had a couple of scares
 

This weekends hunt couldn't of come at a better time....i hit a tree with the tractor(about 6-8'' of the outter wheel caught the tree) and broke the axal, the 2 right wheels ended up on the tiller....the only good thing that came out of that was my reaction , i did very well, lol.....now i know i won't freak out, at least not until everything is shut down, lol... i just needed a day in the woods after that.....i hunted Seminole....beautiful morning,cold, froze my butt off all day long!!!! i was a bit hesitant about walking through the marsh in the dark, so i stayed out on the edge until i could see shadows, lol...got to my stand,5 minutes later, a spike came in , walked off grunting , i did the can call and he circled back to me grunting even more , went and rubbed a tree and left, he was probably legal, but i had just gotten there and i wasn't going to risk it....then a huge bobcat came by and followed the bucks scent along the marsh edge.....then something happened that i would of bet everything i own on not happening, lol....i really thought i would of gotten a racked buck before this would of happened, but i'm still buckless, lol... i was sitting there, minding my own business and i hear something behind me, i look down and there this black hog right under me, i go to get my gun on him , by this time he is on my left side straight down, i have my gun, i look down and it's a BEAR....i had left my camera in the truck that morning and my cell phones memory was full from taking pics of the tractor the day before, so here i am trying to delete pics off my phone , then it didn't want to take a pic, i was shaking too bad, lol....it was just sniffing my tree...finally i got it to take a pic and he/she proceeds to stand up...cool, i thought to myself, take another pic, just about that time he decided, hey i'm climbing up this tree.....at first i thought, nooooo, there's no way he'll try to climb up here, lol...as soon as that last foot left the ground i let out with a scream,then he screamed(huffed) and jumped off my tree and headed back to the palmettos behind me.....i was fine until he tried climbing my tree....either the same bear was seen by another hunter or another bear was sighted, i'm thinking it was my bear.....i'm really glad to see the bear making central Florida their home year round...sure does make for an interesting hunt, lol.....i went back there today for a couple of hours , then i stalked the swamp....i did jump a doe on the way in this morning, she decided to wait until i was about 10' from her before she jumped, needless to say i was ready for anything, even a bear after that wake up call, lol......i'm in a good area, i will go move my climber deeper into the swamp for the next hunt though.....
Broken Brutus

My Bear
[IMAGE]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/HuntnMa/bear.jpg[/IMAGE]

RE: had a couple of scares
 

WOW!!! Can you tell us what WMA you were hunting or is ita secret?? What a story...:)

RE: had a couple of scares
 

You weren't on a Washington Palm, were you?:DIf so, that's a no,no....especially if the area has many bears...:D:D

RE: had a couple of scares
 

Dayum, how fast were you going to break the wheels off the axle?

RE: had a couple of scares
 

well dang, i didnt even know there was a washington palm, you'll have to give me some bear lessons, lol....
the bear was at Seminole Ranch and the tractor was at Tosohatchee, lol....i was med. and 2nd....i was going a whopping 3.1 mph.......i think over the years of hitting trees and such with the wheels, there had to of been a stress somewhere....usually if you hit a tree, it willl stop you or bounce you off of it....i can see if i had gotten both tires, or even one full one, but it shouldn't of snapped like that.....the mechanic thinks that too, lol....

RE: had a couple of scares
 

Seriously, was it a palm?

RE: had a couple of scares
 

it was a palm........it's the only tree i feel safe climbing with my climber.......

RE: had a couple of scares
 

We found outthe hard way about Washington Palms.....The bears climb them and eat the berries on top.

One time in North FL (Baker County) two of my buddies had a heck of an experience being in Palms. The bears climbed thePalms and were pawing them in the stand. They had to hit the bears on the head with the rifle butts until the bears dropped from the palms. They have never climbed a Washington Palm again!:)

RE: had a couple of scares
 

you know that would of scared the daylights out of me, but like i said, i wont climb a tree unless it's a palm....the way i figure it, it can't happen twice, and i have had my turn, lol...

RE: had a couple of scares
 

Interesting about the palms. However, I wonder about the species. I'm sure that Washingtonia palms aren't native to Florida, so I'm guessing they wouldn't be found deep in the woods. Sure it's wasn't just a native Sabal palm? They will also have the fruit. Maybe you were hunting in a suddivision? HA HA Just kidding. Anyway, cool story about the bear. Stay safe.

RE: had a couple of scares
 

My appologiesfor calling it a Washington Palm, BugsNbows knows his Swamp Cabbage!:DYep!....Sabal Palm! Man, as much of Catfish & Swamp Cabbage that I have eaten...

RE: had a couple of scares
 

Hey Reb, I wasn't trying to be a know-it-all... just wanted to get correct info out. Now that you mention it, I haven't had any swamp cabbage in a long time. Used to cut and stew it (with maters) alot when I lived down in Charlotte County. Most came off Babcock property. bNb

RE: had a couple of scares
 

I use to eat Cat Fish & Swamp Cabbage on Wednesdaysat Patsy's in Perry, FL. back in the early 90's...

Been to Baddcock a few times back in the 80's. Like their rifle sighting-in range. Another thing I liked about it was that Iwent South on I-75 and it was right at the Exit in Sarasota.

RE: had a couple of scares
 

i know the palm i was in was a Sable palm....there was no fruit on it, but it did have ants all over the backside of it....didn't know this until the bear had left.....i had been getting any bitten all darn day, just thought it was from walking through the marsh....LOL.....but i'm thinking he was trying to get them...
I haven't had swamp cabbage in years...every once in awhile i'll be opening up areas and i'll hit a cabbage palm, just the right way with the tree cutter and the heart will be laying there screaming my name..lol....love it cooked or raw...

RE: had a couple of scares
 

Huntnma, those were likely carpenter ants. They love to nest in those palms. Maybe they were just looking for something sweet...like you?!!!! LOL Good luck and watch out for those bears.

RE: had a couple of scares
 

RE: had a couple of scares
 

haha, nope , they were fire ants, all 2 million of em, lol.....i have bites all over my arms and neck and belly....i wanted to get down but i was damned if i was climbing down after that bear, lol.....after awhile they left me alone.....i think something had died up in the fronds.....they weren't there the next day...