What’s the gnarliest situation you’ve been in while hunting?

[eddielasvegas]

Good story Wags.


Eddie

 

[Marble]

I was wearing my Sitka outfit. Not once was I cold or wet. This was on opening day of elk rifle in 2019 when the blizzard hit and dumped a lot of snow. It was perfect weather for hunting.
I was not only excited for shooting my first bull but a really nice bull. But after being a LEO for nearly 30 years I don’t show excitement very well.

Isn't if funny how we react to different situations? We have the same concerned as anyone else watching something unfold, we've just learned how to deal with it differently.

It remind of the movie "Bridge of Spies". Tom Hanks frequently looks at his cliente and ass why he isn't mad, yelling or concerned. His response is always, " Would it help?"

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[Rick653]

I never had anything crazy personally happen to me. But while on the fire department we responded to a couple of tree stand falls.

We had a side by side to help us get back to the stands, but I remember one time the mud was too thick to drive. We had to board this guy and carry him to a field. Then we got him on the side by side, and got him to the road for life flight.

Wear a harness, you would rather laugh about being cut out of the tree than carried out on a board

 

[Mackay Sagebrush]

I told my old Redhead ex-girlfriend to "Calm Down"....

Doc said I was lucky.

 

[netman]

If you don’t mind, how many PVCs in a day?

My wife said I was having PVc’s 46%

 

[netman]

I never had anything crazy personally happen to me. But while on the fire department we responded to a couple of tree stand falls.

We had a side by side to help us get back to the stands, but I remember one time the mud was too thick to drive. We had to board this guy and carry him to a field. Then we got him on the side by side, and got him to the road for life flight.

Wear a harness, you would rather laugh about being cut out of the tree than carried out on a board

I was once dispatched to a tree stand incident to assist EMS. I arrived before them.
I was shown where the guy was by another hunter.
Turns out a guy climbed up a permanent deer stand and was pulling his old Hawkins muzzleloader up with a piece of rope. He had tied the rope around the muzzle and started pulling it up. Unknown to him while pulling the muzzleloader up it got cocked.
When he got it up to where he could reach it the gun went off and shot a 50 cal slug up through his buttocks.
He fell after the shot.

 

[Timeless61]

My wife said I was having PVc’s 46%

Thanks. That is a significant amount. The defibrillator and ablations make sense. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Rick653]

I was once dispatched to a tree stand incident to assist EMS. I arrived before them.
I was shown where the guy was by another hunter.
Turns out a guy climbed up a permanent deer stand and was pulling his old Hawkins muzzleloader up with a piece of rope. He had tied the rope around the muzzle and started pulling it up. Unknown to him while pulling the muzzleloader up it got cocked.
When he got it up to where he could reach it the gun went off and shot a 50 cal slug up through his buttocks.
He fell after the shot.

Yikes! A lot of suspicious things happened leading up to him tearing himself a new one

 

[netman]

Thanks. That is a significant amount. The defibrillator and ablations make sense. Glad it worked out for you.

I had a couple ablations at Mayo over the past two years. My PVC’s are down to 6% now. I can sure tell the difference.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Bumping this again.
I read through it before last season, and just read through it before this one..
Stayed up too late reading through it again.

I've been charged by a black bear sow with cubs. She didn't come around the bush so I guess we can call it a bluff.

Had trees fall around me in burns a few times.

Still nothing I have seen compares to most of the stories in here. And I hope.it stays that way LOL

 

[Bighunt531]

Seeing and trying to comfort a man who's face had been removed by a grizzly bear.

Wh

Seeing and trying to comfort a man who's face had been removed by a grizzly bear.

Did he live what's the story? Was he a hunter? I seen where this had happened to a guy and it was a horrible ordeal and tons of surgery obviously he will never live the same again but he's alive

 

[TheGDog]

Oh that's easy... day after Christmas 2015... going back to a spot I'd seen Bear sign. Gotta lot of creek crossings, where this same creek criss-crosses the canyon floor and this road a lot.

