What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

Teri Anne said:

Well there is some truth in that theory. If you only use ambient light at night you will see everything in shades of black and white. There are two instances where this will not work. A dark, cloudy moonless night where there essentially is no ambient light, especially if you are in the woods where tree cover blocks what little light there may be. It can get like being deep in a cave without any light. You can't see your hand in front of your face, much less anything else. The second incident is where you have acclimated to minimum lighting and are able to make your way along without any artificial light. Then someone hears you coming and turns a flashlight in your direction. Not only does it ruin your night vision, but it momentarily blinds you. The same thing happens when out in the woods, or anywhere else for that matter while wearing night vision goggles. All someone has to do to temporarily blind you is shine a flashlight in your direction. I will however freely admit that I am not all that familiar with the latest and greatest night vision goggles and i have heard that they handle light flares much quicker, but there is still that fraction of a second where you might not be able to see clearly. Anyone out there with experience with modern night vision equipment care to comment. No before you ask, we are not talking about night vision rifle scopes.

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It takes almost 30 minutes for the human eye to completely adjust to maximum night vision. To achieve your best night vision, you must be in a completely black room with no ambient light at all. Select the lights you intend to use beforehand and use either red or green light. I prefer green lights on a very dim setting. Never look at the light directly.

You smokers out there will never achieve max night vision no matter what you do. C02 affects your eyes badly and any excess beyond ambient C02 levels is detrimental.

Theres another aspect of night navigation that folks need to consider. If you are finding your way using a paper map and compass like some of us old far*s, be careful using any red lights. It may help preserve your night vision but red light will wash out any red markings on a map. As me how I know this.....

Also, modern night vision gear uses mostly green and gray shades amplifying ambient light. Some sort of natural or artificial light must be present. Technology will not create light out of no light. Some of the modern gear are very effective. I've used gear that will light up a blacked out whole large room with nothing but the dim glow from a watch. As long as starlight is visible, you can use them even on a moonless night. If it's moonless and overcast, you can still use them but you have to be extremely careful. Folks have been known to litterly walk off cliffs and revines when they push their gear to its limits.

It's also worth remembering that in low light, your cones (responsible for color perception) don't work very well. Your fovea, which is the center of your vision, is made up of cones. Your peripheral vision is made up of rods, which are light and motion sensitive. What this means is that in low/no light conditions, don't look directly where you are trying to see. Look just off center, and use your peripheral vision. lt works substantially better.

marksman1941 said:

It's also worth remembering that in low light, your cones (responsible for color perception) don't work very well. Your fovea, which is the center of your vision, is made up of cones. Your peripheral vision is made up of rods, which are light and motion sensitive. What this means is that in low/no light conditions, don't look covertly where you are trying to see. Look just off center, and use your peripheral vision. lt works substantially better.

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Yup! Just like keeping your head on a swivel, your eyes must also keep scanning by moving them constantly. Staring straight ahead will reveal a dark shadowy hole at night obscuring it's contents. Not good if your intent on keeping safe.

To be truthful, this isn't a hunting experience, but the same principles apply. My Dad and I farmed a section of land dissected by Mulberry Creek in the Texas Panhandle. The farmstead was vacant of people but had a significant prairie rattlesnake population. In the old blacksmith shop looking for plow bolts, I saw my dad walk toward the windmill to check it. He was in a weedy patch when I saw him jump high enough to clear the weeds and run four or five steps while still in the air. He yelled at me to get the gun and kill the snake he had nearly stepped on. It took a while, as I was laughing so hard at his Tom & Jerry moment I couldn't reach it. It's been 60 years now, and I think he has forgiven me.

Mark37082 said:

Spooky and dark go together like peas and carrots. I guess I watched too many horror movies as a kid. When in the woods after dark my brain seems to conjure up all kinds of irrational thoughts. I just got back from walking my dog at dark thirty. Obviously his night vision and other senses are more suited to the dark than mine. He took off after something in the woods. I followed for a minute or two. A few spider webs and sneaky roots later I stopped. All quiet, and then I hear something coming toward me. Rational thought would have been it's my dog coming back. However, my brain put me in defensive position.

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That reaction is primal in nature. As an animal, we are at a distinct disadvantage in the dark.

I remember one from about 20 years ago. My brother had this young guy working for him that really lived to be in the woods. Dan had him tell me of a recent outing. Back in the timber alone as usual he came across a bear cub that ran up a tree. Cool ! He runs over to the base and stands there watching that cub. Next he hears a snarl RIGHT behind him! Mama bear! He said " I screamed like a girl and and didn't even want to face her, so I pulled my 45 auto stuck it behind my back and emptied it on that bear without even looking ." The sow was killed and Fish & Wildlife ruled it self defense.

2 weeks ago I was sitting in a irrigation ditch waiting for elk to show up in a alfalfa field I had been watching and now hunting them for several weeks. Just after dark I was gathering my gear getting ready to head for the truck . I had just turned on my red light when a coyote screamed bloody murder behind me, I spun around grabbing for my .44 mag on my hip and there he was 8 feet away staring at me and scrubby murder . I just about crapped my pants!! After calming down a bit with elk in the hay field sounding off I headed for the truck. All of the sudden saber toothed hums exploded around me 2 nd soiling of pants!! Walked another 100 yards and turned my head left and **** near stepped on a porcupine!! I had enough finally got home which was only a mile away showered washed clothes and went to bed

Brushcutter said:

I remember one from about 20 years ago. My brother had this young guy working for him that really lived to be in the woods. Dan had him tell me of a recent outing. Back in the timber alone as usual he came across a bear cub that ran up a tree. Cool ! He runs over to the base and stands there watching that cub. Next he hears a snarl RIGHT behind him! Mama bear! He said " I screamed like a girl and and didn't even want to face her, so I pulled my 45 auto stuck it behind my back and emptied it on that bear without even looking ." The sow was killed and Fish & Wildlife ruled it self defense.

