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Worst hunting-related injury

Last September I went on my first elk hunt in Colorado. My buddy and I backpacked in 6 miles from 9500' to 11000' where we camped and hunted. I started to develop a wheeze on the first afternoon, but I figured my lungs would get used to the altitude and lack of oxygen. By the next day I was having a really hard time breathing. By that night I was really dragging, and I had to catch my breath after doing the simplest things. I was nervous to go to sleep that night because I kept coughing and choking on fluid from my lungs as I lied in my sleeping bag. I made the difficult decision to hike down on the morning of day 3 while I still had enough strength. So here we went with our 60-lb packs back down to the truck. One of the longest hikes of my life mentally. I went to the doctor in town where I was diagnosed with High Altitude Pulmonary Edema or "HAPE". She said had I waited another day, the fluid would have likely turned to blood. I really would've been screwed then.
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Posted this story a few times………

April 15, 2017 was a pretty normal, nice, Spring turkey hunting day until it all went wrong. I got on a bird gobbling like crazy and got in close. It took a few minutes, but I finally got him to come take a peak. He turned to go the other direction and stopped in an opening at 40 yards, and I pulled the trigger. He started flopping, but it was so steep and thick that I didn't know whether he was crippled or a death flop over the hill. I sprang to my feet to run a few yards to evaluate what had just happened when everything went wrong. On the leading step, I basically hit weird either on a rock or something unlevel and broke my leg. I went to the ground and only thought that I had twisted it a little. It basically felt like it was asleep but not like it was broke. I sprang back up, felt the feeling coming back, and kept going which was a big mistake. I made it three steps and basically my foot rolled up and touched my leg tearing all the tendons and ligaments in my foot. I called my wife told her that I was hurt, had to get the turkey, and somehow get out. I unloaded my gun and started using it as a crutch as I was able to put some weight on my foot which was another mistake. I made it about 10 steps and rolled it again. I came close to panicking but also knew I might have to get myself out by myself and was able to keep myself calm. I was finally able to get in touch with a cousin who came to help me get out. I had emergency surgery that night to put a plate and 6 screws in and spent the night in the hospital. My turkey season was over. I had another surgery to remove two screws in August as I still didn't have full range of my foot. I then had another surgery in March of 2016 to remove some scar tissue as I still didn't have full range. It helped my foot, but I developed disc issues in my back in part due to how I had been walking at the end of 2016 resulting in a blown out disc and back surgery in April of 2017 thus ending that season. I am now having issues with my hip on the same side and looking at another surgery which will have a major impact on this coming deer season. That's one turkey I wish I would have never heard gobble.

I had 6 staples on the side of my foot in the picture and 18 on the other side.

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Went to work years ago with a big gauze wrapped bandage on my left thumb. This was a Monday after hunting Sunday on the coldest I have ever been on a TN hunt.

My boss asked what happened.
I told him that my hands were so cold yesterday I couldn't feel my hands right and while pinching a deers bunkhole with my left hand and cutting with my right hand I cut my thumb to the bone.

He said, "come on, what really happened" and I had to repeat the above.

Felt the blade scrape the bone.
 
BSK said:
Add in the fact locust trees spread via their roots, and they are definitely the spawn of the Devil.
Click to expand...
Creator has a sense of humor.
Thorns pricks hurt like the devil but flowers make heavenly honey 🍯
 
I was driving on a management area going to a tree I planned to climb. I saw a truck parked on the side of the road where I wanted to park and said better luck next time. As I started to turn around I saw two young men running to the road where I was at. I thought at first they thought I was going to break into their truck, but I saw the lead man holding his hand in front of him as he neared me. He had climbed a dead tree and had a limb break as he was trying to hang a lock on stand. His hand was under the chain to the stand and the stand simply pulled all the skin and meat off his first two fingers. Nothing there but what looked like a skinned squirrel tail bone. I dont get queasy much, but the sight of the bones about got to me. I dont know what ever happened to the man, or if they were able to save his fingers. I have been very fortunate all the years I have hunted to have never injured myself even in the days when I climbed with a Baker climbing stand. I never knew what a safety belt was, but never had one to slip on me. God takes care of me it looks like.

