Getting the creeps.
 

Since opening day is less than a month away I am looking forward to getting up at 3 am and going thru the morning ritual of driving out to my spot, putting on my camo in the dark walking thru the woods with a flashlight to find my reflective stickers and climbing a tree in the dark. Then sitting in that tree for about an hour before first light. More than once, I have gotten the heebie-jeebies while out in the woods either at night or in the morning. Like most of you, I hunt alone.
I' m not worried about the bugs, the snakes(oh dear God do I HATE snakes!!) the cold or rain. But for some reason I have already felt a small amount of dread about walking thru the woods in the dark.

David

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

i have had that feeling before as well. i can' t wait for first light on those mornings.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I have to agree, I hate the woods at night, dont know why I just do. I gues thats why I dont coon hunt. For years when I was younger I didnt like to hunt evenings cause I didnt like to walk out after dark, I always left early, never had much luck that way. But about 5 years ago I started making myself stay until dark and toughing it out. Im used to it now and it dont bother me much anymore, but every now and then I still get a little boogered when I dont have my light out of my pack.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Ok..I confess, I think it' s creepy also, Noy so bad once I get in my tree stand. Have you ever watched the blair witch movie the night before a hunt[>:] I did, Wicked creepy man. Try it!:D

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

No kidding, about a week after I watched that movie I got to hunt a new spot that I had never been to. I was given directions to my stand and dropped off before daylight. On the way there I came up on an old abandoned house place and it even looked like the one in the movie and I had to walk right past it with no flashlight[:o], talk about the heebie-jeebies. I still hunt there but thank god the farmer tore the house down the next spring.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Yup me too....I have been Hunting alone for over 20 years. I think it is the unknown that is spookey. Can not see what is unknown ahead hehe.. I still get a little spooked at times. Climbed up in my tree stand once and had a big old Owl sitting in it. Scared the be-jiminy out of me. Darn near fell back to the ground. I think I gained 10 years on the life that morning.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Angus 74... The time I went hunting after watching that movie I came across a rock pile[:o] If you remember the little rock piles they kept finding.[>:]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Something wrong with me. I love walking through the woods in the dark, no light.... just slipping and seeing how quiet I can be. I' m always hissing Len and his kid for turning on lights and ruining my night vision.:D I don' t really mind, but I do like to slip and slide silently along in total darkness. There' s nothing in the woods as bad as what was in the woods in Southeast Asia. I figure I' m the baddest thing in the woods around where I hunt.[:-] Morning hunts are entirely different from the feeling you get slipping out at night.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I like it to David,Its the Yahoos that walk in at daylight and mess me up that gives me the creeps,The creeps

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I don' t mind the dark. There' s nothing in Ohio that can hurt me. It does bother me when I hear something moving around in the dark, though. I figure it' s running away, rather than coming to get me.[:@]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Well David, CD & myself must be weird, I grew up in the sticks and my little brother and I used to go for walks in the woods at night. Like David, to me slipping through the woods or along the edge of a field in the dark is an exciting feeling, especially when you slide by a deer in a field and all they do is watch you walk by. I have to admit there is a spot I will be hunting this year that I have found bear tracks at that I may feel a bit nervous about until the sun breaks, but hey my night vision is good and I can always dive into the river!!!! One thing you learn when walking throught the woods at night is how and why deer take the easiest route, when there is plenty of light you tend to take the shortest route where you are going, but in the dark you go with the flow of the land and the trees and brush, without fail if you walk in the woods at night you will find yourself on a deer trail.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Happens to me every time....that whole " path of least resistance" thing!:D;)

I' m not a big fan of going in or out of the woods in the dark, but I do it everyday I hunt. I hunt near clearcuts a lot.....there are a lot of bears in those clearcuts....I don' t like bears -- or the thought of crossing a sow with cubs at 6am or 7:30pm....spooky![:o]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

