Unusual sightings

[Shooter973]

Unusual sightings....

In a far away land about 45 years ago, on a " different" kind of hunt, I had a 8-9 ft. Cobra slide across my feet and slide away. I was scared to near death.

 

[witchhunter]

Gwillikers; Bears at the dump, reminds me of the time we were camping up at Bucks Lake. There was a transfer station there by the campground where the trash was kept in a big metal dumpster about 6' high and 20 feet long. We pulled up around dark to show the kids a bear if one was there. There was an old Jeep station wagon there with a canoe on top. A guy and his kids inside. Well about 10 minutes later a 250 pounder strolls over and climbs up and sits on the edge of the dumpster, facing away from us. We are sitting there talking to the guy and the kids are enjoying the show. Guy gets all brave and says watch this, slips out of the car grabs a canoe paddle and sneaks over there and whack! hits that sow right on the butt! Well to everyone's surprise (especially his) there were 3 other bears in the dumpster already. You shoulda seen his eyes when they boiled up out of there and he was 25 yards from his Jeep! He made record time back to his rig.

 

[Davek1977]

SAd thing is, had the bear managed to grab him, it likely would have been put down for being hostile, when it was the man who engaged the bear in such a moronic fashion. Darwinism failed that day...he should have been a snack, and the bear should have lived happily ever after.....

 

[twofifty]

Black bear sitting leaning back against an apple tree, eating an apple with both hands. Just like a kid would do after playing in an orchard.

 

[Sniper66]

A friend of mine worked for TW Services in Yellowstone Park and related the following story. Behind the Yellowstone Lake Hotel was a large grease pit where they dumped used oil from deep fat fryers. Normally it had a tight cover, but someone left the cover off and a large bear, smelling the oil, jumped in. The bear had no way of getting out. Two vehicles of workers arrived to figure out a way to help out the greasy bear. They decided to slide a long log in the pit to give the bear something to climb out on. It worked better than they imagined because as soon as the log slid in, the bear, mad as hell by now shot up out of the hole. The workers raced to jump into the safety of the vehicles and everyone made it except one. The bear took off after him. The guy did figure 8s around and between the vehicles until a door opened and he jumped in. Close call!!

 

[g.willikers]

witchhunter,
Did the guy actually say, "Watch this, Hold my beer?"

Sniper66,
See, all that fried, greasy food is, indeed, dangerous.

 

[Browning Guy]

This happened to a buddy of mine when he was hunting a woodlot for small game. He was going along when he noticed "something odd that just wasn't right" at the end of the woods. When he got closer he discovered a "ten speed" bike wedged in the top of a big oak tree courtesy of a tornado that had gone through the area the previous spring.

 

[Art Eatman]

A bunch of us used to lease a ranch north of Uvalde, Texas. Came across the remains of a weather balloon, one time; sent the unit to the agency.

Came across the empty boxes from air-drops against screw-worms; irradiated male flies dropped to spread and do a one-time zero-result mating.

Was sitting in a tree stand one morning. Heard a weird noise from below me. Sort of a gargling "rowr" sound. I looked and looked and finally saw the source. A bobcat was trying to get into a wood-rat nest. The rat had piled cactus pears around his pile of grass and twigs. The cat would jab his paw onto a thorn and then complain about it.

Was sitting half-asleep against a tree, one time, and saw a motion close by. A fox! I lip-squeaked him in. Closer and closer--until I boinked his nose with my boot toe. HAIR! stuck out in all directions. Tail looked like a bottle brush. He instantly practiced being elsewhere.

Shot a running buck, one time, and hit a bit far back. Broke the spine immediately behind the shoulders. He went down and then came up on his front legs. As I walked over to kill him, he threatened with his horns and bellowed at me, a much deeper bawl than I'd ever heard. Truly strange deal! A coup de grace ended his problems...

 

[witchhunter]

Art reminded me of a nice buck I shot in Wyoming back around '95 or so. I watched him walking up the other side of a canyon through tall sage about 350 yards away. I couldn't get a good look at his rack, but he was a big ol rascal. Finally, just before he topped out, he stopped in a clear spot. I got a good look at him, found a little rest and whacked him. I hit him a little too far back, but he humped up and turned downhill, about 25 yards and didn't see him any more. I heard it hit, saw him hump up like a gut shot and the went directly downhill, not over the top. I felt confident he was down. I walked over there coming uphill up toward him, I couldn't see him, but I knew I was getting close to the last spot that I saw him. When I got about 15 feet below him, I hit a trail and was looking for tracks, It had rained the day before, so I knew I would be able to see of he had come down that far. I heard a grunt, looked up, and here he came! Head first, I had to shoot from the hip and I got him in the chest. I fell or jumped backwards off the trail or he would have got me. He lay there right in my boot tracks. I don't have to tell you, boy that was close! I hit him the first shot a little to far back, but he still had enough to scare me to death, if I hadn't been ready, I would've been a goner for sure. I got another one I will share later, kind of along these lines. You would think I would learn.....