B
 
I've had two falls out of trees after 50+ years of hunting. First time was on Thief Neck Island on a bow hunt. I shot a deer and in my haste to find it fell about 15 feet out of my climber. And no, I was young and dumb and didn't have a safety belt on. Luckily I only suffered a separated shoulder, but it hurt like hell! Was a long boat ride home.
Second time I climbed up a tree to cut a limb off for a shooting lane. I was only about 10 feet up and grabbed a limb to pull myself up, the limb broke and I fell straight back. I guess I put my hands behind me to break my fall. It knocked the breath out of me and my back and wrist hurt BAD! I was nauseous and thought I was going to throw up. Spotted my fanny pack at the base of the tree and crawled over to it and got a gator aid and took a few swigs and felt a little better. Laid there for awhile till my senses came back. I was 200 miles from home and hunting by myself, my 4wheeler was about a half mile away. Finally made it back to the 4 wheeler and drove to my camper and took a couple of tylenol to ease the pain. I had seen two good bucks that morning and had them patterned pretty good and really wanted to get a shot at them. I figured if I could draw my bow I would try and tough it out. I raised my bow and tried to draw, nope aint happening!!
Got in the truck and started the long drive home, about half way called the wife, luckily she was working for a physical therapist, and he said to drive straight to his office. One look at my wrist and he said get to the ER. Turns out my back was ok but my wrist was broken in three places.
That ended my bow season but went back on the ML hunt, killed one of the bucks I was after right at daylight. My wrist was still in a cast, it aint easy guttin a deer with one hand, even harder loading one on a 4 wheeler, but I got er done!!
 
rstodd said:
2020 climbing down from stand in the dark. Hawk helium step twisted off of the tree as I was stepping on the top step. Luckily I had my saddle on and was still attached to the tree. My stomach hit the step above it before I got stopped. I thought my inerds where hanging out.
Lesson learned do not stretch out the length between the sticks to get higher.
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That happened to me while practicing my climbing method for saddle hunting last summer. Have about a 2" scar even with my belly button. Hate those sticks and will replace soon with a 3-step
 
Teacher said:
I was driving on a management area going to a tree I planned to climb. I saw a truck parked on the side of the road where I wanted to park and said better luck next time. As I started to turn around I saw two young men running to the road where I was at. I thought at first they thought I was going to break into their truck, but I saw the lead man holding his hand in front of him as he neared me. He had climbed a dead tree and had a limb break as he was trying to hang a lock on stand. His hand was under the chain to the stand and the stand simply pulled all the skin and meat off his first two fingers. Nothing there but what looked like a skinned squirrel tail bone. I dont get queasy much, but the sight of the bones about got to me. I dont know what ever happened to the man, or if they were able to save his fingers. I have been very fortunate all the years I have hunted to have never injured myself even in the days when I climbed with a Baker climbing stand. I never knew what a safety belt was, but never had one to slip on me. God takes care of me it looks like.

B
Click to expand...
I've seen something similar with wedding bands getting hung on things. It's the main reason I wear silicon bands now.
 
Slid down the tree 20 foot or more very quick. Got throw on the ground and landed on my neck and head. Started having migraines right after that . Fell in 1995 and had one ell of a migraine today.
Actually ended up with stitches that were the result of a fall on a broken whisky bottle . Bottle was under pine needles . Didn't see it when I decided to use that sapling that looked healthy for a lean to for number 2 . The hand saved my back side literally.
Busted my knee on a frozen rock . 1998 was the year and knee is still messed up.
Twisted ankle in the snow coming off a big ridge. 2014 and ankle is still messed up.
Really thought I was dying in the stand opening day of rifle 2009. Luckily almost a year later found out it was a really bad gallbladder attack. 70 pounds lost and a ton of medical tests later got the gall removed and all good . Not sure if any of this counts but it's all I can remember.
 
Fell from ladder tree stand twice while putting them up and taking them down. Broken ribs on one of the incidents. Use an extension ladder now with putting them up or bringing them down. I'm very lucky it wasn't worse.
 
Only one serious accident I can remember. Fell about 16 ft while tightening my last step with my Amacker hang on stand still on my back. Young and dumb, I didn't even know what a linesman's belt was back then. Sure could've ended up a lot worse but I only ended up with two broken bones in my right foot.
 
Had a bad gall bladder attack on a draw hunt back in 2017. Deer were running everywhere, but I couldn't do much about it. I've had some bad stuff happen, but that pain was horrific. I barely made the mile hike out of the woods with my friends carrying my gear while I puked and dry heaved the whole way out. Made it to the ER and missed the hunt, but one of my friends hunted my spot and got a good buck.

Had the offending gall bladder removed a week and a half later.
 

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