I was recently granted a photo assignment from Wisconsin Outdoor Fun where I was to go to a deer registration station and get photos of hunters (and huntresses) with their deer and catch a few stories.
I like assignments like these because it gives me a chance to talk to the people I am taking pictures of and learn something from them, to hear their stories.
I try to take away something from these assignments, be it a new friend, or bump into an old one. I often pick up outdoor tips and tricks, and if I am lucky a new spot or two.
Today, I met Jackie. She was registering a couple of deer she just shot, beaming ear to ear about how she outgunned her brother and dad. She did have an interesting take on how her day went though. “I just shot my doe, and as she was running I was panning in on her looking for another shot, when I went outside the parameters of my treestand and fell. Luckily, I had my harness on and it kept me from falling. I dropped my gun during the fall and it landed in the brush below. I got myself down, and picked my gun back up and got back to my stand. A few minutes later this buck came by at about 100 yards, I took the shot and scored.”
I found Jackie to be a resilient girl. “wait, you fell out of your tree” I asked. “Yep.” she replied, “it’s okay though I got a buck’. She wanted me to remind people to wear harnesses when you are in tree stands. Her day could have gone a completely different way had she not.
I’ve seen a lot of studies that indicate slips and falls are the leading cause of injury in the outdoor kingdom, so be careful out there people.
