More bad news from Zimbabwe

Ant and Jaco, ja Antony's hunting days are done. I only passed him through his proficiency exams a short couple of years ago. He's a nice young man!
But I have been preaching to the youngsters coming into the trade that they do need to have some other form of income that's not dependent on huge physical work. Coz when you get on in years or have an injury that prevents you from a 20 km walk after Ele, you'd better have another string to your bow. It's just the reality of it.
I pray that it's not his right arm...learning to work left handed won't be any fun at all.

Originally Posted by Ole Bally

A lot of the older PH's were ex military and got taught to do drips etc during our war.

..after close on thirteen years in the two bush wars and many, many footprints in the dust, I've seen my share of ugly. One rule I had never changed. My friend of 35 years and ex head tracker, Antonio, who still works with me at home, ALWAYS carried the "other" rifle until it was to be used. If the owner of the rifle did not agree, tough shit, he could find someone else...

All my best to Anthony and his family.

Sometimes..only twice in my career..I have had to keep the clients rifle bolt in my pocket until I wanted him to engage something. I almost got shot by a spanish client who was supposed to be sitting on the back of the truck whilst his hunting companion was hunting, but he decided to join the fray by shooting between us at a warthog running across our front...because he had a better vantage point! some people just don't think!

I have just spoken to Antony's dad on the phone. Antony is now stable but still in ICU. They have amputated his right arm above the elbow. It took 4 hours to get him out! Fortunately there was a plane on the runway at the camp that could get him out without delay. The trackers took 2 hours to carry him out through the bush to the vehicle. They are clueless on first aid and so he had to direct operations at the same time. The 500 gr bullet hit him in the elbow.
He is going to need a lot of 'talking to' to get through this so if you know anyone who has had similar injuries and come through it with a positive outlook let me know please.
PH's ...time to get your trackers qualified in advanced first aid?!

My stomach does loops just thinking of what he went through, in terms of pain and emotional trauma.... the poor poor guy.

Ole Bally,

Are Anthony and Richard Harland related?

Our thoughts and prayers are with him, truly sad.

Hopefully a speedy and full recovery, I would venture to say that if his mindset is right after this incident, this is not a career ending injury.

Ole Bally, gent at the gunrange lost right arm in "Nam", I'll talk to him, maybe (If he's willing) get Glen's email address so he can share his stories and recovery with Antony. I'll see what he say's.

Sad news, wish Anthony all the best !

Originally Posted by Ole Bally

I have just spoken to Antony's dad on the phone. Antony is now stable but still in ICU. They have amputated his right arm above the elbow. It took 4 hours to get him out! Fortunately there was a plane on the runway at the camp that could get him out without delay. The trackers took 2 hours to carry him out through the bush to the vehicle. They are clueless on first aid and so he had to direct operations at the same time. The 500 gr bullet hit him in the elbow.
He is going to need a lot of 'talking to' to get through this so if you know anyone who has had similar injuries and come through it with a positive outlook let me know please.
PH's ...time to get your trackers qualified in advanced first aid?!

We have a group that take wounded veterans out and get them back into the hunting & fishing game plus help them adjust, Wounded Warriors" I am sure can get him some help and some veterns to talk with when it is time, so drop me a email and I will foward it to the pres of the group. This is their home page

Home - Wounded Warrior Project

wayne at dixiejet.net

Prayers for all

Originally Posted by RichKn

Let's go with the term negligent discharge. There is a big difference between the two.

Sad Sad news. My heart goes out to him and the family. Lets hope for a speedy recovery.

Gotta agree with the quote above though - There is no such thing as an "accidental discharge " ! The Term "negligent discharge" is far more appropriate.

Fellow Hunters : Please be safe out there !

Originally Posted by DOCMAN

..after close on thirteen years in the two bush wars and many, many footprints in the dust, I've seen my share of ugly. One rule I had never changed. My friend of 35 years and ex head tracker, Antonio, who still works with me at home, ALWAYS carried the "other" rifle until it was to be used. If the owner of the rifle did not agree, tough shit, he could find someone else... .

