Crazy encounter while hunting?

[hughmaster10]

I have been scouting for places to hunt. And I researched a particular area that is known to have gators and some mountain lions.
Just curious if any of you guys have had any encounters with a cool animal while hunting? Would love to read some of your stories. Thanks.

 

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[GerryL]

If we're out we usually have UDAP bear spray and a firearm. We've always had time so they got a break with the bear spray. When Robin used to run a lot (marathon training), she had to spray 3 dogs over the years. She always waited until they were close and it didn't look like they were stopping. It definitely made them have a change of plans and reverse direction quickly.

I love the second story of your wife's experience. This weekend Robin was saying she would absolutely love to do just that; see what was going on when these sites were in use. Not to change anything, not to get any advantage, just to observe what the properties looked like and what life was really like then. That would be wild.

I stepped out of the woods once, from a dig site, and there's an old woman. Not her property. She was parked in the same lot as I was. She unleashes two German shepards and tells them "get him!!" I spent the next minute or so swinging my stick from one dog to the other, there coming at me from two different directions, whacking them on the nose. First one, then the other, like a whirling Dervish, all the while screaming my block off at the woman. Finally she calls them off, I scream "why!!!?", and she says, in a heavy German accent, "I can't be too careful", puts the dogs in her car, and off she goes. Thought of following her, and calling the police, but did not. Got to thinking "maybe she was a Holocaust survivor". No excuse, but I was grateful I had that heavy walking stick.


Same dig site. My wife digging by herself. She looks up. About 15 feet away stands a tall Indian man. Wearing buckskin leggings, a red blanket around his shoulders. He stares at her, my wife stares at him. After a few moments, he just fades away, no words spoken. My wife packs up her gear, hurries through the woods to her car, and home she comes. It was a big village site in the 1600's. Best I could figure is he was living in that village and saw my wife in her time, our present, and she was seeing him in his time, our past. What must he have thought? I thought it was the coolest thing, but my wife never dug there again.

 

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[Peyton Manning]

nothing around here scares me ( indiana)
but once on Tybee island I was tackled from behind on the beach by sandra bullock ( she has a home there, as does mellencamp)

 

[sandchip]

I assumed being attacked on a beach by a beaver was rare....apparently not!

I've always had a hard time scaring up any beaver at all!

 

[CaptnJohn]

The gators I usually see 1st so they are no bother. Having nearly stepped on a copperhead a couple times I carry a 38 with snake loads. A moccasin became aggressive once and was dispatched with the 357 mag. The 1st shot nearly cut him in half which just made him more angry, the 2nd did him in.
About 55 years ago on my trapline a red fox followed me. When he knew I saw him he faded away. His mistake was getting in front of me and was added to my days skinning.

 

[old digger]

About fourteen years ago while out looking for artifacts amongst the sagebrush flats a B-1 bomber flew over me and scared the you know what out of me. I didn't even hear it coming, and I swear it was less than hundred feet off the ground. I later noticed that the planes were conducting daily training flights through the area. After going out in the general area I always saw at least one or two fly-by's.

 

[joshuaream]

Back in the 1980's I lived in Venezuela, and was hiking in the desert one day in the western part of the country. I parked in one valley, hiked up and over and would look for relics on the Pleistocene lake beds that were in a different valley that wasn't accessible from the paved roads.

I could see a dust trail in the distance, and since they were looking into the sun in the morning I was pretty sure they hadn't noticed me on foot. Eventually a jeep got close enough that I could see some army uniforms in the back through my binoculars. It wasn't illegal to be out in the desert, but I decided that I didn't really want to be social so I hiked behind some rocks and stayed out of sight. After about an hour or so the jeep rolled passed me, and I could hear the soldiers speaking with a very distinct Colombian accent. There weren't any good/legal reasons for Colombian soldiers to be on the wrong side of the border (either Guerrilla rebels from the FARC, drug traffickers, or Colombian soldiers going after rebels), so I stayed hidden and hiked out of the valley when their dust trail disappeared.

On the tamer note, I had a couple of turkeys walk behind me for better than an hour when I was rock hunting in Kentucky. They didn't get too close, but they were apparently curious enough than they followed me while I walked a crisscross pattern over the occupation portion of the site.

 

[sandchip]

About fourteen years ago while out looking for artifacts amongst the sagebrush flats a B-1 bomber flew over me and scared the you know what out of me. I didn't even hear it coming, and I swear it was less than hundred feet off the ground. I later noticed that the planes were conducting daily training flights through the area. After going out in the general area I always saw at least one or two fly-by's.

