What the closest face-to-face encounters you've had with animals while hunting?

[mt terry d]

Could have grabbed a calf elf's leg as he walked by but I'd wrestled enough calves as a kid I knew better.

Had a big horned owl land about 3 feet away in my tree on a branch eye level and just behind the trunk. I slowly worked a hand around the trunk and wiggled my finger.
His head snapped around and his eyes locked on it like laser beams.
I pulled my hand back before things escalated.

Almost had an 8pt buck step on me as I was laying behind a log on a trail.
Never even got a shot with my bow.

Always fun.

 

[mcr-85]

Not super close but closer than the pic seems. I've been closer on archery hunts to healthy elk. My mule didn't like this bull standing on the trail.

He was bad sick with something. Blind and skinny. I got off my mule and booed him off the trail and rode on.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

 

[omicron1792]

Thought of another one.

Turkey hunting as a kid with my grandfather. We sat on a rock outcropping with leaves on it. Was a cool morning but was warming up.

My GF felt something moving under him. He stood up and he was sitting on a rattle snake in the leaves. Luckily he wasn’t bit.

Snakes in the south are real.

 

[StupidLightweight]

These were my closest and scariest encounters.

When coyote calling at night from a kayak on the tidal lowlands of the Columbia River, a big boar raccoon charged in so hot and fast that he wouldn't stop. I shouted a few times and then shot him at the bow of the 8-foot boat with a .222 Rem. Contender. It rattled me so much, I paddled home.

In northern Alberta, hunting bear over bait, crackhead looking bruin with a hug scar on his face came in. He wasn't a shooter, so I just watched and took photos. Eventually, he grew curious and walked over to my stand. I lost sight as he came to the base of my ladder. When the stand started shaking, I did the same. In a few seconds, scarface poked over the base of my stand. My muzzle was inches from his face, and my trigger was ounces from firing.

The scariest of all was a June bear hunt in Idaho, when a cow moose with calf came within 5 feet of trampling me in the willows. Stupidly, I had my rifle strapped to the pack, so my only defense was a hiking pole I wielded like a tiny spear as she charged. That was spooky. Five minutes later, I got a weird feeling and turned around. There she was again, 10 feet out and closing. Luckily for everyone, she veered off and we never saw here again.

 

[Haggin]

One nice mid November day, I was siting under a cedar tree waiting for does to start moving to fill the freezer. I was sitting essentially on a game trail and a covey of quail came along, almost like a pack of rubber bouncy balls (hard to explain their hopping motion but this is what they seemed like as they were all over the place), along the trail.

The largest one (he?) stopped and inspected from about five feet away, while the others and about 20 smaller chicks bounced around in the grass and sticks. He decided I wasn't a threat, peeped a bit and they all came along bouncing over my pack, legs, rifle, all paying me no attention as if I was a log in the road. I don't hunt birds at this spot, so i home they are still around.

 

[Elk97]

Not hunting but a cool encounter.

 

[Matt5266]

Several close encounters but a few stand out. Called a calf elk in and she walked up and started licking my bow riser.

Hunting black bears over bait and had one come of the tree and start swatting at the bottom of my tree stand. Poked him in the head with my arrow.

Also called in a cow elk as I was sitting on the ground with my back against the tree. She walked over my legs. I moved just enough to not get stepped on cuz I didnt want her to spook and potentially kick me in the face haha

 

[Rotnguns]

My friend and I were working a draw thick with willow and tall bush, at about 5000 feet on the Boise Front, in late September. We were hunting Huns, walking slowly down the draw, one on each side. Near the bottom, I was nearly trampled by at least six elk that had bedded down there. One came so close that I could have touched it. Other than rattlesnakes, closest I ever came to being injured by a wild critter.

 

[Rotnguns]

Several close encounters but a few stand out. Called a calf elk in and she walked up and started licking my bow riser.

Hunting black bears over bait and had one come of the tree and start swatting at the bottom of my tree stand. Poked him in the head with my arrow.

Also called in a cow elk as I was sitting on the ground with my back against the tree. She walked over my legs. I moved just enough to not get stepped on cuz I didnt want her to spook and potentially kick me in the face haha

Almost got trampled by a small herd of elk while hunting huns a few years back. The elk around here need to learn some basic manners and watch where they're going

 

[akcabin]

With living with moose n bears in AK for a while I've had a couple close encounters.
Was moose hunting and called in a nice bull. My buddy shot it and it headed for heavy alder brush. I found it laying down on its belly. As I went to poke its eye with my rifle it stood up. Now I'm 2' away from a wounded bull moose with big antlers. I ended up shooting it in the side of the head at point black. Glad I knew to approach from the side. And he didn't swing his head.
Had a big brown, grizzly, bear on the back porch. He headed towards our chessy for a snack. I stepped outside and the bear instantly turned around and charged me. I fortunately was able to dispatch it with a shot to the head from 4' away from me. The biologist from the state estimated it at 5 years old and 500 pounds.
Was doing moose calls in the back yard and had a bull come in. So I messed with it and yes he charged. Had a willow tree between us. Nothing like looking a 1,200 pound ticked off bull moose looking at you eye to eye from 2' away.
And yes after a couple of beers I took a bet that I could slap a bull moose on the butt. Not my smartest moment but I survived and the moose was unhurt.
We will have moose cruising through the yard for the next 5 months while we have deep snow. So plenty of opportunities for me to have more fun

 

[nphunter]

I've had a cow walk up and sniff my bugle tube. Called into a pretty big draw, heard some crashing and watched a cow run down one side of the draw, cross the creek and walk right up the trail we were sitting on. She walked all the way up to us, sniffed my bugle tube and then walked around us because we were sitting in the middle of the trail, after walking past she kept walking past us on the same trail. Pretty weird, I figured she would blow out of there smelling us up that close.

Sat in a herd of probably 80 elk one day while checking cams, had them walking all around me for like an hour. Now and then one would wind me and run off like 10 yards and then go back to feeding, several were like 10 feet from me just feeding.

A few years ago I had a nice 6 point bull walk right down a trail toward me and stop at 10 feet and bugled like 10 times in my face. I was right in the middle of his trail, he finally walked around me and I got a shot and killed him at under 20 yards.

I've had calfs walk right up to me dozens of times and sniff me, had one touch his nose to my broadhead once.

 

[Matt5266]

Almost got trampled by a small herd of elk while hunting huns a few years back. The elk around here need to learn some basic manners and watch where they're going

Haha must be the Idaho elk. That is where all my story's are from.