Many years ago, when the cedar shaft just exploded, leaving my 55lb. Howatt Hunter, it was quite a surprise. There was no pain but moments later my thumb felt stiff. Sure enought the shaft had entered my thumb between the bone and skin.
Later explaining why I was late for work, they were amazed to hear I'd actually shot myself with an arrow. Yes, check your arrows EVERY time.
Welcome to tradgang sir! :campfire:
never had that happen. just cuts from broadheads
Welcome to the 'Gang, from a fellow Oregonian living a long ways from home! :wavey:
Whoa, excessively far from home. Thanks guys for the welcome. I'm just an old codger who started slinging cedar about 40yrs. ago.
Years ago I had found some old wood arrows at the archery range and was shooting a lemmonwood bow with no shelf. One of the feathers came off and went into my hand, it stung like fire. In those days you didn't go to the doctor for minor things so when my Dad got home from work he removed the feather with needle nose pliars and a razor blade. A little proxide and I was good to go.
This was probably a decade ago, but I was hunting with my #55 DH Hunter (hrm - a pattern?) with a buddy. Reached back into my hip quiver to get a broadhead and zipped my index finger (shooting hand) right down the blade.
Spent the next 4-5 hours squeezing the cut closed (you *can* draw the bow with only your middle and ring fingers - two under - but it's not pretty) while the hunt continued. When we were done hunting, my buddy and I stopped at the ER and I got 6-7 stitches.
It's a blood sport, right? :D
I can come out now!!....30+ yrs ago, i had a Stemmler kids bow. not really knowing how to shoot, I had the arrow on the right shelf shooting right handed. Well, the cedar arrow was split and it caught my thumb...right between the artery and the bone!!
About 50 years ago the lad who got me started in archery had a arrow explode on release. Went in his forearm and came out the back of his wrist. Thankfully I wasn't there to see it.
I was mounting a MA3 broadhead using a pair of needlenose pliars. The pliars slipped off and I got the MA3 in the base of my thumb and the web of my right hand.
Hap
I have had a few arrows explode and constantly cut myself with broadheads while testing there sharpness... perhaps slowing down a little would do me some good.
While pulling a razor sharp STOS tipped cedar out of a broadhead target, the arrow hung up for an unknown reason while I pulled it through the other side. The arrow had penetrated into the target up to the fletch. I increased the pressure trying to pull it free and it let go right into my thigh. Half of the head was in my leg. To make it worse when I looked up my wife was standing there with a huge smile on her face. She got alot of milage on that one, As she should have. :knothead:
Mounting a stos broadhead on a woodie and the arrow slippend and the BH went into my web of my hand and reached my bone. I tell you what a 3:1 ratio head penetrates very ver well.
I get to tell two stories. The first is on myself and the second concerns a well known outfitter. I was hunting elk in unit 7W here in AZ. Kendrick Peak is a volcano 10,000+ feet high it sits in the middle of the Kendrick Peak Wilderness [surprise] I managed to shoot a nice 6x6 on the back side where it is pretty steep. To make a long story short I slipped while I was cutting it up and stuck myself. I spent the rest of the day hauling it out. When I had it all in the cooler I headed into Flagstaff to get stitched up. I'm there in the ER waiting for my turn talking to the staff and they tell me I'm the second bowhunter they've seen today. They also tell me that I didn't do nearly as good a job on myself as Blah Blah Blah he ran the knife clear thru his thigh. They tried to keep him for observation but he had clients waiting so had to leave.
Sharp tools are less dangerous than dull ones! Except when we shoot them.
MAP
Well... there was this one time my girlfriend caught me buying a new bow. :D
My brother shot what had to have been a fractured cedar arrow when we were kids and it shattered and went into the back of his bow hand. My dad dug out the splinters and several weeks later another piece of wood came out. My brother never cared to shoot bows after that but I never quit shooting. That was 47 years ago. I have managed several times to cut myself sharpening broadheads though.
Kawiika b, now thats funny
I witnessed an arrow break when a bunch was shooting at a running deer target. No one was hurt but one part of the arrow nearly hit the backstop that the target runner was hiding behind!
Don't walk around the house with shap broadheads without a cover. I did, to give some freshly sharpened stuff to my brother in law and caught a nock on a door facing. Pierced my femoral vien dead center vertically. I damn near bled to death... Put the story up here, it was several years ago. Vascular Dr. said if the BH had been turned 3-5 deg either way I would have cut the vein in two.. OVER...
About 40 something years ago I was stalking with a arrow on the string holding it down by my side. I tripped on a vine and the bear razor head went through my camo britches (blue jeans) and into the back of my leg . i reached down and grabbed my leg when I found out that it had cut a spirter .