I wasn't out hunting that day, but years ago Daddy and I were standing in the yard at the corner of the house when an F15 came over hauling ass just above the treetops. I mean you could see the damn rivets or screws or whatever the hell holds these things together. It was so sudden and so loud that I hit the ground as I simultaneously realized what it was, feeling foolish that I had reacted as I did. I wheeled around to see my father, a WWII combat veteran, on the ground as well!

 

[tnmudman]

I was walking a large field, head down in my own little world oblivious to anything else. I heard a sound, looked behind me and saw a pit bulldog about 10 or 15ft behind me, I was probably 300ft from my truck with nothing but my flippin stick for protection which would of only pissed him off, I just said hey boy what are you doing, turned back around and went back to walking, fortunately he left without bothering me. I have tried to be more aware of my surroundings since then. I have thought of getting a pistol to carry when out like that, it would probably be a good idea.

 

[filmiracl]

I generally don't spook easily because I'm always out in the woods or by the river, but three times I left or moved from where I was due to being spooked. One time there was a beaver on the other side of a creek... he jumped into the water and started swimming right towards me... that time I took off running, haha. Another time, there was a whole pack of about 10 foxes... yes, they were cute, but they weren't scared of me and I don't know how they would react so I turned around. The third time, while metal detecting, I had a ghost experience. I don't really believe in ghosts, but I was digging a target in the middle of the woods and felt a hand go down my back (that's exactly what it felt like) ... I jumped up, there was nothing there... no sticks falling from a tree, no animals, people, nothing. To this day, I have no clue what it was... but it gives me chills thinking about it. I just grabbed my stuff and left.

 

[Tpmetal]

Theres been a few time the coy-wolves have hunted me. One usually starts off by howling and making a racket in one direction to distract you and push you into his friends, which are circling you and trying to decide if your worth taking on. You can hear the soft little yips and noises of the ones on your flanks, talking to each other and they move around you in the bushes. Most of the time hollering at them banging my shovel against a tree or rock and walking towards the one howling seems to deter them. There has been one time where they backed me right out of the woods though, unfazed by anything I tried to deter them.

On a lighter funny note, was out fishing in montana with my brother one time and managed to get attacked by a grouse Was walking next to the river through some brush, and I look up to see a momma grouse come running at me past her babies. She took off flying right at my face, I swatted at her with my fly pole and was able to duck out of the way. I spin around just in time to see her come at me again from the other direction, again going directly for my face. This time my pole gets caught up as I try to swat at her again, stumbling around ducking and off balanced. Now I'm literally rolling, jumping, tripping, and trying to punch out a grouse that keeps making flybys at my head while I'm trying to run away. The whole time my brother is just watching me and dying of laughter rolling around on the bank. On a funny note the grouse did get in a few shots on my head with it's wings, never would have guessed getting punched by a bird would have stung like that haha. i swear the grouse out there are 2 or 3 times the size of ours out east.

 

[Charl]

If that were me the old woman would of had two dead dogs on her hands.

I really did not have the ability to do that. Of course I was enraged, and was screaming at her, even though she could have set the dogs loose on me again. I can't hope to win against two shepards. Would have been at least bit were it not for my walking stick, and her calling them off. I had not been digging that day, just walking the site. She was very elderly, and that German accent, I figured she had been a Holocaust survivor. But I had no actual evidence of that. I thought of following her home and calling the police when she got there, to make sure she did not pull something like that on others. But I was not hurt, and let it go. Too nice a guy on that occasion, but just glad I had not been bitten, and drove home.

 

[Charl]

I’m starting to think it might be a good idea to carry while going out now. although I’ve never been hunting yet. You really never know who or what you might run into in the woods or creeks.

And that 2nd story is crazy! Your wife should have asked him where they dropped their points. Hehe

Whenever my wife tells the story, it makes me wonder things. Maybe he was a shaman, and he could see the future somehow. Maybe he was a ghost, a spirit that still roamed the village. We found Archaic material there, too, so he could have been from a more distant past. Maybe he just had a freaky experience like my wife was having, and he had no idea what he was seeing. I imagine him returning to his lodge saying "I saw a woman with white skin, strange clothes, digging nearby. Then she just vanished!!"