When I first started bow hunting, my Dad walked me in to my stand ONCE in the darkness, the next time I was on my own. No flashlight, just dark thick woods. I didn' t do too bad finding the tree, I was off about 10 yds. I' ve had a few run ins over the years with some startling night time adventures, and toss in the fact I have bears in my hunting area and I get a little spooked now and then. I much prefer walking in, in the dark, than walking out at night.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Funny you mentioned that Tazman, about always ending up on a deer trail if you walk in the dark without a light. 1 of the things I have learned to try if you are blood trailing a deer and you have lost the blood (after you have tried a long time to find it again!) go back to where you lost the blood and back track the blood trail for about 50 yards then turn off your light and wait for your eyes to adjust then work your way down the trail you know is the right path in the direction the deer was heading, and just kinda let the natural lay of the land and easiest path guide you in the direction the deer was heading. We have picked the blood back up or found the deer several times this way. Without the light I tend to notice the temperature changes you find in pockets of the woods .. and hit deer always seem to move towards the coolest places.

I love being in the woods in the dark with no light. It' s 1 of the few times I get the chance to use my other senses over sight ... in a weird way it' s kind of exciting, if that makes sense.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Walking in the woods in the dark doesn' t bother me at all. But, if I am walking in the dark, my stands are placed appropriately. I will not walk long distances off the trails in the dark or though brush. I do this mainly because I don' t want the sppok the woods up first thing in the morning. All of my morning stands are easy to get to and not far off the trails. The stands that I have that are a mile in or through heavy brush won' t get hunted in the morning. In these stands, I' ll go in the afternoon, and hunt the evening till dark.

But lets think about it, hunting should be fun. I hate to look at hunting as a job where you have to be there in a certain fashion. If you don' t like the woods in the dark, then wait till the light just breaks. You may find that you can get in the stand quieter then in the dark, which could be beneficial to you. I know a few hunters that do that and they are just as successful as anyone.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I enjoy the night woods, although a friend of mine lost his eye because he couldn' t see the limb until it him in the eye. Except for that experience, I think the woods are awsome at night and I really like it on a full moon when you can see enough to get around and also see all the shadows and such. Heck, I might go walking tonight.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

SISSIES...SISSIES....SISSIES[:o]:D:D

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

U HAVE A WEAPON IN YOUR HAND.....what do u have to fear? especially when i am gun hunting. if anything ever happened i could just shoot it. plus i never use a flashlight anyway. spooks too much game.....so tough it out u wimps[X(]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

The dark doesn' t bother me at all. In early and out late are the usuals where I hunt. Of course in WV and VA, we don' t have many things that want to eat you[:o] [:-]
My buddy that lives out west, says he regularly gets the creeps now since he had a mountain lion stalk him one morning in the dark a couple years ago.
About as nervous as I ever got was when I was helping my brother in law drag out a bowkill about an hour after dark, and a small pack of coyote' s were running around us the whole time...all the way down the mountain. That was a little freaky...there was no moon at all, and we could only hear them. They never got closer than probably 40yds (we think)...but that was close enough.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Well, besides the alligators, water moccassins, copperheads, coral snakes, diamond back rattlers, timber rattlers, pygmy rattlers, and black bears,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a walk in the dark is a PICNIC down here.[:o]:([:o][:' (]

I' d be happy to do a swap hunt with you.;)

Ya' ll havent experienced raw,rugged hunting unless youve hunted a Florida swamp.[:o][X(]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I' m not crazy about walking in the dark woods but have you ever come across a pack of wild dogs/wolves that has been stalking you? Yipes...you talk about the hair standing up on the back of your neck and your testicles heading north! My son-in-law and his father and myself was hunting with muzzle loaders and at sunset and getting darker, my son-in-law was being stalked by the pack. There were 3 animals and he only had one shot. Needless to say he couldn' t get out of there fast enough and headed toward us. He said he was never so scared before....he didn' t want to be dinner. He was about to shoot one of them but decided against it in case the other two would charge. That will definitely change your mind about walking in the woods after dark.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

When huntin' farm country the dark doesn' t really bother me at all...I think it' s really cool. However, hunting in suburbia adds a whole new threat...humans...I hate ' em in my deer woods in the dark. That is my only fear...some psycho who just jumped off the train that runs through the woods I hunt or some yahoo poaching and shooting at sounds....yikes.:(

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Hey, does anyone fear getting attacked by a coyote in the dark. Last year a huge coyote came by my stand (I missed it though)- it was big enough to make me a little nervous while going to my stand in the dark. I heard a story once of a guy who had to shoot a coyote because it charged him. Does anyone have any comments about this? Should I be afraid of getting attacked by a coyote in the dark?????????????????????

