Strangest hunting moment?

Years back was hunting moose SW of Manning. My buddy was going to drive to Camp the next day, so I went scouting that afternoon. Came to a six cutline intersection and found a rather large and fresh moose piss hole. Figured to return there when buddy shows up.

Well buddy shows up the next day, and I took him to the pisshole. Parked the quads about 50 yards from the intersection, and we walked to the hole to show him. Of course, left the 2 rifles on the quads.'...dah!

Well you guessed it. About 70 yards on one of the lines there's a 55" plus bull moose staring at us, with 2 cows. Hmmmm, now what! Attempted to "moonwalk" back to the quads to retrieve the guns, but of course, upon our return, all but one cow were gone (no cow tag). Never did see him again, but we did get another nice bull a few days later.

Hehehe...I'm sure most of us have done that before...leaving the rifle "close by"...lol.

That story has been repeated every year since when we all meet at hunting Camp about the intersection we now call "piss corner". That is what hunting is all about!
 
Two years ago my hunting buddy and I are driving out to go elk hunting one morning when we see a cow moose with a calf on the side of the road. They start running down the center of the road when they see the vehicle coming. So we slow down and end up following them for about a klick when the calf decides to cut right and into the brush at full speed. There was an old barb wire fence with only the bottom strand still up. Well this calf hit that wire at full bore and he went ass over tea kettle. Completely stretched out, all four legs wide. His back end came over and into some heavy thick bushes which kind of suspended him at a 45 degree angle head down on his back. After much thrashing and moaning he got himself right side up. While this was going on the cow had stopped and was looking between us and the calf and I swear she had the most embarrassed look on her face.
 
Not my story, it's my grandfather's that he told me. He was taking a leak off the edge of his tree stand with gun in hand when all of the sudden an 8pt (4x4 for you westerners) walked out, he said he took the time to finish his leak, zip up and button his pants before shooting the deer.... must have been "breaking the seal" in my opinion!!?? Haha
 
I was out hunting elk one really nice day ,
I always went to one tree every year at least once a year and carved my name and date on the tree,
well this particular day it was real nice,(sept 28/ 1997) so I sat down and next thing I know I'm be woke up from something licking my face, I woke up thinking my dog had some how followed me,
mmmmmmmmm nope while I was knapping a small heard of elk had came by on the trail and a calf elk was sniffing my face and licking it , did I ever jolt when I opened my eyes to see a big old calf elk nose right in my face,
they never really spooked just moseyed on about their way , and each year since I have been back to that same tree , this year will be 38 years ,
back to the same tree same trail
 
Ok, here is one I will tell.
Years ago in BC they had a hunt for any bull moose in Wells Gray Park, between Christmas and New years. I took our twelve year old son into the wilderness park and set up camp on a bench above a small river. We shovelled away a foot of cold, dry snow and set up our wall tent. Supper completed, we sere sitting in our very comfortable tent, heated with an air tight heater and lighted by a Coleman gas lantern, about forty feet from the road.
Suddenly we heard footsteps crunching on the path, leading to our tent! Then through the lighted tent wall, we could see the silhouette of a person walking to or tent. Very eerie. When the person was feet from the tent flap door, I yelled out loudly, "Hello." some sort of muffled reply came back and I was at the door, to see what was coming in.
It was a man whose clothing was frozen virtually solid. The temperature was below zero on the F. scale, colder than -18 C. He got inside, then did his best to wrap his arms around our hot wood fired heater.
Eventually he was able to tell his story. Several hunters were up the snow plowed road about twenty miles. They shot a moose across the river and long story short, in attempting to get to the moose, this fellow fell in the river, getting soaked from head to toe. A hunter who had a car, told the fellow to get in his car and get back to their camp, which was a mile further than our camp, before he froze up.
Just past our camp the road took a sharp bend left, then went down a hill to the river flat. The fellow was so cold and stiff that he said he couldn't even turn the steering wheel, thus he went over the snowy bank. He got out of the car, got back on the road and saw our lighted camp, which he made his way to.
When he got thawed out, I drove him the extra mile to his camp.
Had he not got to our camp when he did, there is not the slightest doubt but that he would have frozen to death. When he first got into our tent he was completely incomprehensible.
 
