What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

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
Can't fault that! Sounds like you have to go a ways for groceries!
 
In my younger days I coon hunted a lot. One of the guys that went with us on this particular night was pretty trigger happy. I didn't know him well. Anyway the dogs treed in a broken off sweet gum that obviously had a hollow in the top about 20 ft. up. I shinnied up the tree with my light and a 22 pistol in my pocket and sat on a big limb just before the hollow where I could shine my light down into the hole and see. When I shined my light down in the hole the coon was balled up in there about 2.5 ft down. Lightning had struck this tree and there was a crack beside where the coon was and all of a sudden the trigger happy guy starts hollering I see him, hand me the rifle. Well my heart about stopped as I was right above the coon and would very likely get shot if the guy got the rifle. Thankfully, my friends made sure he did not get his hands on the rifle as I was preparing for a rapid descent.
Crisis averted, my attention turned back to the coon. I cut a small forked branch off and used it to poke the coon and twist it. Well he didn't like that at all so he started up toward me. I obviously hadn't thought this out to well. Crisis 2: I'm 20 ft up a slick tree sitting on its only limb with a ticked off coon closing fast. What do I do now? I remembered my uncles words. A good run is better than a bad stand any day. True. But there was no time. I shined my light in his eyes when he made it to the top of the hole. This disoriented him enough that I was able to throw him out of the tree. He then fought the dogs into a deep pond and somehow managed to get away.
I have never climbed another tree after a coon again.
I grew up coon hunting, I had climbed a cedar tree to jump a coon out one time, I was shaking the branch trying to get him to jump out and didn't see the three coons above…. Well one decided to come down my right arm and attack me… needless to say me and him both fell to the ground and hit every dang branch on the way down.

Scariest thing I've seen was while coon hunting, we was a couple miles off in the woods in the middle of nowhere and stumbled on a very small fresh dug grave that had a little glass angel figurine on it. Talk about getting the creeps. We made tracks and got out of there.

I miss coon hunting, unfortunately with the growth in our area now it's not really possible to hunt anymore without the law waiting for u at your truck or getting shot at. So I gave it up.
 
Porky will scare the $h!t out of you for sute.
I don't know about you, but Porky does scare the **** out of me. If you have ever stepped on or near one in the dark and they flip their tail up onto your leg. Those quills go through denim like a 270 bullet does through paper. If you have ever had to take your jeans off with a bunch of quills going through the material and into your skin you will never forget the experience.😵‍💫
 
I don't know about you, but Porky does scare the **** out of me. If you have ever stepped on or near one in the dark and they flip their tail up onto your leg. Those quills go through denim like a 270 bullet does through paper. If you have ever had to take your jeans off with a bunch of quills going through the material and into your skin you will never forget the experience.😵‍💫
Never had to drop my drawers for porky quills,nor do I want to. However I can relate,because I have stood in the middle of a Prairie dog town with my pants around my ankles while my shooting buddy pulled cactus needles out of my butt with his Leatherman tool.
 
Never had to drop my drawers for porky quills,nor do I want to. However I can relate,because I have stood in the middle of a Prairie dog town with my pants around my ankles while my shooting buddy pulled cactus needles out of my butt with his Leatherman tool.
This cactus thing is no joke. Rolled my leg onto one while processing one of our Antelope last month at the One Shot. My wife mentioned it to one of the medics attending the big dinner. She said the fix was quality Duct tape and patience. It did pull lots of needles, but broke off more than enough. I tried to ignore it for a while. Didn't work too good. Leg is still infected and healing and it's been 6 weeks.
 
I grew up coon hunting, I had climbed a cedar tree to jump a coon out one time, I was shaking the branch trying to get him to jump out and didn't see the three coons above…. Well one decided to come down my right arm and attack me… needless to say me and him both fell to the ground and hit every dang branch on the way down.

Scariest thing I've seen was while coon hunting, we was a couple miles off in the woods in the middle of nowhere and stumbled on a very small fresh dug grave that had a little glass angel figurine on it. Talk about getting the creeps. We made tracks and got out of there.

I miss coon hunting, unfortunately with the growth in our area now it's not really possible to hunt anymore without the law waiting for u at your truck or getting shot at. So I gave it up.
I don't coon hunt anymore either. After I was injured I don't walk to well in really thick woods at night.
I was cruising timber one time and came up on an abandoned house with an empty freshly dug grave in the front and the shovel sticking up in the fresh dirt. That will certainly give you the heebees. I didn't stick around. I Just kept running my compass lines.
 
Never had to drop my drawers for porky quills,nor do I want to. However I can relate,because I have stood in the middle of a Prairie dog town with my pants around my ankles while my shooting buddy pulled cactus needles out of my butt with his Leatherman tool.
Actually very funny,I've had my hunting buddy pull cactus needles out of my arms and knees. We were antelope hung eastern Mt and I fell in every da_ _ chuck hole and every cactus patch carrying out a speed goat that I killed on the back of 7 sections. He had been run all day and stank to high heaven, dogs wouldn't even eat him , all that equals NEVER shoot a speed goat unless he has been sleeping at least a hr and before he takes 2 steps, needless to say I don't hunt them often. 3x in 24 years
 
Actually very funny,I've had my hunting buddy pull cactus needles out of my arms and knees. We were antelope hung eastern Mt and I fell in every da_ _ chuck hole and every cactus patch carrying out a speed goat that I killed on the back of 7 sections. He had been run all day and stank to high heaven, dogs wouldn't even eat him , all that equals NEVER shoot a speed goat unless he has been sleeping at least a hr and before he takes 2 steps, needless to say I don't hunt them often. 3x in 24 years
One of my kids shot a goat that had been run all day. I know what you mean about stink. My dog would only smell that one and walk away. Coyotes ate it... and got shot doing so.
Now I usually shoot them when they stand up in their bed and are peeing.
 
Actually very funny,I've had my hunting buddy pull cactus needles out of my arms and knees. We were antelope hung eastern Mt and I fell in every da_ _ chuck hole and every cactus patch carrying out a speed goat that I killed on the back of 7 sections. He had been run all day and stank to high heaven, dogs wouldn't even eat him , all that equals NEVER shoot a speed goat unless he has been sleeping at least a hr and before he takes 2 steps, needless to say I don't hunt them often. 3x in 24 years
If you're chasing a hard run - or worse - a wounded Antelope you've already lost the battle. Antelope - easy to find, usually easy to shoot - but it takes so little to make it all go wrong. They are sooooo delicate.
 
I grew up coon hunting, I had climbed a cedar tree to jump a coon out one time, I was shaking the branch trying to get him to jump out and didn't see the three coons above…. Well one decided to come down my right arm and attack me… needless to say me and him both fell to the ground and hit every dang branch on the way down.

Scariest thing I've seen was while coon hunting, we was a couple miles off in the woods in the middle of nowhere and stumbled on a very small fresh dug grave that had a little glass angel figurine on it. Talk about getting the creeps. We made tracks and got out of there.

I miss coon hunting, unfortunately with the growth in our area now it's not really possible to hunt anymore without the law waiting for u at your truck or getting shot at. So I gave it up.
I also used to coon hunt a lot and our area has gone the same way. But a man can get into some interesting things doing it.
 
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