cool happenings while hunting...

[chinook907]

Some neat stories.

A few years ago I was hunting mountain goats and watched a stand-off between a large male black bear and a nanny guarding her kid.  A friend and I were on the top of some cliffs above them, and watched the bear slowly work his way closer and closer.  The nanny wasn't having any of it and ran him off after a bit.  I was disappointed and embarrassed for the bear !

Also a few years ago had an eagle land a few yards away from me when I was camped on a little 50-some foot high knob above a glacial river flat, waiting for a brown bear to show.  Got a pic of that one.
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[Stumpkiller]

Someone Whooooo was checking me out while scouting this year.

 

 

[S. Brant Osborn]

Great stories. Here's mine
Was on stand one morning when i saw my first otter come slinking through the woods  looked like an animated slinky and took me a few secounds to realize what i was seeing. A murder of crows came over giving it to a hawk.  Hawk and about 10 crows all light in tree and crows  keep insulting the hawk. I turned back to look at the otter and he is gone. When the hawk makes a break for it the crows follow and mr otter reappears and heads on his way towards the only water i know of, about half mile away.

[darb]

These kinds of stories are awesome.  They are examples of what most non-hunters do not experience or understand, and are exactly why there is no better place in this world for me than the woods.

For me several are similar.  One of my earliest hunting memories was rifle hunting on the Vt/Can border with my late father.  He woke me up to a chickadee sitting on the front sight of his Remington.  Little guy danced on that barrel for the longest time.  

Since then many chickadees and tufted titmice have made me or my bow/arrow into a temporary perch.  Have had squirrels run up my legs in the treestand, and have watched mink, fox and coyote all hunting below me.

On two occasions have had raptors cause me to almost fall out of the tree.  Once an owl, the other a goshawk. Both of whom must've thought my wool hat looked tasty!

It is amazing what else you might see beyond the animal you are hunting. That stuff is frequently more rewarding than watching your fletching disappear in an animal.

[Brutus Hedgeapple]

Sitting at the base of a tree once with my legs stretched out in front of me, I saw movement to my right. It turned out to be a red fox trottin toward me. He never saw me and jumped right over my legs. I was young and kinda freeaked out by it but after it happened, i realized how cool it was.

[ron w]

Really cool Barn Owl Charlie......      

[Roadkill]

I had 2 caribou hanging in my garage.  My pregnant wife walked out and started around the car and had several bald eagles standing in the garage and they would not move.  They probably thought they had the upper hand.  Shevretreated

[ozy clint]

a few years ago when i was in BC canada working for an outfitter i was laying under a huge spruce tree at the bottom of an avalanche slide watching for black bears. i small bird landed on my leg and stayed there for a few seconds. that made my day.

[misfire]

Several years ago while turkey hunting I had myself in a comfy sitting position at the base of a tree trying my best to look like a bush. Soon a hen was coming my way with two Toms, trying their best to impress her, about twenty yds behind. My plan was to let her get to a trail in front of me and then turn towards the field to my left with the toms in tow. When she got to the trail she kept walking towards me so I lowered my head to hide my exposed eyes. Next thing I know there are a pair of turkey feet right in front of my boots. Being curious you know I had to look. I slowly raised my head till I was eye to eye with this hen not two feet in front of me. It took her about a half second to realize there were two eyeballs staring at her from the bush! No lie, I actually heard her gasp as she fell backwards. She scrambled to her feet and took off puttin' the whole time. Of course the Toms followed but I was to busy with a full on belly laugh to care.

[Possum Head]

I must repeat Mike, you have started a very interesting thread. Lots of squirrel storys and as aggrivating as these little critters can be they offer us hunters a lot of entertainment during those long hours waiting. Back in the mid 80's I was hunting up a tree with my quiver fixed in an additional bracket attached to my stand. I heared a soft flutter over my right shoulder and slowly turned to see a hummingbird with it's bill stuck into one of my flourescent nocks. Hate it had to leave hungry!

[Leland]

I was using a downed tree top as a ground blind,when a rabbit decided he was going to chew a hole in my rubber boot.I wiggled my foot,it jumped back and eyeballed me,then came right back and started chewing the boot.It took me reaching down and tweaking one of his or hers ears,while telling it boots are'nt cheap.It did'nt come un-glued,but slowly hopped out of the brush pile and out of sight.Still makes me smile.
Leland

[Jake Diebolt]

Yesterday I was sitting in my treestand and a chickadee landed on my shoulder, moved to my bow, and then finally flicked onto my arrow shaft. I moved my head just slightly and the little guy just about did a backflip, flew off and scolded me from another tree. I thought it was pretty cool. Must be getting better at holding still!

[superkodiak]

last night I heard the snap of a branch, turned around and much to my surprise was a piebald buck.... never seen him in this area and certainly hunt hard.  Really a beautiful animal to see!