 

[witchhunter]

Back in the '88 or '89 my buddy and I were deer hunting out of Elko. We had been hunting this same area for a while. It was raining just enough to make it cold and wet, but we could still glass across the canyon OK. We watched a couple of good bucks bed down quite a ways away, so we headed over there. It was early in the morning the rain made it quiet so we made good time, probably about an hour. We came out on a rimrock about 150 yards from them and peeking over we saw they were still there bedded about 25 yards apart. We were going to shoot both of them. My buddy climbed up the rock about 10 feet to my right, one of the bucks stood up and when he John popped up, the buck saw him and started to the right. John shot offhand and hit him but he too off down a little draw. My buck was asleep, ne woke up and started to get up when I shot him, he fell back exactly like he was laying. Dead, I thought. John is on top of the rimrock, so he takes off after the buck he hit, I start heading up to mine. I hear him shoot a couple more times farther down the draw on the other side of the ridge getting farther away. I walk up on miy buck and take off my pack, dig out my camera. I unload my rifle and lay it in his antlers so I can going to take a picture before I gut him and bone him out. We are a couple of miles from a road. Well while I am setting up the camera on a rock to take a picture with the timer on my camera, the buck suddenly starts getting up! Holy crap! I jump on his back, thinking he is too weak to get up with me on him. Wrong! He jumps up and I am holding onto his horn with one hand, grab my knife with the other, I stab him in the neck as hard as I can. It doesn't slow him down. He is facing uphill and I think that is what saved me, he can only take a couple of steps with me on top of him, riding him like bareback rodeo cowboy, stabbing him 4 or 5 times before he gives out. The only thing I can think of is I can't let him run off with my rifle! Well he goes down and I fall off, but I am able to grab my rifle off his antlers while he is struggling to get up. Rifle is unloaded! By the time I grab some ammo to load my rifle he expires. About that time John walks over the hill about 40 yards away and I am standing there looking like I am going to shoot him again while he is laying there dead. I guess it is funny now, but I was sure not wanting to hear about letting a buck run off with my rifle in his antlers!

 

[Art Eatman]

I gave the guys in hunt camp an unusual sighting, one time. A ranch hand came and told of a buck caught in a coyote snare. "Big buck?" "Ah, si, grande vena'o!"

Okay, so one of the guys and I drive to the fence line and walk up see ths "big buck". Heh. A little forkhorn, with an antler caught in the snare where he'd tried to go under the net fence.

Fun! First, tie his legs. Then, get him loose and reset the snare. Put him in the back of the truck and head back to camp, me riding in back with Baby Bambi.

In camp, somebody asked, "Whadja find? A real deer? (Nod) Where is it?"

Untying the rope and saying, "Right here," I heaved Junior into the middle of the group.

Ever seen a covey of quail explode?

 

[dogscat]

Last April in Mendocino County I caught up with two wild pigs at the edge of a clearing. I had my rifle sighted on one waiting for it to emerge from the coyote bush enough to get a clean shot. All of a sudden both pigs took off and there was a third one with them, except it was the wrong color brown .. looked up and it was a mountain lion going for my pigs. It came out of the bush in our direction, not more than 25 yards away, flanking them at full speed with tail twirling around for balance. Not small pigs, prob 150-200#. Cat looked every bit as large, easy six feet long. Never did get a shot off, but I sure crapped my pants.

Next trip up to the same place I stumbled on a big bear in the road as a came around a bend.

Didn't used to think much of a sidearm, but now I carry a G29 in those woods.

 

[kimbernut]

Strange sightings

Not really a strange sighting but an unusual occurance, thank goodness. Sitting in a climbing stand at about 18' bow hunting a favorite central FL. WMA. I had been there since before daylight. About 8:45 I'm hearing what sounds like voices in the distance. They continue and get louder and louder as they get closer. It is a group of kids from 7-8 through mid teens and adults on a group hike. I figure I'll just let them pass then get down and still hunt my way back to the truck. The group leaders had a better idea. Break time right under my stand. After an amused although silent chuckle I decide OK this won't take but a minute or two and they'll be gone and I can proceed with the plan. A couple of teenage kids lay down looking up at the sky and saw me. I put a finger over my lips indicating quiet. He smiled but the other kid exclaims, "Oh my gosh!", and starts pointing at me. So much for plans. Other kids and leaders gather around my perch and I warn them to back off a bit in case I drop something. I carefully lower my bow from the stand and make my descent into the group. Most of them apparently had not seen anyone use a climbing stand before as they seemed to enjoy the education. The leaders and kids apologized profusely for interrupting my hunt. I assured them it was no problem as I was about ready to climb down anyway. I finished packing up about the time they were ready to be off as well.

 

[Laphroaig]

Squirrel Migration

Many years ago my Dad and I borrowed a friends hunting camp in Jefferson Co. PA for a few days of turkey hunting. As we were getting ready to leave camp at first light, my dad called me to the window. Outside were something like 50 to 100 squirrels.

So we loaded our shotguns and tried to sneak out the door. When we got outside, not a single squirrel was in sight, and we walked around the trees and never saw a one. It was like they disappeared by magic!

Laphroaig

 

[Bushpilot]

I was sitting in my tree stand a few years back when I heard crows making a ruckus off in the distance. Next thing I knew I heard the crows getting closer. Then a Great Horned Owl landed in a tree about 15 feet in front of me, right at my height, followed by about a dozen angry crows. The crows were diving at the Owl and making all kinds of racket. I watched this show go on for about 10 minutes without either the owl or crows knowing I was there.. Finally I yelled "Hey" and waved my arms, the Owl turned and looked right at me with those great big yellow eyes and took off with the crows in hot pursuit. I'll never forget that.