Safe Hunts are the Only Memorable Hunts

Ted with Black Bear

As I joyously load up our bowhunting gear with my son Toby for yet another phenomenal Ontario summer bear hunt with Rick Dickson on this August day 2015, words cannot adequately describe the happy hunting memories we embark upon and continue to create and enjoy.

Sure, every hunt is instinctually driven by our reasoning predator duties to continue to fulfill our resource stewardship responsibilities, and yes, we cherish the challenges that often produce the pure, organic, natural nutrition that each kill provides our family, friends, neighbors and loved ones, and of course there is no more stimulating experience available to mankind than a family campfire in the wild.

But even with all those powerful driving, natural forces inspiring our hunting lives, there is no force more powerful to keep this tradition alive and thriving than the FUN factor!

If hunting wasn’t such exciting fun, no one would bother to go through all the challenges and sacrificing and substantial investments necessary to make it happen.

Ted Nugent celebrates hunting season the best way he knows how, by going hunting a lot and enjoying wild game meals every night with his family and friends! But he's always practicing smart safety with a full body harness in the stand.
Ted Nugent celebrates hunting season the best way he knows how, by going hunting a lot and enjoying wild game meals every night with his family and friends! But he’s always practicing smart safety with a full body harness in the stand.

As we prepare for hunting season 2015, I am compelled to share with all my deeranddeerhunting.com BloodBrothers the not so positive other side of the hunting coin.

None of the wonderful positives that come from hunting if we fail to identify the most important point of all-SAFETY!

We can all celebrate how statistically hunting seasons get safer and safer every year, thanks mostly to the upgraded dedication to safety, most notably the much appreciated volunteerism of the hunter safety instructors around the country.

For that, all hunting families give you a hearty SALUTE and sincere thank you.

But there is one last safety factor that seems to remain a dastardly threat to our hunting friends, and that is the deadly and mistaken choice to not wear fall restraint devices when hunting from elevated stands.

For many years I made this irresponsible choice, thinking foolishly that my short 12’ ladderstands did not pose a serious danger.

I was wrong and I’m dedicating myself to demand of myself and everyone I hunt with that no one is allowed to hunt from a treestand without a proper safety harness ever again.

Whether with bow or gun and ladder or climber, it's always smart to use a safety harness.
Whether with bow or gun and ladder or climber, it’s always smart to use a safety harness.

Every year for way too many years now I have had to deal with way too many calls from way too many families who contact me sharing their heartbreaking tales of woe and loss due to a loved one falling from their stands.

Such falls are now by far the leading cause of death and serious injury during the hunting seasons, and with but a modicum of honesty and effort, we could eliminate this tragedy right now.

There are so many quality fall restraint products on the market now at reasonable prices that there simply is no excuse for any more deaths or paralyzed BloodBrothers.

As I laugh and hunt with my beloved family, I cannot imagine the level of irresponsibility to choose such a dangerous choice.

Let us all make a BloodBrother pact right here and now that all of us will demand everyone in our hunting lives religiously wears a safety harness and vow to never hunt elevated again without one.

Way more important to me than killing some big bucks this season, is my dream of not getting any more tear filled phonecalls as families say good-bye to sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives and hunting buddies for the crazy reason of falling out of a tree.

You cannot create wonderful, fun memories unless we perform our most important duty: to be safe.

Ted Nugent is an award-winning musician and writer, with numerous best-seller books including “Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto,” “God, Guns and Rock ‘n Roll,” and “Kill It and Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish” with his wife, Shemane, among other books. Be sure to check out his website for more news on his latest music, thoughts and upcoming shows in 2015, and also at World News Daily, Newsmax and Daily Caller for more insights.

Editor’s note: August is Treestand Safety Awareness Month and D&DH will be publishing stories, tips, gear ideas and more this month.

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