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Yep, walking to or from my stand in the dark will sometimes get me nervous.

We have copperheads (least of my concern), bears, coyotoes, and wild dogs (the biggest concern) Add to that the other hunters and the woods are a little dangerous.

As for having a weapon on you. Yeah, but, are you gonna be able to draw you bow back on a wild dog and shoot it while it is running full tilt at you?

I am not going to let those creeps decide where and how I hunt. I just tough them out. I understand that there is nothing in the woods at night that isn' t there in the day, but, atleast in the day I can see them!

One of my favorite stands is in the bottom of a valley where bears are seen every year. Also, there are several wild dogs in this area. The woods are thick and made of giant pine trees. When walking under these pines, even if there is a full moon, you can' t see a thing. The ground is quiet because it is all old pine needles.

I think alot of it is vulnerabillity. Humans are most vulnerable in the dark. We don' t have a good sense of smell, and our hearing isn' t that good either. We rely on our eyes, and when you take that away, we become a 3 legged cat surrounded by a pack of dogs :D

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

.....in the dark, you' re already very close and YOU CAN' T SEE IT!!!!

I' ve never been stalked by coyotes or chased by bears(not while hunting, but I have a story about a bear that chased me). Everyone that goes into the woods should have some heightend awareness....Mother Nature is cruel and without repentance....a black bear deffending it' s young can be VERY merciless.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Like the majority of you, I am not a big fan of walking in the dark woods. A couple of years ago, I got out of my truck and started towards my stand. I got about 150 yards away, and all at once a pack of coyotes started howling. I thought I soiled myself. I turned my flashlight on, made a bunch of noise, and continued. They went over the other hillside and I made it to my stand without incident. But, I scared the sh$# out of me. Once I am in my stand though, I like to hear creatures moving in the dark. I once had 4 deer come under me. They must have followed me in because I only had time to put my safety around the tree and they were there.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I used to get the creeps in the woods, in the dark and then I saw a movie where a guy said " I want to be the thing in the woods that everything is afraid of." So I adopted that concept. Last year I heard that, besides bears, there are also cougar in the area. So, here I am back at square one...

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I live in the city and i dont like walking around here in the dark
the woods dont bug me i have always felt at peace in the woods at night some times after the hunt i will still stay under my tree and just look at the stars and hear all the strange sounds:)

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I must be really weird because I don' t mind going into the woods in the dark in the mornings, but I hate coming out after dark at night. Don' t know why that is but I find myself rushing to get my stand packed up to get out a night but I take my time in the mornings. I wouldn' t say that I am scared of the dark but I hate being startled like an animal taking off right in front of you or worse yet having another hunter all of a sudden say hey I in here. Scares the crap out of you! But I will continue to hunt at night alone anyway.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

My son-in-law is afraid of the dark:) He won' t go into the woods till it' s light enough to see and always leaves before legal shooting time is up. I told him he is missing some of the best times and probably bumping all the deer where he hunts.

Benhuntin - been there done that:D Don' t know what these guys are scared of;) I have never been afraid of snakes or gators but when you hunt the Fla Swamps you damn sure better keep you eyes open[:o] Seen more snakes in one season of swamp hunting than most guys around here see in a lifetime:D Not many poisionus snakes in these parts, I guess the biggest thing to be afraid of would be other stupid hunters if you' re hunting public land. Coyotes very seldom get close enough to be any danger. Even in very large packs I' ve seen them shy away from human contact. We are the best if not the biggest predator in the woods:D

