My first hunting accident

[luger]

So this story has good news and bad news and I just want to give some warnings to those that head out into the field.

Last weekend I went out hunting and packed into a alpine bowl to hunt mule deer. First morning in I was lucky and tagged out on a nice 4x4.
https://i.imgur.com/zx94c5h.jpg

While packing out my mule deer I rolled my ankle twice approximately 400 yards from the truck. Thankfully I was able to hobble my way back to the truck with my buck. I then drove home and went to the ER to find out I will be off work for approximately 6 weeks and was give a set of crutches cause I cant weight bear on my right foot now. My bother then packed in and retrieved my camp.

If this accident would have happened a few kilometres prior I would have had to use my inreach to get help. Yes this experience is bad but it could have been so much worse.

To those of you that are heading out into the bush , please have a back up plan. You never know what will happen and how far you will be back in the bush when it does.

Good luck and and stay safe!

[Steeleco]

Things happen fast and not always close to the truck. Sucks your grounded for 6 weeks but good thing you've got that many dinners LOL

Congrats on the deer!

[luger]

Thanks,
sorry I’m not sure why the picture stayed as a link and didn’t show up as a picture.

[jan.wi97]

Congrats and I guess the time off can be spent planning the next one eh :)

[elkhunterette]

Congrats on the deer, sorry about your injury!

[DarekG]

Nice deer, bad luck!

[264mag]

Very scary. I was on a sheep hunt last month. Day 2 of the pack in, 8 km in, heavy duty bushwhacking I was side hilling and stepped in a 16 in hole covered with leaves with my bottom foot. When my foot hit bottom my ankle rolled and I heard a loud pop. I was able to hobble the final 2 km to our camp spot. Luckily I was able to stay within 200 yards of camp and glass a huge valley for the next 5 days. I managed to muscle my way through this hunt but it was the toughest thing I have ever had to deal with.
Once home I went to the GP and hit physio hard. I tore the Calcaneo-fibular ligament and sprained my ankle. I likely did more damage on the way out than when I had the initial incident. The good news is we were packing a ram out!
It happens fast, be careful out there and take your time.

[KBC]

Glad you are ok. Always pack a way to communicate and always let people know where you’re going. Make sure you check in daily too so that if you miss checking in someone knows something is wrong.

[bottles]

Good reminder. Great looking buck.

[GEF]

Just curious .Do your boots have good ankle support

[luger]

Oh ya, I run top of the line skarpas.

[Silver Stones]

Glad to hear it happened when it did - I’ve volunteered with SAR for several years and they don’t always go that way. It’s amazing how bad stuff can go bad - Sunday I found myself on the other side of the rescue...turns out a backcountry hike with a 19 month old is a really bad time to find out you’ve developed an allergy to nuts as an adult. 4 hours of swollen throat and purging everything I’d eaten (I’ll leave the details to you) I loaded into the helicopter as a subject.

Backcountry communication is key. Having excellent people with you who can make and execute a plan when things go sideways even more so.

Hope your ankle heals up soon

[andrew5]

Hi All,

I saw this on sale at Cabelas. will this suffice, or do i need to spend all the way up to an In Reach mini? That is a lot of dough.

Spot X 2 way messenger: https://www.cabelas.ca/product/113491

[caddisguy]

I had another message fail to go out and the SPOT 3 on Sunday. It was a wide open view of the sky and no red indicator to show the message failed to send. I also sent one on Friday night at 10:30PM. The notification did not go out to emails/phones until 12:30AM.

I am glad I have not had to rely on that device in an emergency. The check-ins seem to work most of the time (95%) but if if actually had to send an SOS it would sure keep me guessing.

I will probably switch to a two way system like inReach or Spot X 2 way in the near future. Being able to send out a specific message and receive acknowledgement definitely seems like a good way to go!

[luger]

I’ve got the older model delorme se. Its easy to use ( with or with out bluetoothing it to my phone) and works every time.

[boilerroom]

Thanks for the story Luger! I did my first solo hunt last weekend, and was definitely extra careful - but I didn't have a sat device and your story is the kick I needed to get one to stay safe.

Great looking buck! Sorry about your injury, I hope you "heel" well.

[nwalter]

The very reason my wife is buying an inreach for me

[Bugle M In]

Wasnt there a hunter near Vernon some years back that went missing and they finally found him and it had appeared he had broken his leg?
Yup, things can go south quick.