What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

Blackwater Red said:

A cock pheasant flew up vertically from between my legs near Spearman, Texas, on a first-light hunt in the '80's. I had no time for a panic sprint but accomplished a double barrel 12 gauge assisted half-pike backflip. I got the pheasant, but there was not much left of him.

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I was about ten, walking through the grass in our pasture when a China pheasant blasted off at my feet. I always wondered after that how people recovered in time to shoot! Seven or eight years later, a friend and I were hiking through the bunch grass by the Columbia River, he was ahead of me. My friend weighed about 270 at the time, a big guy somewhat overweight. Suddenly, he shot straight up in the air, his feet cleared the ground by 3 feet! Rattlesnake scare....Who says white men can't jump ?

The worst one for me didn't involve hunting but feeding the horses, my chore at the time. I live along the 45th parallel, so it's dark pretty early half the year. So, pitch black out, me, ten years old, trepidatious by nature, primed to the gills on Sasquatch lore. I contain my fears, gird up my loins and regretfully venture forth through the 100 yards between the house (safety) and the barn (certain death). Two fences interpose. So I'm holding in the fear all the way out there, through feeding the horses; in the dark, their nuzzlings and nickers a comfort of sorts. I leave the barn and walk fearfully back toward the house. The courage vacates my guts and I lose it about ten feet on the barn side of the fence, flickering black harpies of the soul screeching about my back and head. I sprint for the first fence, 6 ft rail tie posts w/ 2 x 8 crossties, I manage to vault that fence, not cleanly, but effectively, painfully banging my knee on the way over. This leaves me penned in a 15 ft space between the fences. Still sprinting, I deduce that the quickest way over the second fence was to dive between the bottom two boards of the man-gate, about a foot apart. I hit that space at full sprint speed, never thinking about the physics of gravity. That one hurt everywhere, but I got through, still in a total panic, sprint back to the house with something fierce, big, black and red on my tail. Made it in the nick of time. Another season won...

Later I learned that quaking in fear and going about your business scared to death was better than giving way to full-blown panic. Sometimes the house is a lot further away and the available panoply of monsters more real and frightening than the black wings of death beating about your ears. I suppose most of the time the bear that isn't there is scarier than the one that is, unless the one that is is charging you.

After dark, I stay in the house more now. It's easier on the heart...

gareyg said:

I dated a girl with a wooden leg for a while. Eventually I broke it off.

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Name wasn't Aileen, was it?

A buddy of mine and myself were traditional bow hunting spring bear in years ago. After spotting a bear and watching it for several hrs take a nap well being the goobers we were , along about dark the bear hadn't moved mind you we watched this 'bear' all freaking afternoon, I finally figured out it was a shadow!! On the way out we were teasing each other about the shadow bear and a blue grouse exploded out from under our feet. After cleaning out or shorts we decided to kill it for dinner, well let me tell you, we were in griz country so we were a bit nervous. After shooting 2 quivers full of arrows and no grouse I figured out it was a shadow grouse. We quickly departed the area never to return

Will.284 said:

A buddy of mine and myself were traditional bow hunting spring bear in years ago. After spotting a bear and watching it for several hrs take a nap well being the goobers we were , along about dark the bear hadn't moved mind you we watched this 'bear' all freaking afternoon, I finally figured out it was a shadow!! On the way out we were teasing each other about the shadow bear and a blue grouse exploded out from under our feet. After cleaning out or shorts we decided to kill it for dinner, well let me tell you, we were in griz country so we were a bit nervous. After shooting 2 quivers full of arrows and no grouse I figured out it was a shadow grouse. We quickly departed the area never to return

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Really good one.

nwmnbowhunter said:

Name wasn't Aileen, was it?

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I dated her distant cousin….. Shemoan!

lyle2231 said:

I dated her distant cousin….. Shemoan!

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Hahaha never heard that one before. Good one!!!

This one had me pretty spooked up! Back in my Younger days i was archery hunting elk down in a pretty deep canyon that had a nice beaver pond in it .Just before dark shot an elk that died fairly quickly. got the guts out opened it up good. Back then i didn't have my backpack with so i just cut off a hind quarter thew it over my shoulder and started out the trail back to the top. Having quite a ways i knew i had to take my time so i would stop about every hundred yards and get a breath. Well, this is where it got nasty pitch dark and my little headlamp was fading fast. While catching my breath i heard something just off the trail to my left but said to myself it was nothing. the next time i stopped it was closer and louder so then i knew it wasn't my imagination and started to worry a little. after the third time i was concentrating on where it was and how far from me when i stopped and bam there it was no more than 50 or 60 yards and with my dim light i couldn't see it but at this point it had followed me 3 or 4 hundred yards paralleling me and yea at this point i was pretty shook up. After almost killing myself the next time i stopped i was at my truck. Guess ill never know what it was and i can only guess!

carpassasin said:

This one had me pretty spooked up! Back in my Younger days i was archery hunting elk down in a pretty deep canyon that had a nice beaver pond in it .Just before dark shot an elk that died fairly quickly. got the guts out opened it up good. Back then i didn't have my backpack with so i just cut off a hind quarter thew it over my shoulder and started out the trail back to the top. Having quite a ways i knew i had to take my time so i would stop about every hundred yards and get a breath. Well, this is where it got nasty pitch dark and my little headlamp was fading fast. While catching my breath i heard something just off the trail to my left but said to myself it was nothing. the next time i stopped it was closer and louder so then i knew it wasn't my imagination and started to worry a little. after the third time i was concentrating on where it was and how far from me when i stopped and bam there it was no more than 50 or 60 yards and with my dim light i couldn't see it but at this point it had followed me 3 or 4 hundred yards paralleling me and yea at this point i was pretty shook up. After almost killing myself the next time i stopped i was at my truck. Guess ill never know what it was and i can only guess!

