Shed Hunter
Well-Known Member
I don't post much anymore, but thought I would share this experience.
i never took dead trees very seriously.. I used to ram into them to knock them over for fun. Today I learned that even touching one can be a serious mistake. I was hunting some public here in Ohio and after talking to seven different hunters (a group of four and three) I decided to move spots. I walked back in at 12:00 towards some very thick ridges between where they said they were hunting. Carrying my stand through the thick stuff was difficult. That alone wasn't worth it in reality, but I knew a couple of weeks ago my target buck walked through the area in daylight and I was eager to try and get after him. I was halted immediately when I propped my hand against a tree to brace myself as I crossed a log. In the blink of an eye my neck was bent, my body numb, and my knees slammed into the log I was crossing. Very confused I did everything I could to keep my composure. When I finally eased back into reality I noticed the tree resting on my shoulders. Held up by my deer stand. I wiggled out of the straps and tumbled onto the ground and reached for my phone to call my wife. I was nauseous and shaking… unsure of my well being. I felt blood on my face and wiped my hand solid. I worried I should hit the call button and did. As we talked I slowly became less nauseous and shaky. I stood up and took some more time to make sure I was sturdy and to examine exactly what went wrong. The logs I was attempting to cross had broken the tree that fell on me and it it was barely hanging on. All it took for the tree to snap was a small amount of my body weight bracing myself up. Never underestimate nature. Good luck to all. I'm hoping to return to the woods next weekend. My bow seems to be fine despite the quiver being knocked off in the incident
i never took dead trees very seriously.. I used to ram into them to knock them over for fun. Today I learned that even touching one can be a serious mistake. I was hunting some public here in Ohio and after talking to seven different hunters (a group of four and three) I decided to move spots. I walked back in at 12:00 towards some very thick ridges between where they said they were hunting. Carrying my stand through the thick stuff was difficult. That alone wasn't worth it in reality, but I knew a couple of weeks ago my target buck walked through the area in daylight and I was eager to try and get after him. I was halted immediately when I propped my hand against a tree to brace myself as I crossed a log. In the blink of an eye my neck was bent, my body numb, and my knees slammed into the log I was crossing. Very confused I did everything I could to keep my composure. When I finally eased back into reality I noticed the tree resting on my shoulders. Held up by my deer stand. I wiggled out of the straps and tumbled onto the ground and reached for my phone to call my wife. I was nauseous and shaking… unsure of my well being. I felt blood on my face and wiped my hand solid. I worried I should hit the call button and did. As we talked I slowly became less nauseous and shaky. I stood up and took some more time to make sure I was sturdy and to examine exactly what went wrong. The logs I was attempting to cross had broken the tree that fell on me and it it was barely hanging on. All it took for the tree to snap was a small amount of my body weight bracing myself up. Never underestimate nature. Good luck to all. I'm hoping to return to the woods next weekend. My bow seems to be fine despite the quiver being knocked off in the incident
