mdunker
Ten Pointer
Had not seen this posted. A crazy story.
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...shot-hunting-dog-leg-amputated-ms/2512820002/
***PLEASE READ***SHARE IF YOU’D LIKE***
I know there have been many people wondering about the details of the hunting accident involving Matt Branch. Below is the most detailed description that I can recall from what happened.
On December 28, 2018 I was on an annual duck hunt with 4 very close friends in Eagle Lake, MS.
Matt Branch, David Joe Branch, Connor Branch, David Lamonte and myself.
We were hunting a cypress slough in the middle of a field. The game plan was to hunt spread out down the slough early, then regroup once the sun came up and hunt the remainder of the morning in one group where we could all be well hid. So far, everything had gone as planned, we had all killed a few birds early and were off to a great start on the morning. My buddy Matt Branch had walked down to where David Lamonte and myself were hunting and David Joe Branch had driven the ranger down to where we were so we could load up the decoys and gear to go set up in another area. At approximately 9:40 AM, David Joe, David, Matt and I were all standing around the bed of the ranger and Matt had laid his gun down flat in the bed of the ranger and walked around on the passenger side to finish loading up. The dog jumped up into the bed of the ranger, getting ready to head out and stepped on the gun that had been placed into the bed, pushing the safety to fire, as well as hitting the trigger, resulting in the gun going off. The 12 gauge shotgun which contained 1 shell that was left in the chamber, fired through the side of the bed on the ranger hitting Matt in the upper inside of his left thigh approximately 2-3” from his groin. Matt screamed and fell to the ground. In the midst of the chaos at this point, I ran over to Matt to assess what had happened. We had no clue what the damage was at this point in time. I immediately yelled to David Joe to call 911. As quick as possible, we picked up Matt and loaded him into the ranger. I jumped in the bed and David Joe took off driving. Our goal at this point was to get Matt to the nearest place we knew an ambulance could get to without getting stuck in the field. Being David Joe was driving and holding Matt, I was on the phone with 911 on the ride to the highway. We had about a mile or so to go through a muddy field. Once we arrived at the highway we unloaded Matt onto the ditch bank and laid him with his legs on the higher end of the ditch bank. His head and shoulders were laying in David Joes lap and I had Matt's leg up on my shoulder, holding pressure on the outside of his waders where I presumed the wound to be. Within 5-7 minutes of us being on the ditch bank, 2 volunteer firefighter/first responders arrived with some medical supplies. We then immediately cut the waders and pants out of the way, got gauze and pressure applied directly to the wound and got an oxygen mask on Matt. A sheriff and a game warden arrived to the scene shortly after, neither of which had any concern for the critical condition that Matt was in at this point in time. This is a whole other subject that can be discussed once we have Matt back in a completely healthy state. The ambulance arrived probably 10-15 minutes from the time the volunteer first responders got there. Once the ambulance arrived, a tourniquet was placed on Matt’s leg and we loaded him onto the stretcher and into the truck. The ambulance immediately took off to River Regional in Vicksburg, MS.
Since then, Matt has undergone multiple critical surgeries including the amputation of his left leg and re-connecting his femoral artery in his left upper leg. Matt is currently in a stable condition at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson MS.
I have no words to describe what overcame us in such a critical time to be able to act and handle the situation as we did. This was a pure act of God’s hand and there is no questioning that.
I not only want to get the word out to as many people as possible for the love, prayers and support that we will need to get Matt on track to his long road of recovery, but also to remind all of my fellow hunters of the absolute seriousness of being the utmost careful when it comes to gun safety. I myself have been guilty of this so many times. Sadly, I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have left shells in my gun while moving to a different location to hunt, or even wading around moving decoys between flights. I was even fortunate enough to grow up hunting my whole life around my dad and other men that always took the time to teach us the importance of gun safety. I know we all remind ourselves every time we hunt of the basics of being safe, not pointing our guns at one another, not swinging wide on a shot etc.…
But do we really ever grasp the seriousness of just how important it is?
I would like to encourage everyone that reads this to take the time to not only double check themselves going forward, but take the time to double check everyone else you’re hunting with as well.
DO NOT be afraid to be THAT guy on EVERY hunt that reminds EVERYONE multiple times just how important safety is.
Please DO NOT let complacency get the best of you. There was 80+ years of hunting experience amongst our group the morning this happened.
“Safety isn’t always safe. Treat ALL guns like they are loaded, at ALL times.”
PLEASE DO.
Do it for me. Do it for you. Do it for your family. Do it for your fellow hunters.
There is no doubt Matt has an extremely long road to recovery ahead of him but there is nobody more confident than me that he will shake back and continue to live an amazing life and continue to impact others. If you know Matt, I know you feel the same.
I have known Matt for a very long time and I can assure you of this, he is big, he is tough, he is a fighter, and most importantly, he is no quitter. While we were laying on that ditch bank on the road side waiting for help, I told him that he was too tough to let a few BB’s hurt him, and I promise you, THAT he is.
This has been an absolutely traumatic experience for everyone involved including Matt’s friends and family. I cannot even begin to describe just how grateful we all are for the out-pour of love, support and prayers during this time.
