What's the Scariest hunting situation you have had ?

[wheelieman]

I havent done any drives in the last 3 or 4 years, But i hunted with my buddies family for years after, Ive given up the chasing them since i get a few weeks in november off, Now i just sit and wait, I find it much more rewarding and see even more deer then i ever have before,  That opening morning had a real effect on me, Ive been overly cautious, not that its a bad thing but i refuse too shoot over 40 yds from the ground with a shotgun, The deer has to be standing in front of something that will stop the slug, so needless to say in 18 years of hunting this was the first year i filled out a buck tag with a gun, Ive had chances in the past but have never felt comfortable, But now rifle is open, I sit in a treestand and still wont take shots over 75yds, Plus i stopped hunting stateland, Too many people just want to hear the bang of the gun, Its dangerous, 

[Doc]

There have been two times when I came close to being trampled by deer. One was over at Hemlock lake when I heard this commotion coming down the hill that turned out to be a panicked deer running down the trail that I was walking on. I have no idea what had him running like that, but I stepped off the trail just in time to let him go past.

Scary event number 2 was a similar scenario where during a drive of the thicket in front of my house, several deer ran out headed exactly toward where I was standing. I had deer almost brushing me as they went by.

I don't know, but I've got to believe that getting run over by a deer running full-tilt, would have to do some serious damage.

[fasteddie]

I have had a couple scary moments while gun hunting .

1) An old school classmate invited me to hunt with a group on his property in Groveland . There were at least 20 of us . !0 posted , 10 drove . We were on a drive in the woods and about 40 yards apart . A buck spooked ahead of us and ran fast between myself and the guy to my left . I swung my shotgun up and over and as I watched the buck I could see the guy aiming at the deer as it ran . My heart sank in a split second all I could think is if he had pulled the trigger I might not be here typing . I never hunted with them again .

2) Another time my FIL and I were hunting a property on Gibsonville Road near Pine Tavern . The properties butted up to Letchworth Park . Shot my 1st buck ever there . Anyway I was in a field at the top of a gully . I slowly walked over to where the gully came to a Tee and eased up to it's edge . Then all hell broke loose . A guy at the bottom started shooting in my direction towards the top that a deer was running up between us . I dropped flat to the ground as the guy emptied his semi auto shotgun at the deer . The deer almost ran over my flattened body . I got up and screamed to the guy that he hadn't hit the buck and someone was up here . All he said was "sorry" and went back the other way . 

In both instances , it wasn't my time to leave the Earth . 

[NFA-ADK]

Hunting in a bow only area (Brookhaven) when you notice the guy in orange walking the High power lines has a gun!  Not sure if he is allowed duck hunting in the area but not sure I want to go back to that area now.  Crazy, bet he came from the Ridge check station and did not know where he was suppose to go.  Came in after first light and came out about an hour later, disrupted the area just enough to keep the deer out!  

[nodeerhere]

Two times in 20 yrs I've been scared. One was when I grabbed a rail of an old wooden tree stand to get in and it broke. I caught the foot peg right in the gut. It tore me all the way to my shoulder. I was laying on the ground thinking I'd just been gutted, thank god I was wearing 3 layers. I had major cut and bruising but I can still tell the story. The other was I shot a buck just at the end of legal shooting light. Get down to walk to camp hit the trail 1/2 way to camp and a blk bear was standing there. This was with a bow.so I just walked by. But tracking that buck later was pretty scary! 

[vizslas]

I was in a hang on and  it was muzzle loader season.. Now as usual I didn't have a  safety harness on , and when I pulled the trigger, the kick sent my grabbing for anything solid. you see the deer were way around the other side of the tree and I had to do a little bit of leaning. so ya that was pretty scary. One of those butt puckering moments.ya know when ya couldn't even pull a needle out of your butt with a pair of pliers. Hang ons are sketchy. it took me until this year to use it again. its been about five years. this time i have some trees next to me. twelve feet  no higher for that stand.

