Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

I was just thinking aout some of the CLOSE calls that I have had with animals while out in the woods.

I have had several.............Mostly Moose ( I live in Colo. for gosh sakes) I've had at least one per year for the last seveal years.

Please share your experiences as well!!!!!

The first time I decided to backpack hunt ( It's the best) It was ML season (sept) I had hiked up 3 miles and could barely find the energy to set up camp . But the Bulls(Elk) were bugleing all night long and I could not sleep!!!!!! Just B-4 dawn I got out of my tent and started to cow call and just as light was breaking I noticed that one of the Bulls was not 50 yrds away moving thruogh some thick scrub and I thought MAN this is it!!!!!!!! But what I didn't know was that there was another Bull that had moved in behind me QUIETLY!!!! I heard some hooves sounding against the ground and I could actually here him breathing!!! My instinct was to turn aruond and see what was there and when I did he barked turned and ran and so did his partner........No Elk but WOW!!!!!!!! What a rush!!! Later that day just as I was hitting the sack I started hearing some grunting.....Moose.............Exciting but no big deal right????? well he came over and started working the tree that my tent was attatched to!@#$%^ He was litteraly stepping on my tent (corner) with me inside. Thankfully that ended well!!!!!

Two years ago me and a friend were out in the same area and heard some major tree thrashing and went to investigate. What we were hoping was an Elk gone rut crazy mad turned out to be a great bull Moose showing the tree who was boss. Problem was is that he spotted us and made quik work of the 50 yrds between us. Of course we grabbed the tail wind and blew! After about 200 or so yrds we thought we were OK. But one look back and there he was .................We thought???????? As it turns out it was another Moose who did not want us around . We figured this out because after we jogged our way ito the timber these bulls came together and put on QUITE a sparring match not 30 yrds away.........Wow

Last year after I had just gotten to the end of my hike in and was READY!!!! To unload my gear this bull Moose jumps out a gruntin' that sucker had me goin' for a hundred yrds full run .....Or as fast as one can run with a pack full of gear!@#$%^........Made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have had others ................15Cows (Elk ) at 15ft while I ate my lunch or had to get out of the way of a BEAUTIFUL mule buck that just about ran me over on a scouting trip.ETC................Am I the Clark Griswald of hunting??? It usually works out..........But man!@#$%

So what's yours ????????

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

ummm.... WOW.... Got nothin like that, sorry... I really, really wish I did... 1 question... Will you take me out Elk hunting??? (bow) I lived in CO. Springs for 2 years (Army) and tried both years for Elk/Muledeer (before it went to a draw)/Turkey... Tryin anywhere from Sleepy Cat Mt. to Gunnison to Spanish Peaks to down range Ft. Carson itself... ended up with notta!!! :( Now I live in Mi. but desperatly want to go back to Co. for elk... (this is what my dreams are made of) Anyway, awesome stories!!!

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

I don't think you're the Clark Griswald of hunting!! But maybe Tim Conway!!!!! :):)

Just kidding!!! You did get a chuckle out of me though!! (no pun intended)--ElkNut1

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

It has been a few years back and I was hunting Buffalo Peaks. I found a small group of elk moving in the timber. I followed them for a ways, they moved up over a small hill to a little clearing. I eased up to the clearing edge and watched 4 cows move into the timber on the other side. I didn't see a bull and was in a bad place to call, so I moved across the clearing. I could see the shape of the elk in the trees in front of me. I was going to use my binoculars to look for antlers when I noticed a motion to my right. When I looked over there was a Mountain Lion 20yds to my right. The pace of my heart quickened a lot! The cat didn't know I was there, she was in full stalk mode. I was not sure what to do. Then the cat turned it's head and looked right at me. The cats eyes got very big and she bolted off into the elk herd. Elk went every where. Needless to say I didn't kill one of those elk, but I didn't get eaten either.
Gselkhunter

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

90% of my close encounters have been moose hunting as well.

Over the last 18 years, we have hunted moose in alaska about 12 times. We have a real good area that we'll float and it has really produced over the years for us. The first few times were really a learning experience for me.

Lets see...

1) You can actually be calling more than one Moose. While one guy is thrashing the brush or dumping a bucket of water and the other guy is calling and focused on the moose that "you are calling", it is amazing how another bull sneak up and surprise you at 20 yards from the side or from behind. Oh, btw, the stand up tall w' your arms over your head thing, that they tell you to do with bears, doesn't work on moose in the rut. In fact, it may just piss them off.

