What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

TheGuyUpHigh200 said:
I grew up in South MS, near LA. Growing up, we'd heard stories of the occasional panther being seen and heard around our area, though I'd never had one of those experiences. My uncle had though, and he liked to tell the story every so often. According to the wildlife officers, we didn't have any big cats. One place I remember was a large National Forest we used to hunt, and if you hunted out there for any amount of time, you probably heard more cat stories from there than anywhere else. Every time we hunted out there, a potential cat sighting was always in the back of my mind.

Our senior year of high school, they had a special doe hunt, and we had drawn 4 tags. We only had 3 of us, so we invited another guy who didn't hunt much. That morning, we all went to our spots. I took the new guy about a 1/2 mile down a logging road I always used, and put him on a stand not far off the road. I went on down a bit further to my usual area. Since it was permit only, it was pretty quiet that morning. About 3 hours in, I got my doe and drug/carried her back out. I stopped to check on my friend and he said he was good and was gonna just stay there. I checked my doe, ate lunch, and went back out around 2-3p to check on the guy. When I got to his spot, he wasn't there. I went on down the logging road for a bit, and found a muddy area where I saw boot prints that weren't mine, and I knew nobody else had been back in there, so I figured it must be him. I went way down that road to where it became a just wide path, and would run across boot prints every so often, until at one point I quit seeing them. I started wondering if he was trying to get out and went the wrong way - after all, it was dark when we went in - so I figured I better keep going. I'd call out for him every so often, and sit and wait for a bit with no answer. This went on until dusk. Then "boom" - coming from way out in the woods back down the road behind me. This was followed about 10 minutes later by "boom, boom" from farther out in the woods. It was a shotgun, so I figured it was him. Turned around and back down the road I went walking and sometimes trotting. When I got close to the area I thought it was coming from, I started calling, but nothing. Later on, after the sun was down, I heard some more shots - they were still way out there in the woods. There weren't any nearby access roads/trails out in that area except one that was a good bit north of where I thought the shots were coming from. I kept on calling for him - nothing. I fired a shot - nothing. I stayed there until well after dark and got no response at all. I knew that he was at least 1/3 mile in from the sound of his shots.

At this point I decided to head back and collect up the other two guys and figure out what to do. Two other hunters came by, and one had a 3 wheeler. While we were talking, we heard more shots. They offered to head north up the gravel road to the next access road and head down it and see if they couldn't intercept him there. One friend stayed at the truck, while me and the other went back out my logging road, figuring he's gotta cross one of the two. We only had one flashlight, and honestly the batteries were about dead. About halfway in, the light crapped out. It's probably about 8-9p at this point, then "boom, boom", again from deep in the woods, further down the logging road. My buddy commented that the guy has to be almost out of ammo, because he only had a couple of boxes of buckshot when he showed up that morn. I agreed that I could remember about 9 shots, maybe 10. We decided to space out on the logging road in case the dude came back that way. So I head on down.

Now I had my Remington 700 in 300WM with iron sights, so normally I would feel invincible, but that night, not so much. I'm about 3/4 mile in at this point, no flashlight, maybe a tad of moonlight, and I can just barely make out the road. At this point, I'm not sure if I'm thinking more about my friend, or about all those cat stories I'd heard over the years. In fact, I it was so eerie that night, that I actually didn't want to yell the guys name for fear of attracting something to my location. I remember just wanting to feel invisible. Then I heard something off in the distance down the road. I couldn't really tell what it was, but I froze and went dead silent. Problem was my ears were still ringing from 300WM shots that day. So, I got on one knee, with rifle pointed down road, safety off. Then I heard it again. It was on the logging road and definitely closer. This time I heard it clearly, and it sounded just like I thought a cat might sound like - part high pitch whistle, part hiss, and part growly. Oh holy crap, it just got very real. My eyes were so dilated that I realized I could actually see. That's when I saw the silhouette coming up the road, and it was big. In fact, it was so big, I had a hard time reconciling that it was a cat. I started to wonder if it wasn't actually a buck, which didn't make me feel much better. That's what was so screwed up was that I couldn't tell what the heck I was seeing, and that's what made it so bad. As it got closer, it made that sound a few more times and I started to feel really, really mad. I finally couldn't take it anymore and fired a shot off into the woods next to it. I was temporarily blinded by the muzzle flash, and could barely hear, but I could make out that **** thing on the ground making all kinds of noise. How in the hell I hit that thing was totally beyond me, and my mind was just gone at that point ... but, then I realized I heard the words "Jeff" and "don't shoot". Okay, so you can probably guess the rest.

