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

[Geewhiz]

2025 early October, rifle elk hunting NW WY.

Power hunting through rolling sage brush foothills and Come up to a creek bottom. Working my way through when 20 yards to my right and slightly behind me my dog starts going ballistic. Standing 5 feet, face to face with Buck (my dog) is the biggest grizzly boar ive ever seen with my own eyes.

When this all went down I was walking with my thumbs tucked into the front of the shoulder straps on my pack. I had spray on my binos and pistol on my hip, just due to it being right there next to my hands I pulled spray.

Buck is barking non stop right in this guys face. Hes looking at me and looking back at Buck kind of frantically. Im screaming at him to "go on and get out of here." The bear spins and assume hes taking off, but instead of running off he just does a 360 and squares up on us with a pretty agressive posture. At this time Buck got even closer to the bear and is litterally right in the bears face. The bear locks eyes with me for a solid 3 seconds, then looks back Buck, turns and starts booking it uphill towards the timber, with Buck right on his heels for about 100 yards, then Buck turned back and met me back in the creek bottom.

In the moment I was pretty convinced he was going to either go after Buck or me after he spun around and didn't leave. But looking back im pretty sure Buck walked right up to that bear while he was napping in that creek bottom and that bear was groggy and disoriented which is why the whole thing lasted as long as it did, probably about 10 seconds.

That’s a good puppy you got there.

 

[ScottinPA]

Bowhunting elk in WY. Outfitter told us not to waste time on mule deer tags as there weren't many around so we didn't. I was set up at a fallen tree, kind of a natural blind, watching trails. A nice 160" 5x5 mule deer buck comes in and feeds just on the other side of the fallen trunk. I watched him eating from under the trunk. Eventually he feeds away then turns broadside looking the other way at about 12 yds. I was not happy with the outfitter but it was a cool experience.
The next morning I went to the same spot and there was a mountain lion track in the dust where I was sitting. Was looking over my shoulder a lot the rest of the morning.