The Archery Project

Colorado Lighting Strike Kills 2: What Bowhunters Need to Know | FRIDAY KILL NOTES

• Zakk Plocica • Season 1 • Episode 29

Share episode

A sobering wake-up call strikes the hunting community as we examine the tragic loss of two young bow hunters in Colorado's backcountry. When lightning claimed the lives of Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko—both experienced outdoorsmen—it highlighted a danger many of us never consider when planning our hunts.

The mountains of Colorado host nearly half a million lightning strikes annually, creating a deadly scenario where afternoon storms can build with frightening speed. Through this tragedy, we uncover critical safety lessons every hunter should implement before heading into remote terrain. From proper positioning during storms (avoiding ridgelines and isolated trees) to spreading out from hunting partners by at least 50 feet, these simple tactics could mean the difference between life and death when lightning threatens.

Beyond weather awareness, we dive deep into the communication and gear essentials that form the backbone of backcountry safety. Satellite communicators only work when you've properly set them up before your trip—not when you're frantically reading instructions during an emergency. Quality rain gear isn't just about comfort; it prevents potentially fatal hypothermia after storms pass. Most importantly, we discuss knowing when to retreat and how to establish check-in protocols with loved ones back home. While hunting stories typically celebrate success and harvests, this powerful reminder shows why safety planning must be the foundation of every hunting expedition.

Share this episode with your hunting partners and start the conversation about your lightning safety plan today. What's in your emergency kit? How would you respond if caught in a sudden storm? These discussions aren't just interesting—they could save your life on your next backcountry adventure.

🏹 Shop Extreme Outfitters for all of your archery & bowhunting needs: https://extremeoutfitters.com

✅ Watch the video podcast here!       
https://www.youtube.com/@thearcheryproject

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY:

► Facebook: http://bit.ly/44UD7Vo
► Instagram: http://bit.ly/40Q2jLf

Zakk Plocica:

All right, ladies and gentlemen, in the middle of this month September 2025, there were two friends that set out on a bow hunting trip in Southern Colorado. I'm sure a lot of you have heard about it, for some of you haven't, we're going to kind of dive into this and it was 25-year-old Andrew Porter from Asheville, north Carolina, so he was not far from us. And then there was 25-year-old Ann Stasko I hope I'm not saying that wrong. He was from Salt Lake city, utah. So both of them they were young, but they were experienced outdoorsmen and, like many of us, they were doing what they enjoy, right, they were chasing elk in the back country. So their vehicle was found parked at the Rio de los Pinos trailhead in the Rio Grande National Forest, their gear still there, right, and they never checked back in, so they never returned. So obviously these guys were left out there. No one's able to get a hold of them. There was a search that began for them. So for nearly a week there were more than 50 rescuers who were searching the mountains for these guys. So there were teams on foot, there were volunteers and there was even search and rescue units from neighboring states who all volunteered to get in on this to try to track these guys down. And then, unfortunately, on September 18th, the search concluded.

Zakk Plocica:

The two bow hunters were both found about two miles from the trailhead and, it's interesting, there was a lot of speculation on what happened to these guys Foul play, maybe a predator? Maybe they just got lost. There was a lot of different speculations. But the cause was not from a mountain lion, it wasn't a fall, it wasn't even from the brutal terrain. The coroner's office ruled that both men had been killed by a lightning strike. I don't think that was on anybody's radar, all the stuff that I read about it. Their lightning strike did not come up once, so they did an autopsy. The autopsy showed faint burn marks, patches of singed hair and there was no other trauma. So the investigators believed that lightning struck a tree nearby and the charge spread through the ground, a deadly current that claimed both of their lives instantly.

Zakk Plocica:

So I did a little bit of research and I did some reading because I was interested, right, like, how often does this happen? I mean because, be realistic, lightning has never been on my radar when it comes to hunting, but apparently Colorado is one of the most lightning prone states in the country, so in the mountains, obviously, storms if you've ever been out in the mountains storms can roll in very quickly and really catch hunters off guard. And that's kind of what makes this story pretty I would say, sobering. Right, these weren't reckless rookies, new guys who were just out there wandering around. From what I was, I read they were dedicated bow hunters who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and then facing one of mother nature's most unpredictable forces.

