Very sad story out of my hometown this morning.

A man was found dead after a hunting accident on Thursday evening in the Chesterfield community.

Garry Lee Austin, 67, of the 3000 block of Pax Hill Road in Morganton, was found dead after he fell from a hunting stand in a tree, said Burke County Fire Marshal Mike Willis.

Police were contacted around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday after Austin was reported as an “overdue hunter,” Willis said.

Austin told family members that he would be back by 4 p.m., Willis said.

“He was an avid hunter, so it was not unusual for him to be out hunting,” he said.

A friend of the family found Austin prior to authorities arriving. Police were going to start a search if he had not been found, Willis said.

He was found approximately a half a mile to a mile from his house, he said.

Willis said no foul play is suspected.


“He either lost his footing going up or coming down somehow from around the stand,” Willis said. “They said it was a very high fall.”

Agencies that responded to the scene were Chesterfield Fire and Rescue, Burke County Rescue Squad, Burke County EMS, Burke County Sheriff’s Office and the Burke County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.

http://www.morganton.com/news/...cd-2b491a987f5b.html

I know nothing about hunting stuff. What safety gear was he supposed to wear in this case that could have prevented is death?

“They said it was a very high fall.”

You wear a harness and strap to keep you from falling.

^^^ Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I know nothing about hunting stuff. What safety gear was he supposed to wear in this case that could have prevented is death?

“They said it was a very high fall.”

In a perfect world, you'd wear a safety harness and hook to a safety rope with a sliding knot to climb up and down the tree. Lots of people only hook up once they're at the top of their ladder and ready to sit down. MOSTfalls happen on ascent or descent so that isn't very safe.

Last year was the first year I started to where a harness.

No good reason not to ha e do be it before. It’s easy and not a big deal to do. I highly recommend it to those who grew up without using one and just never have bothered to buy one.

Having had several accidents (non hunting related) myself, I try to limit my risk as much as possible these days. I don't get a foot off the ground unless I have my harness on. We also use the safety roads with sliding knots on them in our stands.

I came really close to falling out of a climber as kid on a slick barked tree. I was wearing my harness, but technology back then wasn't very good with these things so it was just a waist belt...would have just made me wish I was dead, lol.

Guy I went to school with had this happen to him about 4 years ago. Luckily, he was able to drag himself roadside to get some help, but from what I heard, he was damn near dead from exposure and blood loss when someone finally stopped to help. Luckily I hunt where there is an abundance of deer, so I have never needed to climb a tree to kill one, but for those that do...please be careful, we quite enjoy having you around.

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
Last year was the first year I started to where a harness.

No good reason not to ha e do be it before. It’s easy and not a big deal to do. I highly recommend it to those who grew up without using one and just never have bothered to buy one.

Every year I say, "this is the year I'll look at that harness thing". Hopefully I'll get that done before it is too late.

I work for the Medical Examiners office doing death investigations. Over the years there have been a few deaths that we investigated during deer season. These falls are one of them. Up here we have snow and cold during deer season, which puts us in a position to have to be out in the elements for several hours.

This past Sunday evening, I had a call out to the middle of nowhere, where someone was in their car, dead. He walked 300 yards from his deerstand to go home, sat in and started the car with the door opened. That was it, he had the big one.

Although my little story was not a fall, please let someone know where you are going to be and when you are leaving.

Good advice. I wear mine every time I get in the stand. More importantly, I drillit into my 15 year old since he’s hunting now too and kids think they’re invincible.

I belong to a hunting club in the woods in East Texas. 15 or 20 years ago one of the members fell off a tree stand and broke his back. He managed to drag himself to his truck but couldn't climb into it.

Very fortunately for him, his father (also a member) got a bad feeling and went looking for him and found him on the ground next to his truck soon enough to get him help.

He eventually made a full recovery and still hunts out of tree stands, but he always uses a harness now.