2) While we hunt in teams of 2, skinning and quartering a moose is a 1 man at a time job. Over the years, the kill site has become a "grizzly buffett" a couple of times. The first time it happened, me and my friend were rolling the moose back over* and we heard a woof. Bam, 30 yards away was a big interior griz. It scared the cr@p out of me. We fired a couple of shots and he ran off but was just laying in wait for the carcass. I finished the last 2 quarters, we loaded 1 on to the raft, about 50 yards away, and came back to the site. The Griz was on the kill site. We backed out and took off.

3) My favorite was the Brown Bear that followed us what had to be 20 miles over 3 days of drifiting. We would see him walking down the banks once or twice a day and then he would hit the meat cache every night w/ no regard for the citric acid & pepper spray on the meat or the little bags of moth balls hanging from the branches or the "human scent circle" around the cache. It was the first and only time we hunted that much more heavily used river.

SA

* - you don't gut large game, you skin one side. Take the quarters for that side. Then roll that side back onto the hide and do the other side.

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

I had a black bear @ 9 yds taht I took with my bow & a hen turkey @ 6 feet(she came around the back side of my tree let her walk).

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

1: Ambushed by a rabbit.
2: Hawk almost landed on me while chasing a chipmunk.
3: Had a sow bear and 2 cubs within 15yd of me.

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

Not hunting but back a few years ago on a hiking camping trip I wound up between a big sow bear and her 2 cubs. I heard a noise so I looked over to see 2 little black critters run up the side of a white pine. Realized they were bears, and then turned to my right after hearin' some leaves crunch. The mother was there, but intsead of doing anything, she took off in that direction and I took off strait down the trail.

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

Hey 4x4 .................was that a WASCALLY WABBIT

I haven't had a bear incident YET ????

Heck I'll take anyone Elk Huntin'

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

awesome stories here....heres a few of mine.

elk- last year, i was on this fairly large herd in wyoming. trying to get a shot at the herd bull, about a 320 class animal, but it didnt happen. i was trying to circle the herd ( he had a ton of cows) and i noticed a smallish 5 by 5 walking parallel to me. decided he was big enough. was going to draw when he went behind a deadfall, but when he got to it he turned and came right at me. he walked right up to me, and stopped not 5 feet away broadside. i was not hiding behind anything, just standing there like an idiot. way too close, i was actually a bit scared. thought he was gonna hook me when he swung his head.

turkey- a few years ago, i was calling to a distant flock that didnt seem like was working. anyway, i had thought i had heard something behind me earlier, but had forgotten about it, when all of a sudden i heard something RIGHT behind me. i wasnt sitting against a tree or anything, just out in the middle of the open (mistake) and when i turned my head slowly, that stupid hens head just about hit mine. i think i probably jumped twice as high as she did.

mule deer-3 years ago, i was stalking a nice muley buck id seen, when i almost stepped on a 27 inch 3 by 3. he did blow out, but it scared the crap out of me. to make it worse, me screaming scared my deer away. to top it off, when i got back to my vehicle, which was parked right by some tall sage, as i pushed in the clutch to start the truck, it moved ever so slightly forward, and nudged that sage and the biggest buck of the day jumped up and ran off. he could not have been 3 feet from my vehicle. i can not believe that he would have walked up and bedded right near a truck like that in the prairie, but i also cant believe that he was there when i parked and got out to begin with (no i didnt make that up, i know its unbelievable).

whitetails- while hunting in ohio this fall, after seeing nothing all morning, i walked to my buddies stand, and while i was standing there on the ground whispering to him, he said here comes a buck. tine 2 by 2 walked to within 10 feet of me, never even noticed. weird

caribou- couple years ago in quebec, during a winter hunt i was sitting near a trail that caribou were migrating along in the snow. during one of the little lulls, i noticed a lone cow coming along, so i crawled out in the middle of the trail she was on. she finally noticed me and stopped when she was at 5 or 6 feet, and when i winked and clicked my tongue at her, i think she may have peeled out getting away.

sorry for the long winded post
brad

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

OK while Goose hunting the Clark Fork about 8 years ago a flock flew over and I knocked 2 down in the icy water. I rushed down to the waters edge and grabbed the 1 Canadian and tossed him up on the bank. I then started running down the bank of the icy river to try and get the other Goose in the middle of the river. After 250 yards I gave up the river had claimed him.
When I turned around and headed for my other Goose on the bank, a Bald Eagle had snatched him up and I was chasing this Eagle who could barely take off. I was just feet from the thing but could not catch him.
My buddies who had been hunting down stream about 1/4 mile came over and I told them about the double I took and spent the rest of the day explaining what happened, they kept saying yah right uh huh a Bald Eagle and the river took the other. To this day they always bring up my invisable Geese. Not a close call but an interesting day to say the least:)