 

[ContactGSW]

Watched me for about 5 minutes, think it liked the sound of the detector. We have a neighborhood cat that always comes running when she hears the detector.

 

[ContactGSW]

 

[RTR]

I have been scouting for places to hunt. And I researched a particular area that is known to have gators and some mountain lions.
Just curious if any of you guys have had any encounters with a cool animal while hunting? Would love to read some of your stories. Thanks.

Over the years I've come across two mt.Lyons here. Both times I was alone.Both times I watched more whats in back of me,than whats in front.And I never leave home w/o packing...ever

 

[undertaker]

I was searching a small narrow creek bed looking for arrowheads and occasionally I would look up. When I did I had a large bull moose standing in the creek 15 yards in front of me. It was a stand off. He wasn't planning on moving and I didn't dare to move. He finally decided to move up stream after our short encounter.

 

[PullTabSlayer]

I also have had a 20+ dog encounter, in my case they were not friendly, no doubt about it their intent was to remove some flesh! Shots rang out, a few floppin around on the ground and the rest split so fast it was kind of surreal.
This would have been 38 years ago when I was 12, had a couple cousins with me and they were 12 also.
We ran home as fast as we could run. Us all out of breath trying to explain what happen and all my dad said was.... Well good thing you all had guns or you would be dog crap about now.

 

[flinthunter]

I also have had a 20+ dog encounter, in my case they were not friendly, no doubt about it their intent was to remove some flesh! Shots rang out, a few floppin around on the ground and the rest split so fast it was kind of surreal.
This would have been 38 years ago when I was 12, had a couple cousins with me and they were 12 also.
We ran home as fast as we could run. Us all out of breath trying to explain what happen and all my dad said was.... Well good thing you all had guns or you would be dog crap about now.

Been there, done that, more than once. Very scary.

 

[buck8point]

3 years ago I was in a creek that wound through a run-down neighborhood hunting for shark teeth. I was screening the gravel, finding a lot of small ones, and was focused on that. I hear a snort above me ( the creek was in a 6 foot deep trench with vertical banks ), look up and two huge pit bulls are staring at me. As soon as we made eye contact they went into their ferocious barking slobbering, "I'm going to eat you" mode. I tried talking real quiet to them, which just pissed them off more. I'm only a few feet from them, but I guess they didn't feel like jumping. I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled out a package of Lance crackers, the orange colored ones with the "cheesy" cracker with "peanut butter". They stopped barking immediately, and began wagging their tails. I began tossing crackers to them one after the other. Six crackers per pack you know. When they were all gone, I held the wrapper out in front of me, shook it, and said, "Sorry boys, they're all gone." They both looked at me for a moment, turned around and ran off through the woods.

Well Played Kray, Well Played.....

 

[buck8point]

Been hunting all my life, and never had a Bear encounter even though they are plentiful in South Louisiana.
Ive had multiple pictures on my game cameras of, Louisiana Black Bear of varying size and sex, found bear prints in my camp yard, and even had a Deer Archery target mauled in the camp yard, but still never laid eyes on one in person.
Then early last year while bowhunting my property in the ArkLaMiss, I was setup in a ladder stand in a real good spot right by a drainage slough.
Right at dark I hear something headed my way, thru the thicket, and all i can see is a dark patch that seemed to move down towards the waters edge about 15 ft across from me. I watched a while thinking I was about to get a shot on a monster buck, but after a while, i just got a strange feeling, and decided it was too dark to actually get a shot with the bow anyways so i turned on my headlight, and there was about a 300lb Male Black Bear looking up at me.
Now I wont say I was scared, but there is this realization that came to me, that all of a sudden, im not the Top Predator in the woods this evening....
So, I did what you are supposed to do in that situation, I stood up and hollered LOUDLY... HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OUTTA HERE!!!
He was totally unimpressed with my display and just looked at me glaringly... So I kept it up, waiving my arms, and hollering, trying to get him to hi tail it outta there, well to make a long story short, after several long minutes of hollering, he kinda reluctantly headed off in a direction that I would have to walk to get back to my camp. I hurriedly got down, and started walking back to the camp at an accelerated pace, all the while hollering like a Banshee, thinking he might flank me along the way at any time. Luckily I made it back safely to the camp with my hide intact, my heart pumping, and a pretty good story to tell of my first Bear encounter. Im sure it wont be my last. Two weeks later I killed a Huge 35lb Bobcat on that same stand. Cant wait to hunt it again this fall.