What was your worst hunt?
12-24-2006, 12:55 PM
#51
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Iowa
Posts: 283
RE: What was your worst hunt?
Dan, Scarey story, I think you might have the worst hunt story.
Hatchetjack, Yours might be the funniest worst story.
I'm not sure which of my stories to share. I guess I'll share this one:
Friday’s plan (November 10, 2006) was to hunt one of my favorite stands. I hadn’t hunted there sincethe previousSaturday morning.I set up the LoneWolf standin the “Bean Pole” (the tree I shot last year’s buck from, a real whip of a tree, especially if it is windy) and wait for daylight. As it gets light, I see something odd, something out of place that I hadn’t noticed before. I think it is a deer but being colorblind, I’m not positive. It doesn’t move. I’m curious. I have a few deer drift through, some does within range, some little bucks. A group of four deer, three does and a buck start to work through. One of the does gets down wind of “the deer” and acts funny. She moves away and the buck goes over to check out “the deer”. Okay, curiosity killed the cat. I can’t take it any more and when they move off, I have to climb down and look. I walk over to find the body of a headless buck. Just great…….. but wait, the story gets better. How about a little history? My first visit to the area this year was on opening day, Oct.1. As I was using a light to climb into my stand whenI notice a vehicle pull up to the neighbor’s machine shed. 6:30 am on a Sunday? Seems rather odd that they needed something from the shed at that hour. I hunt until mid-morning, then hear a bunch of hammering. I start to wonder if someone is putting up a tree stand on the property, so decide to go investigate. A house in the neighboring housing development is getting re-roofed, I just must be paranoid! So I head back to my stand, taking a different path. What do I spy but a treestand! I’m pissed, to say the least. I climb up to tear it down and realize I need some tools to take down this homemade POS treestand. Even the steps are lag screws with rerod welded to them. I go to thecar for some tools and head back. As I’m approaching the stand, a glint on a tree catches me out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it might be one of those reflective buttons people mark trails with, but closer examination reveals a Stealth trail cam. Cool, just scored me a cam!! I go over to the stand and start to tear it down. I fgure if theowner wants to claim it, he can getit backwhen heis cited fortrespassing. As I unboltthe treestandand toss it to the ground, I notice an old broken down fence at the base of the tree. Oops, the tree starts on the neighbor’s property, but leans over onto the property I hunt. Sitting in the stand, you are in the "airspace" of theproperty I have permission. The only thing to huntfrom this stand isacross the fence on the ground I huntand that is where the cam was hung. So I’m thinking that with the loss of the cam and the stand being torn down, the owner might get a hint. Well, they didn’t take the hint and rehung the stand, this time padlocking it. Well, I see this and think, there are tons of deer, I can share, right? I hung two No Hunting signs on the property, both aimed at the treestand. One had my name and cell phone number on it. I’m thinking this is another subtle hint to not shoot over over the fence (which is illegal in my state). Well, the headless buck made it right below the No Hunting sign with my name on it before he died of a shot to the right rear quarter. I blood trailed him back to a trail in plain view of the offending stand at 30 yards. He bled really hard and I’m seriously questioning if an arrow to the rear ham, even with a femoral artery hit would have anchored him that quick (archery season was all that was open). I grab my cell phone and start trying to call the CO, it is 8:30 am. At 3:30, I finally talk to a person when I call her number. I don’t know if she ever came out to look! Without an eyewitness, I can see that it would be a very hard case to prove who was responsible. From the condition of the carcass, the deer had been dead from 4 to 6 days (I had been out there hunting the previous Saturday and it wasn't there then).
So now my favorite hunting area has a dead headless poached buck laying there. I hunted the area a couple of more times after that. It sure was tough to sit there with that dead buck within sight. On November 24, 2006, I arrowed a 150 inch ten point from the bean pole stand, so I guess things worked out in the end. Some things are going to need corrected before next season, though. I got a chainsaw for Christmas (had an early Christmas last night with a relative is traveling).
I'm thinking that tree is going to get trimmed vertically over the property line.
Hatchetjack, Yours might be the funniest worst story.
