Unique experiences while hunting deer in the stand

[lynchpin]

We have all experienced odd or crazy things in everyday life, but what about sitting on the stand? I would like to hear some stories ... it's getting close to that time of year again and would love to hear some interesting happenings on the stand. Tell us what you got...even if it is a little embarrassing


I don't have anything too crazy myself, but my most recent unique experience was while hunting state land here in Iowa. It was 2008 - my first year of bow hunting in 15 years. I was a novice - as the story reveals. Ten minutes outside of town there is large state park - used primarily for hiking and canoe access. The property has a lot of recreational use, but approximately 400 - 500 acres are reserved for hunting. With my enthusiasm for hunting at an all-time high, I ventured into the woods. Unfortunately, I neglected to review the hiking trail maps... and came to regret it. I entered the state land at the far side of the property - hoping to stay away from foot traffic. Well you guessed it - I managed to position myself in a tree within 40 yards of a hiking path. It was early October, so with the vegetation still thick, I didn't realize the trail was within eye-shot from my tree stand. Settled in and ready for the hunt, within twenty minutes I began to see quite a bit of activity - of the human kind! As I watched in embarrassment, two hikers ran their dogs, bird watchers... bird watched, and two hippy college students filled the forest air with the fragrance of dope and non-stop giggling. As I watched this display of humanity, part of me felt that I should alert the people I was there...but I remained quite - just as if I were watching deer. To my surprise, even with all of the commotion, I managed to see a decent 2 year old buck come up from the ridge point. So all was not lost. Needless to say, I reviewed the trail maps before my next venture back to that location.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I wrote this in our articles section a few months back. It happened a few years back but crazy nonetheless.

viewtopic.php?f=159&t=19183

[Crazinamatese]

I remember a few years ago while on stand one afternoon I kept seeing little yellow things in the ravine moving about on the ground. I didn't bring any binos to get a close look. I thought it was rather strange. A little later I seen one of these littke yellow things coming in my direction. I sat still and waited. It was a squirrel carrying a whole cob of dried corn in it's mouth. He came closer until he started climbing my tree. His nest was way up above me and he still had that cob in his mouth. Pretty impressive I thought. Until I moved, he saw me, dropped his cob and he took off down into the ravine, not to the next tree, but all the way into the ravine. This cornfield was on the neighbor's land about a half mile away. These rodents worked hard to get to that corn bring it back to their nests. I felt kinda bad that I spoiled that little squirrels hard work. Not too unique but made me appreciate the lengths animals will go to make a living.

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[Maple_Ridge]

Many years ago when i first started bowhunting, I headed back on a 120 acre timber parcel to hunt. About half way back, I decided to take a leak. Put my bow down and did what I had to do. Then, here comes this 1 YO buck crashing through, bout 10-15 yards away. I couldnt believe it.... Back then that was a shooter buck, so I was kinda disappointed....haha

Last year, I had a chickadee land on my arrow. Will see if I can find the picture

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[Southern Man]

There was a small farm I hunted a few years ago. It had an easement road that bordered the north side that gave access to a land locked farm behind the one I was hunting. The only traffic it got was the farmer and that was very little. The deer routinely crossed the easement road like it wasn't there. Where the road came out on the highway there was a trailor. An old man and his young wife bought it. They had a couple very young kids and I'd see them occasionally come up the easement road. He would ride a riding lawnmower, pullin a wagon with the kids in it and she would walk along beside them. They were nice people. I was told she had to many bad experiences with meth and it left her a bit odd.

Anyway, one day I was hunting a stand just off the easement road and I heard her coming. I had 4 does between me and the road, the does being 10 yards from it. This lady came dancing along, singin, and talkin with the birds, squirrels, trees, pretty much anything she seen. She hopped and skippied, slingin her arms, talkin and singin away. She didn't see me, but did see the deer, spoke to them and carried on down the road. The deer just stood there, picked around, and really showed no sign of fear at all. It seemed to the deer she was nothing more than a squirrel or a turkey. I was impressed. But at the same time it was kind of creepy. I left at dark and she was still back there somewhere, she never came back by while I was there.

A song by John Prine came to mind where he sang about people that "Live thru life's in-betweens" She was there. Not makin fun of her at all, she was always nice to me. It was a good evening.

[Haus86]

Several years ago I was sitting over a pond when a raccoon came wandering in. I watched him drink from the pond, turn to head back from where he came, and then suddenly tip over and die.

Another time, I was sitting in a tree during a morning hunt. A couple hours had passed, before I looked down and was startled by a big brown blob lying right next to my tree. It took me a little time to figure out what was going on before I realized it was a dead doe that someone had shot and not recovered. I missed stepping on her by feet when I walked in to my stand.

[phade]

I was hunting in a 10 acre woodlot and it was right around Nov. 4-5. I have a few stands in that lot. Sitting in one I can see another ladder stand of mine. I watch two bucks get up from their bed about 60 yards from my position and head toward the other stand. I was out of the action this hunt and time was winding down in the evening. But, they were pretty fired up with one another, sign posting away. They walked 10-20 yards, sign posted, and repeated. Right toward the other stand. One buck hit on a small tree that was growing right next to the ladder stand I was not in, and by this time the sign posting had elevated to thrashing - you know the kind - lots of noise. Well, he hit that small tree and all you heard was his rack tink tink tink tinking against my ladder. I mean it sounded like someone was hitting it was a ball peen hammer repeatedly.

I checked out the stand the next morning and I still have the marks from that buck on it 7-8 years later.

[Maple_Ridge]

Just remembered another...

A neighbor rescued a fawn that its mother had been hit by a car on the highway.

He kind of raised it.....but it was still free range. It grew up into an adult doe....and frequented the neighbors and property I hunt. He put an orange collar on her neck, and we all knew to not shoot it.

