What are some of your hunting stories? The ones where you came home empty handed but still had a
dreher
Member Posts: 8,882 ✭✭✭✭
fantastic day!!
I'm a still hunter. The last several years I was hunting, my deer blind was sitting in my camp chair crammed in between two small, 6 or 7 foot tall, long needled pine trees growing closely together. I had a camo tarp I laid across my lap. When I hunt I got the still part of still hunting down pat. Often, while sitting there, birds would land in one of the pine trees, hop onto my head on their way to the other pine tree. Often one of my shoulders would be their temporary perches. More rarely they would land on my knees or my theighs (sp) and hop from one leg to the other.
My favorite moment was when a bird landed on my head, hopped down on my hat bill, wrapped his toes over edge of the bill and then bent over and looked me right in the face. Of course his face was upside down making for a strange looking bird face! The bird seemed somewhat puzzled by what he had seen!! Maybe he thought I was the ugliest tree he had ever seen!!😁
I got lots of bird memories/stories from when I was hunting! Some of these memories are even better than getting a deer!
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Every time I get a chance to go hunting with my dad and son, is my best day afield.
The best hunting days have been with one or both of my sons when they were teenagers. I remember both saying to me at one time or another, "I sure had fun with you today Dad " Even on days we stuck out...
One other favorite memory was the first year I started bow hunting again as an adult. I bow hunted a lot in my teen years but once I left for college, I did not pick up a bow again until I was almost 30. I had been on call at work and had a couple calls in the night which kept me from sleeping enough before I headed out for the opening day of bow season in Illinois. But I went anyway....
I was set up in a good place long before sunrise. I saw deer at a distance early on but nothing I wanted to shoot came within range. About 1030 I could hardly keep my eyes opening ....I walked out of the woods, laid down in the weeds and covered myself in a blind netting. I was out cold as the sun was on me and I warmed up.
I was woke up by a strange feeling something was near me.... I slowly opened my eyes and there was a large racoon sitting on his hunches and looking at me from about 3 feet. Not sure what to do I just slowly sat up watching the racoon. The poor thing just froze, his eyes got real big, but he still just sat there. I finally said something along the lines of how's it going buddy. AND he was off. I will never forget those eyes.
So I did get skunked that day but this remains one of my favorite hunting memories...
Back when I still worked midnights I promised my son, maybe 8-9 to take him hunting saturday when he was off school. I got home from work and he was up and ready, he had a 410 single shot with slugs. We got dressed and headed out , as we came around the corner of the garage 3 does ran up the bank from the back yard, I wouldn't let him shoot deer in the yard. One big doe stopped at the edge of the woods but he was to short to see it, so being tired from midnights I told him to be quiet and sneek up the bank till we could see her. we got about half way up the hill where he could see her good and I told him to shoot her, she was standing broadside about 20 yards away. I looked down at him and his gun was wandering all over, so I pulled my 30-06 up and watched in the doe in the scope, he shot and the deer didn't even flinch, so I just pulled the trigger on my rifle and she fell right down, he looked up at me and said " dad I got her!!" I just looked down at him and said good shot. we drug her down to the garage and he ran in the house to tell his mom he got a deer, he was yelling, " mom I got a deer, and dad missed!!!! " He is now 38 and It was probubly just 10 years or so ago I told him the truth and he just looked at me like I was lying....... still puts a smile on my face to think about it and all the bragging he did after...
I was hunting from a tree stand in central Georgia. Suddenly a red fox appeared, 20 yards away to my left. I watched him as he slowly walked away to my right side. He was unaware that I was there.
I watched him for 15 minutes. What a beautiful animal. It looks like a dog, but moves like a cat. And that beautiful red tail sticking up in the air, and twitching. I didn't see a deer that day but that was a memorable hunt.
My partner got mad at me for not shooting the fox, he said we could have sold the hide. Go figure.
Foggy morning, minutes before the sun appeared behind me.
Did a low crawl thru sagebrush and cactus toward the outline of a bull elk. And he was a nice 6X6, perfectly symmetrical, at 65 yds.
He was staring at me without spooking. Put the crosshairs of the scope on the juncture of his neck and chest. Steadied the rifle and pushed the safety forward on the Browning Safari ‘06. And felt the trigger with my index finger.