Zakk Plocica:

So today, on the Archery Project, we're going to kind of go through this and unpack it and kind of see what lessons can be taken away from it, because it's a tragedy, tragedy, tragedy. I don't know why I'm struggling to say that and it's very unfortunate, but I think there are some lessons that can be taken away from this and there's a lot that people can learn. And we're not doing it to sensationalize it, right, but you know, just look at what happened to these guys. Again, unfortunate, prayers go out to their families, but I think it's important we talk about it because it's a reality of something that could happen to people. So we're going to kind of look at lightning safety in the back country because, again, lightning is never something that's crossed my mind. This has piqued my interest, though. And then how to recognize warning signs, what you can do to reduce your risk when a storm rolls in. Because the truth is, when we head out into the wild, no matter what it is you're doing, where you're going with a bow in hand, and we're stepping into nature's arena nature always has the final say. So we're going to reflect on a little bit, do a little bit of diving into it and kind of see, you know, what all kind of happened and see if it was honestly preventable.

Zakk Plocica:

So let's pause right here. Right, when you look at it, this wasn't an accident that was just caused by poor judgment or bad preparation. Right, these guys were experienced bow hunters and, from what I read, experienced in the backcountry. So, again, referencing that they weren't new guys that were just out there wandering around. They have experience out there, from what I read, experience in the back country. So, again, referencing that there, they weren't new guys that were just out there wandering around. They have experience out there. So this was just an act of nature, right, mother nature, which is vicious, raw, relentless, real and unforgiving at times, uh, and I think that's important to recognize, right.

Zakk Plocica:

So, as bow hunters, you know, we go through, we train, we practice, practice. We buy the best gear that fits our budget, but there are still things that are outside of our control, and lightning being one of them. But with that, there are still steps that we can do to take to reduce risk. Right like anything, our goal is risk management. There's risk no matter what we do. Especially as bow hunters. When you wander out into nature, you take risk with everything from it, when it goes from climbing a tree, heading out to the mountains in the back country, hunting in extreme weather conditions. There's risk in everything that we do, but our goal is to mitigate it and manage it as best as possible. So, upon a little bit more research, I found out Colorado averages 500,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes every year. So there's roughly 20 to 25 lightning related deaths in the US annually, with a majority of them occurring in you guessed it Colorado, and then also in Florida.

Zakk Plocica:

So in the mountains, storms build fast in the afternoon, right? So as hunters, we often head out into the woods or out into the mountains before dawn, and then you end up getting caught in weather that you didn't see coming in the later afternoon when you're out, and there's some misconceptions that I found or that I read about when it comes to lightning. Right, as kids we're always told, you know, lightning hits the tallest object and in reality that's not necessarily always the case. Right, so it can strike the ground. It can travel sideways or spread out as a ground current up to a hundred feet from impact, which is pretty eye-opening, and according to the reports, that's likely. What happened to Andrew and Ian? The coroner believes that the bolt hit an air-by-tree and the current spread through the ground. There's no warning, there's no chance to react. When that happens, it's instant and it's a sober reminder that, out there, sometimes we're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I think there is good I don't want to say good news, but there is.

Zakk Plocica:

You can look at this um kind of strategically and there's some good takeaways from it. There are strategies that you can utilize to lower your odds of this happening to you. Right, lower your odds, but sometimes there's some things you can't do. But you can set yourself up to be in a better place, to where you're more likely to avoid this scenario happening to you, and I think some of them are pretty obvious, right, obviously, we can watch the sky and we can watch the forecast. That's a big one, right? Just observing our surroundings, see what's going, looking off in the distance and kind of utilizing that to predict what's coming in that afternoon, right.

Zakk Plocica:

Afternoon storms, they say, are pretty predictable in high country. So when you are planning hunts, you need to avoid exposed ridges afternoon, whenever there are storms and stuff rolling in. And one of the things that you can really do to help mitigate getting caught up in this is, if you have the ability to, when you're out, if you've got the services to check the radar before heading out into the mountains, whether you're in a base camp or you're staying somewhere and heading out, monitoring the weather in real time to see what's coming in each day. And then if, unfortunately, if you do get caught up in these storms, you need to position yourself wisely, right. So you need to avoid open meadows, ridgelines and then isolated tall trees.

