What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

[Buffalobwana]

I guided two Russians for Aoudad. BOTH OF THEM had ND's that almost ended me. One just missed my head. It was maybe a couple inches.

The second one, thank the Lord, he touched the side of my knee with his muzzle of his 300 win mag, I instantly jerked my leg away as he pulled the trigger.

I was maybe 1/10 of a second from loosing my leg. I watched it happen.

I have never been that angry at anyone in my adult lifetime.

The first one, the guy blew it off like "Eh, it happens" (in a Russian accent). The second guy felt so bad about it, because he also watched what happened and recognized how close he came to amputating my leg.

I'm never guiding another Russian. I have heard this same story from PHs in Africa as well.

 

[Allen Kitts]

Seems we all have some scary experiences with cats. I was hunting in late December just before our season closed. There was about 3" of snow on the ground. On the evening walk out at dusk in the bottom of a valley I came across a solo deer that we had been trying to get for a while. Regrettably, I made a bad shot and hit the guts. The deer sprinted up the side of a large mountain and I started tracking really slow so I didn't bump it if it laid down. Darkness falls and I'm about half way up the mountain still tracking when my headlamp decides to stop working even with fresh batteries. Luckily the moon was out enough that I could see the blood and tracks in the snow. As time passes I start to see larger tracks in the snow that look exactly like a cats. I brush it off to myself saying it's just a small bear and that the darkness is making it appear as a cat track. I end up finding the deer close to the top of the ridge. I didn't want to stick around because it's nearly 9pm at this point so I start dragging it down the mountain. As I'm dragging I start hearing what I could only describe as somebody screaming in pain. The hairs on my arms and neck stood up. For a good 30 minutes as I'm dragging this deer that's all I could hear. In the woods, in the dark with no light, dragging a deer that's slowing me down. It was gut wrenching. All ended up being good in the end. They say that mountain lions are extinct in the Appalachians but I've personally seen many trail cam photos that say otherwise and have since had a few experiences with them. Just because of that, I now don't like walking for long periods of time to get to spots in the dark anymore. I doubt one would ever attack me but the thought is hard to wrestle.

Could have been a Bobcat as well. There cry is bloodcurdling. When I lived in CT on a small farm we had them there and they would cut loose at night and it would give me the heebie jeebies.

 

[Allen Kitts]

I guided two Russians for Aoudad. BOTH OF THEM had ND's that almost ended me. One just missed my head. It was maybe a couple inches.

The second one, thank the Lord, he touched the side of my knee with his muzzle of his 300 win mag, I instantly jerked my leg away as he pulled the trigger.

I was maybe 1/10 of a second from loosing my leg. I watched it happen.

I have never been that angry at anyone in my adult lifetime.

The first one, the guy blew it off like "Eh, it happens" (in a Russian accent). The second guy felt so bad about it, because he also watched what happened and recognized how close he came to amputating my leg.

I'm never guiding another Russian. I have heard this same story from PHs in Africa as well.

Now that's scary!

 

[Orange Dust]

Seems we all have some scary experiences with cats. I was hunting in late December just before our season closed. There was about 3" of snow on the ground. On the evening walk out at dusk in the bottom of a valley I came across a solo deer that we had been trying to get for a while. Regrettably, I made a bad shot and hit the guts. The deer sprinted up the side of a large mountain and I started tracking really slow so I didn't bump it if it laid down. Darkness falls and I'm about half way up the mountain still tracking when my headlamp decides to stop working even with fresh batteries. Luckily the moon was out enough that I could see the blood and tracks in the snow. As time passes I start to see larger tracks in the snow that look exactly like a cats. I brush it off to myself saying it's just a small bear and that the darkness is making it appear as a cat track. I end up finding the deer close to the top of the ridge. I didn't want to stick around because it's nearly 9pm at this point so I start dragging it down the mountain. As I'm dragging I start hearing what I could only describe as somebody screaming in pain. The hairs on my arms and neck stood up. For a good 30 minutes as I'm dragging this deer that's all I could hear. In the woods, in the dark with no light, dragging a deer that's slowing me down. It was gut wrenching. All ended up being good in the end. They say that mountain lions are extinct in the Appalachians but I've personally seen many trail cam photos that say otherwise and have since had a few experiences with them. Just because of that, I now don't like walking for long periods of time to get to spots in the dark anymore. I doubt one would ever attack me but the thought is hard to wrestle.

Yes, they freak me out too. Nothing like hunting all day in the snow, then going back down a mountain, only to find cat tracks on top of yours. been there, done that, even hunted my back trail trying to see and shoot one. Never had that work. I used to think the sneakiest thing in the woods was a Bobcat, but proven wrong several times.

 

[Orange Dust]

I was asleep one time at the duck club on a couch. My X son in law came in from deer hunting with a loaded Rem 700 that had the factory trigger lightened. When he took the safety off it fired inside. Bullet went right over my belly and missed it about an inch. went through the couch and out the wall..... Moral of the story: Never point a gun at anyone loaded or not. AND unload before leaving the hunting area. NOT in the house.

