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Written by: Anna DeBattiste; Colorado Search and Rescue Association
A successful hunt is not just a hunt that fills a tag – it’s also a hunt in which you don’t end up with a tag on your toe.
Backcountry search and rescue teams in Colorado will tell you that hunters can be harder to find than other demographics like hikers, especially in archery and muzzleloader season. Evacuations of injured hunters can also be lengthier and more complex due to hunters being off-trail.
Safe hunting trips start long before the trip to the trailhead and the camp. A solid planning and preparation process is critical, including:
Once out on the hunt, know and respect your physical limits and those of your hunting party. If anyone has any significant medical conditions or is on daily medications, this information should be shared with the group, including medications to be taken in case of emergency like epi pens for an allergy or baby aspirin for a cardiac event. Routt County SAR once saved a hunter who had a diabetic episode but hadn’t told his hunting buddies he was diabetic. When they came back to the tent and found him unconscious, they didn’t know the cause and that resulted in a difficult rescue during a snowstorm to get the hunter to definitive care.
There’s no place outside safe from lightning, including your tent. If you can’t get back to your vehicle in an electrical storm, at least know how to minimize risk.
If you’re hunting at altitude, watch for signs that you or another member of the group may have altitude sickness. Descend to a lower altitude immediately if anyone shows signs of serious altitude illness. Altitude can also stress underlying medical conditions and cause them to flare up, so consider if it is prudent to be spending time deep in the backcountry if you have a history of significant medical conditions.
Causes of injured hunter rescue calls include tree strikes, impalement hazards in deadfall, or injuries from sharps in the field like broadheads and field dressing knives. Many of these can be avoided if you take extra care; don’t walk through deadfall with a nocked arrow, be attentive while field dressing, and keep an eye on your surroundings to avoid being under dead trees or caught by a tripping hazard. Carrying a tourniquet in your first aid kit can save a life in case you need to stop serious bleeding.
If you have generators or stoves in your tent, keep the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning in mind and make sure you’ve got adequate ventilation.
Are you traveling by horse? Routt County SAR reports that some of the worst hunter trauma calls they’ve responded to have been caused by people getting bucked off or rolled over by a horse. Consider that horses may not be the best option for inexperienced riders, especially rented horses you aren’t familiar with. It may be safer to use horses as pack animals rather than riding them, especially if trail conditions are slippery. The same risks apply if you’re using ATVs or UTVs; wear a helmet, and consider keeping inexperienced riders off the machines in steep, rugged or snowy terrain.
If you’re packing out a rack or skull and cape, put fluorescent flagging tape on it to ensure other hunters can easily identify that you are not a target. And don’t forget firearm safety and your mandatory CPW hunter education course! Rescue teams occasionally respond to injuries – or worse – caused by accidental discharges.
What if something happens and you have to call for help? Backcountry SAR teams in Colorado are activated through a call to 911 or an SOS from a satellite communications device. If you need help, don’t waste time and battery calling your family; call 911 right away. Your friends and relatives can’t help you, but search and rescue can.
Greg Foley from Grand County Search and Rescue says, “One of the first things our team is going to do is send you what’s called an SMS locator by text. It will be a text message from a number you don’t recognize that looks something like this:
It is critical that you activate the link. If you don’t have cell service, move to another location if possible and try again. Your location service on your phone must be turned on from the locator to work. If you have enough charge, leave your phone on so search and rescue can continue to track your location.”
Once you’ve made the call, prepare to wait; we are all volunteers responding from our homes or workplaces, and once we get to the trailhead we have to hike or ATV into the field just like you did. If you’re off trail and in rugged terrain, that will add response time. If you’ve done your job in the planning and preparation phase, you should be able to stay warm and dry while you wait. You can read more about handling a backcountry emergency here.
If you’re lost, remember the STOP acronym: Stop, Think, Observe and Plan. If you determine you can’t find your own way back, make the call for help and then stay put. Continuing to move around will make it harder for us to find you. If you’re calling for a buddy that’s lost, try to give the 911 dispatcher some specific descriptors to help us find the person. “White, adult male wearing camo” is typically not very helpful. SAR teams also need a last known point to begin their search, such as a vehicle, confirmed sighting, or the area they have a tag for. Sometimes a call comes in from a concerned family member at home but all they know is that the party was hunting “in the Flat Tops,” which encompasses parts of four counties and over 240,000 acres. Without a more specific starting point, it will be more challenging for a SAR team to initiate a search.
Bow hunters should be aware that wearing only camo makes it extremely difficult for us to see you, especially if you’re off trail. Carrying a brightly colored tarp, game bag, or other means of visually signaling and attracting attention is very important.
If you know we’re already searching for you, stay put and keep your eyes out for aircraft that may be part of our operation. If you see a helicopter, drone or small fixed wing plane circling, make yourself as visible as possible. Move to a clearing or open field if possible and wave your arms, a space blanket or brightly colored piece of clothing, or a flashlight or headlamp. If conditions allow, a signal fire can help guide teams to your location.
Routt County SAR, a team that has a high number of hunter incidents every year compared to other teams, reports that the most frequent cause of calls is miscommunication or lack of coordination within groups. Harry Sandler, an incident commander with RCSAR, comments, “We get a lot of calls for overdue hunters. But are they really lost, or did they just have a successful hunt and are field dressing their game and late getting back to camp? Did they accidentally miss a check-in, or is there a true emergency? We often don’t know because the members of the hunting party don’t know either; they didn’t have a solid plan for how they would communicate and coordinate.”
Backcountry SAR teams don’t charge for services in Colorado and would like you to call sooner rather than later when you need help. Want to learn more about how they are funded, including how the surcharge on your hunting license is used? Read more here.
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