Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link    Member Shots                                               Storys                                             Lost: Hunters share frightening story Sometimes “book learning�?is tossed to the wind but, when Experience is the teacher, lessons are well learned and not soon forgotten. Chris Davis and Clay Helms went to school under Ol' Mr. Experience on a dark and cold December night and found his teaching methods cruel but most effective. Davis and Helms are relatively experienced deer hunters and passed the required hunter education class with flying colors. They know their way around the woods where they hunt and take pride in their outdoor skills. There was “nothing much�?either of them would rather do at Christmas time than go deer hunting. The cold, crisp weather was ideal. They were hunting on land between Troy and Enterprise that belongs to Helms' grandfather. The two were hunting about five minutes apart when Helms “gut shot�?a “big�?doe. The deer didn't drop, so Helms began to track it but quickly lost the trail. “I went to my granddaddy's cabin and called Chris on his cell phone and told him to come help me look for the deer,�?Helms said. “When he got there, we put our guns in the truck because we thought the doe would be down when we found her.�?/P> The sun was sinking so the hunters took a couple of flashlights and a spotlight with them “just in case�?they didn't find the doe before dark found them. “We found blood spots and followed its trail and marked our trail,�?Davis said. “We thought that the deer might not drop before we found it, so Clay went back to the truck to get his gun.�?/P> Helms was gone so long that darkness came. Davis began to get a little uneasy alone in the deep, dark woods. “When you're in the woods by yourself, you hear every little sound,�?Davis said. “Limbs breaking, things walking. It's kind of scary.�?/P> Things weren't going too good for Helms either. He thought the truck was in one direction but it was actually another. He couldn't find his way back to Davis. “I just started calling Chris and he finally answered me,�?Helms said. “I followed his voice and we got back together.�?/P> The hunters continued to follow the trail left by the wounded doe until the batteries in the spotlight went out. “We couldn't see a lot by the flashlights but we kept looking,�?Helms said. Then, to their surprise, they spied the wounded deer meandering through the trees. The hunters followed. The boys were so involved in following the deer that they no longer marked their trail. Finally, the deer stopped and sank to the ground. They had a small knife and thought they could grab the deer and stop its suffering. But when they lunged at the deer, it leaped and ran. “We didn't know that it would do that and it scared us,�?Davis said, laughing. “We jumped back Š far back.�?/P> At that point, getting out of the dark woods was far more important and urgent than tracking the wounded deer. But which way? “Everything looks alike in the wood when it's dark,�?Helms said. “We didn't know which way to go.�?/P> The hunters walked in one direction and then in another. They were lost. Davis had a cell phone but couldn't get a signal and they were getting rather uneasy. They continued walking, hoping to get a signal and help. “We got to a place where we could hear the cars on the highway but they sounded a long way off,�?Davis said. However, they found some measure of comfort in the distant zooming sounds. “If we couldn't get a signal, we were going to keep walking toward the sound of the cars,�?Davis said. Knowing that civilization was, at least, ‘that a-way�?the hunters took heart and their feet were nearly so heavy. Finally, Davis got a signal on his cell phone. “I didn't even know the phone number at my granddaddy's cabin but it was on Chris' cell phone,�?Helms said. “We called my granddaddy and he drove out to the field. He blew the horn until we could hear him and then we saw his lights and we went running. We didn't even come out of the same field that we went in. We were glad to be out of the woods that night.�?/P> Normally, Davis and Helms might keep this story to themselves. Nobody likes to admit that they got lost. However, they realize how easily it can happen and that their experience might save others from the harsh lessons taught by Ol' Mr. Experience. “I got about six rolls of reflector tape for Christmas,�?Chris said, with a smile. “You should always mark your trail when you go into the woods and you should always make sure you have good batteries in your flashlights or spotlights.�?/P> And, both hunters said, what is learned in hunter safety education should be filed where it can be used on every venture into the woods. If so, every hunting trip will be fun - even if the harvest is not successful                                                                           We like to thank our members for sharing their pictures of their outdoor experiences.  They make this site work and bring friends together from all over the world.                                                                  [Home] [Gallery] [Contact Us] [Join] [etc.] ©2003 gray ghost lodge&archery. All rights reserved.