[ants]

On 2 occasions I had rounds (both times shotgun slugs) smacking trees right next to me..RIGHT NEXT TO ME!! The first time was an inexperienced hunter who shot a button buck, and the second time was an experienced hunter shooting at a big racked buck, that ran within 20 yards of me, but I didn't/couldn't shoot  at it because I was hugging the ground.

[Chef]

My scariest moment involves wolc123 I was hunting a ground blind on the top of a ridge while he was in a field at the bottom.... a button buck came between us mid way up the ridge completely skylined from his position. I watched through by binos as he read from his bible obviously praying as he shot aimlessly at the deer with his rifle. Bullets splashed all around me... as I climbed down the ridge I noticed he hit the deer so I stopped there to
Wait for Him.... he came running up tears of joy in his eyes...I started to
Try and explain to him that what he did was not right but he told me Jesus told him that no matter how dangerous it was he did the right thing . We have not hunted together since.


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[Dinsdale]

Ain't been shot at, been scoped a few times though; close enough for me!

 

Tracking through a thick area and  the wind changed and hits on the back of the neck and got winded by a Elephant herd with calves. The group carries one 458, two 375's, and a gov't game scout with a AK-47 with 3 rounds issued to him.

Herd splits around a termite mound and goes by both sides of us, everyone with guns on shoulders; they mow down 3" saplings as they go by. 5000 pounds of pissed off pachyderm is an issue, a dozen of them can be a train wreck. 

Feels like you're holding a toothpick when they start to grumble and trumpet; hurts your ears, your hair stands on end, everything is in slow motion.

Thankfully they didn't find us and press home a charge, but everyone stayed cool and collected. 

 

In a thicket/ ground blind made of a few brush cuttings on a moonless night and a stiff breeze, waiting for a Bushpig to come in on a bait pile. A Cape Buffalo herd starts to feed in. One cow comes so close she hooks the end of a pole set between two bushes as a shooting rest with her horn and it tumbles into my lap.  The rest slowly come down wind now and rumble off after a few tense moments.

Shot a smokin' pig last hours of hunt the next night at 1 am, off to airport at 4 am and headed to another country to start it all over again. That was the best 30 days ever.....

Wouldn't trade either experience for the biggest Booner buck in NY.

[Dinsdale]

26 minutes ago, chefhunter86 said:

My scariest moment involves wolc123 ......

TFF

[BigVal]

26 minutes ago, chefhunter86 said:

My scariest moment involves wolc123 I was hunting a ground blind on the top of a ridge while he was in a field at the bottom.... a button buck came between us mid way up the ridge completely skylined from his position. I watched through by binos as he read from his bible obviously praying as he shot aimlessly at the deer with his rifle. Bullets splashed all around me... as I climbed down the ridge I noticed he hit the deer so I stopped there to
Wait for Him.... he came running up tears of joy in his eyes...I started to
Try and explain to him that what he did was not right but he told me Jesus told him that no matter how dangerous it was he did the right thing . We have not hunted together since.


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Tears of joy thinking about that button buck liver 

[wolc123]

I have to thank my internet-stalker Chef for bringing my best buddy Jesus Christ onto this thread.  He is the one who determines when and where every person and animal's time on earth ends.   Knowing that takes all of the fear out of any situation for those of us who believe in him.   I will continue to pray for those who don't whether they appreciate it or not.    It is really great to see our country moving in the right direction again with the new administration starting tomorrow.   That win was just one of many prayers that were answered for me over the last year.  I did pray for Chef to fill his buck tag, but The Good Lord has his schedule and we have ours.  Hang in there Chef, it might happen this season.  

[Elmo]

13 hours ago, wolc123 said:

He is the one who determines when and where every person and animal's time on earth ends.

I wonder how many murderers have used that excuse.  They pull the trigger but they're not responsible for the death because it is up to Jesus Christ to decide.  Oddly enough...Jesus wanted a lot of people to die in those situations.

[chas0218]

On 1/16/2017 at 3:53 AM, First-light said:

The feeling of being lost in the woods is never good. I have had this happen a few time. I guess the wort feeling was being up in a ladder stand and hearing shots and then the whirling of the bullets (3) passing very close to me. I had no where to go to protect myself. Needless to say that stand with the way the land slopes does not get hunted at gun season anymore.