It was 32 F that morning when I took my key out of the ignition upon arriving. (So ya kinda already have an idea where this is going)

I'd gotten about 4mi in... then on this one crossing... I stop and look.. and you know pick a connection of rocks that looks the most substantial for crossing upon their backs and proceed, yet again.

On the last rock before arriving at the opposite bank of the creek...SWIP!!!... my boot shoots off that last rock like faster than instantly.... (probably had a thin sheen of ice covering it just under the thin coating of water that juuust barely almost covered the top of it.

So immediately my body and its momentum has me falling forward toward that opposite bank... your arms just naturally shoot out to catch yourself.. you can't even help that if you wanted to.

On that opposite bank... there was a stone embedded into it and sticking out a bit.

Well... the way I fell... the tip-top of my Radius bone in my forearm right at the wrist... smacked down upon the apex of that stone with all my 230 Lbs, as well as the packs weight and the weight of the rifle in my hand.

The tip of the radius shattered into 4 petals. And hurt really f*cking bad. (And in all the DirtBike/Moto/MTB crashes I've had throughout my life... that's saying something!)

So from dirtbikes you're taught to not move the injured area right away. That you got to assess it first.

So wiggle the fingers... ok cool.. still got neurological. Attempt to gingerly rotate my wrist to see and Yeow!.. Ok got it.. don't do that!

So I stood up and got my boots outta the creek... and then made sure to hang the shattered wrist straight down so gravity would help with holding the broken pieces closer to their natural reset position. My wrist has a bit of a detour of a bend to it now.

And then... some frightening thoughts occur to me:
1) OMG I'm soo vulnerable right now! I tested trying to raise that heavy .30-30 lever action and aim it defensively with just one arm.. yeah.. that's not happenin'.
2) OMG... I gotta cross all these same creek crossing to get back outta here! WTH happens if I fall again!! OMG it would then take the broken pieces and probably lacerate the sh*t outta my muscles an tendons in there. So I told myself, you know what? If you have to.. just walk right thru the cold water if you have to. The thought of having a second fall now happen made my eyes go very wide with the realization of what that would mean in terms of further exacerbating the injury!

So I begin the hike out. Had a couple bobbles crossing on the back of rocks. Nothing major but holy sh*t did my heart rate spike up when one of the rocks teeter-tottered a little when I stepped on it!

Then... I arrive at the truck. Quick lil bit of video then some pics to document. Then carefully removing clothing and pack.

Then driving down outta there (Angeles NF) to where I had cell service.

Before making a call, I had to stop and think about this. Either I could elect to get some care there in Asuza... but then I realized.. they'd have to dope me up to be able to at least temporarily reset the bones. So I thought... no.. I can't do that cause then Mama and the boy would be held captive waiting for the meds to wear off outta me before it'd be cool to drive again.

So instead I pull out my insurance card.. call Mama.. tell her what happened... give her the card info and tell her to call around by our house and see where we should go for emergency care like this.

I then proceeded to drive all the way home. The entire length of the 605 Fwy.. then down the 405 Fwy a little to where the 22 Fwy crosses it, then a stretch on an Ave and then home.

They ended up needing to put a plate and 13 ... yes.. I said 13 scews in it, in order to hold all those petals back together.

"Pics or it didn't happen!"
"OK, Hold my beer"...

 

[TheGDog]

Yeah, I’ve seen plenty of idiots use their rifle scope as binos to check out other hunters in the area. First thing I thought of as I was reading your story.

So so sooooo not cool when it happens to you!

Went in to a spot close-ish to a road (maybe 200yds away where I was seated at) where I'd scouted previously and watched a buck for like 2 hrs back in april.. and another Doe on another visit. I arrive very early. Waited on my setup location since 4am in country dark. A little leary of perhaps cats showing up.

At some point like maybe 8 or 9a... White pickup come up along the road.. then.. seems to swerve over to the side and two jump out. A guy and a kid. He starts fussing with something, probably a tripod.