Turns out, my friend had chased some does down the logging road and into the woods, took a shot at one, followed her, and took some follow up shots and eventually got her. Everything after the first 4 shots was him just trying to signal for help. Yes he was out of ammo, and had yelled so much, that he had lost his voice and could barely talk. I had not shot him, thank the lord. We all made it out safely, and to his credit, the guy had the small doe with him, field dressed. When we made it out, one of the wildlife officers had arrived and was talking to our other friend - he had just called in for some help. He checked the doe, questioned guy thoroughly and made sure he had made the kill before dark, and gave the guy a pretty stern lecture about being stupid in the woods, and us a lecture for not having proper flashlights on us when we hunt. To this day, I can honestly say I have never been that scared of anything since. But I often reflect back on that night and am so **** thankful I didn't shoot that guy. At some point we began to laugh about it and give the guy crap. And that idiot couldn't wait to get back out and hunt the next year. Gotta hand it to him though - he finished the job, brought the deer out, came to my locating shot from earlier, hit the ground when I fired, and didn't quit hunting as a result. Looking back, that was good times!
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When I was in selection at Pendleton at a more remote land-nav course. We were warned about the mountain lions. After only a couple of hours of sleep in 3 nights I came face to face with one on a dirt road. With only a knife I decided to make myself small for who knows what dumb reason and hide behind a little bush. After the staredown he simply dissapeared.... sleep deprivation will do that to you with those cat stories. Then 5 years later I got legitimately stalked and owe a thank you to an unknown camper that ran across a canyon to scare one off that was 10 yards behind me that I never even saw...
 
bamban said:
Did the wife give you a hard time about the smelly brown stain on your shorts?
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Epilogue:

When I first felt the weight of the bear on the ladder portion of the stand, I reached into my backpack and grabbed a super-bright tactical light. I couldn't feel the bear moving on the ladder and needed to know how close she was. As I switched on the light, I saw her huge head for the first time - right between my boots. Fortunately, the bright light was within 1' of her face and she freaked out. The bear let go of the stand and dropped to the ground. All I could hear was the (now) blinded bear crashing through the woods with the two cubs trailing. I have to admit - my heart was pounding. LOL

When I finally calmed down, I could hear rustling around the bait site. I put the light on the baited area and could see that both of the cubs came back and were happily eating the chocolate and honey from the pails. I could not see the sow but I'm sure she was close.

Eventually, I see the light from my guide working his way up the trail to the stand. Half way up the light stops and doesn't move for a minute or two. I asked him what happened on the way up. He tells me that a large bear was on the trail and wouldn't move off, as they usually do. The guide had a million candle power light in one hand and a 45ACP stuck in his belt, which he quickly drew. Unfortunately, the pistol did not have a round in the chamber and he didn't have a third hand to rack the slide.

You just can't make this stuff up. 🤣
 
Varmint Hunter said:
Epilogue:

When I first felt the weight of the bear on the ladder portion of the stand, I reached into my backpack and grabbed a super-bright tactical light. I couldn't feel the bear moving on the ladder and needed to know how close she was. As I switched on the light, I saw her huge head for the first time - right between my boots. Fortunately, the bright light was within 1' of her face and she freaked out. The bear let go of the stand and dropped to the ground. All I could hear was the (now) blinded bear crashing through the woods with the two cubs trailing. I have to admit - my heart was pounding. LOL

When I finally calmed down, I could hear rustling around the bait site. I put the light on the baited area and could see that both of the cubs came back and were happily eating the chocolate and honey from the pails. I could not see the sow but I'm sure she was close.

Eventually, I see the light from my guide working his way up the trail to the stand. Half way up the light stops and doesn't move for a minute or two. I asked him what happened on the way up. He tells me that a large bear was on the trail and wouldn't move off, as they usually do. The guide had a million candle power light in one hand and a 45ACP stuck in his belt, which he quickly drew. Unfortunately, the pistol did not have a round in the chamber and he didn't have a third hand to rack the slide.

You just can't make this stuff up. 🤣
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As much as we all like 1911s, if I was in bear country regularly I'd either carry a .44 or .45 revolver or a modern 10mm that you feel safe with a round in the chamber. "Cocked and locked" works for a lot of folks but I have seen or heard of way too many 1911s being removed from a holster with hammer back on live round only to discover that the safety lever was off. Less of a worry with a SIG or S&W, as much as I dislike plastic pistols.

Not a hunting story, but I was at Field Station Kunia, on my way to lunch when I asked the MP what weapon they were issued, as we still had a mix of 1911s and M9s in the Army then. He said "here" and drew his 1911, racked the slide and let it drop, as a live round popped out, he then buttoned out the magazine and handed it to me!

Once I drew a breath, I safely cleared the live round from the chamber, checked the weapon, closed the slide and lowered the hammer. I handed him the now empty and safe pistol and his live rounds and said "don't ever do that again" and explained all the things he did wrong with that process.
 
Grizzly60 said:
are many pics of them on game cameras.
And LDWF says it's illegal to shoot them. Go figure.
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Yeah same here. They're just trying to protect them I guess. Many years later, maybe 1996, I was hom during Christmas. We were out riding back roads near my parents. Stopped to take a leak and heard the dogs running, so we waited to see them cross. Whatever it was, I never saw it cross road, but caught it hauling butt across the field
It was flying, like I mean fast. It went straight through a barb wire fence - not over, but through. It was cat - 100% - with tail, medium brown, probably 100 pounds, back stayed flat, no up and down bouncy movement. And did I mentioned it was fast. No big cats my arse.
 
