Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Accidents happen to careful people too!

"Accident" The word spooks me everytime I hear it, much less the event that actually causes it!

They happen so fast and out of nowhere with little or no warning. One minute your sitting happy and content and the next all hell breaks loose and you are in the middle of a trauma. Whether it be driving on the way to a hunt, falling in the woods, a steep side hill, or out of a boat, through the ice, or maybe out of a tree stand. Could be while you're cutting food for dinner, or with a chain saw for firewood, or lord help us if it was to involve a gun!

No matter how careful you are sometimes things are gonna happen. Imagine how the odds would change with reckless behaviour. I am writing this today because of an Accident I recently had. I was skinning the paws of a couger we shot. Not the big one, another smaller one we recently shot right at the end of the season. The hide was frozen with paws intact. I thawed it to complete the job. I have skinned hundreds of paws in my life. A tedious job but not really hard. I always turn the toes inside out to the last joint. I never split the toes. As usual by the time the lips, ears, nose and eyes are complete and perfect, the tail gets some attention and then the paws. By the time you have done all but the last paw your mind will begin wandering and your stomach growls. Hurry and anxiety to finish is an understatement even for a guy like me who has done this countless times.

Well, guess what, that razor sharp caping knife will slide easily into human flesh. When it does this nasty deed and there is plenty of salt and raw meat invloved it can be an infectious nightmare of a problem, not to mention that salt really gets your attention! There is a bigger problem when you sever the pulse in your thumb. Did you know you have a major blood transfer tube in your thumb? I do now! Did you ever see how far blood shoot's when you slice a big vein or artery?

Amazing stuff, but difficult to apprecieate at the moment. When you cover the slice into your shirt and slowly clear your mind and then take the dripping blood soaked shirt off the wound and it's still pumping full bore,......... things start to get fuzzy, vision starts to shrink a bit and thoughts about what to do next are clouded with shock and horror.

Hmmm Long drive to the hospital, I wonder how long I can go with this thing spewing blood like this? Wish my wife was home! Wish I had a neighbor close by, Wish I was more careful!!! Holy cow, one minute life is good, the next you're in trouble and without any help. Fortunately I am still here typing this, my first aid training was good and sound information. I do realize now, it's much easier to believe that stuff when your helping somebody else then when you're selling it to yourself!

Be careful guys, when you're tired, stressed, fatigued, take a few minutes rest, get a coffee or a soda. Relax take a breath and go back to work in a few minutes. The hurry is not worth the accidents.

You don't know they are waiting for you to have that one small lapse of concentration. It's much easier to take that 10 minute break then it is to be on antibiotics and have your thumb stitched and sore for a week or more. While waiting at the Emergency room I wondered what would have happend had the knife slipped and sliced my wrist open!

There are so many things, bizzare or not that have your worst nightmare in mind. Seems like there is some sick twisted bit of fate that lurks over everyones shoulder pushing you to do things you know are wrong, or making you hurry. The trick is having strong enough will power to overcome the push that evil fate is wispering in your ear. Just tell that devil your taking a break, that will get him to leave! The word Accident spooks me everytime I hear it. I don't know if I'm getting older now or what but I'm awefully careful about everything and I still have them occur to me. My will power gets stronger each time I have an unfortunate accident. I'm working on getting that devil to visit somebody else for a while, no more rush and hurry for this guy. The time I thought I had saved while in a hurry has long since been lost and will not be recovered....... Ever!

Think about your safety especially when in the bush. Take 5 and clear your mind once in a while. The time you save when you hurry is never enough to compensate for the down time you will have when your hurt. Remember too, help is never EVER as close as you need it.

JJ
Ouch!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

A few years back a friend nicked himself doing the same thing to a fall brown bear in a salmon stream. About a week and a half later he rolled up his sleeve to ask what the streaks were running up his arm...

They filleted his arm all the way to the pit, scooping out cups of pus in the process. They hospitalized him for a couple weeks on IV antibiotics and he was down for a long couple of months.

I now wear gloves when skinning bears... and watch carefully for any signs of puffiness or color if there was a nick.

Hope you get back to handy soon!
art

JJ, I know what you man I recently put a 16 penny nail through my thumb, with my nail gun. I hope you heal quickly.pak

Sure glad you still have your thumb JJ. They are real handy things to have around. Also remember that if you ain't getting older you are dead.
Accidents happen at all seasons and times. Just takes a split second of inattention and no one can be on top of the game all the time. I have enough intresting scars on my carcase to stand as monument.

