Do you take a cel phone to the woods?

[Cato]

One of my best friends really gave me a hard time about not taking mine to the woods. His take had to do with the possilibility of getting hurt or needing help.

My cel won't reach to the woods anyway. But I have recently learned that I probably could text message from there. So I suppose I'll be taking mine this year.

Dang, this techno stuff is everywhere.

[Scooter]

I've only taken mine once. I forgot my watch so I took the phone on vibe so I could see the time. Shot the biggest deer of my life and was able to call home to talk about it! Should really take that dang phone hunting more often. LOL

[Bowcephalus]

I don't even own one and the boss is always complaining 'cause I won't carry his at work. I HATE CELLPHONES. They are a cursed thing straight from the pit itself.....worse than a crossbow,an elevated rest,a metal riser!(T.I.C.).................................... ...................................I take my brain into the woods...........

[Pinelander]

Yes, always...

[1bjd]

I hunt a lot by myself a lot and since I am working with (Half a heart) I use it as a security blanket. Probably would not work if I needed it but makes me and the fam feel better. Dont turn it on unless I need it. John

[Cueball]

I always take mine. You can set it on silent and it weighs nothing. Why would you not take one. Heck it might save your life. Its kinda like not wearing a safety belt because they get in the way.

..........................................Roby.... .......................................

[KyLongbeard]

If I'm close to my dad's place we use those talkabouts. If I'm out on my own I always have my cell.

[DAS]

There is no way I would ever take a cell phone into the woods with me. No amount of danger or convenience would change my mind about that. It's a personal thing, but when I go into the woods it is my time to be alone. It is also a matter of self reliance. I don't even want to think about the possibility of calling for help either. I often go on extended backpacking trips into remote areas solo. Makes no difference. I'm not saying it is bad or wrong, it's just not for me!

[rpk@work]

I don't, but I should. :sbrug:

[Bowcephalus]

You Mississippi boys are turning into geeky whimps!!!...........................I may have to move to Oregon if this shameful display continues......................................... .................................................. .................................;)

[elkdreamer]

let me tell you about getting over being a whimp and this phone thing.....way back in'95......i was in the clearwater guiding for a close friend outfitter type for archery elk. my hunter and i tied the horses up top of a bench and dropped off to get ahead of a nice bull that was sidehilling below us........we where moving fast when my left instep picked up a stick where upon i let my left foot and leg just keep moving forward......however at the top of the power stroke on that leg......snap......down i went........didn't like the sound of it......and when i pulled my leg out from under me.....my left foot was completely flopping to the left of my body in a way that you simple can't do.....my boot was holding it on.......i had completely sheered my left tibia and broken the fibula as well. sent my hunter back up the mtn to bring my horse down......made a splint of bark and tape and lashed my leg to the stirrup with the lead line......my hunter threw up and off up the ridge back to top camp......some three hours away.........i had a great mtn wise appaloosa and he knew i was hurt bad......but careful as he was i still hooked the leg
more than once in huckaberry bramble and what came out of my mouth was never before or afterwords since heard......................

now..........we had a satellite phone in top camp and was able to get the forrest service who sent a chopper at once..........without the phone .........i would have had
a five hour ride on the app down to base camp.......a six hour ride by rig to the nearest emergency room.......total time before help......you can do the math.......now i've been and still am a long distance runner all my life......i'm into pain......but not the leg/broken bone stuff.......that got old real fast........because of the phone ........i was in lewiston idaho in an hour and half more or less after the call was made.......on the oprerating table in three hours having the leg pinned by a great young surgeon who specialized in
keeping athletes and old farts in the game.........................

i climbed a tree stand back home im maryland six weeks later and started back to running six weeks after that...............whimp or no whimp.......just don't want to deal with that phone not being at top camp..........my cell will work on most mtn tops usa...........it works real fine back in maryland marshes...........it's allways with me now.......on silent mode while hunting........but i'm not sure you want to push the wimp issue to my face..........wanna know what the worst pain was..........???????

came home early because of the leg..........my best friend for thirty one years
and my wife/partner for fourteen years........surprise surprise .........duh me.........well ........their both exes now and married to and deserve each other...........................i still wonder how someone as fit as i was could break a leg just walking........makes me wonder if i had any control at all on it or was it all about the timming.................yeah......i pack the phone.......elkdreamer

[fredbearfan]

Two years ago I was in my morning ground blind. The sun was just below the treeline and I hear :mad: BEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEP.

