The most dangerous animal on public land

[stoneramhunter]

wow close calls for some of you

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I've had them scratch the dirt and bluff charge to within 5 or 10 feet before stopping. That made a buddy and I pretty uncomfortable. This was in Wyoming on the east side of the Wind Rivers where I'm guessing the cattle don't see many people.

I've also had a cow in the middle of a dirt road freak out and run into the door of my old 4runner while I was going about 5mph. Luckily that door was already dented.

 

[Jaker_cc]

As long as there wasn’t some high headed, tiger striped bitch in there with wide eyes you were ok. Every herd has one that just can’t get over her dumb ass pride. I’ve shot and killed 3 in my lifetime that hurt people or sent them diving for a truck bed. No patience for that crap. Not worth having someone killed when I realized they were a problem.

 

[2ski]

I just talk and moo at them. But I must have the wrong pronunciation though. My "moo" must mean run away because thats what they do.

 

[TFrank]

 

[AK_Skeeter]

 

[Triple D Elkhunters]

years ago a friend let me hunt his place for resident geese. It was a small farm in which he and a friend raised.... rodeo bulls..... yes you can't make this stuff up. After sitting in the pasture for an hour or so I noticed a young bull getting very active. He was trying to push over one of the few trees in the pasture. Next he started running in circles. He widened the circles with each turn. He finally came within 30 yards of me. I jumped up with my gun raise above my head yelling at him. He hit the breaks and turned to run. I was out of there. My buddies family watched the whole thing from the kitchen window laughing the whole time. I did not think it was so funny.

 

[JGuest]

Used to hunt a place on a river bottom with about 100 acres of woods. They would take all but the worst cows out of the scrub and trees before hunting season.

The old snag heifers would bury themselves in the woods year round. Our rancher friend had no interest in dealing with them unless it was to take them to market. They were the worst when they were with their calves. You'd be hunting rabbits or walking into a deer stand and be confronted. I had to swim the creek twice to escape.

I would walk in the bull pen all day rather than have to swim that creek again to get away from one of those feral cows.

 

[coastalyeti]

I was Turkey hunting with a friend in the mountains just after a freak spring snowstorm. A cow with a calf saw us and came down with blood in her eye. I’ve fed stock before and know there’s few truly mean cows, but a semi-wild cow in the mountains with a young’n? She was downright ugly, and Not listening to any “whoa’s!” Sweet-talk, or anything else. “Shoot her!” My friend kept saying. “No, that’s ridiculous.” I said a few times, but then she pushed back her calf, and turned to lope right towards us.
She literally had us cornered against a rocky hill covered in snow.
I lost my temper, when my friend slipped and fell trying to climb up the rocks, and she went even faster, trying to get him.
In the most serious tone I could make, I told her If she took one more step, I’d shoot her, and I took the shotgun and pointed it right at her.
She stopped chasing him, and took 1 step toward me, eyes still crazy, about 5 feet away. The longest half a minute you can imagine went by, but I kept up the threats and pointing it at her.
My friend started cussing, telling me he’d sprained his ankle, and I, being nervous, roared at him to stfu.
Then the cow’s eyes started looking like she woke up to being in a bad situation, she shook her head and went to drive her calf away, picking up her speed to a lope.
It was still pretty early, but that was the end of that damn day.
“Cows Always do this”
Cows Always do that.”
Yeah, I have said that type of crap before, but never again, especially not a cow/w/ calf up in the mountains. And bulls? I woulda hopped back in the truck if I had seen one. -Not fun!


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[fnf01]

I hate cows, live ones that is, always have probably always will. Never had anything bad happen but hunted woods and pastures with them most my life. Never trusted them and been very vocal to anyone my feelings on them. I always get laughed at like a silly kid afraid of silly things, I don't care, I dislike and distrust basically any animal bigger then I am and cows are right there at the top of the list. The farmer my family hunted at was nearly killed a 2 years ago by bull, knocked to ground and then pinned and ground him into the ground with his head, luckily he had an old ax handle with him and proceeded to beat the bull about the head with it, though it seemed to do less then nothing until magically the bull stopped. They don't have cows any more, not sure that's 100% why but its probably part of it.