BCR

I've said this before to others, but many if not most accidents around the home or job site happen when the subject is (usually) tired or in a rush to finish the (often last) job (of the day, series, etc.) Hindsight is wonderful, but if we pay attention to the fact WHILE IN THE PROCESS that we are rushing, or tired or some combination of the above then we hopefully will avoid the potentially bad results. Table and chop saws are favorite tools for such accidents, but as in JJs case, sometimes we get more personal.

This sounds ridiculous and probably is, but I visualize a running table saw as a rattlesnake, and while I am not afraid of rattlesnakes, I am very respectful of their abilities to hurt you, same with a table or chop saw.

Bottom line is, be careful out AND in there. Think ahead, evaluate your CURRENT condition in relation to what you are doing and adjust to meet that condition. Slow down, take a break, etc. Hopefully there will be another day.

Glad you're all right JJ. Thanks for relating the experience so we can all learn from it.

I'm glad you made it ok, JJ. I sliced open my thumb - right to the bone - cleaning up after work one day. Like you, all alone, and the bleeding wouldn't stop. Not a good feeling.
I've noticed that the combination of exhaustion, and lack of food too. I don't think clearly and just want to get the job over with.
I've learned I must take a break and time it. I must eat as well. No soda pop or coffee. Something with some carbohydrates in it. More than just sugar. Even w/o food, just rest will do wonders. E

JJ, thats real good for most of us to hear! accidents do happen, and that could have been a real bad one. Not that it wasnt bad, but bad as in deadly! If that had happened on a pack in hunt, things could get real scary. I hope everything heals up proper and quickly!

pak, OUCH! everytime i hear about things like that happening its an eye opener. My buddy fell off a roof and busted a front tooth out, and i work on roofs for my job. Things like that are good to think about when you get on the job. Just like E, i need to eat often, or i start to get the shakes and I dont think so well. Not a good thing when working on a steep and slippery roof! Havent shot a nail gun through my finger yet, but accidents happen, and that would not be a fun ordeal.

Reminds me, i need to put a first aid kit in my truck....

JJ, sorry to hear about the hand. Driving yourself in to the hospital is a bit of a scary deal. It's a half hour drive for me. Had to do it last year after shoving a broken bottle an inch and a half into my hand (find the spot you can get something into your hand THAT far!). It severed both major nerves running into the thumb and I had to have surgery as a result (which didn't completely work, btw).

About 3/4 of the way to the hospital, I started getting shocky. Not good when you're doing 70 on the freeway <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. I'd just realized I didn't have any feeling in my thumb. Started to black out, but got pulled over quickly and sat on the side of the road for 5 or 10 minutes until I could get myself back together. It's nice to know you can make it OK, but something I'd rather not repeat.

Don't you love the war stories this sort of thing brings out? Hope it heals quickly!

BTW, a word to the wise: If you have a cut like this and feel there might be nerve or tendon damage, DON'T let the ER folks sew you up without getting someone knowledgable on the subjects to look at it. Mine was ALMOST sewed up and the attending physician chickened out at the last second and got help. Glad she did or I wouldn't have ANY feeling left in my thumb!

pak,

Was that a 16D bright or a coated sinker? What load were you using? And, just to be practical, what did you use to pull it out with, a claw hammer or a cat's paw? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Most of the time if you get hurt on one of our jobs about the only way to deal with it is with a bit of humor.
On one job I was on a couple years ago, a plasterer showed up on the job and was greeted like a long lost hero. I was working close by, so I listened to the conversation a bit to see what was up. Seems he was attaching the greenboard to the outside of the building on the fourth floor and walked off the end of the scaffold. Falling four floors, he destroyed both ankles and had a lengthy rehabilitation period- this was his first day back for over a year.
His boss showed up, walks over to him and says, " you went four floors and you didn't drive a single screw?!" I hope he was kidding.

