Close Calls, etc.

[paleoman]

#6576

What close calls have you had out there in the bushes? Off the top of my head I think way back to the days of the first climbing tree stands. The ones where you used the seat to pull yourself up . The platform slipped down the tree and I got hyperextended so I couldn’t move 20′ up the tree. I just hung there for about 15 minutes or so and I guess enough adrenalin kicked in to worm out of it!

[Etter1]

#53690

paleoman wrote: What close calls have you had out there in the bushes? Off the top of my head I think way back to the days of the first climbing tree stands. The ones where you used the seat to pull yourself up . The platform slipped down the tree and I got hyperextended so I couldn’t move 20′ up the tree. I just hung there for about 15 minutes or so and I guess enough adrenalin kicked in to worm out of it!

I’ve had two but only one should have taken my life. I used to rock climb A LOT. I was climbing one day at tallulah gorge in north ga. The base of the climb was up a forested rock ramp, about 100 feet up. After climbing the wall and rapelling back down, I was hiking back down with all my gear and a 165 foot rope on my back, when I tripped and just went to tumbling head over heels. I rolled like that for about 40 yards or so and a root caught my leg. When I looked behind me, my head was about 1 foot from the drop, 100 feet straight to river bedrock. I can’t believe I got so lucky. Almost turned me to religion…..almost:D

Another time, I was about 20 feet up in a buddy’s loc on. I had been sitting for about 2 hrs when the set just ripped and gave out on me. When my safety harness caught me, my toes were still on the platform but I was completely horizontal looking straight down. Would have certainly landed right on my head if not for the harness.

[wildschwein]

#54806

Well I certainly haven’t had any adventures like the ones mentioned above (probably because I am to cheap to buy a treestand).

But one event that does stick out in my mind occured a couple years back on my Grandfathers farm. It was either late October or early November (I remember there was 6-8 inches of snow on the ground) and I was looking for Whitetails with my longbow. It was a morning hunt and I was sneaking along a thin line of brush that seperated two of Grandads fields.

I was maybe 3/4 of the way down the strip when I saw movement ahead of me at about 100 yards. My first thought was Deer, but it didn’t take long for me to recognise that it was actually a large gray colored Wolf.

Now this wasn’t the first time I had run across Wolves on this property. I usually see between 20 to 40 a year, ecspecially during the early winter hunting season. So seeing this one wasn’t unusual.

I continued to walk towards the Wolf figuring it would just run away like all the others I had ever encountered. Wolves around here are kinda looked at like Coyotes, loud, beutiful, and afraid of man.

But as I walked closer, the Wolf never budged. By the time I stopped again I was maybe 50 yards away. All it did was stare. And then it did something that I had never seen before. It started to walk towards me.

I figured by this time that enough was enough and started yelling at it and waving my bow around. I knew I would scare all the Deer in, but this Wolf was making me uncomfortable. It stopped coming towards me but didn’t run away.

It was now only about 35 yards away. It was close enough that I could see the wind ruffle its fur. I thought about sending an arrow towards it (Wolf are legal game at that time of year), but it was still a bit out of my range.

So instead of pushing the matter further I began to crabwalk back the way I came. It had just occured to me that the Wolf in front of me might be a distraction, so I wanted to see my back trail as well.

I made it back to my Grandads house (about a 1/2 mile) and the Wolf never followed. When I lost sight of it, it was still standing in the same place.

That afternoon I grabbed the .30-30 for my Deer hunt. I even followed the Wolfs tracks across the field and into the woods. I didn’t see it again that day.

Now I don’t know what its intentions were. Perhaps just curiousity. But then again maybe not. At any rate I don’t look at Wolves like I used to anymore. And thats the nearest thing to a close call that I have ever had.

[Ralph]

#54824

I’ve had a bunch of dumb things that were “could’ve beens” but one that really worried the most me was hearing two rattlesnakes buzzing in the dark and me with the red lens on my flashlight. A high visibility device that is not. I stood dead still for about a week it seemed then made a very cautious move and all was well. I took the red lens off and said “nuff is enuff” of that thing. I’ve been perfectly happy with white light kept to the ground in front of me when sneaking in every since.

[Troy Breeding]

#54844

When I was a kid I used to run all over our farm in AL without a thought of a snake.

Back in the mid 90’s I bought a set of the Rattler gators. To help break them in before hunting season I started wearing them as I worked on fencing and such.