My only ND: I was deer hunting with a TC ML. It was in the 1/2 cock safety notch. I carried my "stand" a boat cushion, like a backpack. set the ML against a tree to take the boat cushion off my back and settle down. When I set the rifle down, it went off. got a face full of powder burns and a notch cut from the brim of my hat. I was in HS at the time, so it was long ago. I sat down and never reloaded the rifle. Just sat there until dark thanking my lucky stars, God, and whoever else in the woods that would listen. Never shot that rifle again. Lucky I didn't lose my head, or at least an eye. too close, and taught me a lifelong lesson. tragedy strikes when you least expect it folks, Gun Safety is serious, and a lesson best not learned the hard way.

 

[Buffalobwana]

I was asleep one time at the duck club on a couch. My X son in law came in from deer hunting with a loaded Rem 700 that had the factory trigger lightened. When he took the safety off it fired inside. Bullet went right over my belly and missed it about an inch. went through the couch and out the wall..... Moral of the story: Never point a gun at anyone loaded or not. AND unload before leaving the hunting area. NOT in the house.

My only ND: I was deer hunting with a TC ML. It was in the 1/2 cock safety notch. I carried my "stand" a boat cushion, like a backpack. set the ML against a tree to take the boat cushion off my back and settle down. When I set the rifle down, it went off. got a face full of powder burns and a notch cut from the brim of my hat. I was in HS at the time, so it was long ago. I sat down and never reloaded the rifle. Just sat there until dark thanking my lucky stars, God, and whoever else in the woods that would listen. Never shot that rifle again. Lucky I didn't lose my head, or at least an eye. too close, and taught me a lifelong lesson. tragedy strikes when you least expect it folks, Gun Safety is serious, and a lesson best not learned the hard way.

NDs from others are scarier than anything I have come up against on any continent.

A Cape Buffalo charge? No problem. A Mt Lion stalking you? There are options. I had three guys appear out of the bush w Uzis once. Even that situation was manageable! They were nice guys!

Someone sweeping you and pulling the trigger? You have zero control over that situation.

 

[highfinblue]

I did struggle a bit climbing into the elevated tower at my friend's place; it was like six steps, steep, and I had lots of food, I mean gear, it was going to be a long day. That's about as dangerous as it was for me except for driving on the highway to get there, people are crazy nowadays.

 

[Buffalobwana]

I did struggle a bit climbing into the elevated tower at my friend's place; it was like six steps, steep, and I had lots of food, I mean gear, it was going to be a long day. That's about as dangerous as it was for me except for driving on the highway to get there, people are crazy nowadays.

Danger is relative. But real!

That second step from the bottom, after a long sit, can be a real killer if you forget about it! You can drop your cooler and twist your ankle!

 

[Old Rooster]

Been there,done that!Ruined my hunt and most of that season!

 

[hembrook]

So the follow on to moose hunting in Estonia.

To get to and back from the stand I rode with an ethnic Russian Estonian named Ivan. Ivan had a 1990s Renault 5 (the 80s version was sold in the us as "Le Car" for those that remember them). Ivan seemed convinced they were an off road vehicle.

There is a canid in the fox family called Marderhund in German (Nyctereutes procyonoides). They look like a raccoon with longer legs. They were introduced into the Baltic states as a captive fur-bearing animal by the Soviets, and naturally got out and started taking over from Racoons, foxes etc. so they are shoot on sight.

I had my Haenel Jaeger 9 break-barrel single shot in 7x65R with a Zeiss 3-15 scope on it. Ivan clipped a flashlight to the barrel and instructed me in pidgin Russian to hang out the window and shoot any marderhund we saw.

Pound pound pound over the furrowed ground we bounded. Did I mention Ivan smwas soused on Vodka and bleary eyed at 0200 in the morning? Fast as hell we drove, spotlighting like mad. Each time we saw marderhund eyes looking back, Ivan slammed on the brakes and spun the car around so I had a shot.

We took 4 that night, tossed them in the trunk in plastic sacks.

Winter coats are good for making furs out of. Summer coats like these? Not so much.

 

[Mcranch]

My adventure days are long gone. Unless I get attacked getting out of the truck/Kubota to get into a blind,or elevated shooting house. Buddy does have a mean breeder bull on the farm to watch out for.

Had one of those could see his reflection in the rim of the truck, literally moved the back of the truck.

 

[Reelamin]

At camp asleep and heard a cougar scream. Thank goodness it happened again when we were awake, or we would have been hiking the woods looking for a tore up woman.

 

[VaWhiteTailHunter76]

My adventure days are long gone. Unless I get attacked getting out of the truck/Kubota to get into a blind,or elevated shooting house. Buddy does have a mean breeder bull on the farm to watch out for.

Let me guess ...... it's an ANGUS!

 

[Allen Lone wolf]

I was sitting in a tower blind with my custom 300wsm on a 700 action with a jewel trigger set a 8oz. I only used that rifle when hunting from a box blind and was very familiar with the light trigger being an ex BR high power shooter. A nice 10pt walked out on a green field at 75yds. It's extremely cold like single digits and I have heavy gloves on. I raise the window ,ease my rifle out the window pointing towards the buck not at him when I pushed the safety off and placed my finger on the side of the trigger guard my glove touched that 8oz. Trigger and fired. Scared me half to death! Bought a pair of gloves with a trigger finger that can be pulled back and velcroed in place right afterwards.