Thread: He should have taken a plb.

Just in case anyone was in doubt about the value of a PLB.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/131866310/firefighter-returning-home-saves-injured-hunter-in-remote-bush

and that is another good reason to stop for a roadside pee LOL

I've been lucky so far but I finally decided to get a PLB for when I do solo tramping. Wouldn't you know it, first trip out and I arsed over and fucked my back. Luckily it wasn't too severe and I had enough meds to be able to get back out to the car. Just goes to show how easily it can got pear shaped

Plbs are a must have for any hunter. I bought my first plb after slipping down a small bluff and had some rocks land on my ankle. I was very lucky to only be 20mins from the car so managed to get back but gave me a fright it couldve happened alot further from help and i wouldve been in serious trouble.

I don’t know if we’re just generally getting more careless as the years go by but I hunted for many years without incident or a a PLB Got one after first boy was born 26 years ago, wife thought it was a good idea. Only ever used it 3x times, for other people, touch wood. Wish the batteries/units lasted longer.

Was talking to a Fishing Charter operator. After 4,500 trips he now operates on a "If it can go wrong it will go wrong" basis. He is very safety conscious - but he said it took a while to really understand how quickly things can go pear shaped, and at that point you really wish you had every safety option sorted out and in tip top condition. Electrical fires, heart attacks, man overboard, rogue waves, bad fuel, engine and radio failures, skipper incapacitated...
Think that is also good advice for hunting. A mate I have hunted with for years gave himself a fright recently - a slippery log and a heavy fall. He had a first aid kit and a PLB, we have a pre-arranged plan for someone not returning etc. Thankfully he could (slowly) get himself back to the hut but it was a close call.

Went out to do a circuit goat culling this morning even though it’s fecking wet. Ended up sliding back down side of a ridge 10m that I’d just struggled to get up. Anyway, as I was sitting on my arse contemplating shit, I started thinking about my earlier post and still think that as the years/generations pass we may be getting too complacent when hunting. These days everyone seems to carry a phone, gps, plb and all sorts of electronic shit and are forgetting the basics. Such as not trying to go somewhere you probably shouldn’t, I’d already decided I was just being stubborn and dumb trying to go where I was. Or going bush in a new area without compass and map, relying on phone app or gps which can go flat. Or venturing out with plb with the thought that’s going to save you if shit happens, you got to be conscious and able to activate it to be any good. Now, I’ve generally hunted solo for nearly 50 years successfully. Had a few falls and near misses, that’s part of the game. I carry a bit of electronic shit these days as back up but try not to rely on it but trust my instincts. You still do dumb shit occasionally like I did this morning, such is life. Back on point though: think about where you’re going and what you’re doing. Just because you’ve got the gear doesn’t mean it’s going to save you but it may increase the odds of a favourable outcome. Thanks for reading my ramblings and bye the bye, there was a roughly 50m bluff another 10m or so downhill this morning.

Having been involved in SAR for 40 years, what never ceased to amaze me was what equipment people wished "they had brought with me" while waiting hours/days, injured, for rescue. Or wondering if they were going to be found, as they had not told anyone where they were going.

Found a lost guy once - on a rock in the middle of a river in the Ohau gorge. Equipment? He had a flagon, and a packet of San Remos. He had been there overnight and was a tad chilled. The track was a sidle track, about 50m from him.

Originally Posted by silentscope

Plbs are a must have for any hunter. I bought my first plb after slipping down a small bluff and had some rocks land on my ankle. I was very lucky to only be 20mins from the car so managed to get back but gave me a fright it couldve happened alot further from help and i wouldve been in serious trouble.

That means all the cullers that I knew in the NW Ruahines shouldnt have been in the bush for 6 week walk abouts by themselves.I followed a culler for 2 weeks. 2C.

Originally Posted by TeRei

That means all the cullers that I knew in the NW Ruahines shouldnt have been in the bush for 6 week walk abouts by themselves.

No, they should have been there. I am pretty sure though, that if the technology had been available to them back then they would have made use of it. They would have seen the benefit of getting help quickly when they were in need. I don't know too much detail about the cullers of old but I reckon there must have been quite a large catalogue of cuts, broken bones, illness, hypothermia, and injuries from deer not yet dead when approached that were not attended to as quickly as they would be today.

Back in the day and for some these days they just sucked it up and got on with the job/life. Bruises, sprains, manflu aren’t life threatening, get on with life. A maybe bruised ankle, 20 minutes from car, isn’t life threatening. A torn Achilles’ tendon 3 hours walking from road end is a problem but before PLBs you figured it out how to get to help. I’m a cynical grumpy old cnut, got told that tonight, but FFS there’s some pussies walking this planet these days. Rant over, maybe.