles from the main road seriously injured. No one knows where you are and it's a weekday" The only thing I could do was to yell for help and hope someone heard me. For the next few hours I yelled help three or four times about every ten minutes about noon I had become very hoarse and drank most of the water that was left.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on things other than my pain, I fought myself from dropping off to sleep, fearing no one would find me. The pain started to increase again; I popped seven or eight more of the Advil and swallowed the last of the water. I then started my yelling again, as I would be quiet to listen for a response I began to hear what I thought were responses? I think it may have been voices carrying through the hills from a construction site five or six miles away?
I have to be honest and say I really did not become scared until about three p.m. that's when the thought of maybe dying set in. The temperature that night would drop to near freezing and a rain shower was expected, I knew I had to now yell as loud as I could. I then began screaming help, as loud as I could possibly do it. Later the sun started to set behind the trees, and I had become hoarse again, I would swallow hard then repeat the yell. Out of the blue I hear "WHERE ARE YOU!" I thought I was dreaming for a second, I yelled back "DOWN THE RAVINE JUST OFF THE TRAIL, NEAR THE SWAMP!" The two hunters came right to me after that, boy were they great to see, one gave me water while the other looked over my legs. Then one ran to call an ambulance while the other talked with me, but just as the one guy ran off he yelled back, "SEE BILL I TOLD YOU I HEARD SOMEONE A FEW HOURS AGO!" I had to grit my teeth a bit and then realized I was just glad they had found me.
To make a long story short, about two months later I was back to normal and a bit wiser, I even hunted with Bill a few times the next year. Sadly he was killed in a non-hunting related accident later that year, I thank Bill in my memories most every day.
Wear those safety belts folks, not just when getting ready to hunt, but the entire time you're on the tree!!!
The lessons I learned:
- Use a safety belt the entire time your on the tree.
- Let someone know where you're hunting and when you plan to return.
- Stay calm, if something does happen.
07-28-2005, 07:52 PM
#15
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location:
Posts: 3
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
Awesome story and great testimonial to safety harnesses Arrow-Slinger. I just invested in a nice climbing stand and will always use a harness. I do have a little paranoia in the way of traveling to and from my stand, but mostly due to other hunters that might not think of shooting way before light.I used to get a little freaked out hearing stories of encounters with big cats in the area I hunt. It didnt help that I saw a mountain lion just outside of town in December of last year. I was visiting my hometown in Missouri and saw the juvenile cat cross the road in the headlights. I dont guess there would be anything more hair-raising than knowing a large predator is watching you while you wander around its habitat.
07-28-2005, 08:51 PM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: RI
Posts: 3,073
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
I fear nodarkness.... just the sounds in it. Flushing grouse under your feet can make u jump, bats swooping at your head....walking into spiderwebs in the dark...
Nah, just kiddin. Nothing like the rush after getting your gear together to head into the woods. My biggest fear is maybe tripping over a root or blowdown....good thing for mini mag lights...
Nah, just kiddin. Nothing like the rush after getting your gear together to head into the woods. My biggest fear is maybe tripping over a root or blowdown....good thing for mini mag lights...
07-28-2005, 10:01 PM
#18
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Camden County, Missouri
Posts: 1,019
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
I hunt my own private land so can't give a good opinion, but most times there is some moonlight to see with.What scares me is whenbigfoot hides behind the tree and jumps out. If someone is on my land trespassing, they need to be scared.
07-28-2005, 10:57 PM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Idaho
Posts: 2,072
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
Nothing to worry about, I love the solitude and the cover of night. You should try being 10 miles back in, sleeping under a pine tree by yourself. Better yet, you should hear the noises coming of a fresh gutpile as you hike of the mountain. There are the sounds of bears, cats and wolverines fighting over the scraps, and now we can often hear the howl of those blasted wolves at night. Never once have I ever felt in danger. I agree, if it is your time it is your time. Might as well end up as a pile of animal dung as opposed to a speed bump in the middle of the highway!!!!!!!!!! By the way Matt/PA , is that a camoflage skirt?????????????
07-28-2005, 11:58 PM
#20
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: San Diego, Ca.
Posts: 1,148
RE: Scared Of the Dark On Public Land ! HELP ME !
Don't any of you guys carry pistols? Thats one comfortable feeling, I like to lightly run my fingers over the back end of the slide of my 9mm while on my side, very comforting. As far as the injury from falling from the tree stand story, lets not let that experience go in vain. Every year we hear stories of hikers and hunters getting lost and hurt in the woods and having a bad day or two or even dying. Just a month or so ago a kid here in Southern California got lost in the desert and they found him dead just a few hours later not far from camp. Getting lost starts by being a just couple hundred yards out of touchfrom your buddy or camp and then continueing, that 1/4 mile or so is well within GMRS/FRS radio range. At 30 bucks a pair and only6-8 ounces with batteries, I don't see why everyone that is active in the outdoors does'nt have one.
Always make the contact with your itinerary AND leave a written note AND do not deviate. Plan your hunt, hunt your plan.
For the Pack
Have more water than you think you need, at least a 2 liter bottle
small snacks ie.. peanuts, trail mix, couple of protein bars
Some thin warm clothes/ polypropolene or thermal underwear tops plus jacket
A space blanket
A whistle
GMRS/FRS Radio/ extra set of batteries/ let your contact know your home channel
Small flashlight
A waterproof tarp
Small first aid kit
A good knife
A small roll of nylon string, sounds crazy but has many uses in a jam
A couple of hefty style trash bags, you'd be amazed at how many uses you can find for those
I'm sure you guys will add to the list, and all this stuff really does'nt take up that much room and if you think it's overkill and you're justgoing out for the day where you know the country like the back of your hand, re-read the above falling from the tree stand post. The above pack could keep you warm and alive for a few days until help arives.
Metro
Always make the contact with your itinerary AND leave a written note AND do not deviate. Plan your hunt, hunt your plan.
For the Pack
Have more water than you think you need, at least a 2 liter bottle
small snacks ie.. peanuts, trail mix, couple of protein bars
Some thin warm clothes/ polypropolene or thermal underwear tops plus jacket
A space blanket
A whistle
GMRS/FRS Radio/ extra set of batteries/ let your contact know your home channel
Small flashlight
A waterproof tarp
Small first aid kit
A good knife
A small roll of nylon string, sounds crazy but has many uses in a jam
A couple of hefty style trash bags, you'd be amazed at how many uses you can find for those
I'm sure you guys will add to the list, and all this stuff really does'nt take up that much room and if you think it's overkill and you're justgoing out for the day where you know the country like the back of your hand, re-read the above falling from the tree stand post. The above pack could keep you warm and alive for a few days until help arives.
Metro