Most memorable wildlife encounter whilst hunting??

[Little Wattsy]

this was EASILY one of the most memorable hunts. My nephews first deer hunt in new mexico and i spotted this under a tree. Thats my nephews friend in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZAciG2OWfg&feature=share&list=UUh-Mwm7N7yLyrm8U1lVsbQg[/quote]

Other then I was alone that is alomost EXACTLY what happened in my opening story! :thumbsup:

 

[vthunter52]

This turned out to be both a serious and very funny encounter, depending on how you were viewing it
In the mid 1970's, I was doing my graduate work of the feeding habits and preferred food sources for whitetail deer. Wardens would bring us abandoned fawns and they were raised and brought up by the university. Max was 8 years at the time, and was just starting his decline into old age. I might mention that this deer, while handled by us and attached with radio collars weren't totally domesticated, they still maintained a goodly amount of their natural instincts.
Upon the completion of one of our sessions, and during the rut, Max spied the bent over form of my major professor and boss,charged and drove his G2 antler tine 2 inches into the right cheek of the person who had been his benefactor for 8 years. It was immediately decided that Max needed to be retired and no longer handled. No real serious injures were incurred with the excepted of the professors ego, but as the story goes, I guess you had to be there!

 

[longfowler]

A few years back, I was hunting NH's muzzleloader season in Pisgah State Park. I had followed an old skid road, covered in scrapes, that cut along the side of a steep hill and ended at the edge of a swamp. Thinking that the top of that hill would be where a big buck would lay to watch his rub line, I picked my way carefully to the top. Just as I reached the top and paused for a breather, I heard a BIG animal run off the other side! I ran to the edge and cocked the hammer, looking downhill for a running deer, only to see a giant Bull Moose running to my left! I wanted to get a better look at him, so I went around the other side of the hill to cut him off, only to meet him face to face in a patch of thick hemlock as he snuck back to his bed. I thought he would see me and spook like a deer, so I froze and watched him walk toward me, but I actually had to yell at him to stop before he stepped on me! Not sure of what I was, he just stood his ground, and we stared at each other for what seemed like 15 minutes, so close I could almost reach out and touch his huge nose with my gun barrel!
I finaly decided he wanted the top of that hill more than I did, and backed off. I wish I had a camera with me that day, he was the biggest bull I've ever seen around here, and very docile - and at that range I wouldn't need to zoom in!

 

[hoochiepapa]

I had scouted a new area for turkeys, and decided to hunt them. The trail is pretty level for about two miles, then to get up on top, there's an old mining road that angles to a huge meadow. I decided that instead of walking another two miles I would just go up a very steep incline at a rock outcropping. As I was climbing the rock, there was a small quakie swaying back and forth on top. As I cleared the top, I saw a bear cub in the quakie eating the flowers.(catkins) I was already on top, so I stopped to see where momma was, and here she came right towards me about 30 yards away. I waved my arms and yelled loudly( the way back down was a cliff), and she woofed and she went away from me and the cub came down out of the tree it was in, and climbed one right next to me. Momma went about 50 yards, and sat down on the side of a hill, I could just barely see her through the trees. So I went right angles to her and the cub, she watched me leave, as I backed away. I had a 12 guage loaded with 3-inch copper plated 4's so I knew I could take her if she charged. But she let me continue the way I was going, but I was looking over my shoulder the rest of the day.

 

[George T.]

All that I can think of saying is "WOW" there are some great writers on this forum! I guess my greatest award has been to see my son pass on the hunting skills that I taught his to my Grandson! In fact if I failed to mention he has improved on them I would be remiss! Geo. T.

 

[jamesthomas]

Well I've have one but it's not much. I was squirrel hunting in the Woods near Auburn,Ala. When, as I swung myself by a vine into a small gully I landed on a 5'0 Timber rattler. He got my boot when he struck at me but I paid him off with a .22 in the head. This was back in the mid 80's. I have or had a picture of him somewhere I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Spikebuck]

Well I've have one but it's not much.

Sounded like a pretty good one to me! Not every day, thank goodness, that you land on a big rattlesnake and don't get a couple of punctures in your hide! :shocked2:

 

[Snow on the Roof]

In 1999 I was hunting elk with longbow in the White River Ntl Forest, Colorado. Having never seen an elk before, the few we saw at 100+ yards the prior year was amazing to this mid-western raised child. On Saturday morn my partner and I had split up to cover opposite sides of the ridge we had encountered. 6 hours had past, and I had arrived at the previously decided rondevous point, when I heard my buddy's size 16 shoes comming up the ridge line. I had relaxed, sitting comfortably eating lunch on a dead fall aspen, when I saw a set of 6x6 elk antlers walking toward me. Soon I saw the bull attached to the said horn display. I continued to watch this monarch casually strolling past me at 10 feet when he stopped letting out a hair raising bugle then continued to walk on...he was apx 75 yards past me when I realized not only did I have a 68 pound custom JD Berry longbow with me I also had a Colorado bull tag in my pocket!

