When cows attack

[Mo. Huntin]

That should get attention.  I have not been actually attacked but I have on several hunts had regular cattle come running up and buck and jump not 5 yards from me, made me really nervouse.  
Maybe they are playing but either way that is alot of weight they throw around. I just wondered if anybody has been injured while hunting by a cow.

[Soilarch]

Bulls or cows?

Never while hunting.  But I sure have been "minding my own" while in a closed-in pasture and been put on edge by the not-so-subtle watching and stomping of the "big boy"!  Don't park your truck in the pastures either.  It's just a shiny scratching post...well more like denting rock.


("closed-in" still means they have a couple hundred acres to do as they please)

[Mo. Huntin]

I would say they were steers or cows, not a huge bull.  Forgive me I am not a farmer.  This happens to me on a place I rifle hunt and I just thought I hope I don't have to shoot this thing or no one will believe it was self defense.  Now I just walk all the way around them on the other side of the fence.

[Soilarch]

It's alright, we've never done cattle since I've been alive so my knowledge on them are very limited.  If they have a hairy belly-button hanging from the stomach...well, it's not a belly-button and it's a boy lol.  You'll know when and if it's big boy, if the farmer doesn't keep him separated.

FWIW, if you ever do "need" to shoot one don't waste your time with the head.
(Unless you shoot deer with a .458 Lott!?!?)
He'll have his head down and you want to send the bullet through the top of his neck.  Let his spine become a grenade and leave the bullet to do whatever it can in the boiler room.

P.S. Do an image search (google) for Beefalo. You might, I do at least, find it very cool that they crossbred buffalo to cattle. (3/8 to 5/8 actually) There meat is supposed to basically be
bison...which is as lean as venison. (Yep, looked it up)

THEN...do an image search for "Belgium Blue" and thank you're lucky stars THAT think wasn't staring you down!!

[Steertalker]

Mo.Huntin,

Well fed cattle generate an enormous amount of internal heat.  So when fall cool weather rolls in nothing makes a cow happier.  Finally....relief from the heat.  A happy cow, bull or calve will romp around the pasture and sometimes play kamakazie with you, but don't worry about.  The mean no harm.  You will often see deer and elk do the same thing.  

Anyway....if a cow or bull is running around with its head up.....no worries.  But when they put their heads down.....that's when they mean business!  Give momma cows and their calves some space and don't get between the bull and his girls and you should be fine.

Brett

[John Scifres]

I shot a rutting buck once and then tied my safety belt around his antlers and my hips.  I dragged him across a cow pasture.  Man did those cows hate that.  They trailed me the whole way, stomping at that stinking buck.  I'm pretty sure I couldn't outrun them any time but I am positive I couldn't with that deer strapped to my hips  

I've had a bunch of them around me out west.  This year a big old bull stood his ground enough around his herd to make me nervous.

[swampbuck]

The farmer I useta work for was nearly killed by a heifer which was almost full grown just getting ready for it's first breeding.This happened in an open pasture and he didn't give the animal pestering much thought till she knocked him down

Bulls are bad they will hurt you, cows or heifers can hurt you but most likely won't...best to keep an eye on where they are just in case of that what if

[NewtoTrad2008]

I do most of my bowhunting on BLM land her ein Colorado and they lease it out to the ranchers. More than once I have been put on alert thinking an elk or deer was coming through the thick timber only to see cattle!    
A few times they have come too close until they wind me, then they hang around and watch the ugly smelly rock. I have never had them come any closer that around 20 yards or so if they see me first.

[Strutter]

"The farmer I useta work for was nearly killed by a heifer which was almost full grown just getting ready for it's first breeding.This happened in an open pasture and he didn't give the animal pestering much thought till she knocked him down"

Gee whiz, I thought everybody knew you were supposed to put them in a headgate the first time.  
Seriously though, when a cow raises her head and kinda rolls her eyes back, you better watch out cause she's fixin to run ya'.  When she gets close she'll drop her head.  They remind me of a cape buffalo the way they raise their head and roll them eyes back and look down on ya'.  

Not sure about shooting them other than in the head.  Every beef we have killed took a .22 round a couple inches above the eyes in the center and hit the ground so fast it is unbelievable.

Rob

[Steertalker]

The most dangerous cow in the pasture is the gentle one.  They love to come up to you and get scatched and massaged.  If you don't pay them any attention they start nudging and butting just like they would with one of their buddies.  They don't know their own strength and can hurt you real quick.  

I've been hurt a few times by some bad a$$#$ but I've been hurt a bunch of times by the gentle ones.

Hey Tom.....there ain't no cattle in New York    

Brett

[swampbuck]

LOL Brett your funny....yea it was just nugin him around till he got tripped it's the ones ya don't think will get ya that do

[bbassi]

I'm going to pull my comments before I make anyone else mad.

[5deer]

rubber blunts  

[swampbuck]

Now Brent you wouldn,t do that LOL besides I'd bet a blunt could do serious damage to the boys which would decrease the value of the animal by 1000,s

If I thought I needed to shoot one it wouldn,t be with a blunt LOL and it wouldn't be to wound either

[bbassi]

[MAT]

Wow - Glad I'm not the only one who has an irrational fear of cows.  I had a few issues with them in North Dakota, once with a young bull that gave me a "funny" look.  I'm sure he was cool and everything but I never knew I could jump a fence that quick.  Last month I had a cow run straight at me when the rest of the herd took off.  I though I was going to be a cow pie.   I yelled and waved my bow and she stopped at 10 yards. I think a lot of times they are just curious.  After all humans =  food.  They also have this desire to run in front of you.  That's a problem when you are headed to a good hunting spot and the damn things won't let you walk around them.  Probably form being herded their entire life.  So I learned to walk a different direction and use a head fake or two to give them the slip.

Also you probably don't realize how good a nose they have.  I had a cow stop and sniff a twig I cut for a shooting lane and then dog track me right to my location.  She knew I was there and wouldn't leave until I exposed myself.  Then she ran like the dickens.  No, it's not what you think!

[Steertalker]

Wow....you guys are something else     The first person I caught shooting blunts or worse at my livestock or whatever would be leaving my property in the backseat of the sheriff's car.  That is a serious offense and no matter what you think.....you [are] doing damage to the animal.

Brett

[GingivitisKahn]

I used to park in a relative's cow pasture all the time when hunting her land.  I came back one snowy day to find that the dang cows had been licking the salt off of my car.

My windows were badly slimed by cow spit.

So while I've never officially been attacked by cows, I still feel somewhat violated.

   

[Gatekeeper]

Last night I was hunting near the edge of our property line and on the other side of the fence is a herd of young angus steers. I did a dragline to my stand and then hung the scent wick up in a tree near my stand. The scent I used was estrus doe urine and when the wind was blowing to the steers they lined up along the fence tipping their heads back curling their top lip to smell the air and they kept looking in my direction. I thought it was interesting that they were attracted to the doe scent.

Has anyone else seen this type of behavior from steers?

[outbackbob48]

I have to agree with steertalker on this one. Resposible bowhunters don,t blunt livestock!!!! Stop you are giving the rest of us a bad name. Again we are our own worst enemy.