Any dangerous natural features you encounter while hunting?

Just random holes and
matto said:
I worry about my dogs more than myself. They move pretty fast and (obviously) stand a little shorter than I do. A few years ago a hunter lost a dog in an uncapped well on a Kansas WIHA. I'm always a little leery of abandoned farmsteads for that reason and also because of junk metal, broken glass, etc. Some of the cut banks on the outside bend of a draw can be a dog hazard too. I seem to see those more when I'm chicken hunting.
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My Vizsla fell into an old homestead basement full of rusted farm equipment and old car parts last season. I didn't know it was there. I saw him running and try to stop and then he disappeared. I got lucky. He fell into a corner that was somewhat clear and didn't get hurt. I had to pull him up by his collar. Scared the crap out of me.
 
I'm glad he was okay! As hard as dogs run it's a wonder they don't suffer more injuries from fences, abandoned farm equipment and downed trees, etc.
 
airmedic1 said:
I'm glad he was okay! As hard as dogs run it's a wonder they don't suffer more injuries from fences, abandoned farm equipment and downed trees, etc.
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Thanks. That basement was full of an unbelievable amount of old rusted metal. He could have been severely injured. The people I was hunting with were closer to it and saw it but didn't say anything. I would called him in and got him away from it, had I known. Once I figured out that he was ok, I was pretty pissed at them. They didn't seem to think it was a big deal but they weren't looking out for the dogs. That is a big no bueno with me.
 
Mosby said:
Thanks. That basement was full of an unbelievable amount of old rusted metal. He could have been severely injured. The people I was hunting with were closer to it and saw it but didn't say anything. I would called him in and got him away from it, had I known. Once I figured out that he was ok, I was pretty pissed at them. They didn't seem to think it was a big deal but they weren't looking out for the dogs. That is a big no bueno with me.
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It’s amazing what the dogless hunters are ignorant of….
 
benelli-banger said:
Speaking of badger holes, or any other source of instability, how often do you fall? Some guys seem to fall a lot, some not so much. I’m in the latter group for whatever reason…thankfully. I suspect I look down a lot…I quit running after birdy dogs several years ago as well.
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Average about once per season
 
benelli-banger said:
It’s amazing what the dogless hunters are ignorant of….
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They can be totally clueless! Like shooting at a wounded pheasant with a dog chasing it.
If I don’t know the person I give them a serious talking to before we begin and I’ve left more than one guy in the field when they’ve done something unsafe towards me or my dogs! I just take my dogs and go home or to another field.
 
airmedic1 said:
They can be totally clueless! Like shooting at a wounded pheasant with a dog chasing it.
If I don’t know the person I give them a serious talking to before we begin and I’ve left more than one guy in the field when they’ve done something unsafe towards me or my dogs! I just take my dogs and go home or to another field.
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Even just being able to show up and join a hunting group, and reap the benefits of what the dogs offer, and not have to feed, train, caretake, pay vet bills, etc…but they don’t “get” the bond, either…some may, I suppose…but there’s a lot that goes into these dogs…$, time, frustration, thrill, etc..if nothing else, if I’m ever in the position of hunting with someone and their dogs, they’ll get a handshake and a heartfelt thank you for what they’ve put into those dogs!
 
That episode of the Flush where they lost a dog in a thermal spring in Idaho. I never would have thought of something like that. Literally made me sick to my stomach
 
carptom1 said:
That episode of the Flush where they lost a dog in a thermal spring in Idaho. I never would have thought of something like that. Literally made me sick to my stomach
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Very painful to comprehend once I watched that episode. Why subject your dog to a likely danger? Must be some pheasants elsewhere.
The situation was so preventable.
 
I've got a buddy who is a wounded warrior. When I first guided for him and some other WW's I gave them my standard safety and watch out for the dogs speech. The first time Gibby pointed in front of him he just stared at her and didn't even shoot at the flushing rooster. The rest of the trip he just watched the dogs work. He truly just goes out for the dog work and doesn't care about shooting anything. He is very grateful to just get to go. I've finally got him to shoot a little and he loves the dogs chasing a wounded rooster and the retrieve!
 
carptom1 said:
That episode of the Flush where they lost a dog in a thermal spring in Idaho. I never would have thought of something like that. Literally made me sick to my stomach
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Not sure if was the same deal...but I believe a guy lost 2 setters, 1 almost immediately and the other died a short time later from it's burns.
I've been to those hot springs, they are in Chukar country and I imagine the dogs were very thirsty.....and yes, they are Scaulding hot.
So many hazards out there......
Like Mosby, I also had my dog end up in an old basement surrounded by brush....I lowered myself down w/o any gear (dumb) and was able then to lift her out....but took a little doing to get my petite 260# up and out...
 
Wind River said:
Very painful to comprehend once I watched that episode. Why subject your dog to a likely danger? Must be some pheasants elsewhere.
The situation was so preventable.
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I agree but the guy hunted the area and stayed away from the ponds, but they dredged out ditches he never knew about. That was what got his dog in trouble. He was badly burned trying to save the dog. It was a sad episode.
 
The last day of my season I had pulled out my phone to look at onyx and make sure I wasn't wandering off of public land. I had my shotgun cradled in my elbow and it slipped out and stuck in the mud. It stood straight up and down like I had planted a flag. I had to screw out the extended tubes, cut a couple of squares off of a hanky and to push them out with a stick. Probably an inch and a half of mud in each 0ne.
 
Drew said:
The older I get the more things have become hazards. Hell, I have become my own worst enemy. A couple of years ago, I got my feet tangled in some buried barbed wire and fell on my gun and broke my finger. Even crossing a barbed wire fence isn't a guarantee anymore. Rocks, cliffs, slick rocks in creeks, ice, my own feet, my own dog, other peoples dogs, beaver runs.........the list is so much longer than when I was 21 or 30 or even 40 or 50.
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I feel your pain.
 
Drew said:
The older I get the more things have become hazards. Hell, I have become my own worst enemy. A couple of years ago, I got my feet tangled in some buried barbed wire and fell on my gun and broke my finger. Even crossing a barbed wire fence isn't a guarantee anymore. Rocks, cliffs, slick rocks in creeks, ice, my own feet, my own dog, other peoples dogs, beaver runs.........the list is so much longer than when I was 21 or 30 or even 40 or 50.
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I hate crossing old fences…repeat hate! I would crawl through mud before trying to go over the top. Even if it’s loose, I seem to get my pants caught crossing over the top, then I’m jumping on one leg trying not to rip my pants. Last fall I found a nice corner post brace, when on top of the fence it rolled on me, falling face first my leg got caught in the wire. Now I do have ripped pants, legs bleeding, should have gotten stitches. Was more pissed about my pants than the cut. I weigh south of 300 so that don’t help either. Someone said on here once they carry a pool noodle to lay on wire to cross. After my own funniest home video moment that doesn’t sound like such a bad idea🥴
 
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