Back In The Tree

It's been a very long time since I posted to this blog, and much has happen since my last post.

Confession is good for the soul... I confess, I love to deer hunt! Be it with a bow, a black powder rifle, or shotgun. I love deer hunting.

Last January (January 6, 2007 to be exact) I found myself doing what I love (see above). That's right, I was deer hunting. It was the last day of the season, and I had to get in that one last hunt. All was going well that morning. It was cool and crisp and the deer were moving! I had watched a deer feeding near a small stream for about an hour. The deer moved off into a thicket and I lost sight of it, but to my good fortune something spooked it and it came running past my tree stand at full speed. Here was my chance. I stood up, brought my shotgun up, lined up the shot, and "blam." The OO buckshot found the mark and the deer tumbled into some thick brush. I was elated, but moved ever so slightly to my left to get a better look at where he had fallen. BIG MISTAKE. You see I was 16 feet up in the air perched on a wooden decked tree stand, and as I moved to the left the nails on the right side of the deck boards gave way! Suddenly I felt myself going head over heels toward the ground with a loaded shotgun in my hands. REALLY BAD FEELING.

To make a long story short, I spent the next three days in the hospital and six weeks at home recovering from a broken collar bone, six broken ribs, and two cracked vertebra. I had been hunting from tree stands for many years and never felt uncomfortable, but I was really stupid for not wearing a safety harness. I DO NOW!

Did I mention I love deer hunting? Well the season opened up here in Virginia last weekend, and I was thrilled to be back in the woods - this time securely fastened to the tree.