 

[Rifleman1776]

A bunch of us ml'ers used to go on a "Squirrel hunt and deer scouting rendezvous" every year in the local national forest the weekend before ml deer season. I was carrying my Brown Bess when I hear a bunch of dogs sounding in the distance. A little later a very small fawn came running akwardly up the trail. It ran right up to me and stopped. It sniffed my boots and looked up then just started grazing nearby. I could have picked it up. I can only surmise the dogs separated it from it's mother. I often wondered if it survived.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Got another one...
I was bow hunting my "magic meadow". It was hot, and about 3:00 in the afternoon. The sun was beating down on my back as I eased up the trail from the road, I was trying not to get all sweaty because when dusk would come I would get very cold if I was wet. The trail made a hard right-hand turn, and there was a huge ponderosa pine at the turn, and I decided to get in the shade for a while to cool off. As I was sitting, facing away from the sun, a cow elk walked out from behind a clump of trees. My tag was either/or so I slowly turned and drew my bow intending on nailing her, she was only about ten yards away. All of a sudden a calf came bounding out from behind her, jumping and butting her, and sniffing the flowers on the ground. I let down, 'cause there was no way I was going to kill a cow with a young one like this, the baby had spots all over. So I just watched the calf with joy, as it bounded all around. The cow turned toward me and walked slowly toward me while feeding, then stopped. She looked up at me, our faces no more that 10 feet apart, I smiled, and she got this look of fear and took off leaving her baby crying and bawling for her to wait up. They both went to the top of my meadow, the calf bawling all the way, and finally I heard no more from it.
I did see her and the calf the next day, as I was bugling.

 

[Vaino]

You'd think that seeing I'm 81 years old and having started hunting when 8 years old, I'd have a lot of "tales to be told". Well, starting so young and accepting whatever befell me, caused a sort of "callousness" that minimized what should have been unique "events" into somewhat common occurences. Also, the need for fresh meat was much more important than "events".

Having started hunting so young, even the first "legal" deer hunt later on wasn't an "event" and neither was the first legal grouse hunt. Previously had killed many of both for meat.

But as time went on, a realization of "why I hunted" became more than just the "pursuit of meat".

From the "time of the realization", a mental log of "events" was remembered and still to this day, is treasured.

These "events" are too numerous to mention...just that the most memorable were the first elk hunt in the awesome Rockies {didn't get an elk} and the first grouse hunt w/ my well trained English Setters.

I could relate quite a few "events", but seeing they're a personal thing, won't bore you w/ the telling.....Fred

 

[Chris Hayes]

Mike, I applaud you sir for giving that calf a fighting chance! :hatsoff:

 

[Robby]

Wow!! I bet you have replayed that one about a gazillion time in tour head Snow on the roof!!!
Robby

 

[Shifty]

One day after school when I was about 12yrs old I was out squirrel hunting with my old Marlin single shot rifle,I had been watching a big Grey cuttin Hickory nuts on top of an old split rail fence waiting for it to go up the tree so I could shoot it ,well all of a sudden some thing knocks my hat off and grabbs the squirrel and off it goes,it was a big Redtail Hawk ,I always wanted a Hawk to hunt with after that,finnaly caught one in a trap but it died guess it wanted to be free.That was a long time ago.

 

[hoochiepapa]

And another...
I was bow hunting for pronghorn out east, near the town of Hudson. I spotted a herd near this rancher's house, and asked him if I could hunt them, they were near his water tank. He gladly said I could, that most don't ask, they have gizmo's on the front of their trucks and they just drive through his fence, the gizmo cutting the wire. So I drove to the bottom of an arroyo where I couldn't be seen by the 'horns, crawled under his fence and prodeeded to belly crawl toward the animals. I got about 50 yards from the fence and I would hear this "tic! tic!", and I thought it was the cicada's, they were out in force that year. Everytime I would move, I would hear the noise, and it would stop when I stopped. I would crawl when the animals were feeding, primarily a doe, and stop when her head would come up. I hadn't gone much farther when I spotted a prairie rattler just to my right just over an arms length away. I took my arrow off the string and whacked his head as hard as I could, and the broadhead almost took his head clean off.
I did get a shot at the doe, but under shot her, picked up the rattler and put it in my pack, and when I got back to my Bronco, there was another in the shade right at the driver's door. I got lucky again and stuck him with my broadhead, and put him in my pack.
I was going to make some thing out of the skins, but finally gave them away.