Turning the 15s on the tripod and see in HD a 15yo girl pointing a hunting rifle dead-on.. and I mean Dead-On... at me! Ugh man.. the heat from the rush of adrenalin... sh*t man.

She didn't see me because of my Mesh Ghillie Suit. Didn't wanna give up my location since been there so long, but had to. Angrily yelled out... "WTF are you doing? He's pointed right at me!!!" she/they turn the rifle away. But.. maybe 2 minutes later POW! And the thud of the bullets hitting the dirt hits like 20yds up the slope I'm on and back behind me on the plateu of it!

In a few tens of milliseconds... my heart sank... I already figured out what had happened.

Them pulling over rapidly was because up ahead of them, they'd seen a young forkie cross the road. Extremely likely in a few more minutes it would have travelled by me and I'd have shot him. Wind was in my favor. I just didn't know it was there, nor him me.

Hunting that spot was over, I gather my stuff and proceed to walk over to have to talking to, to this father. I tried very hard to keep my cool. Expressed to this yahoo how deadly it was what his kid did, that I have a mouth to feed to, etc. Try to keep it polite. The guy was more distracted with the excitement of the daughter taking her first buck. I was feeling rage swelling up inside, so I elected to just remove myself from that area before I lashed out at this a$$hole for not properly and profusely apologizing to me about this.

 

[4ester]

So so sooooo not cool when it happens to you!

Went in to a spot close-ish to a road (maybe 200yds away where I was seated at) where I'd scouted previously and watched a buck for like 2 hrs back in april.. and another Doe on another visit. I arrive very early. Waited on my setup location since 4am in country dark. A little leary of perhaps cats showing up.

At some point like maybe 8 or 9a... White pickup come up along the road.. then.. seems to swerve over to the side and two jump out. A guy and a kid. He starts fussing with something, probably a tripod.

Turning the 15s on the tripod and see in HD a 15yo girl pointing a hunting rifle dead-on.. and I mean Dead-On... at me! Ugh man.. the heat from the rush of adrenalin... sh*t man.

She didn't see me because of my Mesh Ghillie Suit. Didn't wanna give up my location since been there so long, but had to. Angrily yelled out... "WTF are you doing? He's pointed right at me!!!" she/they turn the rifle away. But.. maybe 2 minutes later POW! And the thud of the bullets hitting the dirt hits like 20yds up the slope I'm on and back behind me on the plateu of it!

In a few tens of milliseconds... my heart sank... I already figured out what had happened.

Them pulling over rapidly was because up ahead of them, they'd seen a young forkie cross the road. Extremely likely in a few more minutes it would have travelled by me and I'd have shot him. Wind was in my favor. I just didn't know it was there, nor him me.

Hunting that spot was over, I gather my stuff and proceed to walk over to have to talking to, to this father. I tried very hard to keep my cool. Expressed to this yahoo how deadly it was what his kid did, that I have a mouth to feed to, etc. Try to keep it polite. The guy was more distracted with the excitement of the daughter taking her first buck. I was feeling rage swelling up inside, so I elected to just remove myself from that area before I lashed out at this a$$hole for not properly and profusely apologizing to me about this.

So let me get this straight…..you were wearing a ghillie suit and then were mad when someone didn’t see you? Have on an orange hat at least?


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[mike.adams.467]

So let me get this straight…..you were wearing a ghillie suit and then were mad when someone didn’t see you? Have on an orange hat at least?


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Exactly.


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[Rayjtay89]

Some hard-core shit here

 

[FLATHEAD]

Not hunting, but scouting.
Back in the early 90's.
Riding my ATV in the hills.
Come around a corner and there's a guy standing
beside his ATV holding a billet/Kilo? of coc/weed/meth?
He saw me (.357 on my hip) and he chunks the block
down in to a ravine.
ATV chase ensues but I had a good start on 'em and I knew the area like the back of my hand.
As soon as I had a chance on a non-dusty spot on the road I whipped in to a fire break and outta sight.
They (2) come flying by, I ease out and back track to my truck.
Loaded up and got the he## outta there.
Found out later that area was a drug drop place. Middle of nowhere. Planes would fly over and make drops to be picked up later by the ground crew.
Being late summer they figured nobody was around.
Just my Dumba##.

