kelly.jayp
Well-Known Member
Last week I went up to my new lease for a 2 day trip with the goal of getting meat for the freezer and exploring some new spots. The first morning I walked through a clear cut to the main creek on the property and used it to access an area I had picked out from google earth scouting. The creek provided great access to get in quietly. Walking through the creek, I had to hop a log and as I did, and my gun started to slide off my shoulder towards the water. I lunged to grab the gun and as I did my phone fell in the creek instead, so I grabbed that as quickly as I could. Now I have a wet phone and wet glove and sleeve. Annoyed but relieved the phone is still working, I continue on. Moments later I start to sense my left foot getting wet. The neoprene on the Muck boot had a tear and was now slowly seeping through. Damn this is some luck I'm thinking. It was still early morning and I was planning on sitting all day. Finally I got to where I wanted to set up - I was feeling really good about the spot. I found a tree that gave me good concealment with a split trunk tree immediately behind me, and began the climb. This was my first hunting setup using the redsquirrel aider system with the WE Stepps, so I was really in high spirits as I began. As I climbed the third stepp (~13 feet) I felt a heavy tug against me as I stepped onto the aider and then onto the step. Looking down I could see that my rifle was suspended in the air - the pull rope tangled so bad it was knotted. I hadn't cleared that out well enough after having it stuffed in my pocket. (My Doyle's was sitting under the Christmas tree...) I had the end of the pull rope tied to my LB loop on the Kestrel so I untied it to see if I could lower the gun back down gently, but didn't have enough slack to do so. So I threw a half hitch back on to start to climb down and the rope slipped out and down went the gun - about 3 feet barrel first. THAT was stupid. I get down, untangle the line and retie to my saddle loop and start back up. I get the last stepps up for the platform and pull the gun back up. I hang my back pack and gun and notice the barrel is full of dirt from falling. I'm thinking to myself 'Seriously?' I grab a small twig from the tree next to me and peel it down thin to use to loosen the packed dirt from the end of the barrel. As I am doing so, 2 mature does run the ridge behind me. The dirt is coming out by now but each swab keeps bringing more dirt. To be safe I cleared the gun, removed the bolt and looked down the barrel, and sure enough still a good bit of loose dirt in there, so I blew it out which got it pretty clean. Now 3 does come from the bedding area and trot 20 yards past my tree. After reassembling the gun and reloading a round, I decided to move the screw in gun holder to the tree right behind me to access it easier. I get the screw in all the way and lay the shoulder strap across it and watch in disbelief as the gun free falls 25 feet to the ground, spinning end over end. It seemed like slow motion watching this and all I could think of was please do not discharge. Safety was on and it did land safely - in a manner of speaking. The crash at the bottom was not gentle - or quiet. It landed on the side of the stock and I'm . So I climb back down to inspect the damage. Scope was not broken but at that point I didn't know if I could hit the broad side of a barn at 20 yards. Turns out the cheap factory strap I never upgraded simply pulled loose from the bar it was threaded through. I had never noticed it getting loose at all. I decide to head back up the tree anyway - getting lots of practice with the aider at this point - even if it was going to end up as an observation sit. I had not brought another weapon and I live 2 1/2 hours away. All I could do at that point was laugh it off and try to stay positive, because getting angry and frustrated wasn't going to help anything at that point. I did manage to see a buck and doe that afternoon, but did not get a chance to try a shot. Second day hunt was much less eventful fortunately, other than getting a call form my wife at noon that our 10 month old had a fever and threw up in daycare - so back home I went. Not how I planned 2 days off to go but certainly a memory I won't forget!
I think we have all had days like that. Just have to laugh!