Issue link: http://ssaansw.uberflip.com/i/209433
AHN Corner It only takes a moment "...there was a sharp crack, and I remember pulling the saw out and commencing to walk away until I had figured out what was happening." For the past 15 years I have been going to a small farm near Lue in Central Western New South Wales owned by my ex brother in law. The shooting is not great, there is the occasional pig, and sometimes rabbits, but that is not the major reason I go. It is partly for the solitude, the opportunity to escape the noise and bustle of a demanding job. There is also the opportunity to do some quiet reading and cut a load of good quality firewood for home. It's not cost effective, but helps justify the trip. On Friday 2 September 2011, I headed west, arriving after 2300 and rolled out the swag under the clear starlit sky. Getting up on the Saturday I threw the Parker Hale sporterised .303 over my shoulder and wandered off. I wandered along for several kilometres, there were plenty of Roos, but unfortunately no pigs, so I headed back to camp to prepare for the next day. Mindful that Sunday was Father's Day, I had promised my kids that I would be home by lunchtime. So after Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. an early lunch, I cut a trailer load of wood using my trusty Stihl Farm Boss, and then decided to drop a large stringy bark that was on the side of a hill and approximately 50% dead. I was 56 and have been using a chain saw for 40+ years. I filled the saw with fuel and oil, identified my escape route, and put in a scarf on the downhill side of the tree. When I was approximately a quarter of the way through the tree, there was a sharp crack, and I remember pulling the saw out and commencing to walk away until I had figured out what was happening. My next thought, I was lying face down in immense pain, with the chainsaw embedded in my chin, barely able to move, I used my left hand to pull the saw away, and as full consciousness returned, I realised I way lying face down, facing up hill, my right arm pinned under the trunk of the tree. Branches from the tree had fallen onto my back and all I could do was kick my legs. 15