Zakk Plocica:

And I think one of the bigger takeaways from this is if you're out with a group or with a hunting partner and you, caught up in a storm, spreading out is going to um can ultimately save your life or one of your lives, right, spreading out at least 50 feet apart, uh, and not clustering together. Um, there was something else that I read about. It's I don't know how realistic this is Um, whenever you are out in the back country, they call it lightning posturing. Right, so, setting yourself up to minimize contact with the ground right so it says, if caught crouch low on the balls of your feet to minimize ground contact. Like, let's be realistic. I don't know if that's a reality, but that is one thing that I read. But I think what a bigger takeaway from that is making sure you are minimizing ground contact. Right. So, when a storm, you're not laying flat on the ground which exposes or increases your exposure to ground current so minimize contact on the ground can help and ultimately save your life.

Zakk Plocica:

And then the other thing, too, is the gear and communication side of things. Right. So when it comes to communication, communication is key, especially whenever we're looking at scenarios like this right, if you're off, you're in the back country, you're off grid, you are disconnected from society, being able to communicate somebody back in town or a loved one is key. You need to be able to be in communication with people in case something were to go wrong. Right, whether you one, you're just checking in, right, you can let them know. Good to go, I'm still, everything's good. We're just staying out here an additional day. Or, if you know something were to happen, roll your ankle, you need somebody to come get you out. You're able to communicate with people and I think that's where a satellite communicator is key. But with these devices you need to be familiar with your gear and I think a lot of people and I've seen some this year actually just had it the other day happened.

Zakk Plocica:

People come in and buy gear and think that they can just run the gear right Without familiarizing themselves with it. With, like a Garminmin mini in reach, you have to set up a membership plan, you have to input emergency contacts. You need to know your way around that device before you take it out in the back country, because the last thing you want is, whenever you were in the back country trying to figure out, read an owner's manual on how to utilize this communicator Whenever things go South. We actually had somebody come in. They were going to Colorado out on a hunt, they were leaving the next day and they came in the day prior to buy a satellite communicator that evening before we closed, and it really does not set you up for success when you don't know how to operate that thing.

Zakk Plocica:

It's important I think we talk about all the time familiarization with your gear. You need to make sure you understand how to use your gear. We see so many people that just want to go out and buy the latest and greatest stuff and they don't use it till they actually go out in the back country or go out on a hunt and that does not do you good. To try to learn your equipment when you're actually in it or on that hunt, you need to be familiar with it prior to so having a good satellite communicator, a Garmin inReach we sell them at Extreme Outfitters Some kind of emergency beacon, right Water procurement all of these things you need to have set up and understand how to use them prior to heading out into the back country or away from civilization.

Zakk Plocica:

If you're going to be out for a few days and then the other one too is, you know, back to the storm side of things and lightning, good quality rain gear you should have on you at all times. If you are out in a scenario like this, right Away from your base camp, you're a couple miles away, with storms rolling in so fast you need a way to be able to get dry or stay dry, right, because obviously at altitude, temperatures can drop pretty quick. Hypothermia risk follows storm, so if you are wet and cold, hypothermia can set in, and that's a whole another host of problems that you could have mitigated by, you know, quality rain gear or finding a way to stay dry. So good gear, make sure you invest in it, but also make sure you know how to use it. And then the other thing, too, is know when to say when right, know when to retreat and that's when I think, with anything you do, right, no animal, elk or anything is worth your life. You need to know when to call it and when to say hey. We need to sit this one out, position ourselves so when this storm comes through, we can head out afterwards, right, so you're not caught up in the middle of it and so something catastrophic doesn't happen to you. And then you need to build in turnaround times into your hunt plan, right, so if you guys are going out together as a team, you know knowing when you know hey, whatever time it is. We need to turn around by this time so we can head back to camp or base camp, just so you have all these things built into what you're doing Good communication amongst me and your heart hunting partners, and you're not putting yourself in jeopardy or taking unnecessary risks.

Zakk Plocica:

It's just not worth it. Um, and the. But the truth is right. There's no piece of gear in your pack is going to protect you from lightning. There's nothing you have that's going to protect you from that, but your awareness, your preparation and your willingness to pull back when you need to, that's what's going to give you the best shot at being safe and returning home, and that's the ultimate goal.

