Rev. Mike Stanley, a dear friend and pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Highland, was injured Saturday in the first accident of the 2015-16 deer season.
He'll mend, but Stanley said he is living proof that treestand mishaps can happen to anyone anytime, regardless of age or experience.
"There are so many ironies involved with this that I don't know where to start," Stanley said. "For starters, I was the same guy who'd led a full-day hunter education class with 26 students exactly two weeks earlier."
Stanley, an accomplished bowhunter since 1975, enjoyed opening morning of archery deer season Saturday on a stand he hung last year for his son Jonathan. That was his first mistake, sitting on a stand attached to a tree with nylon straps that had been exposed to a year of wind, rain, ice, sunlight and fluctuating temperatures.
"It was a ratcheting strap, so it was already tight," Stanley said. "A year's growth on that tree probably stressed it more."
The stand was about 11 feet high, Stanley said, instead of the usual 18-20 feet he prefers for his own stands.
Stanley said he didn't intend to kill a deer Saturday because he had too many other things to do.
"I went simply to be a part of the brotherhood of archers welcoming another season," Stanley said. "My plans were to enjoy the sunrise and then go into town and watch some of our church kids play Mighty Mites football."
At about 7:30 a.m., as Stanley descended the tree, he said he heard the stand squeak.
"I thought, 'I'm going to re-position this stand before I go,' " Stanley said.
Stanley disconnected his fall restraint gear before tending to that chore. That was his second mistake.
"I've climbed hundreds of trees," he said. "I knew better than that."
Grasping the tree trunk, Stanley pushed his feet against the stand's platform to wedge the bracket's teeth into the bark.
Next thing Stanley knew, he was on the ground. Apparently the strap broke, and the stand plunged.
Unable to stand, Stanley called Lt. Steve Taylor, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife officer who was nearby monitoring a potential hunting violation. He reached Stanley in minutes, but getting him out of the woods was arduous.
"We had to cross a patch that you can't carry someone out leaning on your shoulder," Stanley said. "It's all full of brambles and briars and thorns."
Stanley crawled through all that mess and used a foam seat to cushion his knees.
Taylor helped Stanley into the bed of his pickup and drove him to the emergency room in Cherokee Village. From there he was transported to White River Medical Center in Batesville.
Stanley's ankle was broken in three places. His tibia and fibula had multiple fractures. He had multiple contusions on his back and severe contusions on his face and hands.
"If I had hit a branch or a step or anything that altered the trajectory of my fall, I'd be in a world of hurt," Stanley said. "My head was only about a foot or two from an old fence. If my head had hit those rocks, it would have been really bad."
Modern pain management is helping Stanley get through these initial rigors, but frankly we're a little shocked. We didn't think Baptist preachers believed in painkillers.
"Son, this Baptist preacher believes in them," Stanley said. "I have to say, though, that the most painful thing was watching that doctor cut off my $170 boots."
Furthermore, Stanley also drew a coveted permit for a controlled hunt at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma, a top trophy bowhunting destination. Stanley will have to skip that opportunity, but said he intends to participate in the controlled muzzleloader hunt at Harold E. Alexander Spring River WMA in November.
"There's a lot of good places close to the road that I can reach with crutches," Stanley said.
He said he might be done with hunting in trees.
"I was a pretty good still hunter back in the day," Stanley said. "I'll probably go back to doing that."
Stanley, who serves in the AGFC's chaplain program, has comforted families that lost loved ones to hunting and boating accidents, and he's counseled wildlife officers who worked fatalities. A momentary lapse in judgment hurt him badly.
That's the message Stanley wants to impart to all hunters. Don't take chances with safety.
Not for one minute.
Sports on 10/01/2015