spannulman
Well-Known Member
There have been a few threads on SD about what people carry when stalking. Some take the kitchen sink and others just a knife or many points between the two. I use either a very small day sac or the pockets of a shooting weskit to carry the few items I have- some latex gloves, bit of loo roll, head torch, 5 rnds spare ammo, a strobe light ( the kind you’d use to guide helicopter in with) and a mini 1st aid kit which is some vac packed lengths of celox gauze and a few alcohol wipes. I don’t carry a full 1st aid kit but am concerned about cutting myself as that’s probably the most likely injury to occur.
Anyhow, friday evening, I shot a good buck about 120 yd into a swampy, overgrown clearfell at the bottom of a brae. It was well before nightfall but in an area of the ground where there is no mobile signal. I left my hat and binos at the edge of the track so it would at least indicate the area where I was ( my gf was knitting up at the hut) and I went to recover it. The shot was good, it lay where it stood, at the far side of a thick alder and willow patch. He was lousy with ticks, dozens of them so I thought I would skin him there to avoid carrying that infested beast on my back up the brae. I’ve seen them do it on tv, how hard can it be?
It turns out it is much harder than when the beast is hanging upside down. A red deer might have been simpler as you wouldn’t need to bend down so far but it was a different technique, and I was not as competent as normal and, whilst pulling skin away and trying to get the armpit exposed to then just pull it off I sliced my index finger badly.
The realisation took me by surprise. I’m out of signal, heart pumping and have a tough scramble just to get up to the track, then a mile up hill to my car, and half a mile the same direction until I get mobile signal. And I’m probably a fair while before an ambulance could get to me if I didn’t drive myself. Then the FAW+F training kicks in, you know what needs to be done. Clean it as best I can and get the gauze into it. the stuff worked a treat, I put a latex glove over it and finished the gralloch ok, had a crawl up a 45 degree brae with the beast then fetched the car to come back for it. A cold beer and a good wash of the hand and new dressings and no real harm done.
But the incident has given me a bit of a wake up call. I work in H&S and think I do already consider the risks. Indeed, my kit was adequate for the situation but it made me think of what could happen if you aren’t prepared. The thread on here talking about what 3 words is useful too, the time to think about grid refs or how to give your location to 999 operator is at home, before you stalk, not whilst bleeding profusely, out in the ulu, miles from help or phone signal.
My reason for sharing? To say that you don’t need to take a 100lb Medic pack with you but some small things could make a big difference. My first aid ’kit’ would fit in a 10 pack fag packet but meant I could stay put and finish the task and get back ok, rather than abandoning beast and kit and going for help. And do your risk assessment and planning before you start. Does anyone know your ‘flight plan’, what do you do if comms aren’t going to work? Do you have a way of attracting attention? The strobe would get you seen at night from some distance, assuming someone is looking for you or even there to see it. I don’t have all the answers at all but this near miss made me reevaluate what I do to ensure it is Suitable and sufficient.
And finally, the celox gauze dressings are great. When I washed the wound at the hut it started bleeding strongly again as the crystals were washed out of it but stopped again quickly when reapplied. Not expensive an investment even if you never use it. And worth more than a few quid if you ever do!
Anyhow, friday evening, I shot a good buck about 120 yd into a swampy, overgrown clearfell at the bottom of a brae. It was well before nightfall but in an area of the ground where there is no mobile signal. I left my hat and binos at the edge of the track so it would at least indicate the area where I was ( my gf was knitting up at the hut) and I went to recover it. The shot was good, it lay where it stood, at the far side of a thick alder and willow patch. He was lousy with ticks, dozens of them so I thought I would skin him there to avoid carrying that infested beast on my back up the brae. I’ve seen them do it on tv, how hard can it be?
It turns out it is much harder than when the beast is hanging upside down. A red deer might have been simpler as you wouldn’t need to bend down so far but it was a different technique, and I was not as competent as normal and, whilst pulling skin away and trying to get the armpit exposed to then just pull it off I sliced my index finger badly.
The realisation took me by surprise. I’m out of signal, heart pumping and have a tough scramble just to get up to the track, then a mile up hill to my car, and half a mile the same direction until I get mobile signal. And I’m probably a fair while before an ambulance could get to me if I didn’t drive myself. Then the FAW+F training kicks in, you know what needs to be done. Clean it as best I can and get the gauze into it. the stuff worked a treat, I put a latex glove over it and finished the gralloch ok, had a crawl up a 45 degree brae with the beast then fetched the car to come back for it. A cold beer and a good wash of the hand and new dressings and no real harm done.
But the incident has given me a bit of a wake up call. I work in H&S and think I do already consider the risks. Indeed, my kit was adequate for the situation but it made me think of what could happen if you aren’t prepared. The thread on here talking about what 3 words is useful too, the time to think about grid refs or how to give your location to 999 operator is at home, before you stalk, not whilst bleeding profusely, out in the ulu, miles from help or phone signal.
My reason for sharing? To say that you don’t need to take a 100lb Medic pack with you but some small things could make a big difference. My first aid ’kit’ would fit in a 10 pack fag packet but meant I could stay put and finish the task and get back ok, rather than abandoning beast and kit and going for help. And do your risk assessment and planning before you start. Does anyone know your ‘flight plan’, what do you do if comms aren’t going to work? Do you have a way of attracting attention? The strobe would get you seen at night from some distance, assuming someone is looking for you or even there to see it. I don’t have all the answers at all but this near miss made me reevaluate what I do to ensure it is Suitable and sufficient.
And finally, the celox gauze dressings are great. When I washed the wound at the hut it started bleeding strongly again as the crystals were washed out of it but stopped again quickly when reapplied. Not expensive an investment even if you never use it. And worth more than a few quid if you ever do!
