Could they find you??
 

As many of you know, I broke my ankle while on my way to my stand tuesday a.m. I was able to call my wife as she hunts with me andshe knows the timbers we hunt. My brother-in-law and friend were impressed that she knew exactly where I was and she led them to me. All I told her was that I wasnear thefar flat near the DNR guys' land border and I had also told her that I was going to this flat when I had left the house.I was in some very rugged country, steep timber ravines,a 1/4 mile from my truck, and out of yelling distance for anybody to hear me. We as hunters have always been told to let our loved ones know where we are. Made me realize that if you are a hunter that the nonhunter spouse should be shown the timbers you hunt and where your stand locations are and howeverelse you describe a spot. COULD you describe to your loved ones where you were if hurt and could they find you if you didn't have a phone or if the phone had gotbroken during your injury???

RE: Could they find you??
 

Thats not a bad idea
but hope you doing good
how long u going to be out

RE: Could they find you??
 

Good post. Someone always knows where I am when I hunt. I also carry my cell phone with me.

RE: Could they find you??
 

6-8 weeks[:@]

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well i have hunted for years and i let everyone know where i am going to be that is in my camp. I never hunt allow either. I do this becuase the first year i started to hunt my dad fell out of his stand getting in his climber. Well it was the afternoon and he was supost to meet me at 2:00 and go eat lunch at camp. he did not come. Well i knew where his stand was so i went to it. i found him leaning up at the bottom of the tree, he was not really hurt , but it was hard for him to stand. So i help him back to the truck.So that is y i do it.

RE: Could they find you??
 

I print my own maps so if I am hunting alone I usually leave a copy of the map I am using with the area I am hunting in circled. I also take one of the walkie talkies and leave one with the map. Also have a cell phone. I let her know when I should be home. I will call if I am staying longer.

If I am hunting with buddies we have the walkietalkies and cellphones and are generally communicating throughout the day.

RE: Could they find you??
 

I always hunt with my dad and brothers and we always know where each other is. You're a lucky man HCH it could've been a lot worse. If you don't mind me asking were you walking inbefore daylight?

RE: Could they find you??
 

Someone always knows all my stand locations. I also have a master map which is in a file in my cabin should anyone get confused. When I go out to the stand, I tell either my father or best friend/whoever I am going to be hunting with where I am going to be.
Scares the death out of me though, laying there paralyzed trying to figure out when someone is going to show up.
Glad you are okHCH!!! Abroken ankle makes it difficult to shift or brake on the Harley eh?[&:]

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We name all of our treestands and tell each other wich one we will be in and I know where my hubby is and vise-versa. We make maps of each area and If I dont know the area well I have that to rely on. Cel phones dont always work so always have an alternate plan. I always carry a glo-stick with me. Flashlights can go dead but that glo-stick will last all night. I also have a mirror in my pocket and a whistle so hopefully I am covered.
shooting an arrow in the air doesnt seem to work well!;)
We are planning on investing in walkie talkies soon since we have been hunting alot for public ground.

Don, Hope your ankle heals soon-sorry to hear about that.

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Yea, it was before daylight but I have a l.e.d headlamp. This global warming was the problem. It is muddy underneath the leaves and as I was climbing a ravine in rubber boots, my foot went out from under me and ended up under me as I fell.

RE: Could they find you??
 

My wife couldn't find me if I was laying in the middle of the backyard with a Wal Mart blue light flashing on my head.;)

I do leave arial maps with a big fat X and some basic instruction on them that she could hand to authorities to come and scrape me up if need be.......I have freinds that also know where most of my stands are and where I am hunting on any given day so they would be plan A.......hopefully we never get to plan A or B but I have attempted to let someone know where I am going to be.

I also keep my cell phone IN REACH (Does you no good in a pack hanging 6-20ft above you).

RE: Could they find you??
 

No harley riding for a while here anyway. Cold weather and snow moving in this weekend.

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Sorry about the ankle HCH, that sucks the root.

I always let my wife know where I am gonna hunt, but she would never be able to find me. She would have to call one of my hunting buddies that know my stand locations and they would be the ones to find me.

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Thanks Christy.

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Thanks Ken. 30 years of bowhunting and my 1st injury so I am pretty lucky. Especially as much time as I spend in a tree.

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LOL Matt!!!

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She would prolly leave me lay for a few days but she knows where I am.