Some clown in a tree stand had his phone "off vibe". When it started beeping he had to set down his arrow, his bow, take off his glove, stand up and go into his pocket for his phone. Between the phone ringing and all the noise he was making trying to get to it ..... hmmmm could that be why I saw no deer all morning? :cussing:

What's next? Laptops and hand held video games?

[Esquire]

Lord have mercy, Elkdreamer. That's a helluva a story.

[Esquire]

Oh yeah, I do pack a phone as well. Silent or off, but it's on me somewhere usually.

[Bowcephalus]

WOW MAN! You ain't no whimp!........Ain't pushed nuthin' in your face,was messing with some friends as was indicated in the post......Gotta wonder about a stranger taking offense at such a trivial post though......I don't put myself in the situation you put yourself in and I still ain't carrying no cell phone into the woods...just a tool,I know, but I hate 'em......Gotta learn not to take offense from jokers like me, besides didn't see the cell phone in the avatar!.........;)

[Chris wilson]

Yep, it stays clipped to my belt. It may not be tuned on, but it's there if I need it for emergancies. It also comes in handed to call a buddy to come help me drag the deer out. :rolleyes:

[Bowcephalus]

Draggin' deer out...........Hmmmmmmmmm after the last one I soloed you may have a point......."Can ya hear me now?"..........

[elkdreamer]

heeeyyyyyyyyy bowcephalus..............didn't take any offense from your post.......sorry if it came off that way. i was just using a little editorial license of paradigm with the word "whimp" ......and " you" being the universe in total.......don't spend to much time wondering about it. i was just trying to relate a day when a phone .......be it satellite.....cell ........or........was in the right place at the right time at least for me. packing a cell phone in silent mode while hunting with a stick and string is an enigma to some on board..........personal choice..........regardless of your solo journey into the wilderness........as alone as you wish to be.........if the day is clear......a satellite took a photo of you. i just pack my cell in silent mode and forget that it's the link to the world none of us will ever escape again as long as we occupy this planet..........and when i miss a tree step in old age and land upside down in a fork tangeling from one leg.........i probably will turn it on and use it.......elkdreamer

[Bill Carlsen]

I have found the cell phone to be a convenience for my family. If it gets dark and I am on a blood trail I call to tell Laura I'll be late. I never turn it on while hunting unless I need to get in touch with someone or a hunting buddy hunting nearby. All of us in my family have one on hand almost all the time just for emergencies if nothing else...whether we are hunting or not. :2cents:

[Cato]

Bowcep,

I don't think he (Elkdreamer) took offense. I think he was just driving home what a critical decision it was for him to have his cel with him in view of what happened.

What a story. You are right about one thing, he sure can't be accused of being a wimp.

I understand the desire for solitude. I hunt by myself tons, and almost prefer it. I am a much harder hunter, and more effective, when by myself. But I have a wife and kid to think about as well. I doubt if I'd have the power cut on for mine. But I do intend to take it so if something terrible happens, I at least have some way to call for help.

[O'B]

NOPE. Haven't had a cell in over 4 years. Very liberating. I don't know anyone else without one. They can't understand why I don't have one. All I can say is I grew up without them and seemed to have survived. Had one for a number of years. Nice luxury, but to most it runs their lives and they don't even know it. I have a message machine. I'll never go back to one. As for hunting, I leave very detailed information, maps, 8x10 glossies, road #'s and a note from my mom. Sort of reminds me of Alice's Restaurant.

Enjoy

[Bowcephalus]

E.D. now that's a post I can't argue with.......You needn't have pointed out the eye in the sky though man.....now I'm gonna be ducking for cover every time the clouds break......I never hunt far enough away that someone I know doesn't know where I am and about when to expect me back. I remember the first time I went out to Colorado the wife and I took a topo map and drove all day up along what I think they called snow access or forrest access roads......Basically just two tire tracks in the "grass" if you could call it grass. For eight hours we never saw another person, heard a plane overhead or a maintained road....mostly BLM land if I recall......A wonderful feeling of liberating uneasyness for a Mississippi boy....not even a power line...Storm clouds rolled in and the wife got nervous when the sky darkened...."You've got the pistol haven't you?"....."Do you know where we are?"...... " I've had enough, find a paved road, this is starting to freak me out a little"....Words never heard from her before or since......Thoroughly enjoyable experience this side of Fairplay....

[Bowcephalus]

Hauled the wife out of the woods about two miles with a broken leg back in 95.....shattered plateau.......complete rebuild.....she "planted" wrong....Couldn't believe the damage......she passed out a couple of times coming out......

