So has anyone considered if you have a failure that resulted in a serious fall and say broke your back? Or a small fall but you caught a step and lacerate your leg, maybe knick your femoral? Do you hunt alone? Does your partner know where you are exactly? Any cell service?
If you find yourself in an emergency scenario while hunting, it will almost definitely be because you're incapacitated, and there's a good chance that it will all boil down to luck or fate, whichever you believe in. You can go down the rabbit hole worrying about it. I'll tell you a chipper little story.
3 years ago I got invited to go paddle a stretch of river with a group of retirees. One of them was a former green beret. Two were police officers. One was a fire chief. A couple of others were there who's qualifications I didn't know, but all were older, very experienced outdoorsmen. I ended up not going because I had already burnt time off that month going to the same spot with a buddy.
They made an uneventful trip to the campsite, set up shop, drank a few beers, grilled some grub, and slowly drifted off to their tents.
One gentleman never woke up.
He had a massive heart attack in the night. If he made a sound, nobody heard it because they were sleeping hard due to food, drink, and exercise. He had high blood pressure I believe, but nobody remotely expected that he had any serious problems. He died surrounded by the most ideal group of guys you can imagine to save his life. They couldn't get signal on the island they were camped at, and had to tow him back in his canoe.
Definitely pack whatever first aid kit you're trained to use. Take a basic first aid course. Hunt with buddies where possible. Leave a plan with someone you trust. Buy a PLB if it makes you feel better. But most importantly, BE MINDFUL and DON'T GET COMPLACENT.
And then just keep in mind that you might get that ticket punched any second now. Nobody gets out of here alive anyway.