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Same here and I always take a cell phone but, like others stated they do not always work here. I have taken my son with me a few times and a few friends. Most of my friends only know what area I am in but, like my wife they would have a hard time locating me. One fellow that went with me a few times went tried to go there and asked me how we had went! LOL
I would probably have to depend on my son to find me the most.

Good Post Hardcore, and I am sorry to here about your ankle.

RE: Could they find you??
 

I make sure to tell my wife where I'm going as well. I hunt various properties, so I make sure she knows which one I am at, especially since one is about 90 minutes away. I also carry my cell phone, but there have been plenty of people that have fallen from trees and because of neck/spine injuries can't get at the phone, so make sure you let someone know where you are!

RE: Could they find you??
 

I would not even bother to call my wife if something happened to me while hunting, as all I would do is freak her out. I would call a hunting buddy or a friend first. If I was in a case similar to yours, I would still be able to get myself out if necessary. Pain is good for reminding you that your still alive.

RE: Could they find you??
 

I make sure to tell my wife where I'm going as well. I hunt various properties, so I make sure she knows which one I am at, especially since one is about 90 minutes away. I also carry my cell phone, but there have been plenty of people that have fallen from trees and because of neck/spine injuries can't get at the phone, so make sure you let someone know where you are!

RE: Could they find you??
 

Hardcore, very good post. Best of luck on your recovery.

I take a cell phone were service is available, walkie talkie behind the house or tell my wife what stand I am in. During the summer, I take my wife to all my stands so she knows where and how to find me, we have an area andnumber system on a map. I also make sure that the land owners if I am hunting private ground know where my stands are. Dee can then get them to help if for some reason I didnt come home.

Severalof my hunting spots are a good hike into public grounds, a mile or more hike. I always let at least one good friend know where I am hunt, usually loggers that really know the ground I am hunting well. I tell my wife were I am headed and to call such and such if I dont come home, they will know where to find me. When I go to these far off places lets say my bear spot...which is100 miles by highway, then30 miles by dirtroad then a 2 mile hike in. Someone always knows what glades I am hunting in. Recently I have printed out my spots on Google Earth and pin pointed my stands for my wife. GPS coordinance are on them.

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Hope you have a speedy recovery HCH,I never leave home without my phone or my radiao 2 guys that go hunting with me know all my stand locations,its great to have a good women by your side:)

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Im glad you made it out of there ok. Great Post! Its a good idea to let someone know in case you dont come home on time.Lots of guys,including myself neglect to do it from time to time.Anything that can go wrong-will.

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Good idea Shed, I see you are from the panhandle of ID. The most beautiful spot in the world as far as I am concerned; very rugged wilderness areas. Life or death for sure where you go if someone can't find you.

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I could. I rarely carry a phone with me (because of no service) but all of my hunting spots are well known by my wife, and some of my buddies. If I didn't show up, I'm confident I'd be found within an hour of when therescuer's started searching.

Good Post.

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It has been at least 5 years since a customer of mines brother went out scouting for deer sign before season opened. He parked his truck way back in a field where no one could see it. He had climbed up in a tree and fell and broke his back. He laid there for three days and wrote in a journal about how much he loved his family and how stupid he was to not tell anybody where he had gone. The family and authorities searched and searched but couldn't find him. He died of exposure on the 3rd day and they found his truck and body a few days later.

RE: Could they find you??
 

As said already very good post Hardcore. In years past I have never let anyone know where I have hunted but since the development of a family I always let them know which woods I will be hunting. My 6 year old knows where all my stands are and I also have a topo with my spots mark incase. I hunt alone and that is always a fear of mine. My wife expects a call just after dark and if she doesn't get one she starts to worry a little.
Two years ago I had my appendix (sp) burst while I was up in the tree. A 2 min walk in turned out to be 2 hour crawl. With the above precautions my wife drove up just as I was to call her.

RE: Could they find you??
 

Very good question , my hunting buddy's know where my stands are and they know when I'm out there.
As for my wife , she doesn't hunt and don't know the area not that she doesn't care she enjoys the meat and liver I bring home.
She has alot of trust in me and my friends if something should happen God forbid but she knows I'm well looked after and taken care of.
By the way , how's your ankle ? I wish you a speedy recoverey and say hi to hoytgirl for me.

RE: Could they find you??
 