H4831 said:
Ok, here is one I will tell.
Years ago in BC they had a hunt for any bull moose in Wells Gray Park, between Christmas and New years. I took our twelve year old son into the wilderness park and set up camp on a bench above a small river. We shovelled away a foot of cold, dry snow and set up our wall tent. Supper completed, we sere sitting in our very comfortable tent, heated with an air tight heater and lighted by a Coleman gas lantern, about forty feet from the road.
Suddenly we heard footsteps crunching on the path, leading to our tent! Then through the lighted tent wall, we could see the silhouette of a person walking to or tent. Very eerie. When the person was feet from the tent flap door, I yelled out loudly, "Hello." some sort of muffled reply came back and I was at the door, to see what was coming in.
It was a man whose clothing was frozen virtually solid. The temperature was below zero on the F. scale, colder than -18 C. He got inside, then did his best to wrap his arms around our hot wood fired heater.
Eventually he was able to tell his story. Several hunters were up the snow plowed road about twenty miles. They shot a moose across the river and long story short, in attempting to get to the moose, this fellow fell in the river, getting soaked from head to toe. A hunter who had a car, told the fellow to get in his car and get back to their camp, which was a mile further than our camp, before he froze up.
Just past our camp the road took a sharp bend left, then went down a hill to the river flat. The fellow was so cold and stiff that he said he couldn't even turn the steering wheel, thus he went over the snowy bank. He got out of the car, got back on the road and saw our lighted camp, which he made his way to.
When he got thawed out, I drove him the extra mile to his camp.
Had he not got to our camp when he did, there is not the slightest doubt but that he would have frozen to death. When he first got into our tent he was completely incomprehensible.
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You ever feel like you were there in that exact spot for a reason? Life is strange sometimes.
 
Last year I was packing my gear up a bit early one day because I hadn't seen any sign all morning/day and decided to leave s few mins before the legal stop time.
I'd walked back to my truck I'd parked in a small clearing and was not so quietly putting my pack and stuff into the truck. There was about 5-10 minutes of legal hunting time left for the day but I figured screw it, I'll come back tomorrow. I'm standing behind the tailgate and I had had all my stuff into the truck and just picked up my .270 to remove the shells before casing it when I heard a crash in the trees just ahead of me. 3 does trotted out of the bush about 15 feet ahead of me and the biggest one stopped broadside exactly in front of where my rifle was pointed about 10 yards away. Lol my hand was already on the bolt and I was a fraction of a second away from opening it up to clear the chamber when she popped out. I thought, "you've got to be kidding me!" Haha. So I just moved my hand back and flipped the safety off and blamo, first doe of the season.

A few years before that a buddy of mine and I were bow hunting and walking up this sand road when out of the bush comes this rabbit at full speed. It ran right in between the two of us and kept going up the road a bit then darted into the trees. Then about a minute later this huge black weasel or mink or ferret on steroids comes trotting out of the bush going the same direction. Same thing, but he casually strolls right between us and up the path to where the rabbit had gone, kinda looking up as if saying "sup guys?" lol. We both just looked at each other and laughed.
 
My first small game hunt on my own when I was of age was at my parents back woods, I rode my bike to a spot and went in for the day with no luck what so ever, when I hopped on my bike and started to go back downhill on the road as I was rounding the corner I crashed into a small black bear and flew off my bike. Both of us just sat there for for a second and the bear just scampered off and I dusted myself off and went back on my way.
 
shredder0 said:
You ever feel like you were there in that exact spot for a reason? Life is strange sometimes.
Click to expand...

Yes.
I do not say this from any religious belief, but it just happens.
I even state in my book that a lot of what I was able to write about was possible because I was at the right place at the right time.
 
Had lots of critter experiences while out in the field but I generally go to the hassle of bringing my camera with me on every outing..

I was out walking an apple orchard for deer on a pest control permit a few years back, It was spring time and was carrying my mossy slug gun, a full hydration bladder, a bunch of other hunting gear and my camera gear. So after walking about half the orchard I decided to take a break so I sat down near a dried up irrigation pond. About two minutes later I heard a weird little yip sound right behind me.. and when I mean right behind me I mean within a foot of my head. Made all the hair on my neck stand right up and probably doubled my heart rate instantly... I turned around real slow and found what made the sound as it was staring me right in the face. I sat just infront of an old grown over drain that was about 18" diameter and apparently was an excellent spot for fox den. Four kits were sitting there, three just poking there heads out of pipe and one that had come right out and was sniffing right behind me.. They played in the grass around me for about half an hour, including hunting some mice in the pushed down grass doing the whole head first dive. One of coolest moments I've had with foxes.. The fox population around me is very low and this was a very rare sight.
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Another story up north in the Kawarthas I was duck hunting out of a kayak on some small creeks/rivers and kept seeing something in the water up a head.. Didn't think much of it as it wasn't a duck but since the hunting was slow figured I'd check it out. Paddled over to where I last saw the water being disturbed and nothing was there so figured it was just a fish breaking the surface, maybe a carp that hadn't moved out to deeper water yet. I was just about to start heading further downstream and not 10 feet in front of me a head appeared in the water and was staring straight at me.. Turned out to be a very curious and playful otter. I had never seen one around the kawarthas and have not seen one since. It kept going under and popping up at the same distance for about ten minutes and after a few minutes I figured it was worth the risk of getting the camera out and got a few good shots of the little guy.
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Next one is not really hunting, but fishing.. I was fishing with my kids at a small conservation area close to where I live.. Just for panfish off a very old dock that is hot used much. Kept hearing a russle on the shore in the brush and figured I'd go check it out with the camera. Got to the shore and found a young mink trying to make a meal of a young muskrat and not really knowing what to do.. The muskrat took to the water and never saw it again, the Mink on the other hand stuck around for about an hour or so and even came out onto the dock we were fishing on for a few minutes, but mostly it was just messing around on the shore.. At one point it was almost sitting on my foot and too close for my camera to even focus on.. I took probably 50 shots of him that day and saw him at the same spot a few more times during that summer. I haven't seen another one out there for three years now.
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Found one shot I took before the muskrat took off...
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I was sitting on the edge of a cut block just before dusk calling for elk and glassing the tree line where a game trail emerged. I started hearing a good bit of crashing in the bush, and concentrated my binos on the area the noise was coming from when...
Some guy in a bicycle helmet emerged on foot. All known bicycle trails are much further down the slope. It was dusk. I packed up my gear and left.
I happen to know than there are less ethical hunters who would have just sent a bullet in the direction of the noise. People need to get there heads screwed on right.
 