 

[Vaino]

Hey Mike...you missed the opportunity for a gourmet meal of roasted rattlesnake or
"rattler" stew. Meat is meat...irregardless of origin?. Have hunted many areas of Colorado and never "met" a "rattler"...not lucky I guess....or?.....Fred

 

[Big John]

Sitting on my homemade tree platform during deer season at the crack of dawn for the 4th day I'm wondering why I do this to myself when I notice the tall grass below is moving, noticing no wind is blowing I watched as two river otters enter my small beaver pool (never saw otters in the wild before)I was facinated watching them swim/dive and frolic til I noticed that they were diving and eating my brook trout, I thought of ending their existence, but didn't want to fire a shot to scare deer away. After 15 minutes one otter swam to shore with a poached brookie, he put it down and started to wipe his face...out of nowhere came an owl, grabbed the otter and flew away ...sweet revenge! :thumbsup:

 

[B.Habermehl]

Some years back during Pa's earley Muzzleloader season I was hunting with my short .58 cal English rifle. This was about the third day of the season. On the first afternoon I kicked a large deer out of a thick spot. So I snuck into the area from down wind and set my self up. Thinking maybe they are still using this bedding area. About 1/2 hr of legal shooting time remains for the day. And I see a large deer get up from its bed. Here it comes right down the trail straight for me. Hot Dang! I ease the hammer back and slip the frizzen cover off. The brush is really heavy so I can only get glimpses of the deer coming to me. At 20 feet hoofs and legs come into clear view, then a nose. Then antlers! Dang it! I'm 20 ft away from a 7 point buck and can't legally shoot him. So what does mister buck do? he wanders closer. Now hes 5 or 6 feet away. I raise the muzzle, open the frizzen, and lower the hammer in plain view. He just cocks his head and looks at me. He is really abit too close for comfort. I watch him lick his nose, then look down, then back up at me. I say to him in a soft voice, "Yea Im still here." He looks at me and moseys down the trail a step or two. Now he is so close I could pull my wipeing stick and pat him on the shoulder. My gun's barrel is only 28 inches long. I keep talking to him hopeing he doesn't go into a panic and run through me. He stays within 10 to 20 yds of me till its too dark to see him. Just munching away on the white oak acorns all around me. Then as I walk out, danged if he doesn't follow me till I walk out into the medow. The Game Wardens must have issued him a regulations book too! I am ABSOLUTELY certain that game animals know when they are safe around humans. BTW He was definately down wind of me at one point or another during this encounter.

 

[majg1234]

I've hunted since I was 7 or 8 and have had a lot of interesting things happen from an owl taking my cap while sitting in a tree stand to chipmonks running up my leg while Turkey Hunting.But the most interesting thing ever happened this month while chasing Tree Bacon with my 20ga SB.I was slowly walking along a fire break road ever so slowly watching for mr Bushy tail.Dressed in my Home made hunting shirt,Breach clout,leggings moccasins.I was carrying a hawk I made along with my long Knife.First outing for this get up as I wasn't sure how the boys on the club would take to rest of my crazyness as many think I'm crazy for using a flinter.No one on the lease except me that day and I was kind of relieved :redface: .Any way while creeping along the fire break I saw a doe bedded down looking away from my direction wind was accross her to me.I stopped moving just to watch a few minutes.Soon I noted another deer with her see me standing motionless.She stood up then 3 moore stood up to look @ this strange sight standing on the firebreak.In all 5 large doe were now looking @ me.Three of them slowly walked away and stopped.Distance was less than 30yrds.The other two slowly began walking towrd me.Stopping every few feet winding up 5-6 yards from me. They continued to look at me for some time.finally the closest one just sort of trotted towrd me and by this time was within 5-6 feet of me before turning and walking away.When she started away the other deer with her left too and the other 3 gradually increased their distance from me @ a slow walk.Ultimately they just disappered as they went over a small raised area in the terrain. This encounter occupied almost 30min of my time and I was amazed @ how curious these guys were. I guess the strange clothing had them puzzled :grin:

 

[hoochiepapa]

You have much patience!!