In my late teens I was stalking with a arrow on the string holding it down to my side. I tripped on a vine ,the bear razor head it cut through my hunting britches (blue jeans) and into the back of my calf. By the time I found out that I was going to leave a blood trail a bow hunter would be proud of my shoe was full. I applied pressure to the wound with one hand and cut up my tee shirt with the other wrapped it up tight walked real slow home . It was Late when I got home but i was not bleeding . Did'nt want to worry my mother I just went to bed. the next morning I unwraped my leg and it started bleeding like a stuck hog . A trip to the doctor was needed. about the only pain was when he burnt the artery . Something not right about smoke coming out your leg. If it had came unrapped during the night I would be Hunting in the HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS.
Sorry about the error same story twice.
About 40 something years ago I was stalking with a arrow on the string holding it down by my side. I tripped on a vine and the bear razor head went through my camo britches (blue jeans) and into the back of my leg . i reached down and grabbed my leg when I found out that it had cut a spirter .
In my late teens I was stalking with a arrow on the string holding it down to my side. I tripped on a vine ,the bear razor head it cut through my hunting britches (blue jeans) and into the back of my calf. By the time I found out that I was going to leave a blood trail a bow hunter would be proud of my shoe was full. I applied pressure to the wound with one hand and cut up my tee shirt with the other wrapped it up tight walked real slow home . It was Late when I got home but i was not bleeding . Did'nt want to worry my mother I just went to bed. the next morning I unwraped my leg and it started bleeding like a stuck hog . A trip to the doctor was needed. about the only pain was when he burnt the artery . Something not right about smoke coming out your leg. If it had came unrapped during the night I would be Hunting in the HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS.
we were on a 3-d course an having a good time shootin the sh@t laughing as we always do .an a guy in our group didnot realize his woodie split when he missed the target.on his next shot it blew up an ran into his shooting hand. it was bad. I went home an ordered a glove from 3 rivers. CHECK THEM WHEN THEY HIT THE DIRT!!!! a fun day can end quick.
Never had that happen, Glad your ok. Welcome to the gang. :campfire:
A friend of mine had a carbon arrow blow up on release. It went through his thumb and index finger. That was about 8 years ago and he still has carbon splinters in his, thumb, index finger and palm. He also does not have much feeling in his tthumb.
QuoteOriginally posted by Huntschool:
Don't walk around the house with shap broadheads without a cover. I did, to give some freshly sharpened stuff to my brother in law and caught a nock on a door facing. Pierced my femoral vien dead center vertically. I damn near bled to death... Put the story up here, it was several years ago. Vascular Dr. said if the BH had been turned 3-5 deg either way I would have cut the vein in two.. OVER...
I think I remember reading that when I first came here... gives me shivers thinking about it.
My brother-in-law was sneaking up over a bank to a gobbling turkey(good luck with that) and slipped and ran a broadhead through his shoulder.
He was pretty close to vehicle and everything went ok.
QuoteOriginally posted by Huntschool:
Don't walk around the house with shap broadheads without a cover. I did, to give some freshly sharpened stuff to my brother in law and caught a nock on a door facing. Pierced my femoral vien dead center vertically. I damn near bled to death... Put the story up here, it was several years ago. Vascular Dr. said if the BH had been turned 3-5 deg either way I would have cut the vein in two.. OVER...
:scared: :scared:
Still newlywed in October of 1994, I was resharpening a broadhead that was mounted perfectly on a Cedar shaft. I was sitting at my kitchen table using a file to try and remove a slight imperfection in the blade. I was holding the arrow in my left hand and using my right thigh as a platform of sorts. The nock and feathers sticking out behind me, under my left arm. I was wearing blue jeans.
My beautiful bride was fussing over dinner and moving back and forth behind me. At one piont, her clothes snagged the nock of my arrow ever so slightly, causing it to lift a bit and thrust forward. The ENTIRE Zwickey Delta dissappeared into my right thigh. The ease with which it penetrated was simply awe inspiring, and the total lack of pain was appreciated.
I calmly grabbed an identical arrow to get an idea of how far it was in my leg. Pretty much just the head was buried. Even though one side was just rough sharp, the other side was "scary".
Blood flow was instant and impressive.
I made it to the bath tub, carefully holding the
arrow to prevent it from moving. I removed the arrow, and then my pants. I let it bleed a bit to help clean it, and then applied pressure to curtail the bleeding. If I held pressure, it would stop bleeding, if I relaxed the pressure it would bleed...if I moved at all, it would GUSH.
Wow, my first post turned into a horror story! Even though I have owned a bow nearly my whole life, it's never too late to learn. I only wish when I first started there had been an excellent site like this one, to share and maybe prevent these catastrophies. I read all the newbie material, which included basic safety, that would have prevented most of these mishaps.
Goes to show how quick things can go really wrong.Be careful!!
Welcome. Haven't had anything that bad happen.....yet! Few razor head nicks, and a few from fletchings, that's about it.
