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Freak Accidents and Near Misses

neonomad

neonomad

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
1,373
Stick kick outs not that unexpected, but care to share those things out to get us that are much harder / impossible to anticipate??? I’ll start with three, two from this season:
(1) About ten years ago was steelhead fishing with a small rolled towel in my vest along my back, I slipped on shale, legs kicked out and I fell backwards right across that towel, swear it almost broke my back.
(2) Last week with full gear took a modest step onto a frozen downslope, that leg slid forward folding the other leg backward underneath me, swear it almost ripped some leg muscles, but it didn’t.
(3) Last week easiest ground hunt ever 100 yards from the barn, tiptoeing back in the dark slammed a leg about knee deep into a huge groundhog hole, swear it almost blew my knee out.

No major damage done, but each incident real sketchy.
 
Are you trying to make me too paranoid to leave the house? LOL

I hate walking down slippery slopes (or driving down them). My boots have to have decent tread AND a heel to grab. I retired after 2 trips a new pair of Danner hiking boots because the sole has texture but no heel (flat like tennis shoe). I stepped down a muddy hill cover in leaves and my feet went out from under me so hard and I miraculously wasn't hurt. My current favorite boots have a heel that is a little bulldozer scoop. What an amazing feature!

I'm surprised that falling on a towel hurt you. A few years back, I thought I was still 20 and went down a steep hill where I had to grab a tree to save myself. Well, I didn't grab the tree right. I was heading face first towards rocks. I pivoted onto my back at the last minute and landed right on my saddle pack hard and was fine. I tossed my bow into a bush at the same time. Time was doing that weird slow motion thing at the time.
 
raisins said:
Are you trying to make me too paranoid to leave the house? LOL

I hate walking down slippery slopes (or driving down them). My boots have to have decent tread AND a heel to grab. I retired after 2 trips a new pair of Danner hiking boots because the sole has texture but no heel (flat like tennis shoe). I stepped down a muddy hill cover in leaves and my feet went out from under me so hard and I miraculously wasn't hurt. My current favorite boots have a heel that is a little bulldozer scoop. What an amazing feature!

I'm surprised that falling on a towel hurt you. A few years back, I thought I was still 20 and went down a steep hill where I had to grab a tree to save myself. Well, I didn't grab the tree right. I was heading face first towards rocks. I pivoted onto my back at the last minute and landed right on my saddle pack hard and was fine. I tossed my bow into a bush at the same time. Time was doing that weird slow motion thing at the time.
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Yeah this is pretty much for entertainment, some thing are out to get us and there’s very little we can do about it, ha. Glad your skull didn’t hit the rocks! My towel was a tight 5” roll, spine met it like a stick you’re trying to break with your knee. All good though.
 
couple weeks ago i was setting up in a tree with my angled scout platform and my rubber boots were extremally muddy from the trek in...right foot slipped completely off the platform and i just instinctively bear hugged the tree and caught myself. I had just got to hunting height and was attached with my rappel line so i would have been ok if i did slip all the way off but rattled me pretty good.
 
Twice I have looked over in a hole climbing up a tree expecting it to be empty. Once had a snake and the other time had a nest full of flying skwerls. Both times were near misses on needing clean drawers. Stopped climbing trees with holes.

The rabbit that yanked on my rappel rope last year got all my attention. Wouldnt have really thought about that being any sorta deal until it happened. It was entirely disconcerting to have the rope pulled on when you are not aware of anyone or anything being around that might do such a thing.
 
BTaylor said:
Twice I have looked over in a hole climbing up a tree expecting it to be empty. Once had a snake and the other time had a nest full of flying skwerls. Both times were near misses on needing clean drawers. Stopped climbing trees with holes.

The rabbit that yanked on my rappel rope last year got all my attention. Wouldnt have really thought about that being any sorta deal until it happened. It was entirely disconcerting to have the rope pulled on when you are not aware of anyone or anything being around that might do such a thing.
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Wascally wabbit.....

Also, be careful of various hornet and other stinging critter nests in and on trees.

This reminds me....

I had a salt lick in front of trail cam. Went back to check the cam and pour some more salt down.

I walk over and remark how tore up the ground is at my lick! Just then I get stung by 2 bumble bees and see several dead or dying in that torn up area.

I then notice my salt lick a few feet to the side.

The trail cam pics told the tail. A black bear got into a bumble bee nest (they are ground nesters) and ate the honey or larvae or whatever.

Those bees that came after me had been attacked and all their countrymen decimated by a bear that day or day before (can't remember).

