Scariest stories from the duck blind/boat...

[bmc]

Hopefully this thread will make us all think and possibly prevent a tragedy from happening this fall.

A couple years ago, a buddy and I were hunting out of his 14' TDB. We had my lab Maggie with us and just got done shooting at some ducks. We would lean our guns in the opposite corners of the boat when there was no shooting. My buddy must have forgot to put his gun on safe after shooting. I was sitting with my back to him and "BOOM" his gun goes off. I was scared to death to turn around, fearing he had shot himself. I said "Rob" he says "ya" I say are "you OK" and he says "ya". Then I said "What in the h e l l happened?" He said he must not have put his safety on, my dog had her paw on his knee and when she moved her paw, it hit the trigger and it went off. Needless to say we called it a day immediately after that, and thanked our lucky stars that something terrible didn't happen.

Brian

[riverrat56]

Good post bmc

I was walking the shoreline out to meet a friend who was already out hunting last season. Decided to make a cut acrossed a fairly large open area in the cattails. The bottom of this lake is almost all sand until you get out in the middle of the lake, or so I though. So I'm walking out and its getting fairly deep, up to within 6" of my waders, but I didn't think much of it as the bottom was still hard and I was well over half way acrossed. Next thing I knew I stepped on a rock and slipped, tried to right myself and there I stood taking on water over the top of my waders. The bottom of the lake had also turned to mud, so I was forced to turn around and walk back the way I came to avoid falling with full waders and water that was up to my shoulders.

Could have been worse, but also could have been avoided

[dan z]

yup thier are lots of close calls in my boat also, slow shooting and then we get to rest our firearms on the blind and when someone moves one will slide down and if the safety would ever be off it would not br good. I gotta jimmy up something so this wont happen ne more. falling asleep on a rat hut can be dangerous to I did it a while back and woke up when almost in the water it felt like a slow motion fall as I eventually fell in the water it was really tough to get back on top of the hut as my heart rate was up. I hope that never happens to ne one the way it happened to me.

[slabchaser]

last year on the second day of the season we were hunting a pond that had a lot of water in it do to the river next to it that had just flooded. I shot a woodduck but it only caught his wing. The duck ended up falling towards the river. I was the only one in my party of three that saw where it fell so I tried to make a quick recovery knowing he wasnt dead. I was 3/4 of the way across the pond when a weed under the water went over my right foot and I stepped on it with my left foot. I went head first into the water. Held onto my gun but the water came into my waders fast. Half of my waders were full of water by the time I came above the water. I figued I would just stand up and everythign would be fine. Nope, the water in my waders was making my feet float and forcing my head into the water. I struggled for about 3-5 minutes. before I could stand up thirty seconds later my dad got to me. I was rattled. I had to force myself to go hunting the next morning by myself. I knew that if I didnt go out I would be skittish forever. Im 24 now and have been hunting ducks since I was 9 this is the one time I have had trouble wading around.

[Ray Esboldt]

18 degrees on deer opener. We broke ice all the way across a lake in the morning (it was 8 degrees at that time). The lake was completely open the day before, and we thought there is no way a lake this big freezes a 1/4" all the way across. Wrong. Well, we managed to get some decoys out after we broke ice. Shot a goose, shot a bluebill, and decided to relocate to where we could see some open water. The ice is now 1/2" thick. 3 guys, a dog, guns, shells, and 4 dozen decoys in a 15 foot boat. Halfway across the lake we rip a hole in the boat and start filling up with water. We beached it on an island and bailed it out. We also shifted our weight so the water was not coming in anymore. Even though we were never in grave danger, I was very happy to put that boat back on the trailer.

[dan z]

I have broke ice that I can stand on you must not have an old boat with the thicker aluminum I have an old '74 with a double welded front end so I can plow thru some thick ice I remember pickin up a chunk that my index finger and thumb could not reach around.

However your story would be scary glad ya made it okay.

[Ray Esboldt]

1976 Crestliner.

I think it may have been an accumulated amount of wear. It ripped on a weld. We fiberglassed the whole front end after that. That made it a pretty good battering ram.

[Tom7227]

What's the one thing that's missing in every story so far?

A PFD. Take care, and be safe this season.

[dan z]

I wear that thing more duck hunting than fishing. something about cold water and wind makes me wear it

[carpshooterdeluxe]

ive got 2 friends walking around with steel shot in their bodies from hunting on wpa's and having somebody across the water shoot at a low flier. my one friend had to have a pellet removed from his eyelid. .001" from hitting his eyeball and damaging the sight in that eye. I myself got "peppered" by an inexperienced pheasant hunter that blew a wad in his pants and shot at a flock of low flushing roosters while i was blocking at the end of the strip. i freakin lost it on that guy and about busted his nose. we werent 20 minutes removed from a "procedure/safety" talk at the trucks. i love taking new people out but thats the last time i take somebodies word that they know what they are doing until their actions prove themselves!

[Mark Christianson]

I got sprayed in the back of the head with steel shot at Carlos Avery.

DumaZZ guy was shooting at tweety birds flying around and sent his pattern right on the back of my flippin head.

He was about 75 yds away, but it cut my ear in two spots that drew light blood.