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

Funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get to go to bed with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

One year on the opening morning of deer season (rifle ) back in WV, I was sitting with my back against a tree on a hillside and had this big gobbler come off the roost and almost land on me. When he was within what must have been ceiling height from me,I flinched and covered my head and he realized and had to start working really hard in order to back off on that same steep angle that he was approaching on.
That same year I was sitting with a huge rock face to my back and had a whole flock of hens (15-20+) come around the corner from behind the rock in single file--we couldn't see each other until they were about 2-3 yards from me---they would come around the corner and instantly explode into the air one after another---that was awesome--they just kept going and going and going
I've had several close encounters with moose in WY and MT while troutfishing some brushy creeks including a nice bull in the bighorn mountains that lounged under a tree all afternoon directly across the creek (15-20 yardS) from our camp, and a cow with a very little one that I surprised as they came out of the brush into the water--that will get the adrenaline goin. we all stopped then I just started easing back and talking to her and they soon just took off across the river

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

Maybe, all I know was I went to my lease to hunt some rabbits and I walked past this one bush and all of a sudden one rammed itself into my leg.

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

I would like to know what unit you are running into all these mmoose.

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

Hey X you must of been doing something wrong. I hunt 3-points which is basically at the base of sleepy cat unit 12 and bring home elk and muleys every year.

RE: Close encounters of the Animal kind
 

Got a few for you.

Hunting deer and scouting elk (elk opened in a week). Anyway walking into a meadow in the dark I hear some rag horns bugeling. I figue I'll check 'em out and when I get to the meadow I give a couple young bugels. Nothing, no responce. I know they must be just inside the treeline. Still nothing so I decide to walk through the meadow and onward to some deer hopefully. About halfway though the meadow to the left out of the timber a huge 6X7 comes right at me. I get down into a depression and nock an arrow (my only protection) and at full speed he stops about 15 feet away from me pissing on himself and ripping up the ground with his rack. I just sit there on my ass making myself as small as possible ready to draw at any minute if need be. After about 10 minutes he walks past me and then I find out why. Just inside the treeline on the other side of me he gathers up about 30 cows and herds them back to where he came from. This took some time and I just contined to sit there. When he was finally done and got everybody into the treeline I got up and continued through the meadow. He bugeled and bugeled over and over again until I got past the meadow. Never caught up with that heard during season. I tracked them for days but never found them again.

Ok a couple years later while deer hunting again we were hunting an area that always held deer and didn't kick up anything but we saw tons of cat tracks. After coming out of the area about 10 feet above us siting on a rock outcropping sat a big mounain lion just staring at us. He was about 20 yards away and with one good jump he could be on either of us. We both nocked arrows and starting talking to each other wondering what to do. We walked away from the cat back to back hoping for the best. The hair was standing upright on the back of my neck. Once we were away from him he just stood up and turned around and walked off. Guess he didn't like the competition in his area.

The next year in the same clearing we had the run in with the mountain lion we spotted a small buck and decided to put a stalk on him from either direction. Anyway I kept an old growth stump between me and the small buck and I got to about 15 feet of him but decided to pass as he just wasn't what I wanted. I put the arrow back into the quiver and walked around the stump casually. What I didn't realize was that there was a much bigger buck bedded with his back to the stump and I never saw him until I got around it. His hind legs were inches away from my feet when I rounded the stump and here just sat there staring at me with me staring at him. As slowing as possible I reached for an arrow and nocked it (yes he let me do this just inches away from each other). Moving as slowly as possible I started to draw but suddenly the bow made a sound he didn't like. He actually kicked my leg scrambling to get up. Didn't get a shot as all I saw butt after that, but I can tell you my heart will never be the same.

Here's fun one - anyway after a long morning elk/deer hunt we headed back to the truck to go back to camp for some grub. Once we finally stepped out of the woods at the truck we noticed a small doe down the road about 75 yards off. I gave it a little doe bleat just for fun. The darn thing started walking to me and my partner. We set our bows down and a bent over to give a more horizontal profile and bleated again, and wouldn't you know it but she came to us even faster. She came all the way to me and started sniffing becuase I just didn't smell right. Slowly I reached out and she tried sniffing it. I reached all the way out and just touched her nose and that was the end of that, she just about plowed us over trying to get out of there. Me and my partner just laughed. We gave that young doe a education she needed.