What started as a dream solo elk hunt in the Idaho backcountry quickly turned into a nightmare for bowhunter Henry Rauschenbach—a brutal reminder that one small mistake in the wilderness can change everything.

After a grueling early-morning hike and a perfectly placed heart shot on a five-point bull, Henry was riding the high every hunter lives for. With the bull down, he set to work quartering the animal, using a replaceable-blade knife to break it down and prep the meat for packing out. But in a split second, while cutting hide from the bull’s leg, the brand-new blade slipped and slashed clean across his forearm—severing a main artery.

At first, he thought it was a bad cut that might need a few stitches. Then the blood started spurting.

Alone. Six miles deep. No cell service. Gushing blood. This wasn’t just a bad cut—it was a fight for his life.

With adrenaline surging, Henry tried to run uphill back to camp. But his brain quickly caught up with his instincts: if he kept going like that, he’d bleed out. He returned to the elk, used his belt as a makeshift tourniquet, and spotted the tools that might save his life—a yellow Bic lighter and his knife.

In an act straight out of a survival movie, Henry heated the metal until it glowed, found the artery, and cauterized the wound himself.

But the bleeding wouldn’t stop for long.

With no gear and no service, Henry remembered a tip from a buddy earlier in the week—use the Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone. After several failed attempts, he finally connected with a 911 dispatcher. He texted one word: Help.

What followed was over an hour of excruciating waiting, during which he filmed a goodbye message for his kids and nearly passed out from blood loss. When the Life Flight chopper finally arrived, it flew over him—twice—unable to spot him due to his camo blending into the mountain.

In a last-ditch effort, Henry kicked off his boots and waved his black socks. It worked.

He was airlifted out just in time, pumped full of blood, and rushed into surgery. The 2.5-inch wound had cut down to the bone and nearly cost him his arm. After multiple surgeries, weeks of recovery, and some dark days at home, Henry did what every hunter in the heartland would do: he got back out there. On Halloween—barely a month after nearly dying—he arrowed a buck in Missouri.

It might be a while before he’s comfortable with a knife again. But he’s alive—and he owes that to some backcountry grit, a hot blade, and the SOS button on his iPhone.

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