I had a freaky encounter with a bear one season. I had left my treestand at the base of a tree overnight planning on getting their before light the next day again. Well, I got to my stand the next morning and though "WTF?". My stand was twisted around the tree and all out of sorts. Well, I carry a flashlight with me, but usually don't use it much. I took it out of my pocket about the time I heard something on the backside of the tree, about 40 or so yards away. I couldn't see anything, so I turned on the light to see, to my suprise, a pair of eyes looking at me! Man o man, the hair on my neck stood up and I had goose bumps all over. I saddled up on the stand and made the quickest climb you'll ever see. It was one of the only times I ever climbed a tree not connected with a safety harness!

Here's the kicker. The bear pranced around my stand till daylight occasionally coming up to the base of the tree and clawing at it while looking up at me. He would pop his jaws a little, growl some, then prance around.

The real bummer? I left my bow on the ground and never hooked my pull cord to it in my hasty accent.