My wife, no not really. She could get to the property and probablly get within ear shout of where I would be. But my father that hunts with me would know exactly where I am at and my buddy that doesn't really hunt there very much would know exactly where I am at also. Worse case, I could call one of the landowners and they would know.

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Thanks guys and RD. No change in my ankle. Pretty well sentenced to the recliner. Bone Dr saw it yesterday and is holding off on surgery for now which is a big relief. Wants me back in 10 days and is going to re-Xray it again and go from there with his prognosis. He put me in a $450 cam boot and says no weight to be placed on the ankle or foot. Says it will take probably 6-8 weeks for ligaments and fracture to heal. All this and I was just simply walking through the woods and not in a hurry. Ground has never frozen here due to the mild weather and under the leaves it is very muddy and slippery. I was wearing rubber boots which provide no ankle support.

RE: Could they find you??
 

Yes. My wife is a Drill Instructor on the base where I hunt and I always tell her exactly where I am hunting. I am lucky because she knows the base well and regularly deals with range control and the MPs for alot of issues so she knows how to contact them and where I am. On top of that I carry a cell phone which works in almost all of the places I hunt. When my wife was on vacation I let my parents (who are in Alabama, I am in Missouri)know all the info and called them everytime before I went out and let them know where I would be hunting and that if they didn't get a call from me by 9pm to raise the flag and make some calls. My wife calls me Mr. Over-Prepared, but I like being prepared for everything that I can atleast think of.

RE: Could they find you??
 

WOW ... thats sounds pretty rough , you must be hurting really bad .
I hope for your sake that you don't need the surgery , just try to take it easy for awhile.
Turkey seasosn is just around the corner , sure hope your up and around walking again so you get out and enjoy the season.
As always, My thoughts and prayers goout to youand your wife may God Bless you both.

RE: Could they find you??
 

I carry my cell. But also I tell my GF where I am going. My dad knows most of the places I hunt, the others, as long as I was concious, I could be heard yelling, its small woodlots around here.

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I'm sure to always let someone know what drainage I'm in but most places up here you better count on self rescue. We don't hunt out of stands so a drainage or a mountain are about as specific as it gets. Cell phones don't work here unless your at the top of the mountain, Marine VHF works in coastal areas, Aviation VHF only works where there are planes flying, my girlfriend carries a personal EPIRB for big trips but mostly we just count on each other or ourselves.

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This right here, should give us all something to think about.

Not to downplay your experience, HCH.Sorry about the ankle. I'd imagine the story above makes you glad it was only your ankle.

Shouldn't Hoytgirl get some kind of award or something?;)

You know, I hunt by myself a lot of the time. I rarely tell anyone or just give a general idea where I'm going.

This whole thread really got me thinking.

Thanks, Hardcore. You might have even saved someone some future grief.

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Yeah me too.. Wind....I'm really never worried about my whitetail set ups because they are pretty much stands or ground blinds that are fixed.

But like Kodiak eluded too, with drainages and ground hunting, I find myself in that same boat while archery elk hunting or shed hunting. Walking miles of country is never out of the ordinary day. Crossing one drainage into another. Trying to get to just one more southern face to look for sheds on...I have done this for years going alone on long treks, coming out of the woods well after dark using a head lamp following theridges and elk/deer trials back to find my way out. Getting home in the early morning hours.. Its a wonder I haven't had anything too bad ever happen now that I think of it. I've had some interesting run-ins with mountain lions, wolves and 3 different unhappy sow black bears with cubswhile shed hunting too... the 44 maghad to bark 2 of those 3 times witht the sows tospook them off...

I always carry a well equipped pack on all-dayers or overnighters. Often staying overnight following/glassing bulls that were ready to drop their antlers. First aid, food, water, small blue tarp for shelter, extra layers of clothingand plenty of fire starter options. Just in case I end up spending a night or two out there.

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My wife might not want to find me[&:].
Hope you mend quickly.

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Yeah, blame it on the global warming HC.;):DAnyway, I hope you make a full recovery. Sounds like you should be good to go by Spring Gobbler.

Donnie

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In all my years I have always let family know where I would be. When Hunting out West in the Mountains I had a check in call time & IF I did not make it they were to notify authorities & where my camp was. Fortunatly, I have not had to have anyone come look for me in 50 years of Bowhunting all over the country.