Crazy encounter while hunting?

I did have one other encounter with a critter, and it was all my own fault. I had been hunting a cornfield on the Atlantic. When I got to the point where I was beat, and the field had basically won, I ambled up a granite ledge, that overlooked the ocean, and ran down to water's edge. It extended for quite aways, crossing several properties. I stretched my legs out and leaned against a part of the ledge that was reasonably comfortable, though rock is still rock, lol. To my right I spy a opposum walking my way, with a bunch of pink babies hanging onto her back. They don't see good, as you likely know. So she just keeps walking my way.


I then decide to do one of the dumbest things I've ever done. What I was thinking I'll never really know, but I decided to keep still and allow the opossum to walk right up on my lap. Yep, that dumb, lol. So up onto my lap walks mamma opossum. She immediately stops, raises her head, and her nose begins to sniff the air around her. Well, yeah, that must be me, mother, gulp. She then lowers her head, walks down off my lap, and just keeps on her way. So, despite being as dumb as dirt for a day, I was nonetheless allowed to drive home with my face intact.
 

Shepherds are so damned smart. Singing to them in calming tones really makes em look at you crazy and question their attitude. Never make eye contact and most of the time you can walk right past them. I did that one day and walked right past a huge male. So I know he's walking along behind me cause I can hear his feet in the gravels. I nearly peed myself when I felt him lick the palm of my right hand held limp by my side. I stopped and praised him and scratched under his neck. He would have followed me anywhere.
 

I've had some crazy hawk encounters while hunting in my creek. I used to pull my hair back with a black claw type clip until one day I heard what sounded like cardboard clapping together behind my head, turned around and felt the wind of a hawk's wings on my face as it had turned around and was flying away, I was lucky it didn't grab the clip and pull my hair with it, maybe scalp too. Another time I was standing in the center of the creek and a smaller hawk, maybe a sharp shinned, was flying the bends and brushed my arm going by me. Another time I was looking intently in the water, totally focused and one came down grabbed a frog and flew back out real fast, I didn't even know there was a frog nearby. I think these guys are so used to me being in the creek they just don't pay me any attention lol

I had a crazy red belly water snake encounter once. I was walking down the bank and the snake went across a fallen tree that was across the creek, stopped on the rocks on the other side raised up like a cobra looking at me, I threw a rock at it and yelled go away! and it went super fast downstream out of sight. Wasn't real big, maybe 3 or 4ft but thick like those water snakes are and they can really move.
 

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I will give you a animal encounter I had a couple of years ago here in N GA. I went to yak a smaller section of the river up in the mountainous section. I wasnt looking for points but a spot where I had seen on google earth that looked like a waterfall. I yakked about a mile upstream against the current looking for a spot to rest due to most areas were mud or huge rock. I saw what looked like a flat spot so I paddled to it. I was so tried by then I jumped out with the yak between my legs and my feet sunk straight down to my shins about a foot deep. I had water sandals on and my feet were solid every time I tried to pull one up the other would sink a little further down. I decided just to stand there and rest and all of a sudden I heard a thud noise like something being thrown and hitting the ground. I looked up and it was so close to me I could see its whiskers it was staring at me and its long fury tail was wagging back and fourth but it wasnt happy to see me and I surly wasnt happy to see it with my feet stuck in the mud. I yelled at it and slapped my yak as hard as I could. I was by myself no houses near by no pistol just me. It watched me for what seemed like an hour (only minutes) of course. I couldnt move which I really wanted to. It was a Mountain Lion. They arent real tall I was thinking but dang it looked like a Pit Bull on steroids its shoulders being so thick and I could tell it wasnt scared of me but me being so tall and waving my arms high making me look bigger it slowly turned and took a few steps and then turned back to look at me and this happened for about 5 mins. Finally he made it to the forest line and ran off. I jumped in my yak shoes still in the mud and didnt care. I went to the middle and washed my legs off. I decided to go and let the current carry me downstream and as I was floating I could hear that beast following me through the brush for quite a while. Dont worry I didnt stop again till I was back at where I put in and went on home. Never went back and that was the scariest animal encounter I have ever had, rock
 

you darn rignt they are muscely, whenever I encounter one i wonder why they ever bother to run from the dogs. Even a six month old one looks like it could take out most pampered pets.

