SCRIDER1

I didnt post this the other day because I was excited about my buck, but I'm wanting to know if this has happened to anybody else. In a lifetime of hunting I've never had anything like this happen. I was in my stand late afternoon last week watching a thicket for movement when something blew by my head really fast. I looked up and it turned out it was a hawk. It landed on a branch about 20 yards away and started staring at me. I didnt think it was any big deal and was kind of admiring the thing with it all of a sudden dropped off the branch and with two flaps it was right in my face. I sort of squealed and grunted and ducked and it turned at the last possible second and flew on by and landed on another branch behind me and stared at me again. Now I'm on full alert and I'm thinking this bird isnt so pretty anymore. I decided that maybe me being in full leafy camo was confusing it and it maybe thought it was seeing something moving around under leaves so I put my gun down and waved both arms at it, thinking it would scare it away. Nope. It dropped off the limb and fell maybe 5 feet before it ever flapped and "BOOM" he's right in my face again coming from below! I screamed this time and tried to punch it but it broke away at the last second again and zoomed off. It was getting dark now and I couldnt see it anymore. Ruined my hunt. I was so worried the dang thing was going to attack out of the dark that I just got down and went back to camp. Now I know what a rabbit feels like. Anything like this ever happen to anybody else? I didnt even tell my buddies about it because I figured they would think I was full of cr*p.

springgobbler

Scrider-
What a story! Glad no harm was done, because those talons could certainly do some damage!

Several weeks ago I was in stand and out of nowhere I see a redtail hawk sitting on a branch less than 10 feet from me, on my same level. It sat and watched me quite intently, moving it's head back and forth, I guess to get a better look.

I had a stare down with it for about 15 minutes (seemed like hours) and I became increasingly nervous that it thought I might be a very big meal. I heard a twig snap behind me, turned my head for a split second and turned back to see the hawk was no longer on it's perch. I immediatly sat down, covered my head and held on to the branch beside me worried that I was about to be attacked....which thankfully did not happen.

That experience scared me...I can only imagine what was going through your mind! Again, glad you weren't hurt....but great story.

Pat in WV

Rodsmith

Several years ago while bowhunting in Westchester NY I had a Perigrin Falcon come in and land on the top of my bow in the stand. Absolutely silent, the bow barely moved in the stand. Scared the bejesus out of me to the point I stopped breathing. He sat there for about 3-5 seconds looking around (at me) and left as silent as he/she arrived. Took me 15 minutes to get my poo back together. Awesome things that you see in a tree stand from 30' up.

10 Pointers

SCRIDER1

Yep...this thing was absolutely silent. Totally unlike crows, whose wingbeats you can hear as the go over. If the US military could develop something that flew like a hawk we'd rule the world hands down.

TxCowboy

SCRIDER1, altough I've never had anything like that happen to me, I believe your story. I've had birds and crows land in trees very very close to me because they didn't see me. Normally when they did see me they were gone in a second. I've always wondered what would happen if a crow or hawk wasn't scared of me. I'm glad you weren't hurt.

I will have to admit that your story had me rolling laughing! Imagining you up in that tree squeeling like a school girl is a sight I'd have loved to seen!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Seriously, glad you weren't hurt but I can't keep from laughing!

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Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

M Bucker

I've had this happen to me a few times. Once I felt a wing on my headnet before I saw anything, another time I saw him coming at me and waved him off and another time I didn't see anything until it flared about 5 feet from me.

It's pretty intense and definitely gets your heart pumpin.

B & H

Once a buddy of mine had a owl fly into the back of his head, he ended up with a concussion and some pretty nasty cutts on the back of his head. Wasn't very funny at the time, but now when we look back at it, it's pretty darn humorous. Glad to here no one was hurt. Hope you have better luck on your future hunts.

Codydawg

I have 2 bird stories, although neither are as good as Scrider1's. First, I am pheasant hunting and my dog is on the trail of a rooster. We are in some light cover as the bird is running. I am moving at a fast walk when a small hawk jumps up about 20 feet to my left. As soon as I identified it as a hawk, I turned my attention to my dog again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see this hawk fly up about 25 feet, turn toward me and fly right at my head. I shot the hawk about 4 feet off my gun barrel with no signs of it pulling off on its dive toward my melon. Scared me pretty good.

The second happened this year and was pretty cool. I always see great horned owls from my stand and occasionaly snowy owls. This year, I heard a squirrel in agony and figured an owl had just gotten breakfast (7 am). About this time, I see a buck and my attention is fixed on the buck. An owl swoops past my stand about 8 feet in front of me and lands about 10-12 feet from my head in a branch. This is cool, but I refocus on grunting toward the buck (a decent 4X4). Soon another owl lands behind me. Cool, but not as cool as the buck grunting back at me. This is where it gets interesting. The buck starts coming through the brush and Owl #3 attacks Owl #1. The owls move about 30 yards away and the buck is at 60 yards and closing. I forget about the owls and concentrate on the buck. He enters a clear area and I shoot. All three owls fly back over my head into the deeper woods and continue their quarreling for the next hour or so. I really wish I could have watched the owl fight without the interruption of having to shoot the buck, but you gotta do what ya gotta do.

jred

I got to be honest by saying your story got a good laugh out of me

Reading it I could just picture you or myself in this situation! But It's a crazy story and your lucky you didn't get your eyes torn out, or seriously wounded.

Those bird can do some damage, you were more than likley near it's roost with young or some eggs?



KEEP HUNTING THE GREAT OUTDOORS & GOD ALIVE, PASS IT ON!

M Bucker

One more for ya! My Dad and I were dove hunting when I was younger and we were in a gully between two fields to break up our outline. We'll we're facing each other so we can see both fields and all of a sudden I call freeze. A pair were coming in from behind him to my right. Well I yell take em' jump up and fire my single shot. Hit the dove I was aiming at and as my Dad is turning around to see if he can get a shot the dove hits him right in the chest, he never even saw it coming it was HYSTERICAL!!!!!!!!

We still talk about that today, 15 years later.