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This was before1998, that was the year Ft. McClellan closed. On a archery hunt a friend who is now a neighbor set up his15 year old son just below a ridge top, they needed another100 ft of elevation to be called a Mt. Anyone traveling around the Anniston ala area, it's the tallest mountain top with the 911 towers on it between Anniston and Jacksonville. On what is now Mt. Long leaf pine wildlife Refuge. But anyway, the young man shot a deer and found it, dragging it up to the top of the ridge line. Went to the truck to meet dad. When they returned after dark to get the deer it was gone and they could see the drag marks that they thought was another hunter taking the deer. Not unheard of on public hunting areas. But it turned out to be a mountain lion. It had eaten some of it and was in the process of covering it up with leaves. They decided to "allow" the cat to keep it and went for a game warden. Same people who said there weren't any of them. When the game warden arrived the cat was long gone and he did not believe them. Until they showed him the photos of it crouched over the dead deer. In a straight line that is two and a half miles from my back door.
 
Rosebud said:
This was before1998, that was the year Ft. McClellan closed. On a archery hunt a friend who is now a neighbor set up his15 year old son just below a ridge top, they needed another100 ft of elevation to be called a Mt. Anyone traveling around the Anniston ala area, it's the tallest mountain top with the 911 towers on it between Anniston and Jacksonville. On what is now Mt. Long leaf pine wildlife Refuge. But anyway, the young man shot a deer and found it, dragging it up to the top of the ridge line. Went to the truck to meet dad. When they returned after dark to get the deer it was gone and they could see the drag marks that they thought was another hunter taking the deer. Not unheard of on public hunting areas. But it turned out to be a mountain lion. It had eaten some of it and was in the process of covering it up with leaves. They decided to "allow" the cat to keep it and went for a game warden. Same people who said there weren't any of them. When the game warden arrived the cat was long gone and he did not believe them. Until they showed him the photos of it crouched over the dead deer. In a straight line that is two and a half miles from my back door.
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Good thing it wasn't black or he would have looked at the picture and said they don't exist lol
 
Not big game but a coyote hunt to remember. Several years ago my best friend and i were coyote hunting a new property and the owner had mentioned seeing mountain lion tracks, not unusual for our part of the country. We found a nice spot on the tree line to call from, so we come back a couple days later before light and get set up. Called for about 45 min or so with no response, not even a crow or magpie. Anyway, we pick up our stuff and start to walk out. Made it 50ft into the trees and were stopped dead in our tracks by a melted spot in the snow! The lion had snuck in behind us, and sat there long enough to melt the snow under him/her while deciding our fate. Which it ,luckily for us, decided not to attack. Never will forget the look on my buddies face, and i'm sure i had the same one.
 
Not a hunt but while doing some dog training with my young Drahthaar south of Butte MT. I was training hunting in dense cover, I'd let the dog get out about 50 yards looking away from me, I'd throw a bumper and shoot a shot. The dog would come back and I'd command "dead bird" and she would find the bumper and retrieve the bumper to me. After fighting my way through the down timber for about 200 yards we moved to the edge of the cover to walk back to the truck. On the walk back the dog goes on point in the edge of the timber. I went in to see what was there. There was a pile of branches and dirt. I thought an animal den. I kicked around the pile and the dog broke and ran away about 20 yards then turned around to look at me. She was clearly spooked. That had me a little spooked as I've never had a dog do that before. So I got to thinking lion or bear kill stash and that's why the dog was spooked. After a few moments the dog moved back up closer to the pile and pointed again. I decided to look closer and got on my hand and knees and saw the biggest paws sticking out of the dirt. Pretty sure someone had done the Shoot-Shovel and shut up on a wolf.
 
This isn't really spooky but it sure scared me. I had just finished picking up my duck decoys and putted over to the edge of the river to arrange everything. It was afternoon so we had very good light and the river is very wide there. I hear a boat coming but I feel sure he's in the middle of the river. It gets closer and as I look back his bow makes contact with my motor cowling, jumps over my transom,msmacks me in the head, and rolls me out of my boat into 10 foot of water and current with my waders on. His skeg and prop hit the seat I was sitting in. Basically he jumped the entire back half of my boat. Thank goodness I had a wader belt on. My boat stayed in gear and putted in a perfect circle right back to where I could grab onto the side but I had so much water in my waders by then I couldn't get back in. The guy finally got his bearings and came back and helped me. I was certainly lucky. Just some mild concussion symptoms. My poor lab was still sitting in the front of the boat wondering what in the world had just happened. I had that same feeling myself. Turns out he just didn't see me. Not sure why not. But he sure ran me over.
 

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