loogout1

Man, these stories of things that go bump in the night and the grown men that are afraid of them completely caught me off guard. Dont get me wrong, if you're hunting a remote wilderness or a area thats chock full o' bears I completely understand, but Joe Average walking to his stand a half mile from his truck(or volkswagon beetle with a flower on it) having to pack heatto go 2500 feet??COME ON! I will say, I may be a bit skewed. I am a fireman in NYC, worked in Harlem and now in the south Bronx, doubt I'm going to see a piece of woods in your average town USA thats gonna give me anything but a tranquil, SAFE, walk in the dark. Sack up fellas, we're top o' the food chain, remember that.

Greg / MO

6 thousand years ago when God created us, I think he instilled a thing called "common sense" into us... even though back then he put us at the top of the food chain.

NChunterman

I'm with demoIL I absolutely hate cows. I got chased by a stampede of 9 freakin cows this year in the pitch dark, everytime I would face them they would slam on the brakes and as soon as I turned to walk away they'd halla$$ at me. Scared me to death, just knew I was gonna get trampled. Any solutions to these MAD COWS? To be honest, this kept me from that stand a couple of times this season.

bkalbach

i carry a gun for the 2 legged animals. i can deal with anything on 4 legs in PA.

MdDave

the last sentence kills me!.......u tell that to the bear thats 15 yards away in the dark an your holdin a bow! .. when it happens to you. cmon back an tell us how uve changed.... an by the way it doesnt matter if its 2500 feet or 10 feet. they can come from anywhere...

BOSS-2

Well...you guys are making me feel much better about my encounter, followed by my quick exit. I know it's not "manly" to admit that one feels the need to have a firearm when entering the woods where no native animal to the state could or even less likely would try to take down a human....but hey...it's pitch black...you're out there by yourself, and like someone mentioned...we can't see worth a damn in the dark. Besides all that, less than 7 years ago a cougar wasfound deadvia trainin the county I hunt. Longodds...yes, but like so many said, I'd rather have it and not need it, than not have it.For some reason I'm more worried about critters than anything else...I really don't worry about some dingdong in the woods doing me harm...which is whatI should think about. I guess I think...I'm scared poopless out herein thedark, why the hell would someone else be outhere???

I'm gonna start carrying my .380 till further notice. No, I really don't need it...and I'm sure whatever was eyeing me up would have probably just ran away if I kept approaching, butI need to get back out there...and I'll feel better with a lil somethingsomething on my person.

loogout1

Easy there MDDAVE, re-read my post, paying particular attention to the second sentence. Reading comprehension Dave, reading comprehension.

outdoorsmen

so you hunt randolph co? cats are on a comeback here in 'ol IL. there have been many big cat and bobcat sightings. i hate that it's happening, nobody likes it. a friend of mine has tons of bobcat pics on his trail cameras. he shot a buck and retreived it a half hour later and it was aready eaten on by a bobcat. he took pics. it has claw/tear makes on the belly and the genitals were eaten off. he has pics of a cat brurying a deer (covering it up with leaves). his property is down south farther.
I hunt washington co. and there was a notice in the local paper about reporting big cat sightings.
I have never really thought of carrying a pistol with me (extra weight and scent) cause of the laws. but now that i think about it, honestly what would a judge say if your on trial for killing a cat with your pistol that had you pinned on the ground? if he would convict you then he should have a cat turned loose on him while you stand there watching saying "sorrywe can'tkill that cat for it's protected by law, i'm afraid you're just gonna have to take it like a man and be the kitty cats lunch."
i do know of a few CPO's that would wright you for having a pistol with you even if you did have to use it for defence.
there's also the rumer of cats being radio chipped. so if you shoot one and it's found dead on you land your screwed, or at least have some explaining to do.
it's also like when you're trailing a deer after hours. what if you happen to walk up to it and it's still alive? there's nothing you can do, it's after shooting time. you supposed to let the deer suffer? can't really shoot a bow in the dark, then if you use a light to see your pins then you're shinning game and shooting after hours. can't use a gun. Knife? is that legal? i have used a log and I've also stood there and watched one walk away that was only a few feet in front of me. ethics, morels and laws don't mix.

2006HighSierra

I don't really have a fear of the dark. I know the Lord is always with me but I do carry a peace just so I don't look like a show-off. I have been 20 yards from a black bear that ran out on the trail infront of me witha Hoyt in my hand and my release strapped around the quiver on the bow and no arrow knocked. Had I not been wearing my Ruger I'd have reached a new level of pucker factor that night. In east TN we have tons and tons of meth heads and other 2 legged vermin in places that you would think would be very nice unmolested areas. And we also have alot more bear than people think which I have saw first hand. I've been spooked a couple times by critters and dopeheads in the woods at night and day for that matter, butcomfort is never more than a cocked hammer away.

demoIL

I know this is off the subject but I hunt near Randolph (still in Monroe) but we have had a ton of bobcats in the past few years.. IL really needs to open a season on these things.

A note on the cows to the other guy that hates them.. The one bullgot the cattle farmer one day and tossed him in the air.. He ran to the woods and grabbed a log to make a bunch of noise.. He just laughs at me and the rest of us I guess..

It's all part of the experience boys, it's why we love it!!!!