Weird coincidence, and glad it wasn't yellow jackets.
 
Had one just the other night that scared me good. Using an OCB strap on my Pursuit Platform and the buckle unhinged while I was standing on it. Luckily the tether kept me hooked to the tree and it didn’t drop much (maybe an inch), but certainly made me pay more attention to get it crammed over better the next time.


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jhoward8821 said:
Had one just the other night that scared me good. Using an OCB strap on my Pursuit Platform and the buckle unhinged while I was standing on it. Luckily the tether kept me hooked to the tree and it didn’t drop much (maybe an inch), but certainly made me pay more attention to get it crammed over better the next time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I had this happen with the same platform testing it on a telephone pole...I don't like OCBs
 
@raisins I never think about bees unless brushhogging but they are no joke. Couple years back I went in the dark late summer to check the health of a hang on treestand. I twisted the carabiner closed to the safety line and put a foot on the ladder, heard a hum and there in front of me was a full nest of huge european hornets in a hollow, my headlamp right on em. I had to unscrew the biner before I could run. They’re known to be more active at night and attack light, no idea why they gave me a pass but I’m grateful.
 
I had a practice stand in my side yard with a 10 foot section of climbing stick ratcheted to the tree and a stand so I could practice shooting from elevation. Coming down one day I stepped on the edge of a tree root just right (or wrong) and my foot went 90 degrees to the side, and I heard a loud cracking noise like I broke a bunch of sticks. I went to the ground immediately and just laid there a minute or two. I ended up basically crawling back to the house. That sprained ankle had me down for a couple of weeks.
 
neonomad said:
@raisins I never think about bees unless brushhogging but they are no joke. Couple years back I went in the dark late summer to check the health of a hang on treestand. I twisted the carabiner closed to the safety line and put a foot on the ladder, heard a hum and there in front of me was a full nest of huge european hornets in a hollow, my headlamp right on em. I had to unscrew the biner before I could run. They’re known to be more active at night and attack light, no idea why they gave me a pass but I’m grateful.
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Had a couple hornets get after my headlamp back in the early season. Thankfully, when I killed the light they went on their way. I bumbled my way a few yards away from that spot before I turned the light back on though. We also had a big nest somewhere close to the farm house. Every evening if the garage door was up and the light on, when the sun went down we would end up with varying amounts of hornets in the garage buzzing on the lights like a moth. We never did locate the nest. Not sure what type of hornet they are other than the bigazzones.
 
When I was a kid, we did a lot of dove hunting. I remember one time I was on the edge of a field and birds were flying over this one area, so I went down and there was no good tree to break up my outline, so I squatted down along the field edge by the tall grass. Some dove flew over and I shot at one. The recoil was enough to cause me to lose my balance from that squatting position and I tipped backwards. I caught myself with my right arm and felt a stick scratch my wrist. No big deal. I reload and while I am waiting for another bird, I check out the scratch and see a bit of corn stalk stuck in my arm about an inch behind my wrist. Its only about a quarter of an inch sticking out so I grab it and pull it out. Three inches of stalk later and it is out. Blood goes everywhere. I tore a strip of cloth off my shirt and kept hunting. When I told my folks about it, they had a fit. I said this is why I didn't say anything until after the hunt, lol.
 
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NMSbowhunter said:
I had a practice stand in my side yard with a 10 foot section of climbing stick ratcheted to the tree and a stand so I could practice shooting from elevation. Coming down one day I stepped on the edge of a tree root just right (or wrong) and my foot went 90 degrees to the side, and I heard a loud cracking noise like I broke a bunch of sticks. I went to the ground immediately and just laid there a minute or two. I ended up basically crawling back to the house. That sprained ankle had me down for a couple of weeks.
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Ha! I know the feeling. I've done that twice.
 
Raptors, man. It’s always the raptors. Hawks, owls, kestrels. It’s like they have some sort of hit out on me. I haven’t been targeted in a couple of years. But I’m not letting my guard down.
 
Glenn said:
Raptors, man. It’s always the raptors. Hawks, owls, kestrels. It’s like they have some sort of hit out on me. I haven’t been targeted in a couple of years. But I’m not letting my guard down.
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Me too. Owls and hawks seem to have a thing for my hat. Absolutely freaks you out when they flare away just feet from hitting you. I've gotten to the point that when the squirrels all suddenly go silent and still, I start scanning the sky. :tearsofjoy:
 
It also used to be sticks and limbs to the face and eyes. But not no mo. Solved that problem with my new tacticool ESS Rollbars.
 
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