It was cool to see....we could stop in to his place, and see the doe. Very tame.

I hunted one morning, and she came through. Sniffed around the tree and stand I was in. And kept going. Can't beat a live decoy! Lol only time that ever happened though

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[Bigb]

I think two years ago when I was 20 feet in the air right around the end of shooting light. I heard something to my left and stared that way for a while. When I looked back to my right, a hawk was about 3 feet from my face coming in at full speed. He must have thought I was a squirrel. He pulled up about 12 inches from my face. I didn't wear a safety harness that night, I haven't been caught in the woods without one since.

Also was gun hunting in Michigan on a cool, blue bird sky with no wind. At about 930 I hear a crack and a 60 foot tall tree decides to fall about 5 feet from me. There was no wind at all that day. Scared the heck out of me.

Last one, three years ago shot the biggest buck of my life. I let the arrow fly and he ran off. Within a minute some kid comes walking down the path I walk in on. He had no idea I was there. He was going to hop a fence and trespass on the neighboring land and he was trespassing on mine. He had no idea I was in the tree and when I said, "can I help you" when he was 15 feet from the tree I honestly think he crapped himself. He turned around and ran out of there. The neighboring land hasn't had a problem with trespassing since.

[lynchpin]

Great stories.... But just as I suspected ... No Sasquatch stories...but keep them coming... Enjoying them all.

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[Slong]

Before high school I lived in Georgia and was hunting with my family that weekend. My dad had dropped me off at a ladder stand in a freshly planted field. Near dark I kept hearing a sound like a baby crying when suddenly a panther walked out not 20 yards in front of me and sat down and watched me. It completely freaked me out as I had no idea those things were even in Georgia.
It turned dark and I could no longer see it. My dad drove to the edge of the field and honked his horn for me to come. I didn't move. I waited for them to walk in and get me. I've never seen one since.

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[headgear]

One fall northern MN got invaded by Gray Owls from Canada, they ran out of food up north and came down by the thousands. It wasn't unusual to see several a day and many claimed to see dozens perched along the highway. Come deer season they were all over the place and were amazing to watch. Of course one time I got this funny feeling and took a quick peek behind me only to see a big gray owl 15 feet away from my head and closing fast. I threw my arms up and yelled and thankfully the bird turned at the last second and sat in a tree 20 feet away. Knowing I spooked all deer in the area I gave him a few waves and tried to calm myself down. Been a few instances since then I have had "owl flashbacks" on stand.

A few other critter experiences:

One cold rifle season on an all day sit I had to take a walk to warm up, after my return I decided to have some lunch only to find either a mouse or mole raided my lunch. Little punk chewed a whole through my sandwich, opened up all my candy bars, opened a bag of cookies, and nibbled on my jerky! I guess Christmas came early for him. I ate around the edges and threw everything else on the ground for him and his buddies.

If you have never been surrounded by flying squirrels its quite the experience, I've had them zipping around me in every direction. Very entertaining critters but like owls they are more fun at a distance, had a few buzz me in tight and they are good for a scare.

And finally a salute to our competition, if you've never seen a wolf in the wild they are amazing creatures. Always on the move and often like deer and other animals they rarely make a sound. Almost like ghosts they appear and are gone in an instant.

[Brad]

Back in 2005 I was hunting after an early ice storm where there was like an 8th of an inch of ice on everything, trees, bushes, treestand and steps. A squirrel came along and started jumping from branch to branch up about 60 feet in a big tree. He took a big jump from one tree to the other that must have been about 5 or ten feet and when he grabbed the branch he slipped and fell to the ground and I mean he bounced like 3 feet. He laid there for like 45 minutes and would kick a foot every now and then and then lay motionless for a couple minutes. After 45 minutes or an hour he kind of woke up groggy like, got up, looked around and went off like nothing happened. I think he knocked himself out.

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[trdtnlbwhntr]

Before my great grandpa passed away, my father and I used to hunt his farm. One early morning I was on stand between a food source and bedding area. I could see into a field about 150 yards away something kept rolling around. As the sun came up I noticed the thing was redish in color and it would run then roll and run and roll. They layed motionless. Curiosity got the best of me so I began a slow stalk around the end of the field and up over a small rise. As I crested the hill a red fox was staring me in the face. His left front paw was caught in a trespassers trap. I figured the trapper didn't earn it so I tried to free the fox. My initial move was to push one of my cedar arrows into its jaws and force it away from me so that I could undo the spring on the trap. When he chomped into my arrow I knew that wasn't going to be enough. So I retreated and grabbed a branch with a Y in it. I shoved that in his mouth and pushed him away from me, extending his leg out. I stepped on one side of the trap and pushed the other side with my free hand just enough to let his leg loose. He took a step back to remove the stick from his mouth and looked right into my eyes. We might have been 3 paces away from each other. Its one of those moments you feel extremely in tuned with nature. He bounded away about 30 yards and stopped and turned back towards me and sat down like a dog. I just sat there in awe as he turned and walked away into the brush.

I have had multiple opportunities to bow shoot fox since then, but I have absolutely no desire. That guy there proved that animals can sense danger to me. He knew I was of no harm to him and in his own way he thanked me for letting him go. Ill never forget that.

[trdtnlbwhntr]

Reading the post about wolves, reminded me of my first and only bear hunt. I remember sitting over a bait in Canada as dark closed in around me. Then out of friggin nowhere'ville wolves started howling. They could have been 10 yards or 10 miles, the skid marks in my underwear couldn't have told you the difference. I probably sounded like a clown circus leaving that stand. I had my light flashing from side to side like there was a wolf around every tree. I was supposed to wait at the trail head for my dad to pick me up. F that jazz, I walked to the highway then towards his stand location. Aint nobody got time for a wolf attack.