[Torsten]

My cellular phone normally 'waits' at home. This model is not easy to switch on again so I normally leave it active.
Fishing, archery and mobile phones should be kept apart.

When I get lost in the forest, I go back where I came from (an ancient field geologist seldom gets lost except in a telephone cell).

[bear1336]

I always take mine because of my health issues. Better safe than sorry.

Dave

[Joe D]

99% of the time.......crazy things can happen in the woods!

[Stagmitis]

I solo quite a bit and venture a good clip from my car in very remote marshlands and been giving my wife GPS coordinates since a cell phone is useless there.

Lately though I am considering buying a miniature beacon in the event of an emergency!


Stagmitis

[Dalebow]

Much safer since I hunt mostly alone, cell phone and 44mag, oh yeah some jerky too :cheers:

[the other DWS]

I don't like'em at all. I have one and I have to carry it for work and because of family health issues--but I hate it.
I would never take mine into the wooods-----EXCEPT. A dozen or so years back a favorite uncle fell climbing down from a treestand after dark. He'd unbuckled and coming down caught an unnoticed twig with his boot which turned him into a falling object. He literally landed on his head--broken neck-- paralized from the chin down. Fortunately it was at the end of hunting light so his hunting partner started missing him and searching fairly soon, but it was still 3 hours or so before he was found and airevac'ed out. He's been a "quad" ever since. As a result a whole bunch of us have started rethinking our hunting methods and practices.
Another aquaintance also fell from a treestand, again getting down. He only broke his lower back. It took him 2 hours to crawl to his truck and start laying on the horn for help. He's back bowhunting again--but no more tree stands for him.

Now a c'phone would not have helped the uncle---paralized from the chin down he couldn't have worked it. But if the guy who did find him had had a c'phone it would have cut the rescue time by almost 45 min. In a damaged spinalcord injury the time between injury and treatment is critical. Minutes and hours can make a big difference in the outcome. The other guy who fell would have been able to make a call for help but didn't have a c'phone with him.

I hate'em--hate the idea of being on an electronic leash, but I'll take mine into the woods, with extra batteries if I'm camping. I don't like paying insurance premiums either, but I do it. It dosen;t bother me to be carrying extra arrows, an extra bow string, an extra broadhead or two. a water bottle, jerky, or small first aid/survival kit etc so I'll keep it with me but it'll be set on "silent mode" only. There is also the outside chance that my phone might be used to help another hunter in trouble. I've kind of wondered if that horrible hunter massacre up in WI last year could have been different if help could have been--or was- called in immediatly.

I respect those who choose not to use'em, I know that many of us hunt in areas where there may not be coverage anyway. but I've reluctantly decided to carry mine while hunting---simply as one of my safety items. I havn't gone the GPS route yet though

[Larry Booth]

When you get old and have to hunt by yourself, it only makes sense. I keep it off unless I need it. I started taking one last year. :2cents:

[SteveMcD]

Yes. Mine is in my backpack (turned off!) all the time. My climbing tree stand collapsed on me... 12 ft up in the tree a couple of years ago. I had a good shoulder harness on - Thank God. But it was still a nasty experience. For nothing else.. carry it for your own safety.

P.S. I'm a ground pounder now!

[El Lobo]

I always take mine :sbrug:

[BOWDOG]

I take cell phone AND tape recorder!!! I sell equipment in the construction industry, so when I "sneek off" from work to hunt and my "boss" calls, I "play back" a recording of large machines working on a site while I answer the phone and the "dummy" thinks I'm working-hehe. Only a slight interuption but it's better than real work!!!!

[Cato]

BW,

I'm telling.

Cato

[Ray Cover]

I tend to agree with DAS on this one.

The last time I was fishing on my favorite trout stream a guy down stream had one ring in his pocket. My first thought was why didn't you just stay home? You sure didn't get away.

I can see both sides of the safety issue... but... when I go, I tell my wife or hunting/fishing buddies where I am going and if I am not back in a reasonable time they can call search and rescue.

Ya the phone is a good safety tool but there gets to be a point where we have become so insecure that we opt for every little feature we can get. Why not just leave the embilical cord attached and pack mama around with us every where we go? :rolleyes:

There are times when you just want to be left alone.

Ray

[edmott]

Use an ear device and set the phone on auto answer. No ring -- no vibrate -- instant connect. If hunting alone (dumb - yes) for a safety factor.

[ROD JENKINS]

BOWDOG....I'll have to remember the tape recorder trick :)