Unforgettable experiences in nature while hunting

I would say in 1994, when I was camped solo, way up in the Goose Tower country, NW of Swan Hills Ab.

I was watching a cutline for moose, with about 45 left before dark, when I saw the back of an animal moving up the trail, it was on the other side of a knoll...

Animal presented itself and it was not a moose, but rather a gorgeous blonde grizzly with deep brown face legs and underbelly.

This was in the daze of the old 35mm point n shoot, with no zoom capability. So I let the bear continue walking up the trail, I wanted it as close as possible so I could try to get good pics.

At about 75 yards the bear started to lift it's head in such a way that I knew it was onto me, so I thought it would not get any closer, and took the pics.

Well as the light was getting lower in the late afternoon, it made the camera flash! I snapped the pics quickly, *pop!* *pop!* the flash went each time.

And it scared the hell out of that grizzly! It spun around and raced away from me on a dead run. I walked down there to see where it had been and the holes it's huge clawed feet had torn into the muskeg were amazing, just huge, and the image of those huge torn up clods of muskeg, with those huge claw marks is still burnt into my memory.

But the most amazing thing about this was actually the sensation I had, half an hour later, after darkness had fallen, walking back to my tent, in the dark, no flashlight, with the awareness that I was sharing that ground with that grizzly.

I've never felt more alive in my life than during that hike in the dark...



That's a couple of the pics of that grizzly... I thought I had 3 but that's all I can find now... friggin' point n shoot with no zoom!
 
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This summer during the big heat wave up here my wife and I took our boat for a run down Lake of the Woods, to Massacre Island.
My wife is the exploring type and wanted to bushwack up the island to a memorial at the top.(both of us are 60+)
I had beached our boat on a pebble beach and she had jumped out to see if she could find any kind of trail to follow up.
I stayed in the boat as we were not very securely beached.
Off to my right about 10 yards away there was a rock pile composed of good size boulders that went down into the lake.
I glanced over the pile just as my wife crossed in front of it while walking the beach.
One of the boulders was moving!
It was a large black bear that was sitting on its hind cooling off in the lake.
He had not moved when we motored in and only shifted when my wife walked by looking inland to the forest.
I called to my wife who was between the bear and the forest to get back to the boat.
Of coarse she did not, and asked why she should as she had not looked far enough down the beach.
I mentioned to her that a bear was about 20 feet behind her and she should slowly return to the boat.
For once she complied without complaint.
As it turned out the bear was not in the least interested in us and stayed where he was cooling off as we left the island.
 
So many I should write a book. #1
Back when I was say 13 years old I got a new Mossburg shotgun. I kept the freezer stocked with partridge in the back woods of Portland Ontario. One day in the fall I had walked close to 10 miles and my pack had 2 or 3 partridge in it and I was worn out. I sat against an old split rail cedar fence and rested. I fell asleep for a bit and when I awoke a whitetail doe, the first I had ever seen alive stood 5 feet away from me. My gun was loaded and ready to go with #6 shot but I just watched her sniff and wonder what I was. I never hunted deer till 5 years later an doubted I would actually shoot anything other than a buck.
#2 will be about a coyote sitting on my flip open goose blind watching my decoys.
 
Watching 2 big bucks fighting about 80 yards from my treestand while hunting with a bow.
Coming across a moose that had fallen through the ice in the middle of nowhere on a deer drive. Was thankfull and releived when it finally got out of the ice as we had no idea how to get it out without getting killed.
 
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Sitting at the base of a tree watching for Deer with my day pack sitting on the opposite side behind me. I heard a rustle,turned around in time to see a Black Bear had my pack and was bookin' it. All I got back after looking for a couple of hours was the slobbery shredded pack with my dented thermos and a box of shells. Lunch and snacks were gone. In the same spot a couple of years later,this time sitting on a log pile,I watched a Blackie get too close to a huge Bull Moose. A well-aimed kick to the side of the head of the Bear killed it instantly. I hoped it was the same sonofa##### that got my lunch before.
 
Another bear story...

I was up in the Wallace Mtn area, NW of Swan Hills, June 4 2004, hunting spring black bear.

I was at a creek called Stebbing Creek, sitting on a stump, lots of fresh bear sign.

This damn creek has really steep sided banks, so I decided to take a walk to try to figure out a spot where I could cross it with my Honda 450 quad.

Just as I got to the creek, I heard this bizarre grunting sound coming from the spruce trees along the bank. It was a crazy sound, I was like "What the hell is that!?"