I know exactly what everyone is saying here as I've probably made every mistake you can make at least twice. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> One reason I don't work very much overtime is because in my trade a mistake can easily be fatal and I find myself making lots of mistakes when I get tired. Taking a break or just calling it a day is much cheaper than long rehab or letting my wife collect my life insurance. Wonder why she was asking me about that last night? Hmmmmmmm- Sheister

Sheister,fortunately my injury pales in comparison to JJ's in all catagories. The nail went in the top bounced off the bone and came out the bottom. Pulling it out was the only thing. It really didn't hurt, but bled a bit. I let it bleed some to clean it out and taped it up. Healed w/o infection. It was a vinyl coated out of a paslode gas gun, good penetration without any expansion. However I'm looking at that gun with more respect <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.pak

JJ maybe the ghost of that ole cat you were skinning was trying to get back at you one last time <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> glad to see everything worked out fine and you made it to the hospital in one piece..well almost one piece lol <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

1) JJ - glad to hear you're on the mend. I hear you when it comes to the drive being the most dangerous part. I sliced off the tip of my little finger in a meat slicer when I was about 16. Got the bleeding stopped without any problem though. Walked out of the bathroom, told everyone I was ok, that I just needed to drive to the hospital to get some stitches, then passed out. Someone else drove...

2) Sitka Deer - Re: fillet of arm. Well, it is dinner time, and I was hungry.....

3) Pak - a few years ago there was an x-ray in "Fine Homebuilding" of a human skull with a 20d nail sticking in it all the way to the head (of the nail). The doctor theorized that the carpenters gimme hat saved him from going through a lot more anguish, as the nail probably would not have been stopped by the skull alone. The accident occured as one carpenter walked down a ladder, with the trigger of the nail gun fully depressed. The victim was coming up the ladder, and when his head bumped into the nail gun, it depressed the nose guard safety....


Regards,
Scott

During the summer I work for the Forest Service Trails and Rec Crew up in Troy. We do a lot of sawing. One thing we are always complaining about is the chaps that the gov' is anal in insisiting that we wear. They are hot and heavy and we never figured we'd need them. However, I have seen a man with half his life sawing experience nail his chaps right across the quad when he got too rushed. A real sobering experience--suddenly you realize how naked you'd feel sawing without that small bit of Kevlar between you and disaster.
In my family, a mistake with a gun was always a big one. My brother and I both grew up around firearms and making a mistake for one doesn't even warrent correction anymore--we feel $hitty enough by ourselves. We always learn from it though.
I have found that experience can work both ways. People with a little bit of experience can be dangerous when they think the know it all and get a little be boastful. That is when accidents can happen. However, experience can be very helpful not only in avoiding accidents, but in dampening their effects. For example, a firm knowledge and habitual practice of the basic gun safety laws can prevent catastrophe--by keeping the gun pointed downrange and away from others, you may be saving a life when you accidently put your fingure on the trigger as you take off the safety. I've found the the real danger comes when you think you're experience makes you immune to accidents. Pride cometh before a fall.

Thanks for sharing your experience and I hope your thumb heals nicely.

As long as we are relating war stories..............I was bitten by a friends Golden Retriever on a wilderness campout a few years ago. He had gotten into a fight with my English Setter, and I tried to break it up. I got a nasty, bone breaking bite on my hand for my trouble. That was the longest walk out I have ever experienced. I'm a surgeon, and the worst part of the whole thing was having to hear every single patient, all day long, for two weeks, say "doc.....don't you know better than to break up a dog fight." This was a single bite by an otherwise friendly dog. It felt like a hammer blow; I can't imagine what it would be like if the dog was serious. The lesson here......sh#$%t happens?, or always have the biggest dog in the fight?
Don

Jim - Glad to hear you're doing OK. Just be thankful it didn't happen while you were in Africa. Now I know why you hire all those local guys to handle the skinning at Landelani.

I can second the cautionary note about E.R's.

On Feb 14, '02 I had an accident with a ski tuning machine that cut the middle and ring fingers about 50% through, and my thumb in a nice circle about 70% of the way around.

The E.R. doc cleaned the wounds and stiched me up without noticing that the tendons were damaged in the thumb and severed in the ring finger. Fortunately, I was in regular physical therapy recovering from a different injury, and the P.T. noticed right off the bat that there was tendon damage.

Four surgeries, a tendon graft, and 100 therapy appointments later, I'm getting my hand useful again. I'm not fixed up, but getting better. If the E.R. doc had been more on the ball, I would have seen an Orthopod that day and maybe not had as difficult a recovery as I have.

JimF

Best to keep your thumb out of the beetle tanks for A bit ayh..QUICK HEALING JJ. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />