What's the dumbest or...?

[stingerslinger]

Late one afternoon a group mallard ducks flew over tree top high...and a few were doing the feed call.Me being a duck hunter,I could'nt resist doing a few feed call chuckles with my grunt tube.Almost immediately a small buck came in running @ 5 yards looking for action.In the last 15 years or so,I have killed one buck and had several bucks respond to this method of calling.

[Daz]

Four years ago i was quietly still hunting out of a huge cut block after calling moose for the afternoon. I had about 15 minutes of light left when i fell a%% over tea-kettle on a dry slash pile.

After 10 seconds of flailing about and making some serious noise, i stood, bowed to all of the little forest critters who i assumed had watched the performance and took a step when a bull grunted just out of sight sixty yards to the north of me.

I spent the next ten to 15 minutes trying to work into a shot, but ran out of light.

The worst part was him paralleling me in the dark as i headed out. He did this for about 100 yards smashing saplings and grunting every time he heard me take a step as i left. At one point he actually charged in on me to about fifteen yards.

All i could see in my headlamp was paddles and alders moving.

I guess he heard my smashing and thrashing and figured i was a bull looking for a fight, and was more than willing to provide it.

[ChuckC]

I was "guiding" a friend up in the mountains of west central Colorado.  We scouted the day before and found that a herd (elk)was using a certain trail over a pass between two peaks ( I knew of this place from past experiences).  

We got up there early the next morning and sat on the downstream side of the pass to wait for light and eat a breakfast (elk being upstream) and down a bit so scent would go away from the playing field.  

I bit into my energy bar and asked what she was eating. .  "blueberry poptarts" she replied.  I casually said bears like blueberries and went on eating.  She made a face at me.

A while later, we hear sounds. . .  approaching herd.  She got a lesson in hunting the wind, as she crept over the top of the pass and the elk ran.  I then positioned her on the trail that circled the rim of the pass and suggested she sit for a while while I stalked the high ground above.

I kept track of her from above every lil bit with my binoculars.  On one of those peeks, I saw a pretty good sized black form and sat down to watch as a nice black bear used the trail and walked nearly right to her.  She had a gun with her and knows how to use it, I wasn't worried (about her at least).

The bear got close, then started acting shy, as bear hunters have seen, then he turned around and left.

When I got down there later and asked about it.  She told me this story of seeing this cool black bear. . "he came down over there,  walked and sniffed around, then he followed the trail almost to me, until I started stomping my feet".  

I asked what was going thru her mind as the bear was getting closer and she blurted out " ******ing blueberries".

ChuckC

[JLeMieux]

I made my first trad hunts 2 years ago. I carried my climber in and set up just off an area I knew the deer were feeding in. I climbed to about 17-18 ft, got settled and started pulling my bow up. That's when I realized I had never tied it on. It was early season and very hot, so I really didn't want to climb down and back up. I then noticed a small limb to my right with a perfect fork. I cut it making a hook and was able to grab my bow and pull it up. I got my first trad shot at a deer just before dark and shot right over her back at 10 yds.

2 weeks later I hunted a different area and did the exact same thing except I didn't even have my pull rope this time. I finally managed to get my bow up after fashioning a pull rope out of my lifeline and climber strap with a metal clasp on the end. A couple hours later a doe and two fawns came through. Shot her quartered away at 24 yards.

[buckeye_hunter]

Originally posted by ChuckC:
 

I asked what was going thru her mind as the bear was getting closer and she blurted out " ******ing blueberries".

ChuckC

[Mudd]

buckeye_hunter: No ghillie just muted color top and blue jeans.

God bless,Mudd

[HighTecRedNeck]

This was last year before I decided to go to the trad side so I had my compound.

I had been out that morning and got a 6 pt buck. Nice deer but nothing to get my picture in bowhunter mag...lol

Anyway, this was the evening hunt and I didn't get my nap back at camp so I fell asleep in my tree stand. About 30 minutes before sunset I felt my whole ladder stand shaking and woke up. Down at the bottom was a BIG ole boar rubbing on the legs. I grab my bow and it is impossible to get a draw on it from that angle so I am moving around on my stand and I knock my bottle of gator aid out of it's holder. It falls the 16 ft and hits that rascal right on the noggin. Needless to say the thing took off like a bat out of you know where and here I was standing there with a stupid look on my face.