Great policy to have Docman ! Only wish more PH's out there made this a rule !
A .470 in the hands of a A "city-slicker" who visits the bush once a year and is now walking behind you in "hostile" terrain, is already a situation that would make anyone slightly nervous. I know Im generalising here and there are very many competant clients out there, but damn, it only "take's one " !

Ole Bally

This french hunter should have a flag attached to his name for all PH to be aware of.

In the future his name should come out for all other to know who he is.

I am thinking if in the future he will go and safari and he will, you just know it. his price should be higher for a gun barrier or keeper. plus no ammo in the rifle until he is in the position to shoot.

Or like you said take his bolt away from him...

I was afraid that he would not step to the plate to assist with medical bill and such.

when a bank is located to take funds to assist the information needed to be posted so that members wanting to assist will be able o do so.

Gun Safety.... is there anything more important?

I have a question for the PH's gathered

We instituted a policy at the ranch whereby rifles were carried this way and no other:

magazine full
bolt down on an empty chamber
safety off
trigger snapped
(alternate: on a rifle with a 3 position safety the safety is in the second position)

Now, it is not terribly complicated

I have never seen a shot missed or lost because a round needed to be chambered, if you are familiar with your rifle (and you should be) it should not be a problem;

If you are in a blind, running the bolt and chambering a round can be done slowly and very quietly

This policy was the result of the tragic loss of a GM TH400 turbohydramatic transmission in a Suburban. I know, doesn't sound like much but believe me when the front seat passenger's rifle went off it brought everyone in that truck just a bit closer to God.

And, get caught with one up the spout at the wrong moment and your day was done and you might not be invited back.

Anyway, back to my question, would an experienced PH consider this an acceptable and safe manner of carry for one of his clients?

And finally, Docman, hypothetically speaking, were I to hunt with you I would have no issue whatsoever with your protocol.

Antonio can carry my rifle, my ammo, my water, my kit and if he can take pictures and carry on a conversation I might adopt him! (btw, was there an extra charge for this wonderful service? lol) I mean the whole concept of a "gun bearer" is so....well "African" I am pretty sure that's how John Wayne did it in all the movies!

Originally Posted by Ole Bally

I have just spoken to Antony's dad on the phone. Antony is now stable but still in ICU.

..thanks for the update, Ernie.

Very sad news indeed.
I hope he will get a speedy recovery and that he will find a way to continue with his passion.

My thoughts are with him, i hate to see these reports, because they are preventable. There is no such thing as an accidental discharge. When a round goes off here in the Canadian Army, weapon is checked to see if there is a malfunction and if not it is determined a negligent discharge and the individual is dealt with. Almost 100% of the time it is the guy behind the trigger. After reading "docman's" post above, my initial thought was that after 22 years in the Army i would have a hard time letting someone else carry my rifle, but if it prevents this from happening to anyone else, here it is carry away! I should hope that the hunter steps up to his obligation to aid the young PH.

A correction and a little more info.

This from Dave Fulson, he produces TAA.

I have talked this morning to Paul Smith of Chifuti. As you know from my last post, Anthony Howland, (not Harland) worked with Chifuti during his appy years and continues to be a good friend.

The situation was this. Anthony was guiding a client who wounded a warthog. During the follow up, the client himself stepped into a warthog hole in long grass, stumbled, dropped his rifle which went off and the bullet then struck young Anthony in the arm.

Hmmmm. What a horrible tragedy. As an orthopedic surgeon who has dealt with plenty of ugly gunshot wounds, the picture of what must have happened during, immediately after, and in the hospital is ugly to consider. My feelings go out to Anthony and his family. I frequently think of my every day life and how hopeless I would be at the scene of a highway accident without "my toys" that live safely in their sterile wrappers back at the hospital. Bush conditions are so very different than a well-supplied trauma bay!

