oddest(strangest)thing you`ve experienced while hunting

[teeroux]

Found a sensor box to a weather balloon hanging from some trees on one of our club's lease roads.

Removed the battery and put it in a mailbox as per the instructions on the side of the box.

[jhgreasemonkey]

I had a deer turn to look and hiss at me like a snake before it bolted off. Another off the wall incindent is when a huge striped skunk charged my hunting partner coming within less than a foot of him when he jumped out of the way. I am sure glad he didnt spray!

[Yithian]

Anytime you see a skunk moving about in daylight, or it attacks rather than run, KILL IT!
It is very likely to have rabies.

They are nocturnal and defensive animals normally.

[fbrown333@suddenlink]

WOW! talk about coincidence, I just came home this morning from work (I work nights) and found a coon by my trash cans. Instead of leaving like they usually do this one got agressive towards me so I walked into the house grabbed the gun and shot it. He just didn't act right if you know what I mean.
I was raised in the sticks so I know what i'm talking about when it comes to saying he wasn't right.

[TENWHEELER]

I was rabbit hunting on an island in the middle of one of the neighboring rivers. My buddy has a female that is one of the best jump dogs that I have seen in a while. She opened up on a swamp rabbit and the pack turned him back toward us. We were standing beside a small pond that was extremely swampy. The rabbit came out of the woods and dove in the little pond. My buddy's dog bailed in behind him and started swim-chasing him. It soon became apparent that there were weeds under the water trying to drag both animals down. They quickly became exhausted and the below picture is a result of what happened next.


Yes, they are touching on the log!!!


After a couple minutes of resting the rabbit swam away but we had to go in and get my buddy's dog. She was too worn out to swim any more.

[Bowhunter57]

As good of a climber as a squirrel is, you just can't imagine them falling out of a tree.

While sitting in a treestand, waiting on a deer, I seen a fox squirrel fall about 40+ yards to the ground. I tried to keep it down, but was finding it difficult not to laugh out loud. He made a "thud" sound when he hit the ground and he didn't get up and run off either. After laying there for about 10 minutes he slowly walked back to the tree. He sat at the base of the tree for another 5 minutes, before slowly beginning his accent into the branches.

I felt a little sad for him, but there was nothing to be done, but watch.

Good hunting, Bowhunter57

[hogdogs]

Great pic of the hound and bunny!
That squirrel reminded me of the game I liked to play when I would see a squirrel on a wire either beside or crossing the road I would toot the air horns on my dumptruck which were well tuned and watch them skitter shag away... Once I had one fall off and hit him with the windshield... DRT is what he was.
So I expanded my folly to include the twist open bridge operator... He had a shack dead center of the bridge overhead to watch for passing boats... He listened for 2-3 toots from the distance to alert of coming vessels. One evening as the sun set I was rollin onto the bridge section that rotates and let go with "OH MY GAWD OPEN THE BRIDGE QUICK BEFORE I WRECK MY TUG BOAT" sort of blast... He was watching the TV as I seen his feet on his desk thru the window lit up with the blue TV light... When he heard that horn blast his feet lifted about 2 feet off the desk as he overturned in his chair which I guess was likely a lowback rolling office chair with reclining back section as they are easy to upset. In my mirror I seen thru the other window as he jumped up shaking his "YOUR NUMBER ONE" symbol to me to tell me how cool I was for that...
Brent

[zahnzieh]

Archery hunting onelate season - had my hang-on tree stand on a good tree on a fence row , only larger tree to hang a stand- pinch point - snow had fallen night before. I walk to my stand and climb in - 20 min later i hear all kind of noise, something walking my direction - thinking buck of a lifetime. This hunter dude comes crashing through the corn-field following my footsteps carrying a boW. He gets to the fence row following my tracks and gets to the base of the tree i'm sitting in - and he stands there puzzled why the tracks have stopped - he's scanning the surroundings@! After 2 minutes of this I give out a loud PSSSST - he jumps - then says -" Hey man , good place for a treestand" then continues crashing through the cornfield - what a Hunyuck!!

[mnshortdraw]

I have been in the middle of a huge owl migration and seen dozens in a single day flying silently through the woods. I saw a nice 8 point deer shed an antler, i still have it. One year I stepped on a 77 inch non typical shed antler in 20 inches of snow. It poked me in the ankle as I was trying to get a clean shot on a deer. Got a 136" archery buck on Halloween last hear and a 144" 8 pointer on Christmas also with my bow. A few years ago I hunted a huge deer rub on a tree. I hunted it hard for a week until a dinky yearling moose walked up with his spikes and proceeded to tend his rub. I had never hunted an area with moose so it didn't cross my mind that moose could have done it. I saw a huge black mink looking creature moving very quickly and quietly through the brush last year and determined it was probably a fisher. Very neat looking animal. I saw a treed cougar in an area where they aren't supposed to live. Many of my fondest memories are hunting and fishing or outdoor related. Sad that kids don't even play outside anymore. Hunting and fishing license sales are declining from year to year in many states. I encourage everyone to take a kid or just someone new hunting or fishing, and promote it to it's fullest.

