Has anyone else been injured while hunting away from home?

[Pablo]

Broken ribs can be terrible, every move you make causes pain!

That is a true statement right there. Every move you make, your muscles seize up. Couldn’t sleep for weeks.

 

[Elkeater]

I’ve been pretty lucky so far. Mostly scrapes, bruises, a few cuts that probably should have been stitched but that’s what superglue and duct tape are for. Only long lasting injury was due to my own stupidity. I shot a bull elk about 3 miles and 3,000 feet above the truck. My buddy and I decided we didn’t want to make two trips up that mountain so we loaded up half an elk each and hiked out. It was way too heavy but I sucked it up and ultimately caused nerve damage in my neck and left shoulder. Still gets uncomfortable at times.

Had a few more close calls but nothing crazy other than a few rides down the mountain in shale slides and such.

 

[Philip Glass]

I am sorry to hear of this terrible injury. I have been fortunate to not have had a serious injury. I do recall straining a calf muscle when I stepped in a deep, dry, elephant track in a Caprivi. That lesson taught me that it was time to start an exercise program to stay in better shape for these more extreme hunts.

 

[HankBuck]

The last six months have been a challenge. My son and I were on our annual moose hunt in Newfoundland late September 2024. The first day (Monday 9/23) we hunted our way back to the spike camp we would be using for a night or two. We opened the camp, cut some wood and went off on foot for the evening hunt. We glassed for 2-3 hrs. spotting several different animals in a valley, I was looking for a meat bull. We made a couple moves to different vantage points and found a young bull with a cow. We made a quick stalk and my hunt was over, so I thought. Darkness was 1/2 hr away so we were moving quickly to get the guts out of my bull, traversing down through a bog bordered by tucks. On the way down I stepped into a hole covered by bog grass slightly larger than my boot and almost up to my knee. When my left foot hit the bottom, I heard and felt a snap, crunch sound (my son heard it 8 feet behind me) NOT GOOD! With time working against us my son and our friend (guide) took care of my moose while I looked at my foot and felt sorry for myself. I tried to stand but no way was this going to happen, I knew some bones were broken. Our friend went back to the spike camp to get the Argo while my son stayed with me. They loaded me up and off we went to the main camp 2 hrs away where I made myself a couch decoration until Friday afternoon. On the way out of camp we stopped at the butcher to pick up our 2 bulls (my son got a nice one Wednesday) and off to the ferry for an overnight sailing. We hit the mainland Saturday @ 7am drove straight through 20hrs home so I could get medical help. I went to a small local hospital and they referred me to our main hospital in Rochester (strong Hospital) where X rays were performed. I was told I would need surgery, my heel was broken in several pieces, multiple bones in my foot were broken and I had broken the end of my fibula along with three blood clots in my lower leg. Surgery was performed October 7th where they put my foot back together with a plate and 9 screws. I returned home the next day and was to be non-weight bearing for almost 3 months, December 20th I was cleared to start weight bearing which was to be gradual using crutches and a walking boot, February 14th was my last day with crutches. Since then, I have been getting around (slowly) relearning to walk, forcing myself to use the leg and not limp. It will be a challenge for a while, I found it necessary to cancel 3 trips planned for 2025 just to get better. 2026 will hopefully be back to normal, I already have a trip planned with KMG and another moose hunt planned in October.

@KEC - I’m not sure how “tough you are” but after breaking your leg - did you really wait 4 days in Camp before traveling to get Medical help? If so, you are fortunate not to have shot-a-clot and died or gotten gangrene and lost a leg…..WHY did you wait? You must’ve known it was a bad break and that your Medical needs were more important then the hunt. I’ve had minor injuries during away hunts - cut hand and put in 3 stitches by myself, got sick w/fever but got better in two days….but Never anything like what you had. While I’m a big believer in “don’t quit - tough it out” But unless I am mis reading the seriousness of your injury —- if that was Me, a friend, or especially My Son - I would’ve done whatever it took to get to a Hospital — including paying for a Medivac if that was the only way. I’m guessing there is more to the story — did you not realize how bad the break was? , no severe swelling? No grotesque discoloration? numbness etc..? I’m glad you are OK and will recover…Lucky guy

 

[BRICKBURN]

@KEC , Glad you are healing. You are a lucky man. That was a long wait for medical attention to such a serious injury.
That Argo ride would not have been much fun.
Keep getting well.

Thankfully, any injuries I have sustained while hunting away have been minor bruises and Tick Bite Fever

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Gangrene is not likely for a closed fracture. The blood clots could have been more concerning. But that's essentially what a bruise is. I broke my heel once stepping out of the stirrup as the horse was moving. Quite painful for several weeks (months?) but just laced up my White's logging boot tight and toughed it out. It healed fine. I continued to teach school and coach basketball. In fact, the incident happened while I was riding to school in the morning. I stopped to open the gate around a cattle guard. After closing the gate I was trying to get back on and she couldn't wait to get going. One foot in stirrup and one foot out. Those were the days. Sigh!

 

[gillettehunter]

I still remember falling several times on a slippery slope in New Zealand. Beginning of my knee problems. Tore one up and finished that hunt eating way too much tylenol. Had each knee scoped 2 times before the replacements.....
Bruce

 

[Tom Leoni]

I only got a fairly annoying flu at the tail end of my last safari. Fortunately, though, I had already ticked off the main list of animals I wanted to take and I spent my last two days enjoying some beautiful South African sun outside of my cottage.

