BEWARE OF SAMURAI BROADHEADS

So you think your broadheads are sharp?  - Have I got a story for you!

"Hey, guys so I just got back from hunting camp with our crew and have I got a story for you.  The hunt was a week-long trip to Northern Alberta in search of Moose with our bows, and for Elk, Deer or Bears with our guns.  It’s my favorite week of the year.  Our trip started as usual, with lots of mud and excitement too like a buddy getting a 5x5 whitetail at 20 yards the first 10 minutes of the first morning. 

Forward to day . My friend Dallas and I headed out into a clear cut area in search of Moose.  After getting set up and calling for 2.5 hours, a bull finally showed up.  I was able to get him to 120 yards but then he circled, got my wind, and ran off.  Close one.

We walked out of the cut area and when we got near the trucks I realized I had lost an arrow.  Being that I use GrizzlyStik broadheads and VAP arrows with Firenocks, it’s like a $100 arrow so we went back to look for it.  We went all the way back to the calling spot with no luck.  So we just headed back on the trail to the trucks hoping to spot it.

About 1/4 of the way back I jumped and yelled.  Both I and my friend thought that maybe I had been bitten by a snake.  It was so fast and so immediate.  I then looked down to see my arrow sticking out of my boot and only about 6” of the arrow and the fletching were sticking out.  At this point I kind of panicked.   My immediate reaction was the pill the arrow out.  It came out slowly and covered in blood.  But here was the scary part, when it came out the broad head was missing.  It had snapped off.

I lgot down on the ground and pulled the boot off.  We identified immediately that the leg was bleeding profusely.  We removed the leg of my First Lite Pants and First Lite Long underwear to see the gaping hole from broadhead on the front of my leg, beside the shin.  I think it was right about this time that the shock set in. Dallas, who happened to be a nurse, jumped into action and used his sock to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.  He then called in the rest of the Crew for support.  We happened to have cell service but I had an inreach backup.    While waiting for them to arrive we sat there in awe that my leg had somehow found that broadhead as we waled back through the cut  area.  We also didn’t see an exit wound so we assumed the broadhead was broken off INSIDE my leg!

The rest of the crew arrived, and after some discussion, my friend Jeremy threw Menon his back for the 1km hike out.  It was like our platoon had been bombed and our Sargent was rescuing us.  I don’t know how - but he managed to get me out in record time, and then it was a 1.5-hour truck ride on awful roads to the Grande Cache Hospital.

While driving Jeremy called the hospital to tell them I had a broadhead from a bow and arrow in my leg and would need immediate attention.  What did they hear on the phone?  "He has an arrow in his head!"  Upon arrival, there were about 12 nurses and staff waiting to see a guy arrive with an arrow sticking out of his forehead.  To their dismay, it was just an arrow through the leg.

They immediately started tending to the wound at the hospital and stabilizing the bleeding.  Then I went for X-rays.  When the doctor came back she explained that there was in fact NO broadhead in my leg and the arrow had passed right through.  At this time we also noticed a very deep cut in my right knee.  We were then able to piece together that when the arrow went through my calf and came out the back, my other leg hit it as I was stepping foreward and broke the broadhead off cutting my knee in the process.

I then went for an MRI that showed I had an internal bleed, so then it was a 2-hour ride to a different hospital for a CT scan to see which of the arteries were severed and to determine if they would need to do vascular surgery.  The tests were completed and they told me it was just one of the lesser arteries so I should be fine.  I said “How many are in my leg” and they said 3.  In my mind, I didn’t love the idea of only having 2/3 of the normal blood flow to my leg but they assured me I would be fine.

Then it was another couple hours in the ambulance to get us back to the grand cash hospital where my friend Wes picked me up. At this point I had to decide  -do I just head back home or do I go back to hunting camp and to hang out. Hunting camp comes once a year, so that’s where I went for the rest of the week.  I sat around camp with my leg up, helping out where I could and eating great food.  It was a nice break.  Even did a bit of truck hunting.

The crew went back a couple of days later and found the broadhead!  What are the odds.  I was almost hesitant to hold the broadhead when they gave it to me.  Now that I have it I have to decide if I want to frame it or hunt with it.  Tough call.  It’s still razor sharp!

Anyway, it’ has been about 6-months since the accident and I’m recovering well.  I'm back to 100% and you would never know and an arrow with a razor sharp broadhead went through my leg!

P.S. On the last day in the last 5-minutes of legal light Dallas shot his first bear within 100 yards of my arrow incident." ~ Levi Wynnyk