On the second day of wearing them I was repairing a back fence when all of a sudden I felt a thump on the back of my leg. Since I was working in a tree top that had fallen and messed up the fence I just thought it was a bent limb bumping me. Afew seconds later it happened again. This time I figured it was time to move the limb so I wouldn’t get tangle footed and fall. As I turned to move the limb I looked down and almost filled my jeans.:shock:

What I thought was a limb turned out to be a copperhead.

Never went outside the yard again without wearing the gators.:D

Troy

[Ben M.]

#55344

Just think of what awesome barroom stories the Darwin Award winners could tell had they not received their merits…

[Shane Balow]

#56461

The closet call I ever had was during squirrel season in Va. My friend and I were walking down a trail to a spot that was abundant with squirrels. It just so happened that deer season started and using dogs were legal. About 10 mins into our walk we heard three rounds go off and then a fourth just went whizzing over our head. My friend and I dove to the ground covering our head laying there motionless making sure we were ok. As we were about to get up two more shots went off from the same direction. We ended up low crawling for about 30 yards then left that part of the woods. That event has really made me question people that should be able to hunt!

[paleoman]

#57389

The one up there about wolves……great:? Mostly me, myself and I in the NW Wi. Woods in a month. Gotten a glimpse or two up there and certainly howling. I like being at the top of the food chain not being digested:)

[archer38]

#61029

A couple years ago I was sitting in a tree stand, bear hunting. Behind me was a small river and my bait station was in a bowl shaped bottom next to the river.It was almost dark and I was just about to grab my stuff and get down when I heard something splashing in the water behind me. I turned to see a large sow with a cub swimming across to me.I didn’t want to spook her so I decided to sit and wait for them to leave. This would be a bad decision. As I watched them come past my tree to my left, I felt something “bump” my ladder. It was another cub on the first rung of the ladder looking up at me. Apperently she had 2 !! So now, its dark out and I only have a bow and an led flashlight. As I watched the cubs pulling at the logs on my bait, they suddenly both raise there heads and look to the right. “POOF” they tore out of there and disappeared. Of to the right, in the darkness, I saw a large black shape moving through the bush in my direction. NOT COOL !! So I decide to get up and make as much noise as I can and slowly move toward the exit so to speak. Let me tell you, it is more than a little unnerving to walk through the Canadian bush in the dark, with no gun or decent light knowing full well that there are four bears around you somewhere.

So, to get out of this bowl I have to climb this side hill road way. The problem was that half way up, a bear was up a tree and huffing and blowing at me ! In the dark…. with no gun or decent light !! Now I’m looking around wondering where the sow with cubs went. Not that I could see anything.I finally broke and called my buddy to drive in to where I was and help me out of there.

I’ll NEVER go bear hunting without a good light and a gun for back-up ever again !!

[jmsmithy]

#61217

Sitting in a ground blind two seasons ago in Sussex Cty NJ heard strange crunching sound off to my left…after peering through window of blind I notice 3 cubs chewing corn (cut field next to me). Thinking they can’t be alone, one notices some weird looking critter looking out some hole in the woods and decides to come figure me out…soon all three puttering with 2-3′ in front of my blind. Was pretty entertained I must say…until I heard a scratching on the blind behind me…then low guttural growl followed by the inevitable WOOF! My hair stood up realizing that if I unzipped the blind’s entrance I’d be staring momma in the face at about 18″. I started talking calmly and lifted front of the blind and crawled out. 3 little ones bolted up nearest tree and I stood up with my hand on the blind. At that point momma stood up on her side and looked down at me (I’m 5’8″!). I was too amazed to be scared at this point she dropped to all fours and walked around blind towards me as I walked other way around blind like a cartoon… As I got to opposite side i started to back up slowly speaking to her. She continued to advance as I backed up…this went on for at least 35-40 yards. Got to a clearing not far from my truck and lost site of her…started to my truck and looked off to side and there she was again, coming out of the woods between me and the truck. This really creeped me out and made me nervous as it seemed she purposely ducked out to come up on other side of large brush pile I was parked by. I circled around my truck and she continued advancing, popping jaws and low woofing the whole time but always slow….as if she was backing me into my vehicle! 😯

Once I made it to the truck I jumped in (luckily left it unlocked) and she stood there not ten feet and walked off back toward the blind. I then realized I couldn’t afford to have her trash the thing and figured if I drove right to the blind the truck would run her off. I pulled with in 5′ of the blind and she reappeared, this time with cubs behind her and literally sat on her haunches like a big dog watching me pack up…:oops:

I always think of this incident whenever I’m in the bear woods, which is everywhere now in NJ or the Adirondacks. I always wonder her intentions as the popping/woofing was very unnerving… 😯

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