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Young man may have "lived to be in the woods " but as described he didn't know much about bears at all. See a cub, you head in the other direction, not towards it. Unfortunately, he most likely ended up killing two bears instead of one.

Will.284 said:

2 weeks ago I was sitting in a irrigation ditch waiting for elk to show up in a alfalfa field I had been watching and now hunting them for several weeks. Just after dark I was gathering my gear getting ready to head for the truck . I had just turned on my red light when a coyote screamed bloody murder behind me, I spun around grabbing for my .44 mag on my hip and there he was 8 feet away staring at me and scrubby murder . I just about crapped my pants!! After calming down a bit with elk in the hay field sounding off I headed for the truck. All of the sudden saber toothed hums exploded around me 2 nd soiling of pants!! Walked another 100 yards and turned my head left and **** near stepped on a porcupine!! I had enough finally got home which was only a mile away showered washed clothes and went to bed

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****, I've about decided that between bears, other predators, and just downright spooky encounters and things that go bump in the night, all in " elk country " and reported in this thread, I'm kinda glad I had no desire to hunt elk! It sounds like a combination of Halloween and Friday the 13th in the great outdoors!

Turkeytider said:

****, I've about decided that between bears, other predators, and just downright spooky encounters and things that go bump in the night, all in " elk country " and reported in this thread, I'm kinda glad I had no desire to hunt elk! It sounds like a combination of Halloween and Friday the 13th in the great outdoors!

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I think that should be Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The Great Outdoors (with John Candy) because some it is funny as h3ll after the fact!!

Plus, I'd rather have the experiences than look back wishing I'd done them. Sadly, I've aged out of a sheep hunt unless I win the lottery, but I'm booking every "middle of nowhere" hunt I can afford while I'm able to.

Will.284 said:

2 weeks ago I was sitting in a irrigation ditch waiting for elk to show up in a alfalfa field I had been watching and now hunting them for several weeks. Just after dark I was gathering my gear getting ready to head for the truck . I had just turned on my red light when a coyote screamed bloody murder behind me, I spun around grabbing for my .44 mag on my hip and there he was 8 feet away staring at me and scrubby murder . I just about crapped my pants!! After calming down a bit with elk in the hay field sounding off I headed for the truck. All of the sudden saber toothed hums exploded around me 2 nd soiling of pants!! Walked another 100 yards and turned my head left and **** near stepped on a porcupine!! I had enough finally got home which was only a mile away showered washed clothes and went to bed

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Porky will scare the $h!t out of you for sute.

Rick79 said:

I think that should be Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The Great Outdoors (with John Candy) because some it is funny as h3ll after the fact!!

Plus, I'd rather have the experiences than look back wishing I'd done them. Sadly, I've aged out of a sheep hunt unless I win the lottery, but I'm booking every "middle of nowhere" hunt I can afford while I'm able to.

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Yeah, I can understand the vistas and views involved in traveling through that country. Beautiful. Mostly just that I've never had enough of a desire to kill big animals, especially when it involves traversing country replete with things that might well look at me as a hot lunch! And in the dark? I turn into an even bigger weenie!
Nowadays, even at 76, I'm in good enough shape to make a backcountry trek if it was an easy to moderate one, but pulling a trigger and taking a life doesn't mean the same to me at this age as it did at 35, or 45, even 60 maybe. I'll stick to dove fields and the Spring turkey woods!

Turkeytider said:

Yeah, I can understand the vistas and views involved in traveling through that country. Beautiful. Mostly just that I've never had enough of a desire to kill big animals, especially when it involves traversing country replete with things that might well look at me as a hot lunch! And in the dark? I turn into an even bigger weenie!
Nowadays, even at 76, I'm in good enough shape to make a backcountry trek if it was an easy to moderate one, but pulling a trigger and taking a life doesn't mean the same to me at this age as it did at 35, or 45, even 60 maybe. I'll stick to dove fields and the Spring turkey woods!

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I understand that, and having meat to bring home is a bonus to the experience. I hunt mostly with family, and getting to spend that time with them is priceless. Even my wife likes to go when there's a bed and shower handy, and some trips are planned with that in mind. She's not a fan of roughing it or the spooky stuff either!

I think if I lived somewhere other than the plains of North/Northwest Texas I would be less inclined to go on a lot of the hunts that I enjoy going on. Moving is just not in the cards right now, so here we'll stay.

Rick79 said:

I understand that, and having meat to bring home is a bonus to the experience. I hunt mostly with family, and getting to spend that time with them is priceless. Even my wife likes to go when there's a bed and shower handy, and some trips are planned with that in mind. She's not a fan of roughing it or the spooky stuff either!

I think if I lived somewhere other than the plains of North/Northwest Texas I would be less inclined to go on a lot of the hunts that I enjoy going on. Moving is just not in the cards right now, so here we'll stay.

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I live in central Mt right between 3 mountain ranges I elk hunt bout a mile from home . I'm 57 just had knee surgery and shoulder surgery in February and I still hike in and spend a week in the back country which is coming up later this week. I've been rushed by grizzlies had a wolf try to steal a hanging elk quarter, black bear wandering through camp, close encounters with badgers . I usually hunt by myself as not many people want to hike that much. It could happen that I don't come out one day but at least I'll go doing something that I love wouldn't change it for anything