Emergency 911 Call from Deer Stand

[Sam Ubl]

Early December of 2022 I was hunting the bluffs region of SE MN with another member of my film team, Steve Jeffrey, as guest of our partners at Veil Camo. We were muzzleloading for whitetail with an outfitter, something I’ve never done before. We were dropped off at a location where we used onX maps on our phones with downloaded maps to find our stands/blinds. There was zero cellular service in the majority of the locations we were hunting and rather than tag team we split ourselves up to cover more ground and increase the odds of someone filling a tag. After an all-day sit I experienced one of the scariest moments of my hunting career. I’m 39 and have been at this since I was big enough to walk alongside my father. This story is hard to share because it’s a bit traumatic to re-live, but I decided to share it in hopes it serves as a lesson of how to prepare for these types of hunts, especially without service while hunting in a location you’ve never been. The events from that day are 100% my responsibility and I learned more than a few valuably lessons. Here is the story behind that wild day…

https://youtu.be/2IPX1qb5olk

[Jackson Marsh]

Scary situation, I hope you're doing well.


Congrats on the kills.

[backstraps]

Wow Sam that’s a scary situation. Glad you were able to get help! That could’ve gotten worse in a hurry

Hope you’re doing better now.

[KRONIIK]

Close call for sure, as low as your core temperature had dropped.
I shudder to think how fast you would have quarked if you had fallen into the icy creek and not been able to regain consciousness.

Do you know what exactly happened, medically-speaking?
I know the one guy talked about the percussion from the shot affecting your inner ears, but there must have been some additional factors or medical condition, not?

[Dewey]

That’s scary. I think back how many times I’ve had vertigo and how that could have been me a few times. Usually happens when I’m really dehydrated. Since I’m almost always hunting around water watching this was pretty alarming how quick something like this could turn deadly if you get wet in frigid temps.

I’m guessing you would have been OK if it hadn’t been for the dunk in the creek. Glad you were able to call for help.

[Findian]

Wow, I wouldn’t never of thought of that ever happening. Glad you ok.

[Uncle Lou]

Dang, that was hard to watch, and you know I always like your stuff. Hope your doing better.

[Hawthorne]

Glad you made it thru. Sitting still in one spot from before daylight till dark isn’t easy. Couple times I felt I couldn’t walk for awhile coming out. I Might of been slightly dehydrated

[Bonecrusher101]

Glad you are ok

[fr0sty]

Glad you're OK. I've been dealing with a type of vertigo called bppv for 10 years and it's no fun.

[Iabow]

My dad gets vertigo, has had two ambulance rides for it. It is no joke, glad you are alive man, that is a little bit sobering.

[Putt400]

Sure hope all is good with you today since going through this life threatening situation. This is a great reminder how fast things can go south when hunting and away from everyday conveniences/technology we have today.

[Sam Ubl]

Thank you for the kind words to those of you who watched the film to the end and left comments, as well as the comments left here on this thread. I learned some huge lessons from that experience. I grew up like Dan, getting lost in the woods and marshes on my own trying to hunt and trap and do all the things I could to be "out there." Having never hunted with an outfitter before I never really thought about asking questions or taking notes where I was being dropped off. I had downloaded onX maps of the area I would be, but that was limited to the small area and without service I couldn't pull up Google Maps to look at road names. I was so out of sorts when I was able to call 911 as a last resort that I wasn't even able to describe in detail how they could find me - thank God for GPS coordinates from the control center. Hearing protection is a must for me now. Any close gunshot has the potential to resurrect the debilitating vertigo, something I never thought of. Being in an enclosed blind, even though it was softshell, the percussion blast of the muzzleloader was so loud, especially because I was nestled in-between those two 1200 foot steep ridges (nearly cliffs). It was sort of like being in a canyon. Temperatures had hovered single digits all day and I had sweat carrying my bags of camera gear and hunting equipment, water bottle, etc. on the walk in. I was layered so heavily for the cold the damp underlayers never fully dried. I kept warm with on and off again heat from the single propane tank I was equipped with, but all that did was create moisture in the blind and temporary relief that more than likely did more harm than good as it created more sweat and damped my layers even more. When the propane ran out it was me against the elements and I've always manned up and muscled through it - that's what we do, right? What about when our body goes into shock from something like extreme vertigo? Or how about the panic that sets in when you would swear to anyone you're too tough to panic? When you panic you make rash decisions. My decision to attempt to walk 2.5mi back nearly blind from dizziness in the dark on a non-existent path across land I've never walked in the daylight before... that was poor judgement. I didn't make it 10 yards before hitting a tree and falling into that creek. Now it's dark, I'm not just damp, but now I'm wet. I'm lucky I was able to find my way back to the blind after a while of crawling around in the dark.

I've been asked why it took so long for my friend and/or the outfitter to come to me. The answer is that even though my friend hunting a mile and a half away had heard the shot and knew it was me, he expected I'd do like we pre-planned - that if we shoot or not we'll meet back at the rendezvous spot and go together with lights and the UTV to get the deer out. Knowing I had pulled the trigger it's not unusual for him to believe I was likely packing up my gear, plus a 2.5 mile walk out in the dark isn't a fast walk so it's normal to assume it may take an hour or more before I would make it back.

It's no ones fault what happened out there. I was ill-prepared and believed it would go down like any other hunt I've ever been on. I hope my experience sheds light on the reality of what could happen. Don't wait to find out if it could happen to you, expect that it will and you'll never see it coming. Prepare yourself for occasions where you put yourself "out there" against the elements where communication may not be possible. Tell someone exactly where you will be so they know where to find you.

[Swedishbowhunter]

Glad you were able to get help. Man you sure seemed messed up at the hospital and yet the next day. I didnt think vertigo would cause confusion, or was that just from being hypothermic so long the day before?

[Stretch]

I've never heard of a gun blast causing vertigo before. Glad your okay, scary situation for sure. But i have to ask... are you fully vaccinated?