What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

[MtPockets]

It makes me mad that so many F&G departments can't tell us the truth about certain game populations.

A few years ago, maybe 3-4, I had a talk with a MT Biologist about the wolf population. He told me most have no idea what they are looking at and that there were 2 confirmed wolves on the entire Beartooth face!
It ****ed me off but like a buddy said- "that's ok. That means that if you see one just shoot it! Gotta be a coyote!"

 

[epags]

Well since guys are throwing in some fishing stories I have one of those as well, not spooky but scary. We went fishing in Mexico at Lake Comedero for Largemouth Bass. On the way to the lake we had to stop at the local police station to pickup an armed escort and I mean machine gun toting armed guard. After picking up the guard they took us to the lodge, which just happened to be an old Corps of Engineers facility at the dam of Lake Comedero. The facility had an 8' high fence with razor wire on top completely surrounding it. We should have know as soon as we got the escort it was going to be a long three days of fishing. First day fishing was OK for us but two of the other fisherman in camp were shot at by one of the locals. They were way out in the lake but the guy discharged his weapon at them twice. A call was made over the radio and the armed escort called in the cavalry and they took him away. The fishing the first day really sucked for everyone anyway and it was hotter that Hades. We were told that evening back at camp that the government lets the locals put out huge nets to catch fish as a source of income and it had really taken its toll on the bass population in the lake. Always great to hear when you just paid big bucks for a fishing trip to a trophy lake. We did notice that first evening that in one area that there were two nets stretched almost all the way across the lake and the fish were jumping like crazy in side of there but the guides all stayed clear. The second day our guide decides we are going inside the two nets. We question the decision amongst ourselves but once we started fishing it was unbelievable, no really big fish but literally a bass on almost every cast. My buddy and I are having a great time when all of a sudden the guide starts yelling to pull in the lines and sit down. He is trying to get the boat motor started and we can see another boat approaching us quickly. I could feel my heart start beating about 100 miles an hour as it got closer. The boat pulls up to us and its a guy with his little boy in the boat. The man has a pistol in his hand. He starts yelling profusely at the guide and we are sitting there wondering if literally this is it. I look in the bottom of the boat and I can see what appears to be a pile of wallets stacked up and I'm thinking this is going to be a robbery at the very least and possibly much worse. The little boy is looking at me and the only thing I can think of was to give him some of my candy and an ice cold coke out of the cooler. Maybe they would accept it as a peace offering. I do so and he gets a big smile on his face and says gracias. I smile back and say your welcome just as the guy with the pistol turns and looks at me. I hand him a coke as well and he gets a big smile on his face. He then turns to the guide yells out a few more words waves the pistol in his face and takes off. The guide starts the boat and we get the hell out of Dodge. When we get back to the lodge we are telling our host what happened so he questions the guide about it. Apparently he had been warned on several occasions before this one to stay away from the locals nets, I guess he was a slow learner. I later learned that what looked like wallets was some type of fish food/bait that they make locally and they fold it up and put it at the base of the nets. That is probably the most scared I have ever been in my life. They reported him to the armed guard as before and he called in some help and supposedly they rounded the guy up. Just some words of advice, hunting, fishing whatever it is, if you have to have an armed escort to get there its probably not worth it.......

Well, OK....not a hunting or fishing scare story but like above expensive trip and guns were involved. Life long desire to see pyramids of Egypt before I died. Spouse says, lets make it happen. Loooong story short, while on the trip we are on the Nile on a cruise boat. Todays agenda is to visit a 2,000 to 3,000 year old site (that just happens to be in an area frequented by bandits (terrorists?). So the cruise director arranges for a small party of the Egyptian military to act as escorts. As I am on the top deck (enjoying a gin and tonic not included in the tour package of course) three military come up and set up a deck mounted machine gun. As I watch, they sweep most of the deck with the muzzle of the machine gun. After they settle down and have the muzzle pointed downstream I casually make my way to a group of English speaking tourists (they didn't speak real english since they were from OZ......some of you understand that?) and advise them they might want to move to another part of the deck. We became fast friends and still correspond.

 

[BigNate]

Sometimes the realization that death was a hairs breath away can hit pretty hard.
I was out with my Dad and BIL trying to fill a couple doe tags on a depredation hunt.
Pretty casual, no pressure, not in a hurry. We're in a single cab pickup, I'm in the middle. I have two rifles in my lap. We're basically riding around on a private ranch looking for deer.
We come around a rise and see several does. Dad pops it in to neutral, steps on the e-brake, and I grab his Rem 700 to pass it to him on his way out the door. The bolt handle hits the shift knob and the gun fired. On safe!