So I peered into the dark understory of these spruce, and I saw a big black bear, but it was in an unusual position and as I watched it, it slowly rose up, and as it did, a black bear sow rose up from under it, turned and slapped at what was obviously a very big boar.

As they parted, the boar was moving to the right, the sow coming out from under him to the left.

The grunting I had heard was the boar mounting the sow...

I stepped it off after, they were 26 paces from me.


So that's the story of this bear.




 
We were out sheep hunting years ago, kind of unnerving . Sitting on a hill, glassing, when rocks started falling from the mountains all around us. Minor earthquake I learned later.

Grizz
 
Not my experience but a CO and his deputy I use to hunt with told me while they were out checking deer hunter and license in the bush came upon a deer hunter masturbating. They let him finish and walk up to him to check his license.
 
Calling a grizzly in with a predator call when I had an LEH tag in the Liard River area in northern B.C. Hearing it snapping branches while circling around me, it got my scent and slowly walked away in the thick underbrush while popping its teeth. I kept calling with the safety off on my 375 h&h but the bear knew something was up. Also hiking a ridge line sheep hunting and seeing all the weather scenarios the mountains have to offer in 40 minutes, the wind and hail was painful lol. Hearing elk bugling after dark then wolves howling and moving in on them while I was in my tent in the dark while sheep hunting. The best one is the night sky with all the stars from my tent without the fly on it on the Sept night before I got my first ram. I think I miss that moment of peace more than anything I've done hunting.
 
I had a pack of wolves move in while I was walking an old skidder trail. I never seen them but the howling was almost deafening they were so close. It wasn’t a very good feeling with how thick the brush was around.
Another time I was hiking up a ridge sheep hunting and a small hawk flew over and dropped something. As I went to investigate it was about 1/3 of a ptarmigan.
 
When i was 18/17. A group of us went to our hunting cabin in the early fall/late summer. When i opened the door, there was a hummingbird flying up to the cabin window glass trying to get out. I walked up to it an trapped it in my palms. The poor thing started crying as i walked outside with it.I could feel its heart beating a 100 mph. My friend couldn't believe what i had. I opened up my hands and it flew away

Just last fall, My dad and i always take the outfitters tent/boat/quad into this lake that we camp at. Catch fish and shoot some grouse and just be with each other. The very first night around 2 in the morning, we had a bull elk let out a roar from shore about 50 yards from us. The next night about the same time, a timber wolf let out a howl from the same spot.

It might have been the next afternoon. We were cooking dinner and i noticed along the shore line, a cow and calf elk came out form the bush and swam across the lake to the other side. Then another cow came out and wondered about before catching our scent and heading back.

As we were eating in our lawn chairs, i looked over my dads shoulder and sure enough. A spike horn was walking towards us. We sat still while his curiosity got the best of him. He walked around tent and sniffed around about 15 yards away from us. before finally heading to the shore line and picking up the last cows scent. My guess was that's why the first cow and calf swam across the lake.
It may have been a day or two later, but i was walking down a trail looking for birds, when coming up on another intersecting trail, was the biggest bull elk i ever have seen. Maybe 30 yards away from me. I knelt down and sat still while he crossed my path, slowly maneuvering his rack through the trees. And just like that, he was gone
It was an amazing trip. Lots of fish, a few birds and lots of wildlife. My dad and i look forward to this trip every year.
 
In the mid 90s, my father and I were hunting near Princeton BC. We were having lunch mid day at the end of a spur rd with our backs towards the bank of the rd looking downhill to our right. I heard some FAST footsteps and turned around to see and was nearly trampled when I saw a mulie doe at full throttle literally jumping right over top of us and passed running down hill. I was like wtf??? I looked in the direction of where the deer came and saw what looked like another deer coming fast. Wolf!!!! We instantly went for our guns but the wolf had noticed by that point what we were and immediately turned the other way and out of sight again full throttle. Lucky deer that day. We figured if we were not there, the deer would of got it not far from there as the wolf was very close. Will never forget that day. Also saw a grizzly chasing a moose a few years later in Hasler Valley, northern BC. Very neat to see
 
Walking home from my parents place xmas eve. Being full of xmas cheer and the path being iced over from the previous days freezing rain I was trying to be careful in where I was putting my feet. I was just turning to go on to the old lane ( that connects our properties) when a felt a woosh over my shoulder and past my ear and a glimpse of black and a flash white. Woomp!! And the image of a dear spread eagle on the ice scrambling/ spinning in search of traction. How I didn't fall or even waver was most likely due to the rum standard LOL! Evidently due to my stealthily stager I some how was unnoticed untill I was close to almost get kicked in the head by a startled dear . I never seen a flag flash so close.
 
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