What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

[Grizzly60]

Was hunting by myself..had to take it apart where it was....took the pieces up to the landing and layed them out on logs...thankfully I had enough daylight to get that accomplished...got really dark hiking back to the car..within 100yds of the car I fell into an elk wallow that was inside the timber.......great smell..yall ought to try a ****ymud bath.....drove around the mountains to the road that went to the landing.....someone had put a locked gate on it......luckily I knew an old guy that had a 'universal key to their lock.....got all the meat out the next morning..........

S*** happens. You be smelling like a bull elk.

 

[Flatbow]

Yep, Elk are a lot of work

 

[marksman1941]

My wife came hunting with me last year for the first time and had a ball. But, we had the standard public land experience that I was desperately hoping to avoid.

We saw a buck the night before heading off a logging road into timber, so we went up the next day to try and chase it down. We were hiking across a patch of timber for about 6 hours when we heard a car. Didn't realize we were so close to the opposite road. 2 minutes after hearing the car, we heard half a dozen gunshots from about 80 yards away. No bullets crashing through the woods, but close enough to be mighty uncomfortable.

They continued shooting as we hiked back out of the place. Either they were terrible shots and found a buck, or decided to go blast away during deer season (which would be downright unkind).

Not spooky for me, but a harsh introduction to hunting public ground for my wife

 

[Turkeytider]

My wife came hunting with me last year for the first time and had a ball. But, we had the standard public land experience that I was desperately hoping to avoid.

We saw a buck the night before heading off a logging road into timber, so we went up the next day to try and chase it down. We were hiking across a patch of timber for about 6 hours when we heard a car. Didn't realize we were so close to the opposite road. 2 minutes after hearing the car, we heard half a dozen gunshots from about 80 yards away. No bullets crashing through the woods, but close enough to be mighty uncomfortable.

They continued shooting as we hiked back out of the place. Either they were terrible shots and found a buck, or decided to go blast away during deer season (which would be downright unkind).

Not spooky for me, but a harsh introduction to hunting public ground for my wife

I`m pretty sure that if the ONLY choice I had to hunt was public land, that`d be it for my hunting career. Too many fools make some of that ground almost into combat zones. And what is it anyway about hunting on public land that apparently turns WAY too many people into the north end of a south bound horse?

 

[marksman1941]

I`m pretty sure that if the ONLY choice I had to hunt was public land, that`d be it for my hunting career. Too many fools make some of that ground almost into combat zones. And what is it anyway about hunting on public land that apparently turns WAY too many people into the north end of a south bound horse?

I have typically had good experiences overall with public land hunting, even though I've heard horror stories galore about it. This was one of the few times that I have been uneasy in the woods due to other hunters. I think it's really area dependent. There are so many stories of white tail hunting in the Midwest, opening day sounding like a warzone, that thankfully I don't have to deal with. In southern oregon, chasing blacktail, most folks won't get off the road. So if you're off the road a ways you tend to be pretty alone, until you cross another driveable area

 

[memtb]

I guess that it is very dependent upon where this public land is. Many folks have no choice but to hunt public land! memtb

 

[marksman1941]

I guess that it is very dependent upon where this public land is. Many folks have no choice but to hunt public land! memtb

That's most of us out west, I think

 

[Turkeytider]

I guess that it is very dependent upon where this public land is. Many folks have no choice but to hunt public land! memtb

 

[M77Fan]

I guess that it is very dependent upon where this public land is. Many folks have no choice but to hunt public land! memtb

Very true. Not adhering to the original subject, but brings to mind a whitetail hunt in the Black Hills of WY a few years back. At that point I was depending upon a heavy duty aircraft aluminum unloader brace to keep walking on my arthritic bad knee. I had parked at the end of an old long-closed woods road blocked with a lot of deadfall, and had still-hunted back in a couple miles for a morning hunt after leaving the old road. Lots of sign but no deer seen. Normally when I am walking in away from roads, I don't see many hunters in there. Returning on the old road, as I neared my truck, I could hear ATVs behind me, coming down the closed road I was on. It was a slovenly guy, at least 20 years my junior, followed by his son on a second vehicle. The jerk was teaching his son that laws meant nothing, closed roads were not closed to them, fair chase was a useless idea, trashing the forest was OK, and being a scofflaw was perfectly fine. At least they weren't shooting in my direction. I was not impressed, and I am sure my dark glare told that guy what I thought as he passed me at a few feet.

Too bad he wasn't around to see me dragging my deer out that evening. After quietly sneaking back in there in late afternoon, I was standing in their very tracks in the snow when I shot my buck at about 20 yards. I gimped back in there and got it done despite their interference.

There are places that do get a lot of public hunting pressure, but hunting leases are expensive. It can be a dance if you want to hunt.

 

[marksman1941]

I realize this could go a few different directions, but I know we all have some stories that left us freaked out or weirded out.

I have two, both deer hunting in Northern Idaho. Hiking down a skid road when I heard the most insane yipping and cayaying. It was heading right at me at speed, and I went from confused to fully assuming I was about to be whacked by coyotes/wolves/feral dogs. My hind brain took over and I dove behind a stump and threw my rifle across it, just in time to see a pair of Barred Owls come zooming through the brush, just making the most godawful racket you've ever heard. Took a few minutes to calm down after that.

Second was weirder and still unexplained. I packed a small muley about 4 miles back to the truck, arrived around 9pm, and found another guy waiting by my truck. Super nice, said he was just making sure I made it off the mountain cause it wasn't the safest area (his words). I asked him why, and he just put his finger to his lips and said "sit and listen". I was wrecked so I was happy to sit for a bit. After about 5 minutes, on the opposite side of the canyon I heard what I can only describe as a wounded elk squalling. Half bugle, high pitched, but changing tempo and pitch oddly. It went straight to the spine and made me want to bail. Right as that sound ended, the same type of call lit off on the mountain I had just came down. A third call answered the second from back to the west a good ways. These three calls went back and forth for all of 15-20 minutes before they just stopped with no warning. The other guy and I hadn't said a word the whole time we listened, fairly transfixed. Then he just smiled and me and said "this is why I waited. Not a good mountain to be on after dark". And off he drove. I have no idea what I heard that night (I'm not a big foot believer) but it was the most eerie, hair raising communication I've ever heard. I moved shortly after that (graduated from school and moved home) and I've never been back up there.

Coming full circle on the second story. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a forester in Oregon (his main job is doing owl studies for the University; he's out 8 months out of the year, calling in owls and banding them, so he spends more time in the woods than anyone I know). He's positive that the "communication" I heard that night in Idaho was foxes talking back and forth.

 

[FrogFire7]

Coming full circle on the second story. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a forester in Oregon (his main job is doing owl studies for the University; he's out 8 months out of the year, calling in owls and banding them, so he spends more time in the woods than anyone I know). He's positive that the "communication" I heard that night in Idaho was foxes talking back and forth.

Boooo you take that back! Don't ruin a good story with probably facts

 

[marksman1941]

Boooo you take that back! Don't ruin a good story with probably facts

I'm also having a real hard time letting go of big foot in favor of something semi logical