Thought I was lost the same evening I killed my first turkey. I was 13 and it had gotten dark.I somehow got turned around and boy was that scary. Usually at some point, I can hear dogs barking letting me know that I am getting closer to home but they were mute that night.

I had my 12 gauge w/ 3 shells for reassurance. Thought I would bespending the night.[]Finally made it home.


I know what you guys mean about the grouse thing. Sometimes, you just get the feeling that you are being followed/watched.

I received permission to hunt a nearby farm last year. I didn't set any tree stands because I wasn't sure how much I would hunt it and figured I would use my climber. One afternoon I decided to slip in and hunt the evening over a heavily travelled creek crossing. I set up my climber, went up the tree and began to pull up my bow. All of a sudden a six point that was bedded down less than 20 yards away came bustin' out of the brush, scared me to death as I nearly fell out of the tree. Afterward I laughed as I thought about what that deer must have been thinking watching me wrestle with my climber, fiddle withmy bowrope getting tangled in the surrounding branches as I went up the tree and verbally convincing myself that I actually enjoy doing this.

It was the first time tha I went hunting by myself. I was walking through these woods with pretty thick undergrowth. My grandfather had told me " Boy you becareful up in those woods, there are a couple of wolves running around." Never thought much about it until that day. As I was walking, a winter storm hit and snow started falling like crazy. I couldn't see more then 25 - 30 ft. All of the sound I heard twigs snapping to the left and right of me. I started picking up my pace, and so did the sound of the twig snapping. I caught sight of a tree stand and took off sprinting to it. I don't think I even climbed it, just leaped the 15 feet to it. I looked around when I was up there and nothing. I looked some more and there it was. A squirrel was making its way around the underbrush.

I was on a small island in Alaska , all by myself . I saw two grizzlies about the size of a VW . I had a single shot .22 rifle . I was backpacking not hunting . I found a deserted logging boat to sleep in . I thought maybe sleeping in the tent wasn't such a good idea . Outside of that - I've always felt as if I was the badest predator out there . In fact last weekend a bear attacked mine and my buddies camp ,,,, I never had a second thought about staying put for the evening . My wifes driving - that scares me .

I live in S.C. just last week our Archery season for deer opened, I climbed up my tree opening morningand screwed in my bow hanger and sat down, it was about 05:30am. I heard something to my left very close to my ear, I turned on my head lamp, turned and looked. I just about jumped out of my tree when I saw a opossum ~6 inches from my face... his front feet were on my bow hanger!!!! Man I tell you what when he started hissing, I almost let him have that tree, but he turned away and continued to eat grapes that were on the vine next to my tree.

About20 yrs ago, Ibowhunted one evening,early-Nov, alongthe edge of a ~20A harvestedsoybean field. Didn't see anything that evening.About~45 min after sunset,I wasbackpacking my tree stand half-way across the field when a God-awful loud rifle shot rang out(.243/.30-06??), and it just scared the piss out of me. There is no rifle hunting in my county, and the shotgun season was still3 weeks away. A local poacher was somewhere along the edge, and I do not know if he thought I was a deer (?), or if he wanted to scare me, or if he took a potshot at an unseen deer. For what it was worth, I called the game warden when I got back home (pre-cell phone days)...
-fsh

Last year while bow hunting I was sitting in my stand patiently waiting for that big buck, (he never did show), but anyway im sitting there not moving at all, just as still as coud be, so still the chickadees were landing on me and my bow, well anyway,I happend to look to the right of of as something caught the corner of eye. All of a sudden I have this hawk with talons comming right at me by the time i stood up he wasonly 1 foot from my headbefore he realized my eyes were not mice. Talk about close encounters of the natural kind

I know what everyone's saying about the owls. We have 2 pair on our property (Bard owls).....and every once in a while they'll get close enough for us to give 'em the once-over. I always fear for the cat when I see how BIG they are....lol.

I was walking down our driveway, last fall.....(I walk to most of my hunting areas).....and I thought I'd heard Satan himself. It was a racoon in a hollowed out tree that was ABSOLUTELY eerie sounding. My guess is he/she was as scared as I was.

I've written about this one before.....but I'll say it again. I had left work early, last year to get in the woods for a bit. I got my climber.....went over to my favorite area.....and got up in the tree. I hoisted my bow......and sat back. A feeling came over me that I'd never had. I felt like something was going to happen if I stayed in that tree. Something bad. I climbed down.....and went over to where I had a lock-on hung. I climbed up.....retrieved my bow.....and relaxed. Same feeling. Something (I felt like) was telling me that if I stayed in that tree......something very bad wasgoing to happen.

I've never had that feeling before....or since that day. I hope I never do again.It's inexplainable.

Jeff

I almost peed myself!

Tom

people tell me they do not wear a harness b/c they will not fall out of their stands ,I tell them the same thing but let a hawk or owl grab the back of your head and you will jump out .I had a greathorn try for my hat one night scary stuff.Last year I jumped my first covey of qaill in ill. I though the earth was exploding.There arn't any in Pa. my worst was spending the night alone in alaska in a little tent with a tarp over it ,a very bad storm came in that night beat the tarp to shreds and rattled the tent all night long ,a grezz could have had me befor I know it with all the noise. At day light it calmed and I unziped the door to see 3 2nd year grezz cubs walking the beach 300yds down the bank