Suddenly, the first rays of sun pierced the fog and ‘painted’ him with a ‘golden’ hue, not unlike the brilliance of a rainbow.
Looking thru the 4X scope his antlers were dark and the cape golden.
I couldn’t PULL the trigger. I laid there for ten minutes realizing I could never repeat what was before me.
I’ve played that a thousand times in my mind, and not once have I questioned my decision.
@forgemonkey What an awesome story. A vision of God's magnificence.
Forge's post reminded me of one. Was sitting watching this field for bucks at dusk. I was backed up to the treeline, with the dark woods at my back. At about the last light I would shoot, this little whitetail buck with a nice basket rack no wider than a basketball came walking up right behind where I was sitting and started walking past me. I just sat there waiting for him to put enough distance between us so that I could move and not startle him back into the dark brush. I was frozen and not even breathing at that point. But before he got past me, he turned and put his nose right in my face. He was the cutest buck I had ever seen. Might have been two years old, maaaaaybe 3. He wasn't big that's for sure. We just stared at each other for a moment and he walked right back the way he came.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Thanks, Susie. That’s a vision I’ll take to my grave.
Back at my old place, I had a permanent tree stand overlooking a dug pond built by a dozer. On a buck only day, a doe came trotting by and turned sharply into the shallow dry end of the pond - just stood watching her back trail. I sharpened up thinking a buck would soon appear. Directly, a couple of dogs came along, opened up and running hard. They totally missed her turn and passed on, casting about the hillside trying to figure out what happened to the trail. She took that opportunity to sneak out of the pond and depart the way she had come. Maybe 5- 10 minutes later the dogs returned and found where she had turned into the pond, but she was long gone. To this day I laugh about how foolish she made those dogs look. It's never a fruitless day hunting when you can watch a drama like that.
Have several I could tell, I way more like to hunt than kill.
But I will tell one on a good friend, he can't dispute it because the Maker recalled him.
He had bought a pretty expensive elk hunt out west. Guide took him out and they found a huge bull.
My friend took good aim a pulled the trigger, snap, no round in the chamber. Guide had a hissy fit on him.
Reply, "sir this is my paid for hunt, I killed that elk in my mind, my rifle was unloaded for a reason".
Turkey hunting one year on the family farm. I had found a nice spot up against a tree that matched my camo and snuggled in to wait for the local fowl to leave their roost.
Not much happening bird wise when a large doe sauntered in, sort of glanced my way as she picked at acorns. Apparently she felt the need for a nap. She settled in and took a quick catnap about 20 feet from me. She eventually decided I wasn't a tree, slowly got up and casually strolled away.
Allen, your fox comment reminded me of two fox stories. I'm sitting in my pine tree deer blind. I see some movement out of the corner of my eye. As I slowly turn my head, I see a little red fox in the mouth of a den I hadn't noticed. 6-8 weeks old??? So cute I would have liked to take it home!!
All at once a second head appears! Then a third head! And then the rough and tumble roll all over each other play time started!! So, so cute!! I wanted a pet fox for the longest time after that morning!!😁
Another morning as I'm sitting there I again see some movement, look and there is a big, ultra fluffy coated fox trotting slowly through the pasture I'm hunting. The strange part was that fox was so dark it was almost black! He took his time going across this field as he was mouse hunting as he went. I must have watched that "black" fox for a full ten minutes!
Moments like these are 100% "Thank you Jesus" moments!!
Sitting on a log pile deer hunting one day and watched a beautiful grey fox follow my scent (fox pee cover on boots) about a quarter mile straight up to and into the pile. I waited til his nose touched my boot, and then said “Hey, buddy!” His level of surprise made me laugh myself silly.