Welcome to Tradgang.I have too cut myself with broadheads.
In the 70's used to use broadheads that had replaceable blades made from cut-down injector razor blades. You had to load the blades into slots, and then secure them by turning 2 split rings to the next slot and loading the next blade. Friday nights I would load new blades onto the heads that I shot at targets that week. Saturday mornings I would hunt with bandaids on my fingers. Made holding & drawing the bow a thrill.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bonebuster:
Still newlywed in October of 1994, I was resharpening a broadhead that was mounted perfectly on a Cedar shaft. I was sitting at my kitchen table using a file to try and remove a slight imperfection in the blade. I was holding the arrow in my left hand and using my right thigh as a platform of sorts. The nock and feathers sticking out behind me, under my left arm. I was wearing blue jeans.
My beautiful bride was fussing over dinner and moving back and forth behind me. At one piont, her clothes snagged the nock of my arrow ever so slightly, causing it to lift a bit and thrust forward. The ENTIRE Zwickey Delta dissappeared into my right thigh. The ease with which it penetrated was simply awe inspiring, and the total lack of pain was appreciated.
I calmly grabbed an identical arrow to get an idea of how far it was in my leg. Pretty much just the head was buried. Even though one side was just rough sharp, the other side was "scary".
Blood flow was instant and impressive.
I made it to the bath tub, carefully holding the
arrow to prevent it from moving. I removed the arrow, and then my pants. I let it bleed a bit to help clean it, and then applied pressure to curtail the bleeding. If I held pressure, it would stop bleeding, if I relaxed the pressure it would bleed...if I moved at all, it would GUSH.
Again, :scared: :scared: !
My wife wants me to let everyone know that "it" was NOT her fault. She had told me a few minutes before that "the kitchen table was no place to sharpen an arrow". :readit:
One thing the experience taught me was that a six or seven hundred grain arrow, flying 170-180 fps would find very little resistance when it met human skin. :D
Bonebuster is my call name here, but "bonehead" fits too!
Years ago when I was in my xbow phase and just starting out I buried a bolt into a foam block and I couldn't pull that sucker out.....brainstorm flip block over put one foot on block and pull out, worked great except my other hand was right at entrane hole cut the web between index and thumb. Thought I was going to bleed to death, damn xbow....lol
Years ago when I was in my xbow phase and just starting out I buried a bolt into a foam block and I couldn't pull that sucker out.....brainstorm flip block over put one foot on block and pull out, worked great except my other hand was right at entrane hole cut the web between index and thumb. Thought I was going to bleed to death, damn xbow....lol
I left my own blood trail to my stand one morning when I reached back to grab my quiver. One of my paper wheel sharpend Zwickey Deltas bit me.
Likewise, I had a Cedar arrow explode on me when shooting at a 3-D tournament a few years ago. The bow string grabbed my arm at the top of the bicep and drug downward to the inside below the elbow. Left a nasty bruise for days. Not as nasty as some written above but cause for me to check my cedars before shoot'in 'em.
Stay safe.
I think the trend of the thread here is that we need to ever dilligent when working with our equipment.
In my case It was pure accident but I should not have been walking around with exposed BH's no matter what. I am a master Hunter Saf. Inst and push this on students every year.
Check your arrows and watch the BH's. Always work on BH's in a controled area. My wife and I have an agreement... when I am sharpening BH's she stays out of the room and keeps anyone else (the cat) out also.
As was the "line" on Hill Street Blues years ago... "Lets be carful out there."
Luckily I have never had a bad episode with a broadhead, but I have sliced my thumb and my hand open before pulling them out of a styrofoam target. It's force of habit to put my left hand against the target face and pull the arrow out with my right. Just be sure your hand isn't too close to the entry hole where the broadhead went it. Especially with broadheads that cut both ways and are sharpened on the back side of the blade as well as the front.
Only once. I pulled a magnus stinger out of my target and bumped my shin with the backside of the broadhead. Bled like a stuck hog and left a nice beauty mark.
Ha good thread guys - About a month ago, while out on the 3d course I killed an unsuspecting sapling, of-course the rest of the fellows in my group started ribbing me. While I was freeing said arrow. Luckily for me I had left my 'super' sharp K-bar back in camp and only had a small folder on me. Hence I borrowed a blunt as a spoon quiver-knife from one of the guys! Inattention due to being distracted by above mentioned ribbing caused me to slice my thumb to the bone!! I still shudder when I think - if I had been using a sharp knife....
stay safe out there - pay attention and don't be complacent!! (oh and carry a roll of duct tape)
Back in the 60's, my hunting bud managed to bury a Razorhead in his thigh while negotiating a downed tree in his path. Direct pressure slowed the arterial bleed, but it was a near thing. The docs sewed him up, but watched him for a while to see if he needed transfusions. Recovered ok, but as far as I know, he never bowhunted again.