I had been riding around with the muzzle pointed right at me. I'm sure it was pointed at my dad during the transition from the floor. I looked at my dad and asked him why it was loaded in the truck? He was white as a ghost.
I was taught to clear the chamber when arriving back to the truck by HIM. Nothing chambered inside the truck, ever. Yet we had just had what could have been catastrophic.
He wasn't much in the mood to hunt the rest of the trip.

 

[Sealesniper]

Bow hunting my farm in Hyde County, had a sow with 3 cubs walk by headed to corn field. She winded me and gave the alarm grunt. The cubs went up the trees, but 2 went up my tree, and the other went up the tree beside me. Momma was ****ed and she stood and started to chomp her teeth. I have had many bear encounters on this farm, but most were with bears coming for my deer I just shot, or just curious. This was a very angry mom with cubs on the other side of me. I decided to get the cubs back to momma, so I grabbed the cub in the tree beside me and in the same motion threw him to the ground. The other two cubs were in my tree, one above me, and one just below the seat of my lock on, on the back of the tree. When I moved to toss the first cub, the lower cub, went down the tree to mom, but the cub above me held tight and was looking over his shoulder at me and started to bay to his mom. She started up the tree, so I jumped up and grabbed the cub by his back leg and hind quarter hair. That 70# bear held on with my 200# frame hanging off him. I shook my weight and I felt him start to release. When he let go I was able to push him down and away. Once they were all on the ground, they disappeared quickly into the thick brush.

I should note that this area is VERY thick underbrush, and I was positioned at the edge of a ditch hunting a deer trail behind me to the left, so where the bears were was very thick ground cover with red bay bushes, and I was only 12 feet off the ground. The two cubs that I assisted to the ground, both landed in the brush and were cushioned from hitting the ground. All were un harmed and I watched them for the rest of that season along with other bears.

 

[epc001]

epags, never met hardly a one who could shoot straight btw.....Turks and Kurds, YES!

BigNate, game cops catch you with a loaded rifle in cab during season, they get the whole truck and everything in it , here in NY pretty much. Good opsec to clear your weapons before entering the barracks! CLOSE CALL MAN!

 

[Hard rock]

I went too MEXICO , lake Guerra or something like that ,a one morning fishing trip and,about five in the afternoon I started thinking how things could get bad , loaded up got the heck out of dodge ,driving a chevy truck pulling a bass boat crossed the boarder at a we hour in the morning and been in the good old USA ever since. I know the feeling. I asked about a fishing license one of the locals said oh if your stopped you just pay the Federalizes . Thanks but no thanks.

 

[C-130 Dude]

This didn't happen to me but , I've heard both sides of this story. My buddy I grew up with decided one evening he'd spook his dad . His dad would get off work every evening and run home get into his camo and run across the field and get in his tree stand during the early bow season.
My buddies mom had bought him this very real looking monkey suit . He'd got home earlier than his dad did and put that suit on and went and got in the tree stand . He said he could see his dad walking down the trail not really looking to see if any one or thing was up in his tree . He said he let his dad put his bow on the pull up rope and touch the ladder then stated squalling and jumping up and down like a freaking monkey . His dad grabbed the bow and started to pull it back but didn't . By that time my buddy took the mask off .
I talked to his dad bout a week later he said he thought for sure he was gonna have a heart attack that's what stopped him from coming to full draw .
It was funny but could've ended bad for either party

Great way to get a few new vent holes you.

 

[memtb]

In the early/mid '90's we were camped (camper) 11 miles in on a gravel road in Western Wyoming south and east of Star Valley. As we had our pups with us, we were coming back to camp around noon, let the dogs out, get lunch and go back out for an evening hunt!

We were just getting into the truck to go back out, when this kid (late teens) came walking up to us…..limping and looking like he'd been to hell and back!

He wanted to know where he was at, then he told he told us his story and where his group was camped. He explained that they were camped at Lake Alice, and that he saw elk from camp near sunset and left camp in a hurry to try for one.

He got turned around, as darkness closed in…. he was lost! He spent the night out, Lake Alice was several miles "as the crow flies" from our camp through some pretty rough country…..many miles by road, probably 2 + hours.

We told him, that we'd take him back to his camp…..and visit some friends that were hunting in that area as well! During the trip to his camp, we had a lot of time to visit!

He told us a little bit about his background, some of the others at camp……..including a retired professional baseball pitcher in camp and how he came to be hunting with them!

As we approached their camp, it's around 4pm and we passed his very concerned father on his way out to contact Search and Rescue!

When we arrived at their camp, they had spent the entire day sending out groups in different directions trying to find the boy! There was a brief celebration, and shots fired to tell of the boys having arrived back at camp!

In just a short time a group came in…..with them was the pro ball player……Mike Boddicker! Super nice guy, he was the pitching coach for the KC Royals at that time.