I'm not sure which of my stories to share. I guess I'll share this one:
Friday’s plan (November 10, 2006) was to hunt one of my favorite stands. I hadn’t hunted there sincethe previousSaturday morning.I set up the LoneWolf standin the “Bean Pole” (the tree I shot last year’s buck from, a real whip of a tree, especially if it is windy) and wait for daylight. As it gets light, I see something odd, something out of place that I hadn’t noticed before. I think it is a deer but being colorblind, I’m not positive. It doesn’t move. I’m curious. I have a few deer drift through, some does within range, some little bucks. A group of four deer, three does and a buck start to work through. One of the does gets down wind of “the deer” and acts funny. She moves away and the buck goes over to check out “the deer”. Okay, curiosity killed the cat. I can’t take it any more and when they move off, I have to climb down and look. I walk over to find the body of a headless buck. Just great…….. but wait, the story gets better. How about a little history? My first visit to the area this year was on opening day, Oct.1. As I was using a light to climb into my stand whenI notice a vehicle pull up to the neighbor’s machine shed. 6:30 am on a Sunday? Seems rather odd that they needed something from the shed at that hour. I hunt until mid-morning, then hear a bunch of hammering. I start to wonder if someone is putting up a tree stand on the property, so decide to go investigate. A house in the neighboring housing development is getting re-roofed, I just must be paranoid! So I head back to my stand, taking a different path. What do I spy but a treestand! I’m pissed, to say the least. I climb up to tear it down and realize I need some tools to take down this homemade POS treestand. Even the steps are lag screws with rerod welded to them. I go to thecar for some tools and head back. As I’m approaching the stand, a glint on a tree catches me out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it might be one of those reflective buttons people mark trails with, but closer examination reveals a Stealth trail cam. Cool, just scored me a cam!! I go over to the stand and start to tear it down. I fgure if theowner wants to claim it, he can getit backwhen heis cited fortrespassing. As I unboltthe treestandand toss it to the ground, I notice an old broken down fence at the base of the tree. Oops, the tree starts on the neighbor’s property, but leans over onto the property I hunt. Sitting in the stand, you are in the "airspace" of theproperty I have permission. The only thing to huntfrom this stand isacross the fence on the ground I huntand that is where the cam was hung. So I’m thinking that with the loss of the cam and the stand being torn down, the owner might get a hint. Well, they didn’t take the hint and rehung the stand, this time padlocking it. Well, I see this and think, there are tons of deer, I can share, right? I hung two No Hunting signs on the property, both aimed at the treestand. One had my name and cell phone number on it. I’m thinking this is another subtle hint to not shoot over over the fence (which is illegal in my state). Well, the headless buck made it right below the No Hunting sign with my name on it before he died of a shot to the right rear quarter. I blood trailed him back to a trail in plain view of the offending stand at 30 yards. He bled really hard and I’m seriously questioning if an arrow to the rear ham, even with a femoral artery hit would have anchored him that quick (archery season was all that was open). I grab my cell phone and start trying to call the CO, it is 8:30 am. At 3:30, I finally talk to a person when I call her number. I don’t know if she ever came out to look! Without an eyewitness, I can see that it would be a very hard case to prove who was responsible. From the condition of the carcass, the deer had been dead from 4 to 6 days (I had been out there hunting the previous Saturday and it wasn't there then).
So now my favorite hunting area has a dead headless poached buck laying there. I hunted the area a couple of more times after that. It sure was tough to sit there with that dead buck within sight. On November 24, 2006, I arrowed a 150 inch ten point from the bean pole stand, so I guess things worked out in the end. Some things are going to need corrected before next season, though. I got a chainsaw for Christmas (had an early Christmas last night with a relative is traveling).
I'm thinking that tree is going to get trimmed vertically over the property line.
12-24-2006, 08:14 PM
#52
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 194
RE: What was your worst hunt?
Haven't we all had some horror stories to tell? But it's our love 'of the game' that keeps us coming back for more (so to speak).