I went hunting over on some state property last day of gun season. I started in the early morning with a fully charged cell phone. The cold must have killed it I thought no big deal. I figured I would just make a big circle stalking then back to the truck. I walked and walked and walked thinking to myself I should have doubled back onto my original trail but nothing so I walked some more finally came to a clearing never saw it before decided to give my phone one last try pulled up the gps and found I actually walked past the truck about .5 miles back. Long story short I was considering making a fire and staying out there for the night then making my way back later. This a huge piece of property about 2500 acres Erwin wildlife management unit. It was definitely a scary situation although I was prepared and really just needed to settle my mind down.

Another one that had my heart pumping was when I fell out of my tree stand while descending the tree. I used a couple branches to brace myself before I got my hand onto a step and pop the branch breaks and I fall about 17' back first to the ground. I was very thankful I was wearing my backpack as that broke my fall with my seat cushion inside. One thing I am very careful about is clearing any and all brush from under my stands just for this reason. Nothing like getting impaled by a branch.

Last one is when my wife texted me and said "I'm getting shot at" on the opener of gun season. I told her to get down and lay behind the tree she was in. I sprinting 1/2 mile in full hunting gear gun in hand across our property and up our hill by the time I got to the guy I was so full of adrenaline I don't think I was barely breathing. I verbally abused the guy and called the authorities. That was the last time I have saw him trespassing or hunting near the property line. Not sure he even hunts on the other side of the hill anymore.

[Steuben Jerry]

17 hours ago, chefhunter86 said:

My scariest moment involves wolc123 I was hunting a ground blind on the top of a ridge while he was in a field at the bottom.... a button buck came between us mid way up the ridge completely skylined from his position. I watched through by binos as he read from his bible obviously praying as he shot aimlessly at the deer with his rifle. Bullets splashed all around me... as I climbed down the ridge I noticed he hit the deer so I stopped there to
Wait for Him.... he came running up tears of joy in his eyes...I started to
Try and explain to him that what he did was not right but he told me Jesus told him that no matter how dangerous it was he did the right thing . We have not hunted together since.

But look at it this way; if he hit you, at least there wouldn't have been an entry wound..

[BuckThornBooners]

I had a 170" buck at 15yd with a rife and missed him.. Beat that !!  I still have nightmares!

[nodeerhere]

3 hours ago, BuckThornBooners said:

I had a 170" buck at 15yd with a rife and missed him.. Beat that !!  I still have nightmares!

I had a 173 I shot and it ran on neighbors property. They never fired a shot and they kept the deer. That was 6 yrs ago! I agree with u. I still have nightmares!! 

[Chef]

But look at it this way; if he hit you, at least there wouldn't have been an entry wound..

Hahahhaha that's true I forgot he likes to give
It up the bum!!!' I wonder how Jesus feels about that.


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[ncountry]

4 hours ago, BuckThornBooners said:

I had a 170" buck at 15yd with a rife and missed him.. Beat that !!  I still have nightmares!

Yeap, I had a 140-150 class buck 15' away with my bow.. I was sitting on a hump on the ground and he was on the other side of a cedar  tree.. I remembered being so" scared" nervous that the arrow was rattling (sounded like a train to me)on the rest as I slowly pulled bow back.. he turned around and walked away..

[ncountry]

I was sitting in my climber one afternoon when suddenly  the top let loose. The next thing I know I am sitting on the base 30' in the air.. I may have pooped a little..lol.. 

