Scary hunting encounters or happenings?

[Doc]

Back in the mid 80's, 3 other guys and myself went on a moose bowhunt back in the wilderness of Canada. It was quite an ordeal to get back in as far as we did, and involved a few hours on a quite primitive dirt road, and a canoe trip the entire length of a lake, a 150 yard portage and then another length of lake. Things were pretty darn desolate with no sights or sounds of any sort of civilization or other humans. The shoreline camp that we set up was just the right kind of spot to get your imagination working overtime.

We used to have this dog that liked to play tug-of-war with an old towel, and all the time making a gosh-awful viscious growling and snarling noise. She really sounded like some kind of rabid animal that had to be 10 times larger than she really was. I decided to make a tape of one of her tug-of-war fits. I carefully put a 15 minute section of silence on the tape and then this evil-sounding loud growling noise began. I set the tape back to the beginning and loaded up my portable tape player in the middle of my sleeping bag and off to Canada it went with us without anyone else knowing.

The first night in camp, shortly after it was pitched dark, I made like I was heading out to answer a call of nature, and I planted the player out in the bush just beyond where I could be seen. I came back into camp and rejoined the other guys yacking it up around the campfire. Of course I steered the conversation toward bears and mountain lions and any other dangerous animal that might lurk this wilderness. The 15 minute silent part of the tape finally came to an end, and all of a sudden this loud growling and snarling began just outside the circle of light of the campfire. It was beautiful. Panic and chaos erupted as everyone grabbed for their bows and knives and anything else for self defense. Finally, everyone got quiet as we all tried to figure out a defense against this threatening unseen creature. Of course I had this great idea that I was going to go out there and drive that thing away. They bought it, and so we all started a slow walk into the darkness. Finally as we all snuck up on this tape player, I dove on it and came up triumphantly displaying the slain animal (my tape player). I got to thinking later that this little prank could have cost me a nightime swim in the lake, but fortunately everybody took it all well. However, I still hear about it everytime we get together. Not for me, but for those guys, I suspect it was perhaps the scariest situation they have ever been in.