 

[FlyGuy]

So, maybe not the scariest incident “ever”, but a first for me. two weeks ago I was fruitlessly hunting deer in AZ, unit 27. Around 10am on Day 8 and I’m Sitting on an open rocky glassing point about 4 miles deep staring intently at Gaia on my phone trying to figure out what plan E was going to be when I heard the wind suddenly pick up in the canyon behind and below me. I didn’t think much of it, other than it would be nice to finally have some breeze on my face that super still and hot deerless morning, but I quickly realized something wasn’t right...

The first thing that I became of aware of was that sound of the wind had moved very swiftly from far behind me to just slightly in front and a little overhead, but I hadn’t felt the breeze yet… second was the wind seemed to quit moving and just stay there in place…. And finally it was clear that the sound wasn’t the right “frequency” anymore to be wind.

I looked up from my phone to see a large, dark cloud of bees hovering approximately 10 yards away - and they seemed to be “checking me out”. The ball was maybe 20’ x 20’. I have no idea what type of bees these were but I had an extremely intense “Oh Shit!” moment as I (naturally) assumed they were Africanized/killer bees and this was how it was all going to end…

Thankfully, after sizing me up for about 10 - 15 seconds the swarm abruptly bolted off, continuing along their previous course, accelerating quickly and shortly thereafter the sound drifted away.

It was the only excitement I’d had for days, just not the kind I was looking for.


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[AKSandman]

Here is a funny anecdote.

was working for a rancher one winter and as a Christmas bonus he said to go down to the barn an shoot myself a goose and a turkey (he had maybe 20 of each). So I go down there and pick myself out a nice plump goose and shoot it in the head with a .22. I must have just barely missed the kill zone because that goose took off running and squawking around the barnyard with its 19 other pals making a gawdaweful racket. So there I am not able to shoot again for fear of hitting another goose So I’m running around the barn chasing this thing and I finely get it pinned up against a stack of hay bales trying to wring its neck and That is when I proceeded to the ever living tar beat out of me by a 15 lb goose! Between the claws ripping up my wranglers, the wings beating the crap out of my arms and the feathers cutting and scratching my face and hands i was sure wishing I had killed that thing from the outset! Last time I ever tangled with a goose!

 

[Mike Islander]

South Caroline = Gators.

Innertube fishing in Chicken Creek. To get to the river I had to wade through about 100 yards of 4 feet deep tangled water weeds. Popped out into a 4 foot wide channel that would take me to the main flow. As the current pulled me toward the main channel I spotted a 20 foot gator about 20 yards ahead. My guess is that he heard me thrashing through the weeds and was hoping I was a nice deer he could drown.

I was instantly on full alert. Pulled the only weapons I had, my trusty 5" Rapala in one hand and fishing pliers in the other, realizing that trying to go back through the weeds might trigger an attack. When I looked back up there was just a growing ring of ripples where the gator had been.

The next few minutes were a bit scary, but by the time I floated out to the channel I was convinced the gator had lost interest, so I started fishing. Did I mention that I was young and stupid? After about 10 minutes I noticed two huge gators side by side about 150 yards away. They were taking turns taking deep breaths, which makes them float high in the water for several seconds and then sink back down to their iceberg floating height. It is a dominance display ritual between males. I wasn't worried.

But after a few minutes I noticed they were swimming side by side directly toward me. Between me and the shore was a hundred yards of deep muck. In there I wouldn't stand a chance. Down river a bit was a cut that fed a chemical plant, so I started back stroking. The closer I got to the cut the closer the gators got to me. I wasn't sure if I would make it. I reached shore and they were about 30 yards away. I climbed the fence and just layed there for a good ten minutes, my legs to weak to stand. One of the few times in my life I have experienced real fear.

Here is a shot of the little creek feeder that took me too the main channel. The little channel coming in from the right.


Here is where I finally escaped! See the lower right of the photo.