Zakk Plocica:

Right, we all want to go out. We all want to, you know, put down a good animal, but we don't want to jeopardize our safety to the point where we're putting ourselves and others at risk, um, and the likelihood of not coming home is greater. We just want to minimize that as much as possible. Uh, so I think, when you look at it, there's a lot of hunting stories. We all love a good hunting story, uh, and they that focus on success the kill, the harvest, the shot, the gear, whatever it is and safety and survival, I think are often overlooked, especially for our hunters that are moving, heading out off grid, hunting out West, um, and I think safety and survival should probably be at the foundation of every trip that you take, like this.

Zakk Plocica:

Right, it's so easy to get excited into. You know whatever it is you're chasing and you overlook basic safety and survival fundamentals, right, you know, from your medical kit to water procurement, to communication, that all gets kind of put on the backtrack and you don't think about it. And then, heaven forbid, something happens and you don't have a plan of action to implement in order to, um, keep you and your hunting partner safe. I mean, it's it's so easy to overlook the little things. Uh, that could be a life-saving. So I would encourage you, make sure you are, whenever it comes to planning your hunts, you are implementing safety protocols and you guys have some kind of first aid communication and whatnot to go off of just to keep you guys safe.

Zakk Plocica:

And then a way to check in with loved ones back home, right, because you know they're going to be constantly worrying. And if you have a set check-in time and you're unable to check in because, let's say, your satellite commuter died and you don't have a way to charge it because you didn't plan accordingly with some kind of solar panel or battery backup, they're going to worry. That can trigger things. Before you know it, you got a search party out there looking for you because no one can get ahold of you. So, important, take those things into consideration.

Zakk Plocica:

And I, you know, this just makes me reflect on you know what I'm doing as well. You know, do I have safety and survival plan implemented into what I'm doing? Whenever I do any kind of out of state or off country, just traveling out of state? Is there a way that I can follow up and link up with people? Yada, yada, yada? So, um, andrew and Ian, uh, they, they set out to do what all of us love to do, you know chase that wild game in the back country. Um, or, you know, yeah, I mean heading out West with a bow in hand, right, and unfortunately they did not make it back. But the story just reminds us that every hunt, I think, is a privilege and, even more so, every decision made in the field matters, right. So we can look at this story, we can reflect on it, we can learn from it and it can help us prepare for what we're doing in the future, and then we can share these lessons with others.

Zakk Plocica:

So if today's episode gave you something to think about. I'd encourage you to share it with your hunting buddy. Start a conversation about safety, backcountry safety and then kind of break down what's in your kit, what's important, what are you missing, what do you need to add to your hunting kits? And then even more so right it's. This is a big one that was never on my radar. What's your lightning plan, especially if you're heading out to Colorado, right, one of the most lightning prone States in the country, colorado and Florida? Do you guys have a lightning plan and if so, what is it? How do you implement it and how do you run that plan so important? We all want to chase success, but safety is a priority and should be paramount, and we need to consider that as well.

Zakk Plocica:

So if you have a story about close calls with weather or just a close call in general in the woods, I'd love to hear it. You can feel free, shoot me a message over on my personal Instagram account. It's Zach Plosica, z-a-k-k-p-l-o-c-i-c-a on Instagram or any of the Archery Project social media channels, and let's talk about it. I'd love to hear it because, at the end of the day, we are all students of the hunt, and nature is the ultimate teacher of the hunt, and nature is the ultimate teacher. So, yeah, that's it, man. It's unfortunate, it's tragic, um, and you know my heart goes out to them and their families.

Zakk Plocica:

Um, but again, I think there's a lot that can be taken away from this. We hear about it every year people going off on hunts and disappearing or not making it back, and it's it's a pretty sobering reminder that preparation is key and we need to do everything we can to mitigate unnecessary risk. And I think having a plan, planning accordingly and making sure you have the right equipment set up and you know how to use that equipment You're not waiting last minute and busting it out when you're in a field but you actually know how to implement the tools and gear that you have is only going to make one build your confidence in the field, because you know you're a capable individual and you understand your equipment. But it's just gonna make sure that you are safe and that you ultimately return home to loved ones. So, yeah, something to think about.

Zakk Plocica:

It was just on my mind, so I wanted to do an episode on it. I wanted to do an episode on it. I wanted to hear back from you guys what your thoughts are on it and kind of how you would plan or how you do plan and what equipment's important to you guys who are heading off-grid or out in the backcountry. So drop some comments, give us some feedback. I appreciate you guys and, as always, thanks for listening and we will see you guys in the next episode of the Archery Project.