[Doc Nock]

The ever present chipmunks were racing up and down a batch of fallen trees behind my tree stand.

I "felt" more than heard something and turned my head slowly... a Red Tail was on one of the logs--Looking for chippies.

He hopped down on my side of the fallen log...took that great wing and stretched it over the top of the log to the other side...then would tap the wing and peer under the log as it moved forward along the log, trying to chase out a chippie with it's wing tip to it's waiting beak on this side of the log!

Where do they learn this stuff???

[Looper]

Some of my most memorable:

About 20 years ago, I was squirrel hunting on some family land. I was sitting on a stump and had 4 or 5 bushy tails laid out on a downed log next to me, within an arms length. I was quietly sitting there, and heard a noise right behind me. The next thing I knew, a big red tailed hawk was making off with two of my squirrels. His wing actually knocked my hat off.

Later that fall, in a nearby spot I was sitting in a deer stand. A huge flock of grackles (a black bird) came in, landing all around me. They were on practically every limb around me, some within a couple of feet of me. Every few seconds or so, they'd all leave in unison, fly around in unison, and come right back. I immediately noticed a bright green bird, flying around with them. It was a parrot. I guess someone's pet got loose.

When I lived in Alaska, I was on a moose hunt in Southeast Alaska, near St. James Bay.  I was taking a nap under a big spruce tree, an was awakened by a big tug on my foot. I sat up and was face to face with a young black bear.  The eyes about bugged out of his head, and I'm sure mine did to. Fortunately, he hightailed it out of there. Earlier, I had been poking a dead salmon with the toe of my boot, and I think he thought I must have been something good to eat.

Earlier this season, on a particularly warm day, I was sitting in a ground blind hoping to get a shot on a whitetail. I heard some scratching and rustling behind me and assumed it was a rodent of some sort. A few seconds later, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye about a foot from my head. It was a huge black rat snake. He had to have been at least 5 feet long. He stretched himself out on one of the limbs I had made my blind out of and licked (smelled) my bow as he crawled past. I let him sun himself for a little while, but when I moved to stretch myself, he crawled off.

Last season, I had a grey fox jump over my feet after I blew a little squeaker call.  He didn't hang around long.

[Bud B.]

Many years ago I was sitting in a washed out area watching an apple tree from an old homestead in the mountains of NC. I fell asleep. I awoke a while later to find a chipmunk nibbling on something sitting on top of my left knee. Not sure who jumped more, but it sure was cool.

[Overspined]

My buddy saw a bobcat kill 3 squirrels in a row while deer hunting, efficient!

I rode my mountain bike up to a mountain lion in CO while elk hunting, both unsuspecting!

I was napping on a mountain in CO when a sow (big...aren't they always in stories) and 2 cubs walked in on a buddy and I, about 10 ft before retreating. That will wake you up quicker than a cup of coffee.

Turkey hunting a box turtle walked up to my feet, checked me out, turned and walked off.

From the ground I missed a big 4 yr old buck in MI with a longbow at age 17. After a retreat of a few steps, he turned, bowed his head and charged as I drew another arrow from the back quiver and shot him at about 7 yds through the inside of the shoulder, the pocket by the neck. He didn't like that and ran off about 50 yds and tipped over. I didn't think, just reacted. It was peak rut, and I was sitting in the middle of a field on a fence row, which was littered with scrapes in fresh snow.

[Russ Clagett]

Hunting squirrels with a friend in the Ozarks of Missouri...long time ago. Seated against a stone outcropping, just as it was getting dusk when a very loud high pitched scream went off right above me.....

Without another single thought I was running out of those woods on a trail....I passed animals that looked at me with open mouthed total astonishment since only the very tips of my toes touched the ground......

Then I heard it gaining on me from behind...ran faster...

then my buddy passed me on that trail like I was standing still.

We went back the next day and got our stuff.

[MERGANZER]

I have been very fortunate to see some pretty cool things.  I have had a squirrel sit on my knee, a grouse in my blind, an owls wing sweep over my shoulder as he dived for a squirrel on my bait pile, a bobcat sneek past me at 35 yds, I have seen bucks fight and breed doe's, red fox right underneath me but the greatest thing I have ever seen while hunting was when I saw my daughter and my son harvest thier first deer while hunting with Dad.  I still have one more daughter who needs to punch a tag and she is very determined to do so.  But that I would say is the most magnificent thing I have ever seen!  It only happens once for the first time and those hunts are burned into my memory forever.  Take your kids hunting!

Adam

[Covey]

Russ Clagett,
That is some funny stuff right there. I could just picture that in my mind, and had me a good chuckle.
Adam,
I couldn't agree more! My son is still waiting on his first ( he is 13 ), and I'm looking forward to the day it happens. Dosen't matter though, I still love to be in the woods and on the water with him!!

Love these kind of threads!

Jason