[fred1]

In about 2008 I was successful in an antlered elk draw in southern AB. I was out spotting with 2 other guys. After we spotted a herd the one hunter began his stalk. The two of us resumed our search and found a good lone bull. I Then began my stalk. As I was getting closer I ditched my backpack. I circled around and behind this bull using a small ridge for cover. With the animal facing away and the wind to my advantage I decided that I had time to backtrack about 75 yards to retrieve the camera from my backpack. I then crawled in closer to take a pic. Then I lay there and waiting and hoping the bull would stand and provide a broadside shot. After what seemed like about a half hour I thought that a whistle would speed up the process. It did work but I did not have the opportunity for a standing shot and hit the animal to far back in the chest. I then trailed him for about 1 mile before I was able to get that finishing shot.
I ran into trouble in final steps of the gutting process. The folding knife I was using was not adequate for opening the breast bone. With an unexpected slip of the blade it glanced of the bone and stuck me in the wrist. I knew immediately that I was in serious trouble when the blood began flowing in a steady stream. Other than gripping the wrist with my other hand how could I stop the blood flow. I thought of cutting one sleeve off my coveralls and using it as a tourniquet but the thought of losing much more blood in this attempt convinced me to squeeze hard and walk. As I was nearing the road in to this location my 2 friends were just arriving in the pickup truck. Were they ever a welcome sight. After convincing them that I would be alright with a tourniquet they tied a rag around my arm. We were then able to find the elk and my good friends finished the gutting and loading process. My hands felt pretty much useless by this time. One was aching from the wound and the other was severely cramped from the long period of squeezing off the blood flow.
I agreed to phone home and convinced my friends that I was well able to make the 1 hour drive home. When I arrived home a good neighboring friend was already there to hang, skin the elk and order me to get in to the doc. My wife gave me a ride in to emergency where a plastic surgeon did a great job of stitching up my radial artery. He told me that a straight cut will spasm and eventually close itself off. This one was different in that it was a raged cut that went through both sides of the artery. I feel very grateful for a good. God, good friends and an outcome of that could have ended much differently. fred