Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Close calls you were fortunate or blessed to have survived.

Our squad was guarding an abandoned village on the Iran-Iraq border that had a rarely used road running through it. Rarely except for weapons runners and terrorists. We were the overnight crew. Had a few humvees parked on each side of the road partially behind wrecked walls. We were on full duty with no one supposed to be sleeping. Our reserve unit was attached to a CA reserve outfit from the Bay Area. One guy was an Oakland PD patrol cop that thought he was hot shat. I was in the drivers seat, had a buddy in the turret on the 240, another in the passenger seat, and Super Trooper was on the hood. I tell the gang I was taking a piss and walk behind the hummer. Come back and I guess I startled Dirty Harry. Next thing I know there is an M-16 muzzle a few inches from my face shaking in the full moon. He tells me to stop. I start talking to him telling him to lower his weapon and calm down.

His response: “Shut up. Don’t talk.” Now my guy in the turret is literally tackling the moron.

When he finally realized what was going on I asked him how many hajis wear our helmets and speak with an Arkansas accent. He told me I should have told someone where I was going. The other guys lost it. They all heard me loud and clear and realized he must’ve been dozing. That was more scary that a firefight simply because I was calm before and no adrenaline was pumping prior to that.

I never did look at that turd the same again.

Jesus has had his hand on my shoulder since before I could walk.....I can do a great top ten for you.
1) Ran a chevy Cavalier into a Fuel Tanker truck at 35 miles per hour in a white out and got 1000 stitches out of it. Popped my eyeball out of its socket and went through 10 units of blood and 2 of plasma. I was blind for a month yet I healed and now I see.
2) Fell into the main branch of the Copper River without a life jacket and ended going about 1/2 mile down in the main channel.
3) Stuck in a winter storm for 10 days in the Talkeetna Mts without a tent and with cotton clothes( i was 18).
4) Got into a gunfight with a mentally ill neighbor and buffaloed him but good.
5) Survived 4 years at Harvard probably being the only student since the 1600s who hunted Pigeons and squirrels for food and meat.
6) Made it across Kobuk Lake with my Bear Cat on April 16th. Several parts were over open water - water mobbing in a place that is not good to water mob.
7) Was stabbed 5 times by a 4 grader with an 8 inch shiv in the back in my lung area.
8) Stayed over night in the Chicago greyhound bus station during a gang fight while I was traveling from Grand parents in SD to MA.
9) Fell into a beaver dam with a hind quarter of a moose on my back in the dark in about 8 ft of water.
10) Took a header and fell about 70ft down an avalanche slide and hit a tree face first. I woke up about 2 AM with blood all over my face and wound up 1 inch shorter from the process.

I was way worse when I was younger.

I got T-boned by a drunk in an intersection, flipped a Blazer end over end at 60 mph and barrel rolled a a Mercury Montego down the shoulder of the road 5 or 6 times. All three totaled and I walked away from every one with only minor cuts and bruises. Had a shotgun slug hit the tree I was leaning against about 6 feet over my head one deer season and slipped on an icy 2 story roof as I stepped off a ladder. Would have fallen for sure if my buddy hadn't caught me under the arm and pulled me back. Luckily we were right next to a chimney he had a hold of and he is a quick, strong bastard. Also fell through a roof into the attic on a roofing job once. Luckily there was a solid floor in the attic. Came around a curve on my motorcycle and barely missed a German Shepherd in the road, felt it's tail hit my shin on the way by.

This is my 1972 Chevy shortbed 4x4 that I run up under a gasoline tanker that was jacknifed across the highway as I came around a curve in the dark. Luckily I hit the downriggers and that kept me from going completely under. This was 1977 Flagstaff AZ.

Not trying to best anyone. My crew of guardian angles must ride to work in Greyhound bus.

Had 100 AC Cobras blow right past me in a snow storm.
Happened so fast I couldn't even get a picture of one of em.


Unreal experience............

I'm writing a book on this subject.
There's so many times, that there's no doubt that the Lord's hand of protection was upon me every time.

Ill just say that life has been interesting.

The first close calls were from my mom's second husband. It wasn't enough that he'd try to drive a wedge between my mom, dad and I. When he'd get me alone, he'd look for ways to kill me and make it look like an accident. The first time that I can remember target practicing as a boy, he almost blew my head off with a 12 ga. I still remember the blast across my face......the exploding gasses from the end of that barrel. I can't explain why the load didn't catch me. It was likely a fraction of an inch from my eyes.
He was a genuine psychopath.

That guy with the shark eyes that just shot that little boy?
That was like him, except he was of Dutch ancestry.

PTL. Thank you FATHER and Glory to you for your wing of protection extended for our Happy Camper and Renegade. PTL. Amen.

Not an expert but I think you’re supposed to be sitting on top.

My wife and I were in my little '83 Toyota Tercel, stopped on a 55 mph stretch of road waiting for traffic to clear so I could make a left turn to go down our road. I heard screeching brakes and looked in my rear-view mirror to see a loaded dump truck bearing down on us. The traffic in the on-coming lane cleared just in time for the truck to go into that lane, fly by us, cross over the road we were trying to turn into and crash thru a horse fence, ending up in the horse pasture. No one was injured but it did scare the hell out of us and the horses in that pasture.

Thank you Father for saving our pals like Huntsman and Cooper, who grab the bull, or got almost grabbed.

Rode an atv without brakes down a big hill. Well almost. They found me with a gun strapped over my shoulder and my teeth knocked out and a broken hip. Good times.

Not wanting you to best anyone. Didnt the invalid who the Lord made free give his witness to everyone?

Did you hurt an innocent gun?

We probably all have close calls, and perhaps a lot more frequently than we even realize.

I can think of a few really astonishing ones, but consider that they would seem like bragging, and I think its probably better to just say that some of them involved both green and black mambas, bullets, tropical diseases, and leave it at that. And that's just Africa and Asia.

What I am thankful and blessed for is God (or his angels) who seems so far intent that I somehow muddle through, more or less unscathed. Not sure why, for sure, but that's the way I read it.

Now, push feed or CRF........? We are all blessed to be able to ponder this first world mystery.

I flipped a swing set when I was 5

Yes Jaguartx. Thanks for the kind prayer.

PTL and I thank Him for you and the others too.
Reading this thread reminds how special and fragile life is. I think that we all could write a book on our adventures in life. I just started journalling because I forgot most of those close calls. Then for anyone that might be encouraged and blessed, I decided to turn them into chapters and thank You letters to the Lord.

After all that we've seen and been through, it shows me that there's a reason why we're still around.

That explains it 😁

WAY too many to count!
I believe God sent a full platoon of guardian angels to watch over me!

Not really.

Been shot at a few times, wrecked some vehicles......went to AA for drunk school at 15.

Always been a careful sort though.