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Hunters, know your health limits: Be aware of physical warning signs when afield
Nov 29, 2009 (The Times Leader - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
When Rice Township resident Miller Stella suffered a heart attack in October of last year, he knew he would have to make some changes.
And with deer season just months away, Stella knew the changes had to come quick.
"That experience taught me how important it is to pace yourself while in the woods, keep a cell phone with you and don't do something you shouldn't be doing," he said. "I love being out there out there as much as anybody, but at the same time you have to be safe about things so you come home at the end of the day. That's what is really important."
Months after his heart attack, Stella implemented the changes into the way he hunted and still managed to shoot a large 8-point buck on the second day of the season last December. Even after the deer was down and tagged there was one more change Stella had to make. "I got on the radio and called my friends and they were there within minutes to help drag it out of the woods. I can't do that alone anymore," he said.
Every deer season a number of hunters are stricken with varying health issues -- such as heart trouble, sprains and broken bones to name a few. For a sport that consists of arduous walking across rough terrain, climbing into treestands and dragging deer for a mile or more out of the woods, such injuries aren't out of the question.
But the chances of them occurring can be reduced when the two-week rifle deer season opens tomorrow.
Dr. Charlie Sawyer, an internal medicine physician and director of medical specialties at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, said hunters have to use some common sense and pay attention to warning signs when out in the woods.
"During the first day of deer season hunters perform varying degrees of strenuous activity that they don't normally do the rest of the year," Sawyer said.
"I take care of a large number of people who look forward to this time of year, and most problems are really just a matter of not being in condition to do as much of the activity as they do. Hunters should always plan to do a little less than what they think their maximum is."
Sawyer said hunters need to know their health limits when afield. That includes knowing how far you can walk comfortably, if you can drag a deer out of the woods and if you can't, get help.
He also advised paying attention to any warning signs your body might issue.
"Have a sense of real concern when something doesn't seem right," Sawyer said. "Pay attention to things like fatigue levels, unexplained shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest. Those are important warning signs."
Other important warning signs, according to Sawyer, include nausea and discomfort down the arm (both of which can be indicators of heart trouble) and any other health symptom that you consider out of the ordinary.
Stella said he placed limits on himself such as not walking more than two miles and taking a rest when his body feels tired. He also prepares his equipment and stand well before opening day.
"A lot of guys wait until the last minute to do everything and they stress themselves out before they even get into the woods," Stella said.
"You have to pay attention to your body and what it is telling you. If you don't feel right, then don't try to walk over that steep hill, and don't try to drag a deer out by yourself. Your health comes before the hunt."
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Harvest info can be filed online
The Pennsylvania Game Commission counts on hunters to provide information on the deer they harvest. And, to make reporting a deer harvest easier, the Game Commission reminds hunters that they can now file their harvest reports through the agency's new online system.
To report a deer harvest online, go to the Game Commission's Web site ( www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on the blue box in the upper right-hand corner of the Web site, select "Harvest Reporting," then click on the "Start Here" button at the bottom of the page, choose the method of validating license information, and click on the checkbox for the harvest tag being reported. A series of options will appear for a hunter to report a harvest. After filling in the harvest information, click on the "Continue" button to review the report and then hit the "Submit" button to complete the report. Failing to hit the "Submit" button will result in a harvest report not being completed.
"Hunters may report one or more harvests in a single session," said PGC executive director Carl Roe said. "Responses to all harvest questions are required."
Roe noted that hunters still have the option to file a harvest report postcard, which are included as tear-out sheets in the annual digest they received when they purchased their licenses.
"We certainly are encouraging hunters to use the online reporting system, which will ensure that their harvest is recorded and save the Game Commission money on postage and data entry costs," Roe said. "Either way, the more important point is that all hunters who harvest a deer report it to the agency."
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Licenses still required on backs
The omission of a regulation that has been in place for decades in this year's digest has caused some hunters and trappers to wonder whether they still are required to display their licenses in the middle of the back as has been done for many, many years. Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe answered, "Yes, it still needs to be displayed."
Roe noted that the Game Commission is supporting House Bill 460, sponsored by Rep. Neil Goodman (D-Schuylkill), which proposes to remove the statutory requirement that licenses be displayed, and thereby allow hunters to place their hunting license in their wallet with other ID.
Roe said, when the agency was drafting the digest, it was believed that the HB 460 might be enacted before the start of the license year on July 1. So, to avoid potentially conflicting information, a decision was made to modify the wording about the requirement that licenses must be displayed.
"License buyers do need to remember that the digest is not the 'Game & Wildlife Code' or its attendant regulations, and should not be considered final on legal interpretation," Roe said. "In printing the digest, the agency simply summarizes the more important and frequently misunderstood hunting and trapping regulations."
To see more of The Times Leader, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.timesleader.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre,
Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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