We’ve all been there and done it, a post hunting ride gone terribly wrong! These mishaps are avoidable if we just take a little time to play it safe. A friend of mine from England – Matt Goodlife, shows us an example of what can go wrong from something so innocent as a ride back from the field.
Matt Goodlife – England
I don’t really remember if any deer came out on this particular evening, in fact I don’t think I saw anything which was a shame as it may have changed the outcome of the ride back home. If I can get the landrover to where the deer has been shot that’s how I retrieve them if not I use the farm quad bike to get them back to the larder.
On this night I have nothing to load up as I walk back to the bike. I fire it up and head for home which is a 3 minute ride. The ride home can be a cold one after sitting in a highseat for two hours not moving then add the cold wind from being on the bike and you really look forward to a hot shower.
I’ve gone through one field and into the second with just a road to cross then up the farm track, park the quad and that shower. It’s a ride I’ve taken a hundred times so maybe the brain slipped into auto pilot this night as I find myself heading into the corner of the field to fast and running out of room! I hit the brakes. Now most of the time there would have been some rain about so the soil would be wet and the bike would just slid but not this night. The wind has dried the ground so the bike grips and that’s where the fun starts!
I’m now airborne and the ground is ready to hurt me as I hurtle towards it but that’s not my main problem! The bike is also in mid air doing a back flip and heading my way fast! I knew I had to hit the ground and start rolling. As I hit the ground I roll as fast as I can as the rear of the bike meets the deck just where a second ago my head was!
The bike upside down is still running, I pick myself up and drag it back onto its wheels. That’s when I think about my rifle that was sat in the front basket. The stock is now a worthless piece of fire wood, snapped at the pistol grip.
Later a friend makes me realise that I can get a new stock but not a new head!
Through a shooting friend I get the name of a gunsmith and he builds me a new walnut stock for $400. He did a fantastic job, the grain in the walnut is just beautiful. I now take my time on the bike and I’m not so heavy on the throttle!
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