When we got back to our camp, it was after dark….we were preparing a meal and tuning the AM radio (long before Sirius/XM) in so we could listen to the World Series, which we did every year during elk season!

We had barely found the station, when the announcers were giving some pregame information. One of them said that that night would be a special treat, as for the first time in many years that there would be 2 rookie pitchers starting the game…. The last time it had happened was between Mike Boddicker and another rookie…..can't remember who!

My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief……we had just hours before met Mike Boddicker! What are the odds? memtb

 

[C-130 Dude]

OK, Got another one, not really spooky for me ,but .... Well here goes. First a little background. This area isn't a huge area and is surrounded by roads so you can't get lost. Right? There are paved roads on the North and West Sides and dirt roads on the East and South sides, with a logging road coming in on the East side about a mile in from the North edge and curving around exiting on the North. It is 4 Miles W to E and 5 miles N to S . First time I hunted there (I've never been lost, just confused over night) I hunted grouse and didn't have a compass.

So it was just before gun season and my wife got called in to work. My 2 year old son was in my care, ant I needed to hang a stand. Last chance I would have until season opened. Drove to the place where the logging trail comes out of the woods on the East side and parked there. Put my son on my shoulders and carried the stand in. Followed the logging trail to where it curves to the North and took a game trial South. There is a swamp on the South edge of this area and I wanted to get close to the swamp to hang the stand. Found a good tree and got the stand hung. Now it's getting dark out so I decide it will be quicker to head straight East to the dirt road I should end up about 1\4 mile South of where the truck is parked. Take out my compass and head east. It's now pitch black and all I have is a AA Maglite flashlight. I walk and walk thinking I have to be getting close to the dirt road. Suddenly in the beam of the flashlight I see water. My son is riding on my shoulders,it's getting really cold out, the swamp should be a mile South of where I am. What went wrong? Did my compass lead me deeper into this area? Where am I ? Then off in the distance I hear a car on a dirt road so I just stop a wait and listen. I get closer,closer,Then I see headlights, closer Then it goes by about 20 feet away! I'm standing in the road ditch and there's water in the ditch. There for a few minutes I really panicked. ALWAYS believe the compass!

GPS is a really good tool to use. But if it goes wrong and you don't have a backup, your screwed. ALWAYS pack a good compass and practice, practice, practice with it. Get so it is part of you. It saved my life. It may save yours.

 

[C-130 Dude]

I was looking for elk in one of my favorite canyons on a snowy morning in November. After glassing for a couple of hours I decided it was a bust and I should start heading back to my truck. It had been a good hike in and the snow was fairly deep so the walking was pretty tough. I started making my way back and had gone about a half mile back down the trail when I came across a very fresh bull track crossing my path. There was about 12" of snow on the ground and the tracks looked pretty fresh. I followed the tracks about 300 yards into the trees and then it started to get pretty thick. Lots of blow down and alder brush. Of course I was taking a few steps, stopping looking for any movement and then proceeding. After about 200 yards of following the elk tracks I noticed there was another set of tracks in the snow as well, they appeared to be lion tracks. Lions are a fairly common in our part of Montana so seeing the tracks was of no surprise but the fact that they had crossed my path within an hour or so of me walking in was a little spooky. Since the elk tracks were very fresh, as they were not there when I went into the canyon I knew both had to be within the last hour or so. Now you have to understand sometimes my ego outweighs my common sense and I'm thinking there is no way I am letting this cats get this bull, so I stay on the tracks. The brush and blowdown keep getting thicker and the tracks are weaving in and out of the thickest stuff in there. I finally get to one spot and the tracks go into some heavy alder brush, kind of like a tunnel and below a big blown down/widowmaker pine. I think nothing of it and start under the blow down but before I get to the other side, practically on my hands & knees, I get a strange feeling, all of the hair on the back of my neck sticks straight out, you know the feeling, like the static electricity just went up about a million percent. I stop, look down and notice, oh ****, no more cat tracks. Now I am in a fully vulnerable crouched position in this thicket trying to figure out if I am going to be lunch for the kitty or what. I can't really see in any direction except straight ahead but I decide the best way out is to go backwards. I backed out slowly with my hands on my rifle. When I got to a point where I could stand back upright I noticed the tracks had left the ground and went up the blow down. How I had not seen this when entering the little tunnel in the brush is beyond me. Luckily for me the cat was nowhere to be seen. Spooky part is I could not find where the cat had left the tree. I could find no additional cat tracks in the snow anywhere surrounding the area. I decided I had tempted fate enough for one day and that it was probably time to count my blessings and go back to the truck. Still baffles me to this day where that cat went.

Maybe he was higher up in the tree looking down at you. Yum, yum.

 

[Alibiiv]

Sudden severe weather has killed lots of people in the outdoors. You got lucky my friend.