[thinkingman]

Great stories, guys.
If you have a few hours to kill, try this one....http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=148441

[Mavrik]

As good of a climber as a squirrel is, you just can't imagine them falling out of a tree.

Unless the branch they're sitting on breaks.

Your story reminded me. A good number of years ago I was deer hunting with my father and we were both sitting on the edge of a field watching a couple of large and ancient fox squirrels (we nicknamed them Arthur and Ritus). In the course of watching, one of them stopped and sat on an fairly small dead limb of the Cottonwood tree they lived in. He wasn't there but a few seconds before the branch broke and Squirrel and branch headed downward. That would have been funny enough on it's own but literally as soon as the branch broke that squirrel started barking at the branch and kept it up all the way to the ground. My father and I were rolling because it literally sounded like he cussed it out for breaking on him all the way down.

Mav

[camper4lyfe]

I've seen squirrels fall out of trees. They'll often run from branch to branch between trees. Everyone once in a while, they'll miss that 2nd branch, and down they go with a thud, and a bounce. They usually get right back up and head straight back up the tree.

It never ceases to amaze me how tough squirrels are.

[FrontSight]

Went small game hunting once with my uncle and a family friend and we found a bicycle just sitting on the side of a trail. Looked around & didn't see anyone, so the fam friend takes it for a quick a ride down the path about 20 yards or so, just goofing around. Then we notice the young couple (teens) sitting on a blanket off to the side behind some bushes, pretty well hidden; too well hidden to just be having a picnic.

They must have been too scared (or more likely embarrassed?) to ask us not to take joy rides on their bike, please, HAHAHHAHA..

Once we noticed them we put the bike back where we found it & didn't say anything to them, figured no need to make it any more awkward than it already was.

LOL, ah to be young again!

[hogdogs]

Scrap, I just didn't worry so much about my bike back then... ya'll coulda kept it.
Seriously if that was in Louisiana in the 80's it coulda been me... I taught lots of girlfriends how to enjoy the woods while avoiding fire ants and yeller jacket nests... I was real good at pickin' sticks outta that lovely long hair and makin' sure they weren't takin' ticks home to the dogs...
Brent

[FrontSight]

LOL, you are a pisser, hogdog!

But nah, this was in upstate NY, near Middletown, around 1993 or so. Actually, what the heck am I talking about...they were about my age at the time. And she was pretty cute, what the heck was I doing hunting instead of hanging out on a blanket with a cutie like her of my own??

[GE-Minigun]

Years ago while deer hunting it started to snow, since I forgot to pack rain gear I started to look for a pine tree to get under. After couple minutes found one (50 foot +/- remember this) that was really dense in the top so the snow would be awhile before it started to fall through. After a couple hours the snow was now working its way through with about an inch or more under the tree. Shortly there after I had enough...started to gather my stuff when I heard something. Since it was snowing I wasn't sure what could be coming through the woods and making the noise it was making...at the time I was hunting with a pistol, in the case a 44 mag and was hoping it was enough gun. Couple seconds later this comes flying by about 10 feet above the tree I'm standing under.

The local air base had them and they were/are required to fly over and through the mountain range I was hunting around. Needless to say it put a warm feeling in my pants. Through the years I had the chance to see F15's. 16's, 18's, A-10's, AC-130's and some others.

[bufordtjustice]

My brother and I were deer hunting a few years ago and we were sitting on a hill overlooking a creek. A doe walked up to the creek for a drink and was casually looking around. My brother took a shot with his 30-30 from maybe 50 yards and completely misses. I still don't know how he pulled that one off. The deer looks up and around for a few seconds and doesn't even move. Then she goes back to drinking. For some reason, my brother decided not to shoot again. Maybe it was me laughing at him as hard as I could. We ended up rezeroing his rifle later which was off by a few inches.

[SWMAGMAN]

Had previously filled my buck tag and was looking for that perfect 'meat' doe while bowhunting. Picked one out of a passing line of deer just before twilight and let fly from my treestand...looked like a good shot, but decided to wait a couple hours to track. Back out in the woods,( with a headlight for tracking as is now completely dark) and I encounter an obvious blood trail, which quickly becomes very confusing and it feels like I'm going in circles. I decide to get off the blood and begin a series of circles to pick up the trail further on. Soon, in my headlight beam, a deer lurches to its feet and stands looking at me...obviously gutshot, and a fawn to boot. I turn off my light, sit down and contemplate what has happened...I'm nearly sick at myself for such a poor shot AND misidentifying the deer to begin with. Unwilling to let the animal suffer further, I do all I can at that point and kill it with my knife (which, believe me, doesn't make me feel any better...). I tag and dress the fawn, and begin to drag it out, feeling like total trash...my headlight beam catches a reflection off to the side, and there lies a dead doe. You got it - the arrow was a classic double lung shot on the doe, but after passing thru, the broadhead managed to slit the belly of a fawn following on the back side of her.. Lucky I had tags for both! Lesson learned - be aware of what is beyond your target - even while bowhunting.