Last year I had several back to back hunts planned at different WMA's here in Texas. I opened the season with a good start by shooting a doe on opening day and seeing an all time high of 18 deer including some huge bucks. The next weekend on a different area on a special draw hunt for the state, I had hung 3 stands and hunted one on the first day of the hunt. The next morning I went to another stand, feeling good about my 'success'. Somehow after climbing up in the dark and getting comfortable, I accidently knocked my bow off of its hook dropping it 20+ feet to the ground and breaking my sight off.......Morning hunt ruined. So I went back to my camp, put a spare sight on and spent the morning getting it sighted in properly.
That afternoon I went to another stand location and after doing the climb and getting comfortable, noticed that I'd pulled out and lost EVERY ARROW in my quiver.
So I climbed down, walked back to my truck, built another arrow from my tool kit, walked back to my stand, climbed back up and while getting situated again-----KNOCKED MY GLASSES OFF and spent the next 2 hours looking for them.......finding them about 15 minutes before it got too dark to see!
I am blind as a bat without my glasses!
The next morning.....I had come down with POISON IVY so bad.....I couldn't sit still in any stand so my HUNT'S OVER.....until the poison ivy is cleared up....which takes about 10-21 days! And I stilll had fun!
Last year I had several back to back hunts planned at different WMA's here in Texas. I opened the season with a good start by shooting a doe on opening day and seeing an all time high of 18 deer including some huge bucks. The next weekend on a different area on a special draw hunt for the state, I had hung 3 stands and hunted one on the first day of the hunt. The next morning I went to another stand, feeling good about my 'success'. Somehow after climbing up in the dark and getting comfortable, I accidently knocked my bow off of its hook dropping it 20+ feet to the ground and breaking my sight off.......Morning hunt ruined. So I went back to my camp, put a spare sight on and spent the morning getting it sighted in properly.
That afternoon I went to another stand location and after doing the climb and getting comfortable, noticed that I'd pulled out and lost EVERY ARROW in my quiver.
So I climbed down, walked back to my truck, built another arrow from my tool kit, walked back to my stand, climbed back up and while getting situated again-----KNOCKED MY GLASSES OFF and spent the next 2 hours looking for them.......finding them about 15 minutes before it got too dark to see!
I am blind as a bat without my glasses!
The next morning.....I had come down with POISON IVY so bad.....I couldn't sit still in any stand so my HUNT'S OVER.....until the poison ivy is cleared up....which takes about 10-21 days! And I stilll had fun!
12-24-2006, 09:21 PM
#53
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: st. louis missouri.
Posts: 810
RE: What was your worst hunt?
i dont know if i had something horrible happen to me but my last hunt i spooked like 10 deer on my way in 15 yards from my treestand and i didnt see any deer the whole hunt.
12-24-2006, 09:40 PM
#54
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin/Michigan
Posts: 9,679
RE: What was your worst hunt?
I must say antime I have a chance to be in the woods is a godsend, never really a bad time. Well for me the "worst hunt" was this year when I was getting ready to climb down and was squatted down on the platform on my climber putting the bunge cord around my boots and notice a movement coming to my left and was a beautiful 8 point walking directly under my stand. I watched him thru the meshing between my boots on my platform. He gets by me I stand up and nock an arrow, I stop him at 25 yards in some thick stuff, he never offered me a clean shot! I was bummed!!!!!! Still a great experience!!!!!!!!
12-25-2006, 08:54 AM
#55
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Finger Lakes, NY/Mass
Posts: 38
RE: What was your worst hunt?
ORIGINAL: mauser06
i cant recall ANY day in the woods that i wish i hadnt gone out. i honestly believe any day in the woods is better then a day doing anything else.....
i cant recall ANY day in the woods that i wish i hadnt gone out. i honestly believe any day in the woods is better then a day doing anything else.....
laxdad
12-25-2006, 12:00 PM
#57
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blossvale, New York
Posts: 21,199
RE: What was your worst hunt?
I always like the story of NYbowhunter crapping in his grunt tube.[8D] My worst hunt was for exotics. I was sneaking along as best I could and it happened.[&:][&:] Then to top it off we camped out that night. I'm in a different horse and the dropped a mortar right on my deck. I couldn't hear anyone shoot for 3 days.[&:]