I may have told this story before... I shot a buck on an evening hunt.. he was at the bottom of a cliff/ bank on the park. No way for me to get him out on my own.. I hiked out and got my buddies..it's dark now..After arriving at the drop we dropped a rope down and 2 of us used it as a guide and went down to the spot.. Blood and guts were there but no deer.. so we started  tracking through the brush. We didn't go far and you could hear the bear in front of us dragging and or crunching on the deer, within 50 yds of us . At this point I pulled out my 3" knife and my friend asks what I'm going to do with that and I laughed  and said it's better than punching the bear in the nose..lol..we tracked another 10 yds maybe , before we smartened up and got out of there.. the bear was not giving up his dinner...I went back the next day and collected my 9 points.. the bear managed to eat most of the deer.. I have a few other stories about that stupid bear too..lol

[Four Season Whitetail's]

6 hours ago, ncountry said:

I was sitting in my climber one afternoon when suddenly  the top let loose. The next thing I know I am sitting on the base 30' in the air.. I may have pooped a little..lol.. 

I may have told this story before... I shot a buck on an evening hunt.. he was at the bottom of a cliff/ bank on the park. No way for me to get him out on my own.. I hiked out and got my buddies..it's dark now..After arriving at the drop we dropped a rope down and 2 of us used it as a guide and went down to the spot.. Blood and guts were there but no deer.. so we started  tracking through the brush. We didn't go far and you could hear the bear in front of us dragging and or crunching on the deer, within 50 yds of us . At this point I pulled out my 3" knife and my friend asks what I'm going to do with that and I laughed  and said it's better than punching the bear in the nose..lol..we tracked another 10 yds maybe , before we smartened up and got out of there.. the bear was not giving up his dinner...I went back the next day and collected my 9 points.. the bear managed to eat most of the deer.. I have a few other stories about that stupid bear too..lol

I remember that night, Put your tag on a set of antlers of a deer you cant eat and you can keep the rack. LOL..Riiiiiight!                I believe some of those guys have no clue about hunting.  Now shoot a buck that say has a broadhead stuck in its shoulder that makes the meat bad to eat and they will give you another tag and tell you to dispose of the rotted buck any way you like. Some of those Park guys are something else...

[The_Real_TCIII]

My cousin shot a mule deer
In Montana one year. He gutted it and went back to his truck to wait for help.
When they got back to the deer it was up in a tree! He said that was the scariest drag ever assuming a big cat had claimed the deer


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[turkeyfeathers]

23 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

My cousin shot a mule deer
In Montana one year. He gutted it and went back to his truck to wait for help.
When they got back to the deer it was up in a tree! He said that was the scariest drag ever assuming a big cat had claimed the deer


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[wolc123]

 

25 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

My cousin shot a mule deer
In Montana one year. He gutted it and went back to his truck to wait for help.
When they got back to the deer it was up in a tree! He said that was the scariest drag ever assuming a big cat had claimed the deer


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I remember a situation, also involving a gutted mule deer, that probably would have scared some folks.   I was dragging it mostly downhill, on a well-used hiking trail, along a creek, on the edge of a Colorado ski-town.  Two, big unleashed dogs approached from below, and the fresh carcass attracted their full attention.      

I had shot the buck at about 9:00 in the morning.  It was mostly downhill, so I decided to drag it out myself, about 5 miles thru the Rockies.  Fortunately, I had water purification tablets and a canteen with me, and I must have drank 4 gallons of water from the creek while dragging that deer.  The temperature was up to about 75 degrees by mid-afternoon when them dogs attacked.  I had packed the inside with snow from the shaded side of a mountain and a bag containing the heart and liver were also tucked in there.

The dogs tore open that bag and quickly chomped down the contents as I fumbled around for the sling-shot that was in my pack.   I did not want to kill the dogs with my rifle, I just wanted to scare them off.   Before I found the sling shot, two young women in brightly colored jogging outfits came up the hill and called off their dogs.  They looked at me and the opened up deer and one of them said "Eweu, thats gross".   I replied "Bambi was hurt bad, I was trying to get him to the vet but it don't look good now since your dogs just ate his heart".   They did not reply, just continued on their way.   Before I got back to our truck, parked at the trail-head, they came back down past me, again not saying a word.  

[erussell]

Hunting in Louisiana one doe day on fort Polk. I had a dude i never saw cut loose on a herd of doe with either an AK or  SKS he let loose with A  whole 30 rounder. I have no idea how i didnt get shot as bullets were hitting trees all around me. I hit the dirt screaming and he stopped shooting and took off.