Boy did I let him have it. With words that is.

[dan z]

been peppered many times sometimes I think that people are farther away than they think the wind does a # a steel shot blow overs and waht not sometimes however. I think guys just forget or think that your gone or moved from were you were sittin I'm sure I have sprayed someone and I'm sorry for my actions. I hunt all public water so kinda used to it If I hear close shots I just just duck under the blinds and give em a yeal thanx f%^&ers

[Shack]

My uncle (one of the best) shot 3 of his fingers off on his right hand while duck hunting in Carlos Avery (still has his thumb and index). Used his gun catch him self while sitting down and lowering his gun and catching his balance. Still no reason why the gun went off or we do not really know, but I would rather fall than put my hand on the end of a gun barrel. Things happen so quick!

[Hammer Handle]

Walked up to my shore blind and was a little disturbed that a boat had parked just off shore (sitting in the mud, actually) from my blind.

Sat for two minutes (first day of hunting), and walked right by the boat (so they would see me, but didn't say a word) and sat by a pond off the lake by only a 10 foot dirt bar. I was only about 30 feet from their boat. I figures, they can hunt the lake, I will hunt the pond. I sat so that my shot word never go towards them...and they can't shoot over my land anyway...right? Wrong!

Just as season opens, 10 woodducks fly low to the pond on the opposite side...and the 3 guys in the boat all open up!

I was lucky that the bar was just high enough and the grass was thick so that I wasn't hit too bad. BBs hit my jacket, but didn't go through. Only had two in my hand used to cover my face.

And, of course, they thought it was my fault.

Later that day, the same boat shoots a loon flying over. I called TIP, but no one came out....

[BoxMN]

Sacriest thing ever... I fell asleep in the boat... and when I woke up I saw my brother's face.!.!.!... Just about scared the [PoorWordUsage] out of me

Seriously, I would say when my brother was using a float tube, and the valve opened and started t5o deflate. No PFD... over his head... with waders starting to fill up... and stuck in that darned tube... He climbed out best he could, and onto his floating gun case and bag of decoys to keep afloat. He made it back to shore, but that was a close one. No way to get out to him either, with no boat, and over your head water, and others in waders too.

Needless to say, that tube never got used again, and we just gave to our goofy cousin to fly fish in We gave him the warning though, bring some sort of PFD or keep checking to make sure the valve is tightly closed. Tubes are junk IMHO.

[hanso612]

I posted this on another thread as well, but it is worth repeating.

When shooting a double barrel, don't accidently discharge your second shot by forgetting to take your finger out of the trigger guard after the first shot and then bumping the butt of the gun on the back of the blind/bench/knee/dog as you bring the gun down following the first shot.

I have done it twice in my life even after I have been warned of this problem with double barrels and thankfully no one was hurt.

I go over gun handling rules before every hunt and talk safety throughout the day and it is amazing how often little risky things still creep up. So spread the word. Hans

[Gordie]

the day before opener of deer hunting went out to shoot a couple of divers and only had my ten ft flat bottm with so I went across the lake and went to the shore and took off my coat took the gun out of the boat and made the dog watch me set out the decoys got just about all the decoys out and one flipped on its side so I reached for it and the wind got a hold of the boat and out I went 8-10 fow and I had chestwadersand no lifejacket on some how I hooked the side of the boat with my armpit and I still dont know how I did it but I got back into the boat got to shore and took off my chestwader and I was soaked to the bone expect for my wool socks they were the only thing that was dry. I striped down and slid my chestwaders back on then put on my coat and hunted for about an hour and then realized just what happen and thanked the BIG GUY upstairs for getting me back in the boat and safly to shore.

when I got home I made some coffe and turned on the TV and wouldnt you know it a commercial came on the one with the guy falling out of the boat and the dog swimming above him . it was a sign

from this point on I dont get in the duck boat with out my life jacket on anymore.

[Will]

about ten years ago in the pelican rapids area, myself, two buddies, a 14 ft jon boat, a 9.9 johnson and a bunch of diver strings made our way to a big island. as it got lighter out a storm rolled in. we shot some bills and decided to make our way back before it got "too bad", too late! a big wave came over the bow and darn near sunk us. i tucked back behind the island and we decided to go with the wind to the shore then drag the boat to the other side of the lake. we rode the waves and when we got within about 100 yards we saw that the shoreline was huge boulders covered with ice and 10 to 12 feet high. we got closer and jumped in the 35 degree water and threw our guns etc. up the bank. we lifted the front of the boat onto the boulders, the motor was completely submerged by the three foot waves. we were all covered in ice and seriously freezing. we saw no lights on in any of the cabins so one of the guys went to break into one to get some heat going. we were in serious trouble by now, it was about 25 degrees and we were soaked up to our necks covered in ice. we heard a horn honk then a guy runs down to us and says get in the truck. he took us down the road to his place. while he and his wife dried our clothes and gave us coffee, they told us how they watched our whole ordeal and could not beleive we made it to shore! he called a friend with a portable winch and got the boat out for us. incidentaly we didn't lose one piece of gear. we did learn some very valuable lessons that day. got rid of the jon boat(got a 16 ft deep v)and we watch the weather reports closely.