As expected I am not very proud of one. Since then I ALWAYS have a afternoon cup of coffee

[Feather Flinger]

A few years ago I shot a turkey while deer hunting. Well that thing flopped around for 3-4 minutes and finally layed still so I assumed it was dead. I decided to just stay in my stand and wait for some deer. About 30 minutes later that stupid turkey gets up and starts flopping and flying in about a 15 yard circle. I get down out of my tree stand and started chasing this thing around until I finally got my hands on him and finished him off with my hunting knife. I went back up into my tree stand to get my gear and bow and realized there was a couple does starring at me from about 25 yards away. I never got a shot at them but I wonder what they were thinking when they were watching me running around behind a flailing/partially decapitated turkey with my knife in hand.

[ChuckC]

more. . .  we need more !
ChuckC

[khardrunner]

My first season bowhunting I hadn't seen but 2 deer. Snow was laying on the ground so I was excited to try to figure out where the deer were traveling using tracks. By the time I got to the woodlot, it had begun to rain. I decided (STOOPIDLY!) to leave my bow in the truck and just scout. I have not a clue why. Anyway, after an hour of walking around the woodlot I came over a rise. Two doe walked right at me up the trail. I could have smacked the first one in the face with an arrow she got that close. It was like I was a ghost. I finally scared them off when I decided to walk again.

Didn't see another deer ever in that woodlot.

[Greyfox54]

Years back before headnets were available I decided my face was giving me away so I had a brainstorm . I had a wool pullover facemask with eye holes that  would solve my problem . Early season here is hot and after a few hours in the stand things became unbearable  . I rolled the mask up to cool off when a nice buck comes into a scrape not 15 yards away . I should have shot him there and then but something told me to pull down my mask , which I did and had my nose and one ear in the eyeholes ! By the time I got situated the buck was long gone .

[paoliguy]

well at least you could still hear and smell him as he ran away!

[Shawn Leonard]

I have a ton, one of the best happened around 1997. I had bumped a ton of deer on my way to my stand and after sitting for 2 hrs.. decided I would call it quits way to early. Still had 2 hrs. of day light left. I lowered my bow down and dropped the rope as well. I get to the first step and I look up and there is a buck on the ridge opposite me. 50 yards away and coming fast, I decided I had nothing to loose and get down quick, like a fool I decided to go two more steps and jump the last ten ft.  I hit the ground and rolled my ankle terrible bad. I look up deer runs off, no kidding you fool I said as I layed there in tears. I now have an ankle that even thru my boot has swelled too 3 times its normal size. I decide to hop out to the field edge and just sit and wait for my Dad to pick me up.(No Cell Phone yet, not for me anyway). I get up and sit under a big oak and get comfy, I fall sound asleep. About 15 minutes before dark I wake to a loud snort I look up and eating acorns not 15 ft away is the same buck I buggared earlier. He looked at me and turned to leave. I grabbed my bow knocked an arrow and shot as he was quartering away at about 15 yards. He only went 50 yards and piled up. Just dumb luck, my ankle ended up being a terrible sprain and I was in a cast for 6 weeks. It turned out to be a blessing as I killed 5 more deer from the ground that year. Shawn

[bruinman]

Shot a buck one time with my tallywhacker still out. Had to cut it off mid stream. Someone mentioned above about bucks coming in while you are still climbing or just got to the height you were going. i have had it happen at least half a dozen times over the years, and I am fairly positive that it is the noise of climbing that brings them in.

[Zradix]

you cut your tallywhaker off? That was a mistake!

   

sorry couldn't resist..lol

[buckeye_hunter]

I need more luck like Shawn's! I have seen ton's of deer from the ground, but haven't killed any.

In other news.....

"you cut your tallywhaker off?"    

[Tedd]

Its not the treestand sound its the peeing sound! I swear I've "peed in" a several deer! You have to have dead calm morning and real crunchy leaves. Pee from about 25' up. It works!
I know one thing, I'll never do the pee in a bottle thing I used to do.
Tedd

[Flint Head]

I was hunting just inside the wood line from a pasture... killed the my biggest deer after two different rounds of cows and horse's walked and hung out at the bottom of my stand.

[achigan]

"armed with a dead coyote"          

[wooddamon1]

Funny stuff!