Hoyt_Viper

Last night I went to one of my stands about 5 pm. I was just going to put a camera and sit it out to see what the place held. 20 minutes before sundown a beautiful 10 point came within 10 yrds of my stand. I laid it on him and off he went. I waited till dusk and got down and looked for my arrow. No luck. I had a blood trail so I followed it for several hundred yards until all of a sudden my spotlight went dead. I was in the middle of about 900 acres and it got pitch dark real quick.

I tried my best, crossin a creek and searching forthe downed deer. I looked for a few minutes until I figured not only was I lost, but had no light to get out. I looked at the tree tops for an opening to a field and made my way there. It was a field I wasnt familiar with....so I was screwed. It was goin on 9 pm and I had no signal on my cell. I fiured the best thing to do was setup in one place and dont move til morning. I built a fire,, and waited til sunrise to get my bearings.

Next thing I heard were bloodhounds and a helicopter. 40 county search and rescue were lookin for me! When I got back to my truck 7 of my best buddies were there, and had been there since midnight.

Carry a backup light, GPS, or something to avoid what I just went through!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Never found the deer, but I made it home....it was 38 degrees outside last night and all I planned on was a 45 minute hunt!

Im going back after some sleep....but be prepared for anything!

WV Hunter

Wow....glad you made it out ok.

NCRemington700

That's why I carry a back up light! I'm gald you made it out ok.

Schultzy

Wow, shame on you Viper for not having a compass, GPS, a decent light!!! Glad you made It out, you did the right thing by making camp Instead of getting yourself all worked up and chancing Hypothermia.

Lesson learned I'm sure.

bawanajim

You did exactly the right thing, stay put build a fire and stay warm. help will come.
They can't help you if they can't find you. There is no shame in waiting for help. Always let people know where you are hunting and when you will be home.
Hunt smart and hunt safe.

Good luck with your buck.

NavyDeerHunter

The woods are much different in the dark, that's for sure. Good job keeping your head and doing the right thing. Glad you're okay.

SwampCollie

Good thing you have friends too brother! And they rolled out fast too!

Its amazing how quickly you can become disoriented in the woods in the dark. Sometimes I'm thankful to be a duck hunter, because if there is one thing that I have too many of (and I bring them deer hunting too) it is flashlights, headlamps and extra batteries!

I'm glad you are alright, I'm sure you'll go back in and find that deer.

Centxrecurve

Don't feel too bad I was hunting and set in my stand too long waiting on some hogs to come out. They never did and it was the first time I had been to that particular stand was my first year on lease. Well I got my stuff together and realized I had left my bag with my lights in it up at camp. Luckily I had my cell phone and it was bright enough for me to find my way through the woods and to a man trail. Funny part was the next morning I hunted the same stand and found another way too it that was clear enough to find you way to it without any light LOL>

Huntinlady

OMG- Thank goodness you are OK!! You did the right thing. And your family and friends were on that!! One time my dad went out and he was late getting back and we thought it was not good- to make a long storie short we went out he had flipped the 4-wheeler and had broke his back not far from the tree he was hunting in. We live and we learn... Good luck to you finding your buck!!!

StealthHtr22

Wow, glad you made it out alright. What a great lesson.

I always carry a back-up light in my pack, water, usually a snack (peanut butter crackers), saw, TP, etc. Do not carry a compass or GPS though (even when I hunt the state forest), although I should.

Granted, where I hunt 90% of the time,you can't get lost, you can see lights from barns/houses after dark.