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

like soooo many of u mentioned above...i don' t like the woods at NIGHT either... i think its because i know where some animals are and where most aren' t....i also walk out with my hand on my knife sheath....its got a buckle that i can flip and have my knife out very fast.... other than that i don' t mind walking in in the cold mornings...when i can see, smell, and hear whats going on....plus theres usually no wind in the morning!:D

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

A couple of years ago I met a guy that wanted to back pack into a remote location to bow hunt elk. He openly admitted that the thought of being alone in the woods cloaked in darkness nearly put him in a panic. Each night I would hear him check the chamber of his sidearm in his adjoining tent. One night when I heard him do this I started laughing. He asked me what was so funny and I told him he didn' t need to be so paranoid because he was much safer up here than he was in the city. Ironically, the next day the twin towers were razed by the terrorists and over 3,000 people lost their lives. Most times it is the two legged varmints that you have to be concerned about.

If you really want to test your sanity spend two weeks alone in unfamiliar territory where you might not talk to another human for four or five days at a time. I can tell you after the first week it takes a lot of the fun out of it. It does give one a new appreciation for what our forefathers went through.

Years ago before GPS navigation when hunting the big woods I got turned around going into my stand and had to stop, sit, and wait for daylight to find out where I was exactly. It didn' t scare me but I was perturbed that I got off the trail thus costing me valuable time in the stand.

Why a lot of us feel differently about going to the stand in the morning versus coming out at night is easy to explain. You know the sun is coming up in the morning. Going out at night, especially if you are in a remote area, there is no hope of any light for the next 10 hours or so. No one wants to spend the night alone lost in the woods.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I too have a fear of walking out of the woods in the dark. Mostly my fear is not of the four legged animal, though. I have had men in the woods with me that were not supposed to be there. They are what gives me the creeps. We have a lot of problems in my area with people coming onto someone else' s land and growing a certain illegal crop, because my land backs up to about 3000 acres of posted land with an absent owner we always have someone on our land each year who doesn' t belong. If my husband can' t meet me at my stand and walk out with me I carry a Glock 40 S & W in with me. It is not legal to carry a firearm on public land during bow season but on private land they really can' t say much about it.

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I' ve been freeked out a few times while walking threw the woods in the dark. It' s funny, you hear something running and you stop and try and figure out if it' s going away or comming at you. Also, sometimes your imagination can start to wander and get the best of you. Stop and tell yourself to chill out ya big baby! Everything out there is afraid of you.

The reason your not bothered in the morning is because your too damn tired to care.;)

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

My first hunt (last year) I had poachers erect a fence across my path where I had to travel to get to my stand. They did this between 5PM the night before (when I was there) and 5:30AM when I was arriving. THAT FREAKED ME OUT! Because of that being my first encounter hunting, I' m afraid of poachers!

Ever seen deliverance?? [:o]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

I guess being a nighttime predator hunter has me conditioned to walking in the dark at all hours, I love it.........then again I guess there isn' t much that should bother you with a 12 gauge 3 1/2" Super Mag slung over your shoulder.
I' m used to being HUNTED at night.........but its usually not a happy ending for whatever is doing the hunting. ;):D

You really want to know my only " fear" in the nightime woods? Skunks. I just know sooner or later I' m gonna step on one.[X(]

RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Matt...Skunks...LOL , very true.
I had my first run in with one last season. I was slipping down this ridge, it was pitch black. I stopped beside a big tree...trying to get my bearings, and in a few seconds I heard some rustling. It was so close I turned on my flashlight, and WHOA!!! 2ft away, it' s rear facing me, with it' s head turned and looking right at me!!![:o][:o] Needless to say...I wasn' t expecting that and Michael Jordan couldn' t have jumped higher or been 30ft away faster!! :D In about 20 years of in and out in the dark...that was a first for me. I was totally caught off guard. So my quiet morning slink to my stand was blown completely...but at least I didn' t get any additional cover scent[:-]

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RE: Getting the creeps.
 

Yeah Bow, Spiders are NaStY Nothing worse than walking into those webs at night. You always imagine the biggest ugliest spider you' ve ever seen. [>:][X(]