Scouted out a prime spot on a oak tree covered ridge line next to the swamp . Snuck in before daybreak the next day and set up leaning on a tree and was partly hid by some low growing shrubs . Fell asleep , woke up when something nudged my foot . Looked up to see a 6 point buck eating acorns next to my boot. 7 or 8 other deer feeding all around me . You cannot outdraw them .Not even Jerry miculek could have made a shot when they scattered as I tried to bring my gun up .
used to live in an old A-frame and behind the houses across the street was a very large field, I ask the neighbors one day if anyone could hunt there, they said they only owned about 20 yards on this end but If I wanted to bow hunt I could. I walked over one afternoon as the field was full of deer every evening, and found a very large sycamore tree. It had to be 3-4 foot around at base and had blown over leaving the stump broken off about 10-15 foot off the ground. I climed/walked up the tree till I got to the standing stump and it had a nice flat spot with a limb leaning away almost like a chair, this flat spot had a lot of small poop piles I swept away with my gloves and sat down with my bow to wait.
almost dark I heard something coming down through the woods behind me walking in the dead leaves but I could not make out what it was till it got almost to the base of the tree, it was a big ole possum. It went in a hole in the base of the tree and started climing up the inside of what was left of that sycamore. when it got to the top we were staring eye to eye at each other and he had a lot more teeth showing than I did so I politely ran back down the fallen part of the tree and let him have his seat back, never went bow hunting there again........
Susie's turkey story reminded me of another one. I was out hunting turkeys and after cresting a hill found a flock of them milling about. Just as I leveled my shotgun at a nice tom, this doe comes prancing out right in front of me and starts chasing them off, then turns back at me and starts stamping her foot at me. I never laughed so hard while hunting.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Not hunting per se, but we’re riding up a canyon in mid spring looking for bear sign and to see if we could access some old bait stations that we use.
As we rode past a particularly nasty steep canyon that is very avalanche prone, with avalanches making it clear to the trail some years, I was watching the sides and mouth of the canyon as there are many mountain goats in this area and the nannies seems to prefer the rugged cliffs and benches with their young.
As we were riding, I caught movement in the bottom of the canyon, right in an avalanche slide. I quickly dismounted and flicked a pebble at my friend in front of me to stop him, he doesn’t hear any better than I, so we are always chucking pine cones, pebbles, or sticks at each other to get their attention.
Using my Leica 10x42 geovids, I began scanning the area. Nothing, then after a few minutes a head pops up, then goes disappears, this happens several times, but not exposed long enough to determine the critter. I lasered this distance to be 620 yards.
After 5 or 10 minutes of this, a lion cub hops up into view followed by three more and they began to frolic as cubs do and occasionally disappearing back out of sight. I scanning the immediate area as these cubs were definitely not old enough to be alone. On the south side of chute maybe 15’ away was a ledge covered with tangle foot firs about 3’ tall.
As this was in my view, I see a tail swish and there is an adult female laying in these firs, just watching the cubs frolic.
After several more minutes, this female joins the cubs on the snow and she disappears into the hole for just a few minutes then back out. As I’m watching her and thinking I have never seen a lion with four cubs, I catch the swish of another tail around 20 yards from the hole in the rocks on the opposite side, dang another adult lion. After a few minutes she walks over and joins the five and also goes in the hole.
My friend and I was this crew for over 30 minutes trying to figure out what was going on, we decided that the avalanche (s) had slid in the winter taking some goats down the mountain and the lions or something had found them and the meat likely wasn’t putrid, so the cats were getting a free meal and also that one adult may be the mother of the other adult, but that’s just a guess.
We left them to their dinner and frolicking and rode on to check our bear bait stations, they were gone when we came back down.
A week or so later, we rode back in there again and after we had dropped our bear bait, we rode to where this occurred and sure enough, there were the skeletons of a couple dead mountain goats, throughly cleaned up by the lions and coyotes.
I a couple other ones that I think you will enjoy, but will post later.
Mule
In the mid 80s I was checking traps and walking on the ice on a frozen creek. I see abut a 6 inch long hole in the ice with fast water flowing and a mink pops out of the hole with a minnow in its mouth.
The mink eats the minnow on the ice and runs upstream about 20 yards and dives into another hole.
The mink popped out of the hole next to me and ate another minnow.
I watched it do this over and over and over. It was fascinating.
I was archery hunting and trying to kill a deer from a herd that was eating from big round alfalfa bales every evening.
It was below zero and windy and snowing and I was leaned into the bale trying to keep out of the wind and I fell asleep.
I woke up to a doe eating alfalfa hay next to my head. Our eyes were 6 inches apart. I just stayed still and let her eat around me.