on a side note, the other night with the full moon I was woken up by a noise outside...a lot of noise actually. The barred owls were yelling back and forth, the coyotes were singing in the bushes and the frogs were barking under my window. It made me laugh and wonder why i bothered to move to the woods for peace and quiet.
 

I found a naked meth head one time. He had been in the woods for 3 days, lost. Search and rescue was looking for him. I was lucky (sarcasm) enough to find him. I told my rock hunting buddy about it and he asked if I got an in-situ picture.
 

I found a naked meth head one time. He had been in the woods for 3 days, lost. Search and rescue was looking for him. I was lucky (sarcasm) enough to find him. I told my rock hunting buddy about it and he asked if I got an in-situ picture.

Stones, not stoners. You are looking for stones.
 

you darn rignt they are muscely, whenever I encounter one i wonder why they ever bother to run from the dogs. Even a six month old one looks like it could take out most pampered pets.

on a side note, the other night with the full moon I was woken up by a noise outside...a lot of noise actually. The barred owls were yelling back and forth, the coyotes were singing in the bushes and the frogs were barking under my window. It made me laugh and wonder why i bothered to move to the woods for peace and quiet.

Ahhh , but when it is quiet in the woods ,something is up!
 

I was hunting a seed patch one time and up in a stand only about 10' off the ground. My cousin had casually mentioned a bear had been seen in the area but I didn't think too much of it. Not expecting a long shot I was carrying a single shot 45-70 carbine. I got in before daylight and got situated and everything was fine for about 20 minutes. Then abut 50 yds behind me I started hearing something large coming through the brush. I figured bear by the noise and sound tracked him around to about even with my right arm and about 60 yds out. I heard a digging sound and then a lot of snorting building in to a growling frenzy. Still pitch dark the frenzy turned into a physical convulsion as the bear tore through the brush ripping bushes from the ground all around me till he came right around under the ladder up the stand. Terrified I grabbed two more rounds between the fingers of my left hand, cocked the old single shot and pointed down the ladder. For a minute that seemed two hrs long he wallowed and growled at the top of his lungs there in front of the stand and then seemed to wallow off through the brush till out of earshot in the distant woods. Needless to say, I wasn't going to see any deer that morning but was too scared to get out of the tree until nearly noon. When the sun rose I could see the devastation around the stand and throughout the patch. It looked like a tornado had gone through and torn the whole patch to pieces. With stiff and shaky legs I climbed down the ladder and began to investigate the scene. I went to the place where I'd first heard him and easily picked up his trail. Then around the patch to where I thought he was when the ruckus started. There on the ground was a half devoured Amanita mushroom and foamy saliva hanging from the brush as well as torn earth and bushes. A blind soul could track him on his frenzied path through the patch and under the stand where it looked like the earth had been worked with a tiller. I trailed him out of the patch and observed, from a distance, that he'd gone into the woods about 60 yds away. I've eaten bear and was never really impressed with it so I would never have shot one on purpose. After that day I was just glad I hadn't had to shoot one out of self defense. Bears yes, hallucinating bears NO!
 

Interesting stories Im sure there are more. I am very aware of my surroundings when I am out I listen to every noise. Just never know what is close by when you are by yourself. I get permission but almost always the owner says you can look but I dont want to see anybody else with you and keep yours finds but dont tell where you found them at.
 

This reminds me of a story told by an old French pirate in his memoir about being in the Caribbean, swimming in the mouth of a river where it emptied into the sea. He asked a local if there were sharks in that water and he was told no. After swimming he asked the old man again about the sharks, and he was told they never go into the river for fear of the crocodiles.
 

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