You are absolutely correct, it was a foolish mistake on my part. I truly know that I was lucky with this experience!!! I can assure you that in the future I will be a lot more diligent in my decisions. If the outfitter had gone to pick up any of the two hunters who I was with, it would not have been a good situation either. I was totally soaked, there was absolutely nothing dry on my body. I don't believe getting a fire started, in that weather, even with a gallon of gasoline would have been an option either. One of the other hunters had a bear down, it could have been a long wait if the outfitter had decided to get the hunter with the bear down first. I was 75 years old, so the oldest of the group (the other two are my sons) and usually he will pick me up first. I cannot believe that I was that irresponsible, because I know better. The only good thing that came out of this/my experience with this situation is that it will never happen again. I learned a very valuable lesson, that is one of the reasons that I shared this story. I also just started carrying an inReach Mini device; hopefully I will not ever have to use it. Even with the inReach Mine one needs a clear view of the open sky. In that storm it probably would not have worked either; and....there is not phone service where we hunt.

 

[marksman1941]

It makes me mad that so many F&G departments can't tell us the truth about certain game populations.

A few years ago, maybe 3-4, I had a talk with a MT Biologist about the wolf population. He told me most have no idea what they are looking at and that there were 2 confirmed wolves on the entire Beartooth face!
It ****ed me off but like a buddy said- "that's ok. That means that if you see one just shoot it! Gotta be a coyote!"

A lot of ours are collared and gps tracked. So folks are a bit quieter when things happen…

 

[C-130 Dude]

In the early/mid '90's we were camped (camper) 11 miles in on a gravel road in Western Wyoming south and east of Star Valley. As we had our pups with us, we were coming back to camp around noon, let the dogs out, get lunch and go back out for an evening hunt!

We were just getting into the truck to go back out, when this kid (late teens) came walking up to us…..limping and looking like he'd been to hell and back!

He wanted to know where he was at, then he told he told us his story and where his group was camped. He explained that they were camped at Lake Alice, and that he saw elk from camp near sunset and left camp in a hurry to try for one.

He got turned around, as darkness closed in…. he was lost! He spent the night out, Lake Alice was several miles "as the crow flies" from our camp through some pretty rough country…..many miles by road, probably 2 + hours.

We told him, that we'd take him back to his camp…..and visit some friends that were hunting in that area as well! During the trip to his camp, we had a lot of time to visit!

He told us a little bit about his background, some of the others at camp……..including a retired professional baseball pitcher in camp and how he came to be hunting with them!

As we approached their camp, it's around 4pm and we passed his very concerned father on his way out to contact Search and Rescue!

When we arrived at their camp, they had spent the entire day sending out groups in different directions trying to find the boy! There was a brief celebration, and shots fired to tell of the boys having arrived back at camp!

In just a short time a group came in…..with them was the pro ball player……Mike Boddicker! Super nice guy, he was the pitching coach for the KC Royals at that time.

When we got back to our camp, it was after dark….we were preparing a meal and tuning the AM radio (long before Sirius/XM) in so we could listen to the World Series, which we did every year during elk season!

We had barely found the station, when the announcers were giving some pregame information. One of them said that that night would be a special treat, as for the first time in many years that there would be 2 rookie pitchers starting the game…. The last time it had happened was between Mike Boddicker and another rookie…..can't remember who!

My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief……we had just hours before met Mike Boddicker! What are the odds? memtb

My wife and I are a baseball family. All else comes to a stop when it's MLB season! Go Braves!

 

[memtb]

You are absolutely correct, it was a foolish mistake on my part. I truly know that I was lucky with this experience!!! I can assure you that in the future I will be a lot more diligent in my decisions. If the outfitter had gone to pick up any of the two hunters who I was with, it would not have been a good situation either. I was totally soaked, there was absolutely nothing dry on my body. I don't believe getting a fire started, in that weather, even with a gallon of gasoline would have been an option either. One of the other hunters had a bear down, it could have been a long wait if the outfitter had decided to get the hunter with the bear down first. I was 75 years old, so the oldest of the group (the other two are my sons) and usually he will pick me up first. I cannot believe that I was that irresponsible, because I know better. The only good thing that came out of this/my experience with this situation is that it will never happen again. I learned a very valuable lesson, that is one of the reasons that I shared this story. I also just started carrying an inReach Mini device; hopefully I will not ever have to use it. Even with the inReach Mine one needs a clear view of the open sky. In that storm it probably would not have worked either; and....there is not phone service where we hunt.

A friend of mine, a part time guide, and very serious hunter, had a bad horse wreck southeast of Yellowstone! Many hours to the trailhead and more hours to cell phone reception. If it were not for his "satellite phone"…..he may not have gotten a helicopter ride! memtb