Years ago my friend and I were hunting ducks. Afternoon was clear and calm...typical bluebird day. Took a bit of afternoon down time in the marsh. We both happened to look up at the same time as a black elongated disc shaped object went across the sky overhead at a high rate of speed. It made absolutely no sound but travelled from overhead to out of sight over the horizon in less than 10 seconds. Talk about the event often but are both still wondering what that was.
 
I have a few coyote hunting moments that were strange. I was out seeding in my uncle's field and I saw a yote pup playing. So, I stopped the tractor and grabbed a 22-250 that I had with me, and cycled a bullet into the action. I had a 36 gr barnes varmint grenade loaded. I lined up the shot, and squeezed off the round right as a pup jumped... I saw the typical explosion or that round hitting something fleshy, and saw the pup frantically looking and sniffing everywhere. I cycled the action, and lined up the next shot on him, and got him. I walked over and had a look. He had been eviscerated, and was wearing a few organs on the outside. The first shot had blown up the ground squirrel that he had been hunting...
This spring, I was seeding on my dad's field near a pasture where I keep cattle, and I see this yote hunting gophers. So, I stop the tractor, and load up a 75 gr amax into my 223 along with some surplus ammo that shoots about the same to about 250 yards. The coyote stops hunting and faces me dead on at about 25 yards. I shot her in the neck and the coyote tries to run. I thought I had missed at first till she tripped over her own intestines, and turned around to rip them out, and run away again. She mad it about 30 feet from where she did that before she fell over dead...
 
From the book 'King Solomons Mines'

"and late into the night I told them many stories--all true ones. There is no need to embelish the truth, so many wild and wonderful things happen to a man whose buisness it is to hunt."
 
i am grouse hunting with my wife. ####ty day so far saw nothing during the long walk in the wood so we are back to the camp. we are driving since 15min and then i feel the need to make a number 2!
I park on the side of a little sand pit surrounded by small pine hedge. i walk a bit to find a comfortable spot and then i do what i have to do..
about half way trough my thing i turn the head to the pine hedge on my right to look around for bear or anything suspicious. Nothing around expect for a strange brown rock... i finish up my thing and then i go back to my truck , start the engine and as i am going to leave i stoped....this rock was really looking suspicious, so i toke my marlin 795 with a 3-9 scope to check closer. it was a grouse that was sleeping just at 25 feet form me! Shoot it and have been eated on the BBQ for diner!
 
Back in about 1964, three of us were out hunting chicken. We were strolling along a draw when a flock of Huns got up. It was my turn to take first shot. I shouldered my Dad's old Tobin. WTF?!?!? A Hun dropped out of flight, deader than a door nail, but I hadn't fired! We field dressed it and couldn't see anything wrong, so I took it home and ate it. :)
 
I was sitting a climbing tree stand on a small, 55 acre plot. It was just about legal light when I caught a glimpse of something moving unnaturally fast, about 10 feet off the ground. Swoop up, and just like that I had a barred owl sitting in a tree branch about 8 feet away at my eye level. At first it didn't notice me but then I had to breath and that's all it took for this bird to rotate its head around and stare straight through my very existence. We locked eyes and even after he figured out what I was, he didn't seem to be too concerned. He stuck around for a good 15 minutes, switching between scanning the forest and making sure that I posed no threat. Honestly, I'm sure I was more concerned than him - those talons were imposing. What a feeling to have something look at you that way - a physical representation of utter and complete predatory instinct peering directly into your soul.
 
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