From the deepest part of all our hearts,
Thank you so much.
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...shot-hunting-dog-leg-amputated-ms/2512820002/
***PLEASE READ***SHARE IF YOU’D LIKE***
I know there have been many people wondering about the details of the hunting accident involving Matt Branch. Below is the most detailed description that I can recall from what happened.
On December 28, 2018 I was on an annual duck hunt with 4 very close friends in Eagle Lake, MS.
Matt Branch, David Joe Branch, Connor Branch, David Lamonte and myself.
We were hunting a cypress slough in the middle of a field. The game plan was to hunt spread out down the slough early, then regroup once the sun came up and hunt the remainder of the morning in one group where we could all be well hid. So far, everything had gone as planned, we had all killed a few birds early and were off to a great start on the morning. My buddy Matt Branch had walked down to where David Lamonte and myself were hunting and David Joe Branch had driven the ranger down to where we were so we could load up the decoys and gear to go set up in another area. At approximately 9:40 AM, David Joe, David, Matt and I were all standing around the bed of the ranger and Matt had laid his gun down flat in the bed of the ranger and walked around on the passenger side to finish loading up. The dog jumped up into the bed of the ranger, getting ready to head out and stepped on the gun that had been placed into the bed, pushing the safety to fire, as well as hitting the trigger, resulting in the gun going off. The 12 gauge shotgun which contained 1 shell that was left in the chamber, fired through the side of the bed on the ranger hitting Matt in the upper inside of his left thigh approximately 2-3” from his groin. Matt screamed and fell to the ground. In the midst of the chaos at this point, I ran over to Matt to assess what had happened. We had no clue what the damage was at this point in time. I immediately yelled to David Joe to call 911. As quick as possible, we picked up Matt and loaded him into the ranger. I jumped in the bed and David Joe took off driving. Our goal at this point was to get Matt to the nearest place we knew an ambulance could get to without getting stuck in the field. Being David Joe was driving and holding Matt, I was on the phone with 911 on the ride to the highway. We had about a mile or so to go through a muddy field. Once we arrived at the highway we unloaded Matt onto the ditch bank and laid him with his legs on the higher end of the ditch bank. His head and shoulders were laying in David Joes lap and I had Matt's leg up on my shoulder, holding pressure on the outside of his waders where I presumed the wound to be. Within 5-7 minutes of us being on the ditch bank, 2 volunteer firefighter/first responders arrived with some medical supplies. We then immediately cut the waders and pants out of the way, got gauze and pressure applied directly to the wound and got an oxygen mask on Matt. A sheriff and a game warden arrived to the scene shortly after, neither of which had any concern for the critical condition that Matt was in at this point in time. This is a whole other subject that can be discussed once we have Matt back in a completely healthy state. The ambulance arrived probably 10-15 minutes from the time the volunteer first responders got there. Once the ambulance arrived, a tourniquet was placed on Matt’s leg and we loaded him onto the stretcher and into the truck. The ambulance immediately took off to River Regional in Vicksburg, MS.
Since then, Matt has undergone multiple critical surgeries including the amputation of his left leg and re-connecting his femoral artery in his left upper leg. Matt is currently in a stable condition at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson MS.
I have no words to describe what overcame us in such a critical time to be able to act and handle the situation as we did. This was a pure act of God’s hand and there is no questioning that.
I not only want to get the word out to as many people as possible for the love, prayers and support that we will need to get Matt on track to his long road of recovery, but also to remind all of my fellow hunters of the absolute seriousness of being the utmost careful when it comes to gun safety. I myself have been guilty of this so many times. Sadly, I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have left shells in my gun while moving to a different location to hunt, or even wading around moving decoys between flights. I was even fortunate enough to grow up hunting my whole life around my dad and other men that always took the time to teach us the importance of gun safety. I know we all remind ourselves every time we hunt of the basics of being safe, not pointing our guns at one another, not swinging wide on a shot etc.…
But do we really ever grasp the seriousness of just how important it is?
I would like to encourage everyone that reads this to take the time to not only double check themselves going forward, but take the time to double check everyone else you’re hunting with as well.
DO NOT be afraid to be THAT guy on EVERY hunt that reminds EVERYONE multiple times just how important safety is.
Please DO NOT let complacency get the best of you. There was 80+ years of hunting experience amongst our group the morning this happened.
“Safety isn’t always safe. Treat ALL guns like they are loaded, at ALL times.”
PLEASE DO.
Do it for me. Do it for you. Do it for your family. Do it for your fellow hunters.
There is no doubt Matt has an extremely long road to recovery ahead of him but there is nobody more confident than me that he will shake back and continue to live an amazing life and continue to impact others. If you know Matt, I know you feel the same.
I have known Matt for a very long time and I can assure you of this, he is big, he is tough, he is a fighter, and most importantly, he is no quitter. While we were laying on that ditch bank on the road side waiting for help, I told him that he was too tough to let a few BB’s hurt him, and I promise you, THAT he is.
This has been an absolutely traumatic experience for everyone involved including Matt’s friends and family. I cannot even begin to describe just how grateful we all are for the out-pour of love, support and prayers during this time.
From the deepest part of all our hearts,
Thank you so much.