Bow hunting is like any other outdoor game for fun. Similarly, one needs to ask, what is one of the most common types of serious bow hunting injuries? Does it come with a greater consequence for the victims?
It is important to know these injuries and prevent their occurrences. Follow through and be in good health.
Most common types of serious injuries suffered during bow hunting
Injuries are inevitable in our daily activities. No one wants to inflict injuries on themselves or cause pain to others. Most injuries are tagged as an accident.
Bow hunting injuries or compound bow accidents are not different too. They are never intentional, but they still occur. Knowing about the common types of these injuries will save one from their woes since knowledge is power.
There are six commonest types. They include;
1. Tree Stand Accidents
A tree stand accident is the most common type of serious injury a bowhunter can face. It can lead to a critical health challenge or even death for the hunter. Reports of such cases are always surprising because of the alarming rate.
The major causes of tree stand accidents are negligence and ignorance. The best way to prevent such accidents is to obey simple safety measures. Bow hunting requires staying alert from the beginning to the end of the activity.
Many hunters fall asleep and end up falling from tree stands. Either you slip while climbing or descending, the fall can lead to a critical accident. Trees can be as high as 10 to 30 feet. Dropping from these heights can lead to spinal cord injury, loss of a limb, and loss of life if the ground is rocky.
2. Mistaking people for a game
This accident is totally breathtaking – that was literal. Of course, it is an unforgivable mistake, but accidents are not intentional. There could be different stories to how a pedestrian, fellow hunters, or other hunters was shot while hunting for a game.
Unfortunately, mistaking people for a game can happen to both experienced and inexperienced hunters. It is important to ensure there are no contemplations about a target before firing at it. It is careless to discard this rule and shoot at a person rather than an animal.
The best solution for this accident is never to rule oneself out. Seeing yourself as an expert is the trap that can lead to this fatal case.
3. Animal attacks
Animals are said to have protective instincts, too, which they use against their hunters. Animal attacks turn the predator into prey. It can be scratches, injection of poisons, or even death for the hunter. Animal attacks are common with animals like deer, snake, cougar, or boar.
It is not a rare condition because many hunters commonly report it. For every ten experienced bowhunters, half of them would have suffered from animal attacks. Experience does not prevent one from this injury. You only need to be protective and hope for a good hunting game day.
4. Mechanical failure
Machines are good technology that has improved life for humans. There are simple machines that a hunter needs for hunting. They include a gun, bow, whistle, vane, and arrow.
Machines can fail at any time because they do not guarantee 100% efficiency at all times. For example, your bow or gun can fail to shoot during hunting. This failure may happen at the wrong time because you may be needing the machine for self-defense.
Be cautious of such mechanical problems because they occur from time to time. Sometimes, have more than a machine to make up for the faulty machine.
5. Fire hazard
A common technique people use during hunting is fire. Starting fire only requires a spark, but controlling it when it becomes wild can be impossible. These hunters can often not stop the fire from spreading and can only hope its burning does not exceed their plan.
The use of fire is a careless one because many hunters spend enough hours in the forest. Sometimes, they have to camp in the woods for days. As a result, making fire for warming themselves or cooking cannot be helped.
However, the fire should be totally quenched to avoid a serious bow hunting injury. Hunters easily neglect fire and go about their daily hunting. The fire gets wilder and uncontrollable after the hunter could have been in another location of the woods.
Fire can result in serious injuries for the hunter. It can destroy the vegetation of such woods and contribute negatively to the environment. Finally, it can destroy the hunting site and render the place useless for hunting in months.
6. Drowning
Drowning is a common bow hunting injury during duck hunting. Duck hunting is common in some areas of the world, like North America. Similarly, drowning is a common accident often reported in different parts of the world too.
Drowning happens to hunters when their boats tip over, and they drown. A hunter may also jump into a water body during hunting to run away from an attacking animal or recover a lost item. The use of water safety equipment is necessary for hunters who hunt around canals, lakes, and rivers.
FAQs
1. What are the preventive measures for these injuries?
The common saying, “prevention is better than cure,” has never been truer than situations like this. Prevention saves a hunter from losing a part of the body, valuable items, or even their life. Hence, the following preventive measures will answer the question;
- Examining tree stands of hunting ground if they are strong and reliable
- Wearing high-quality safety equipment
- There should be extra carefulness when hunting during cold weather conditions
- Not having pedestrian walkways close to hunting areas
- Avoid jumping into familiar territories during dangers
- Only point your gun when you are sure the direction is safe
- Remove bullets from your gun when not in use
- Stay fit, gain more experience and practice more
2. What equipment is important?
Some equipment is inexcusable and necessary for hunting. They do not make hunting easy, but they reduce injury risk. These items are;
- Bows, broadheads, and arrows
- Field dressing kit
- Backpack
- Hunting lanterns
- Soft leather boots
- First aid kit to take care of some emergencies
- Maps and compass
- Flashlight to find lost arrows at evenings
3. What animals can you hunt with a bow?
People often ask, what animals can you hunt with a bow? Well, hunting is not an activity you just wake up and feel like doing. You need to perfect your shooting skills before going ahead. Perfecting your shooting skills might take almost a lifetime.
Once you are perfect at shooting, it is time to reward yourself by hunting. Hunting animals is different and more fun because the animals will have to run for their lives too. These animals are called games to a hunter.
The most common targets during bow hunting are;
- Bear
- Mule deer
- Elk
- Turkey
- Whitetails
Other times, some professional hunters can hunt down coyotes and moose with a bow and arrow. Amazing, right? More so, masters at hunting game down fast animals like rabbits and squirrels.
4. How to treat bow hunting injuries?
Since injuries are unavoidable, one needs to plan just in case they happen. An important way to plan for bow hunting injuries is by being guarded with a first-aid kit. However, a kit cannot solve all emergencies.
Basically, a first aid kit for bow hunting should include a pair of scissors, bandage, cotton wool, hydrogen peroxide, methylated spirit, plaster, balm, and pain relief medications. These items are to stop heavy blood flow before getting proper medical attention. Sometimes, you may not be able to administer first aid service to the health condition.
Bow hunting is fun and great for its hunters. Also, some local hunters do it to provide for their families or earn a means of income. It could also be a competition while the winner is the hunter with the biggest game. Well, such hunting may not be appropriate.
Bow hunting can be done in archery clubs where there is a target rather than animals. Of course, just like in the woods, you can have hunting partners and have a great hunting experience. More so, you can have competitions amongst yourself without attacking any animal. This makes it easy to have an injury-free hunting experience.
However, in any bow hunting experience you choose to have, remember to prioritize your safety first. Avoid injuries like plaque.
Article Summary
The content addresses various issues and provides clarification to several questions people have. Some of the questions include, what is one of the most common types of serious bow hunting injuries? What preventive measures can you take to avoid these injuries?
This article is sufficient to make you stay on top of your hunting game.