 

[Superkodiak38]

I hunt a farm with cattle, the first year I asked if there was a bull in any of the pastures and I was told no. The first couple of years the cows would see me and freak, running away bucking and farting. 2 years ago, different group of cows, they would try and stalk me across the field. I would stop, put my recurve on my head and sway like a bull moose ( this is in Maryland, no moose) and they would lock up and stare. It stopped them in their tracks. They got pretty used to me coming and going and pretty soon ignored me. This year I didn't hunt the one pasture until the end of the season and as I was walking out after dark I was 100 yards from the fence/ gate and heard them coming, about 15 head at a high rate closing the gap. I stopped turned abruptly and snort wheezed at the lead steer who planted his front feet and almost did a hand stand ( if cows had hands) trying to stop. But he kept coming cautiously. I think he was the boss and was there to "escort me off the pasture" I think I'll start carrying an emergency flake of hay to drop so I can keep walking unmolested.

 

[hereinaz]

Every time I see this, I still think of humans as the most dangerous animal, even though I have read it several times.

 

[Kountry Biscuit]

I was hunting antelope in a walk in area in Wyoming with a buddy. We had spotted a group of lopes in an opening near a fence line. As we planned our stalk we found a washed out gully that would keep us out of sight until we got to 400 ish yards. A perfect situation. As we slipped along this gully we spitted a group of cows above the gully on our right side. Well.. we thought they were all cows. Anyways, we made eye contact with the cows and everything seemed fine, they stared at us bug eyed as cows do, but unlike all the other cows we had encountered this trip they did not move away. We did not pay much attention to them until we were about 25 yards beside them. Then I hear my buddy, in a loud somewhat panicked whisper, say "hey man, those cows are coming towards us", I responded with some choice expletives and said "that one in front is a bull". As most of you know, Angus bulls do not have horns it is another part of their anatomy that tipped me off. Their pace quickened to a trot as they came into the gully we were exiting on the other side. We backpedaled out of the gully, across a flat, toward a hill. Shouting and waving our hands did nothing to stop their advances. The bull in front was now 15 yards away. Instinctively I fired a .308 round just a few feet in front of the lead bull's hooves. He stopped for a second bewildered before continuing his approach somewhat more cautiously. We turned our quick walking pace into a full run and beelined it to the nearest fence. After we reached the safety of the other side of the fence we looked back to see the bull cresting the hill with the rest of the herd several yards behind.

Once in the truck, a quick google search revealed that cows kill abut 22 people a year. A sobering statistic about an animal we regard as somewhat innocuous compared to all the other hazards we face in the woods.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? Do you think we overreacted?

My experience is that they are always curious and hungry. Maybe they were being aggressive, though. The shot at the feet would normally scatter them if they were just hungry. Interesting situation indeed

 

[pk_]

I hate cattle. One of the few animals big enough and dumb enough to kill you on accident. I have met some ornery bulls in the field, but always able to talk them back. It’s the dumb ones that stampede around you, can’t stand that.

 

[robby denning]

My buddy missed three months work after being mashed by a cow while he was trail riding on motorbike.


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[Still Hunter]

You have never lived until you have walked right up in the dark on a coal black black angus bull on the way to a bow stand. It is an experience everyone should have preferably ONCE in their life!

 

[Marbles]

The most dangerous animal on public land walks on two legs.

Meat bulls tend to be well behaved, dairy bulls not so much. But, you have a good point as any animal as large as a bovine can kill you without even trying and should be respected.

Every time I see this, I still think of humans as the most dangerous animal, even though I have read it several times.

Looks like we think alike.

 

[krimmie]

No cattle, but plenty of alligators on public duck marshes.


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[Where's Bruce?]

Running from them typically provokes the chase. I learned that as a kid with my grandfather's cattle. I did the run from them thing once or twice, but learned that's asking for the chase. In most cases, walking toward them would have turned them. Throw in an arm wave or two and a loud voice and they are running the other direction. I try to just turn them and not actually run a man's cattle.

"How'd he die?"

"He read you should stand your ground and wave when confronted by aggressive cattle."

"And that didn't work?"

"Not when you look a bull in the eye it don't"

 

[FishStalkerGuy]

Out west any 4 legged mama with her babies.


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