I can assume from the limited information here that a 500gr bullet would only have been used on a DG hunt. As such, circumstances might have been very different than on typical US or high-fence, ranch-style hunts. Reading between the lines, I don't believe the French hunter mentioned above is the same fellow responsible for this mishap. Maybe I missed something? In any case, I would be very, very slow to jump to conclusions. Some of the information presented here is second-hand and possibly incomplete or grossly innacurate. In classy Internt forum style, some people have already made up their minds about what must certainly have happened.

I can tell you that almost every "accident" is/was preventable, but yet they still happen. Motor vehicle "accidents" and gunshot wounds are the number one and number two casues of death in the US below age 40. Sometimes fault or blame in these situations is clear. Sometimes there are mitigating circumstances. Sometimes the situtation is one that could have happened to any of us.

Who hasn't, in a lifetime of hunting, ever done something stupid? I took a rifle out of my safe to clean it a couple of months ago and found two live rounds in the magazine. The fact that they were there surprised me, which isn't a good thing. A careless cycling of the action and a "dry-fire" exercise might have had tragic consequences. Three years ago my daughter and I were stalking some deer in an open-season deer hunt in Idaho. I had an open, uphill shot at a small buck and took it. After the recoil when I looked back throught the scope to assess the situation, I could see two hunters in the field of view of the scope!!!! I almost passed out from fright right there on the spot. They sure weren't they when I looked the first time. The deer was between us. The unthinkable could have happened to me right there on that hillside. How would that sort of "accident" changed my life? How very lucky I was that my bullet did not hit them. Even the best of us, with the best of intentions can become entangled in ugly circumstances.

Be careful my friends. My grandfather died in a hunting "accident" a few years after safely returning from WWII. I can't begin to describe the lifelong impact this had on my dad. He was only 7 at the time.

Originally Posted by Second Wind

Couple of things I want to address here, to everyone gathered

We as hunters go into the field wholly unprepared to dealt with trauma like this

Now, back in the day I saw more than my share of gun shot wounds and not a one of them was pretty.

But the next time you go to the field, stop and think for a moment how you would handle something as traumatic as this.

In the past I have always carried a PTK and fortunately never had to use it, but it was there

Key is, something like this happens you need to get a couple of things going in a hurry

1. establish an airway

2. stop the bleeding

3. spike an IV,,,, it will most assuredly be needed later and after shock gets going it may be a little tough to get done

4. it its a chest wound, you are going to have to seal that off right then

If you get all that done you have probably bought the victim and hour, maybe 2

Now my PTK is laughingly outdated but the youngest daughter has been working with some trauma surgeons to develop a PTK
that will get all that done, doesn't rattle and fits in the pocket of your cargo shorts or pants

anyone that is interested in the contents of this new one I will be happy to share if they will PM me and I will forward the schedule as soon as they are finished

Just like Capt Kohl said "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it"

Second Wind I would be very happy if you would PM me that info. Thanks Bob

Originally Posted by Second Wind

And finally, Docman, hypothetically speaking, were I to hunt with you I would have no issue whatsoever with your protocol.

Antonio can carry my rifle, my ammo, my water, my kit and if he can take pictures and carry on a conversation I might adopt him! (btw, was there an extra charge for this wonderful service? lol) I mean the whole concept of a "gun bearer" is so....well "African".

..strangely enough,my friend,I never had a problem with my rules except for one s.o.b Frenchman who ended up shooting himself in the foot !
Sadly,this 'rule' of mine all came about through a family tradgedy.Many winter's ago,my grandfather,Tom Ferguson or 'Uncle Tommy' as he was fondly known,lost his best friend through negligence by a foreign hunter.He NEVER hunted in front of a rifle again.Nor did my Dad and his brothers and neither do I or my brothers.We all use a 'gun bearer' that we trust,with our lives,and that's that..!

PS..no extra charge..just a relaxed bunch of hunters..! Oh,yes,Tony's spoken for..