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Just curious. Did you have a firearm?

No I've never carried a pistol and Left my bow on the elk carcass that night while I packed the hind quarter out knowing id be there first thing in the morning to get the rest of the meat. Back then never thought about needing one now yea knowing what I know Iwould carry thanks.

AussieWriter said:

Was culling on a new property and stayed in a decayed and half rotted barn with an open side wall. Our guide (the property manager) said he didn't have anywhere else to camp overnight and apologized. We didn't care one bit and offered him a drink as we unpacked, receiving a hasty response that he had to go. "See you in the morning and I'll show you around".

Mate and I are wine drinkers so open a "Red". We had hunted fallow deer on a neighboring property all day and were tired so hit the hay after a meal and a glass or so. Karl was first in with a half glass left on the makeshift table. I never leave wine and left my signature empty glass.

Next morning, we wake as hoped, Karl looks around and says, "you must have been desperate last night". "Why, what did I do?"
"Must be desparate to siphon another mans dregs from his glass", while pointing to his now empty and surprisingly clean glass with no residue in the bottom, as my glass had.

Puzzled, I claimed rightful innocense, denied the accusation made in comedy, just as our host arrived.

He asked, "Was everything ok?" "No problems last night?"
We looked at each other confused and said, "like what?" Following that with a brief overview of the clean and empty wine glass and of course, my declaration of complete innocense.

The host waved us around the side of the building and showed us a wire noose suspended from a tree. "Had a sheerer hang himself with that wire noose years back." "Cops took the body down but the noose is still there."

"Every time someone stays here, something spooky happens. The place gives me the creeps".

An to this day Karl still thinks I drank his wine, but I know, I didn't.

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Cut down the wire and rest easy.

nwmnbowhunter said:

Name wasn't Aileen, was it?

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Nope, think it was Peg.

Back in the early 90's, I was Elk hunting with my wife and a friend from back home, off of the Smith's Fork in Lincoln County, Wy. We had stayed on the ridge until last light, and started down on a well used trail to the Smith's and the adjacent road.

It was near pitch dark, but I prefer to travel a trail without light if at all possible…..I like my eyes to be adjusted to the darkness, rather than be totally blind for a while if the light fails, ect.

When we got to the Smith's Fork, we had to walk along the creek side for about 100 yards to our crossing point. The path had a lot of horse traffic, and could best be described as resembling the inside of a corral……very soft, loose dirt. Very quiet, with any noise made…..being covered by the sound of moving water.

I was following behind the other two, when I sensed more than heard something behind me…..very close behind me. I quickly turned facing something that was so close that I could not bring my rifle around to point the barrel at it. It was much wider than me, and it's head and shoulders well above me, I'm 6 ft tall. It was about 8 ft. tall, well silhouetted in the very poor light.

My heart was in my throat, I could only make a loud, guttural grunt …..which startled the heck out of my two hunting companions.

It only took a moment, for me an eternity, to realize that a horse with rider had nearly walked up my back. The rider of that horse was just a kid, asleep in the saddle….followed by several other riders.

When everyone realized what had happened, the laughter started. Everyone was laughing their @$$e$ off, well almost everyone…..I was pretty embarrassed with my reaction to being attacked by……..Bigfoot! memtb

carpassasin said:

No I've never carried a pistol and Left my bow on the elk carcass that night while I packed the hind quarter out knowing id be there first thing in the morning to get the rest of the meat. Back then never thought about needing one now yea knowing what I know Iwould carry thanks.

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I believe I would have been sorely tempted to put a round in the air (high), if for no other reason than to "inform" whatever was pacing me. Geeze, that creeps me out!

cowboy1911 said:

#1 In the late 1970's a friend and I drove to Idaho from Colorado to hunt Bighorn Sheep in one of the Montana unlimited tag units. We backpacked in from the Idaho side about 6 miles into the Unit. On the hike in we saw numerous posted signs warning of Grizzly bear activity in the area. Opening morning, we split up and hiked opposite sides of the drainage to glass the opposite mountain sides and agreed to meet back at camp at dark. At dusk I began to hike the 2 miles back to camp. About a mile down the main trail back, I ran across a tree that was freshly clawed up and started at about 8 feet high. On high alert, I got another 30 or so yards down the trail there was a very large and very fresh pile of bear scat in the trail. I was on higher alert and watching my back constantly turning around as I walked. About the 3 time I rotated around, a grouse flew up with thunderous wing flaps at my feet behind me an grazed my backside. I'm positive I broke the world record for the mile back to camp.

#2 I arrived at my elk camp spot in Unit 36 in Colorado early enough to set up camp and do some hunting before my nephew was to arrive after dark. I was making my way back to camp just before dark. About 200 yards from the camper, I stepped into a 15 foot diameter cluster of small aspens surrounded by a meadow of 4 foot tall grass and did a couple soft cow calls. About 30 seconds later at 80 yards or so, I saw the grass parting and something running fast right at me. I drew my bow just as a beautiful, young black and gold bear came out of the last cover of grass and stopped about 10 feet away and stared at me. I had a bear tag, but he turned and disappeared into the grass just as fast as he came in.

#3 I was archery hunting elk in Colorado Unit 50 and hiked a game trail in the dark up toward a ridge. When I got close to where I wanted to be, I decided to sit and wait for some shooting light before I continued. After about 15 minutes I could see a bit of my surroundings. Right about then I heard a noise behind me. When I turned slowly to look, I could see the face of Bigfoot standing there at 20 yards staring at me. When I put my flashlight on it it was this face in a tree. It startled me at first and had to wait for more light to get this photo.

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Yup...that and some toilet paper may have just done it for me! I can definately see "the face"! LMAO