The most dangerous animal on public land

[5MilesBack]

From my experience they're usually just excited to see me.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

 

[BAKPAKR]

The late outdoor humor writer Patrick F. McManus wrote a piece on cows. He described various categories of cows, but the two I will always remember are FMCs (Fast Mean Cows) and SMCs (Slow Mean Cows). I thought about his story a couple of years ago in western Wyoming when I ran into two bulls (moo-type) while hunting a few miles from the road. I immediately wondered whether they were FMCs or SMCs. Luckily, they weren’t mean at all.

 

[*zap*]

Holy Cow!



Beware the Bulls with backwards flat brims on......

 

[deerhunt1988]

I had a bull drive me crazy last year while elk hunting in NM. He would trot towards me when I wasn't facing him, then hit the brakes when I spun around. This went on for 400+ yards as I descended a ridge in some cover. The cover we were in made me that much more nervous. He finally left me alone when I hit a main road.. A few times he got way too close for comfort, but showed no other signs of aggression. That joker was huge though and had me thinking 'what if'!

 

[Billy Goat]

I'd think it's more than 22 people killed a year by cattle, maybe not. One of my best friend's dad was mauled to death by a bull. He had gotten out and in with the neighbor's heifers. Normally pretty calm, I reckon the effort it took to get him away from where he wanted to be was enough to piss him off.

Around here it's the dairy bulls that get mean. A few places I have permission to duck hunt are on dairies, need to be careful depending on where you are.

Biggest thing is to keep your eye on them, never turn your back on an animal, doesn't matter what it is. Like said before cattle are curious, probably weren't a threat at all but if not familiar with them it's hard to read them. I'd hate to tell someone to stand their ground on them just get get mauled, tho that's normally the best thing to do.

 

[Poser]

My great-great grandfather was killed by a bull and died. He was scratching its head and it was moving it’s head around to get scratched in all of the right places and it gored him.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I perform ADC work for cattle ranchers and carry bear spray in places with no bears. Been chased, hit and forced to climb powerline towers cuz of em. I always negotiate a reduced price with the rancher if i am forced to shoot one of his animals to prevent serious bodily damage. They understand. Domestic animals are a real threat and all ya gotta do is piss one off to learn just how temperamental they can be. I had an entire herd go crazy after firing up the Foxpro and letting out Lightning Jack. I had to bury myself in thick brush with the caller off for 40 minutes before they finally got bored and wondered off. Sketchy hike back to the truck. Bovine hate me, they must sense I am a meat eater. Or maybe it's because I'm from California working in neighboring states. I get no breaks from cattle.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Well, that’s just one more pro about living in Alaska, never have to worry about getting attacked by cattle when you’re out hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

watch the aussies hunt scrub bulls with archery...it takes a while for one to go down

I always think of scrub bulls when I see grazers. Sketchy animals. Lot of blood to drown those giant lungs.

Would 100% hunt wild cattle here if I could. I know of a few legit wild herds.

They should remove grazing rights from anywhere that has sheep introduced to the area to prevent starvation and disease. Doubt moocows spread to sheep, but I'm all for getting rid of giant herds of cattle stealing food from game animals.

 

[AndyB]

2018 we were working our way up a draw which was quite open on the left with a few patches of trees, quite steep so I had my head down, all of a sudden my friend who was in front stopped and said freeze.

I looked up and saw a bull Moose running flat out from the top of the hill down towards us at an angle of about 45 degrees, amazed at the ground they can cover with their stiff legged gait, he slammed the brakes on and looked back over his shoulder at whatever he was running from.
By this time I had positioned myself in a stand of 3 trees as I first thought the moose was charging us.
The Moose then started running down towards us again then saw us and angled off into the trees about 50 yds in front of us. Over the brow of the hill comes about 6 cows and say 3 or four young calves chasing the Moose. They see us and stop, not worried now as they are only cows, right. Well they form an outer circle of cows with calves in the middle just like a group of Musk ox would and keep stumbling towards us while staring hard at us all the way to the bottom, I am usually easy round cattle but the behaviour of these cattle wasn't what I have normally experienced.
We angled up the side of the draw to skirt them and got well above but they didn't take their eyes off us until we crested the ridge. They were then joined by a huge Bull who came within 60 yards of us and started raking and bellowing.
I don't trust those range cattle, the behaviour they displayed was wild.
That night we could hear other scattered groups, all sounded like they had a Bull with them bellowing in the still darkness, eerie.

Lay there I could imagine what it must have been like for our paleolthic ancestors as their group closed in on a group of Aurochs, never knowing if this was going to be their last hunt.

 

[Jxferg7]

Share that feel in the spring and fall every year. Try out running a rodeo bull in the prairie lol GL.

 

[Kevin_t]

I’ve had cattle totally freak out and act like they were going to charge me while bow hunting in full camo. They literally walked into my spot and started feeding within a few yards of me . I moved and more cattle worked in , finally I decided my spot was no good and they flipped when I started walking across the meadow . I now carry a some sort of solid if in an area cattle may come near


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LongWayAround]

I got run out of a pasture by a herd one spring while turkey hunting. I climbed the fence, cows had their calves and proceeded to get weird. I threw my arms up and walked towards them and they went over the hill. A few minutes later they came back at fast trot and it was apparent that I wasn't welcome, so I bailed.

Dad has a story about rolling under a fence in the fog right to the feet of a big Charolais bull.

Another friend got pushed out of some public land in Iowa while squirrel hunting.

I've been around enough cattle to know when they are curious and when they mean GTFO.

 

[MallardSX2]

I learned at a young age while working on a farm to never trust a cow. Big Cows, Little Cows, Bulls and in particular cows with calves....Cows with Calves can be the worst. I had one try and kill me one day and if it wasn't for that water trough she would have gotten me.

 

[rayporter]

one of the kids raises brahma bucking bulls. she walks right out in the field with them every day to feed them. she shore looks tiny when among them but never has had a problem.

 

[Dos Perros]

I know we're all sharing our worst stories here, but do you guys assess livestock as a serious risk while hunting? I sure don't.

 

[4ester]

Thats why you always keep a blunt tip in your quiver. Dang things can ruin a hunt. I think they need to be off BLM and Forest on Sept 1st personally.

 

[Poser]

I know we're all sharing our worst stories here, but do you guys assess livestock as a serious risk while hunting? I sure don't.

I encounter them most often while Mtn biking. I usually just yell at them “move lardass” or start singing the rawhide theme song and they move. Dumbasses that they are, they’ll often run down a singletrack for a good ways without breaking left or right.

 

[MTElk1987]

I've never had a bad encounter while out hunting, but man I've taken a few good beat downs in our corrals over the years!