 

[thriller]

I got a stick almost all the way through my left hand on my first safari in Zimbabwe ( skin was poked up on the back of my hand it went through my palm. Fortunately between the anti malaria pills (doxycycline) and cleaning out real well it healed up clean could have easily been worse. And not near as bad as some of these here.

 

[bakerb]

Nothing like these. No “injuries” luckily. Wrenched my back a few miles into a wilderness on a solo mule deer hunt. Tripped and jammed my wrist badly on a Russian snow sheep hunt. Didn’t end up being broken when it was X rayed back home. Walked myself into dehydration a few times.

 

[meigsbucks]

Haven’t had anything major. I do have a propensity for stepping in groundhog holes. One time while walking across a field after a morning deer hunt with a climber strapped to my back, stepped in a hole that went all the way up to my groin. The climber smacked me in the back of the head, taking a few chunks of skin along the way.
Gingerly walking down a rock slide on a Montana elk hunt, my guide was about 50yds ahead of me. All of a sudden I began to lose my footing, started “running” backwards and eventually fell, sliding down the mountain. I remember as I slid past my guide, his yelling: “HOLD ON TO YOUR GUN!”. Ended up about 100 yds past him. Bumps, bruises and a 3”cut in my knee. This was on the second day of a seven day hunt. By day seven, I was more sore than the day it happened.
I hunted with that outfitter a few times and took some more tumbles. One time we were stalking a mule deer and all of a sudden he hears a a thud and rustling behind him and looks back to see me in a laurel bush with just my legs sticking up. He couldn't stop laughing. From that point forward when he’d have a client fall, he referred to it as doing a Wayne’er (I guess it’s a honor to have a clutsy move named after you)
Once had an outfitter picking up hunters at the end of the day. We were riding in the back of a pickup. It kicked up a 3’x3” log that of course flipped up and smacked me in the face, breaking my glasses, bloodying my nose and giving me a nice shiner.

 

[TnKen]

Nothing too serious, just a bad case of scope eye from a poor shooting position while elk hunting in Montana. The funny part is I could feel the blood running down my face, and asked my buddy how bad was it. He just replied "bad". We had two elk down and snow was moving in, so we had work to do. We got the elk out and ran to town and put super glue on it, and that was that.

 

[KEC]

@KEC - I’m not sure how “tough you are” but after breaking your leg - did you really wait 4 days in Camp before traveling to get Medical help? If so, you are fortunate not to have shot-a-clot and died or gotten gangrene and lost a leg…..WHY did you wait? You must’ve known it was a bad break and that your Medical needs were more important then the hunt. I’ve had minor injuries during away hunts - cut hand and put in 3 stitches by myself, got sick w/fever but got better in two days….but Never anything like what you had. While I’m a big believer in “don’t quit - tough it out” But unless I am mis reading the seriousness of your injury —- if that was Me, a friend, or especially My Son - I would’ve done whatever it took to get to a Hospital — including paying for a Medivac if that was the only way. I’m guessing there is more to the story — did you not realize how bad the break was? , no severe swelling? No grotesque discoloration? numbness etc..? I’m glad you are OK and will recover…Lucky guy

Actually, I was not in any pain to speak of unless I tried to walk on it. We had a paramedic in camp hunting, and he didn't think anything was broken, just a severe sprain with bruising and some swelling. There was also another person who was retired Canadian military with lots of first aid and trauma experience who felt it wasn't as serious as it turned out to be.
Maybe I am lucky, the clots were a bigger problem than the heel or the other foot bones.

 

[KEC]

@KEC , Glad you are healing. You are a lucky man. That was a long wait for medical attention to such a serious injury.
That Argo ride would not have been much fun.
Keep getting well.

Thankfully, any injuries I have sustained while hunting away have been minor bruises and Tick Bite Fever

It was the Argo ride through hell! My foot was wrapped and my boot laced up tight, but I still got to "enjoy" every rock, dip or bump. Luckily my spirits were good and continued to joke around with my partners.

 

[KEC]

Nothing too serious, just a bad case of scope eye from a poor shooting position while elk hunting in Montana. The funny part is I could feel the blood running down my face, and asked my buddy how bad was it. He just replied "bad". We had two elk down and snow was moving in, so we had work to do. We got the elk out and ran to town and put super glue on it, and that was that.

I shot a moose 10 yrs ago uphill and to my right while I was sitting off balance on sticks shooting my 300 Wby, same outcome as yours except for the super glue, amazing how much it bleeds. I still have my scar.

 

[SWS1]

Tahr hunting (maybe a six hour drive from home) in the South Island of New Zealand... Was working down a shitty ridgeline to take a beautiful summer coat chammy buck.. and thats about the last thing i can remember for a year and a half...
I'm told I had a big fall (20m vertical) and a lot of cartwheeling down the slope.. Severe Traumatic Brain Injury and smashed my ankle.. well dusted it is what the surgeon told me... Six weeks as a resident in the brain rehab centre. a year before I could remotely walk again and its still painful six years later... Three helicopters involved in rescuing me.. I think it scared the life out of the mate i was with.
But i cant remember a damn thing of it, or all the pain and rehab i went through... Still not sure if i slipped, or if a bit of rockfall hit me and pushed me..
Flat land hunts for me from about three years post accident.