Hunter Loses Ring Finger In Tree Stand Fall

Jimmy Collins displays his new three-finger grip and the screw-in step that claimed the missing finger on Dec. 13, 2002 as he climbed down from his Harris County deer stand.

Jimmy Collins, of Hamilton, was climbing down from his Harris County deer stand on Dec. 13, 2003 when his wedding ring caught on a screw-in step above him.

“I let loose with my right hand and was going for the next step,” said Jimmy. “When my ring hung, it threw me off balance, and I fell about 5 feet to the ground. I landed on my butt.

“At first I didn’t realize what had happened, then I felt something cold on my hand, and I looked at my hand and most of the finger was gone. The only thing sticking out was part of the finger and the tendons. The ring had pulled the bone off at the first knuckle and then did what they called a glove-pull where it pulled the skin off all the way back to the hand.

“It didn’t bleed much. I was surprised. And it didn’t hurt. I just wrapped it in a bandanna. Then I looked for my finger and found it laying off to the side on the ground. I picked it up and put it in my pocket .Then I gathered up all my hunting stuff and walked about a half-mile to my truck.”

Two surgeons confirmed the finger could not be reattached. The remaining stump of his finger was amputated and stitched up. Luckily, Jimmy’s son went back to the scene and found the wedding ring in the leaves.