[sc928porsche]

Many, Many years ago my sister had a boyfriend who she wanted me to take hunting. To those who have sisters, you know that refusal is not an option unless you want to spend a lifetime in repentance. She kept at it untill I gave in. To top this off, I discover that he has never been hunting but had completed his HS course. He goes to the DF&G, gets his licence and tag so now I am really stuck with taking him along. Please dont get me wrong, I am all for new hunters, but this guy just seemed to be a bubble off plumb.

We get into position just before daylight and watch the sun start to come up. You know, the perfect scene! It was gorgeous! Well, out steps this beautiful 4pt Mulie just as nice as you please, no more than 35yds from us.

The young man in question raises the old M1 he borrowed from his dad and Boom! The buck leaps straight into the air and lands with all 4 in motion. About 6 or 7 leaps and boom again. Nothing.

The kid is shaking from all the adreneline and my ears are ringing to the point of almost being deaf. He asks me how could he miss. To be honest, I had no answer. I think he could have brought the buck down using that old rifle as a club.

We start looking the rifle over and when the bolt was opened, I look down at the magazine and discover that he had loaded it with "blanks". I asked him where he got the ammo, and he said that they were on the shelf next to the rifle.

I am rather glad that my sister quit dateing him a couple of months later.

[Legionnaire]

Great stories! (Can't believe I just took the time to read the entire thread ...) Bring back good memories.

I've seen the "squirrel fall out of a tree" happen. Gusty day in late archery season (NY) and a squirrel 40 feet up leapt for a branch that the wind took out of its reach. Thumped pretty hard and was evidently dazed for a while before it slunk off ... almost looked embarassed!

Had a chickadee land on the bill of my hat during archery season and hang down looking at my camoed face trying to figure out what I was.

Straddling a low stone wall, also in archery season, had a squirrel run the top of the wall, right between my legs.

Early archery season coincides with fall turkey season in some portions of NY. One fall, if I had my bow with me, I saw turkey, and if I took my shotgun, I saw deer. One afternoon while deer hunting, I saw a flock of turkey go to roost. So I figured I'd turkey hunt the next morning. I set up down hill from the flock, but not far enough away from the roost. When they flew down, they flew down all around me. Quite a sight!

Saw a red tailed hawk kill a squirrel on the ground in front of one of my tree stands.

Have seen several coyotes. Good memories all!

[FrontSight]

Reminds me of similar things...

Had a chickadee hop onto my boots once...

Had a red tailed hawk's wing graze the tree right next to my ear as it flew from behind me, 30 feet up in my treestand, then land less than 11 feet from me. I stared for a few moments and couldn't keep from uttering "holy [color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color]!"...it turned to look at me in all camo, and I swear its eyes grew big as saucers from amazement. It flew off screeching once, landed a few yards away, and screeched again. That would have been something else to see if I had been looking behind me when it flew towards me!

[siv]

Four years ago I was slug hunting deer. I was posting on the edge of a corn field and there were a few guys walking a waterway that curved toward where I was posting. They spooked a medium size six pointer out. It ran straight toward me. I fired once and missed high, the second shot blew out its front leg but it was still moving pretty good. I missed two more shots but finally when it was fifteen feet away from me I settled down and took aim. I was on the top of a little knoll and the deer was right below me. I put the slug right between its shoulder blades and it did a 180 degree spin.

[lanham70]

When i was about 14 or 15 my grandfather and i were squirrel hunting.. i had shot and wounded one and it ran up into a hollow tree. My grandpa shoved a stick into the tree in an attempt to run in out the top so i could finish it....instead it feel on to his arm and preceded to attack until he shook it off .. finally the zombie squirrel was bagged.

[JonnyReb]

Went hunting as a kid with a buddy on a farmers land. As were walking beside a field, we see a shiny round object, maybe 3 feet across, protruding out of the ground. A brown shiny dome.

We step on it. It was hard. We stand on it. it bounces. We bounce on it...and start to smell something very bad. Faint but bad.

We confer and decide the best thing to do is to shoot it. Jacky fires with his .22 and all of the sudden we hear a tremendous release of pressure, a burst of steam but no visible....The worst smell we've still to this day ever smelled surrounded us so completely...clung to us. The hising was loud. We ran.

All the way back to Mr. Jack Kerr, who's farm we were walking. We told him the story and he tipped his hat back with great consideration, looks at the sky then at us.

" Sounds like you boys popped one of them dead cows i buried back there last spring...guess i shoulda gona little deeper"

[ken22250]

woodchuck hunting in pa, i went arround a bush next to a small pond, saw a chunk about 10 yards away, and shot, the chuk lifted off the ground 3-4', and did a backflip, landing about 3 feet back from wear i shot, i shot through the chuck, the bullet hit the ground, and expoleded, it was a .243win with a 60 gr sierra HP at 3600FPS.
ken