Close or scary encounters in the dark??

[Hilts]

I've been scared sh**less a couple times by turkeys busting out of the roost right above me at night. It's one of a racket when you aren't expecting it. Ten times worse then a grouse busting up in front of you.

I have had a pack of coyotes circle me and follow me out of the woods. That was a little spooky.

We had a bear circle us, just beyond flash light range, while gutting a deer one night and then it followed us out. We weren't too worried about it but it keeps you on edge.

Timbers howling between me and my truck on the way out from my stand.

Nothing really scary but they get you nervous and can get your mind working against you.

The one scary night I had was out coon hunting when our dog got on either a bobcat or mt. lion. When we moved, it would move and when we stopped it would stop. Every time we stopped to listen we would here this blood curdling(sp?) scream type sound from it and then the hound. We couldn't ever get close enough to see it. The worst part was our dumb asses only had one flashlight for 3 guys. I ran into a barbwire fence that night going full tilt trying to catch up to it. It was an interesting hunt.

[hunt n nut]

Years ago, when I first got into bear hunting, I was video taping a friend who was after a pope n young bear. As the evening progressed a sow and two cubs came into the bait. Not long before dark a descent boar, we guessed him about 225#, My friend was thinking it would take at least a 250 pounder to make the books so he was going to pass on this bear. As he came in we found it interesting that the sow, that out weighed him by at least 50 lbs., and with cubs, was run off the bait by him. After some aggressive grunting and jaw popping the sow and cubs finally left. The boar circled the bait and proceeded to back track source of the supply of the bait, which was us. Unfortunately it was too dark for video by the time he got to the base of our trees where we left the empty bait buckets. I couldn't believe how fast that bear lunged into the 8" diameter tree right next to me that my friend was sitting in. The bear made it 40 in. within my friends feet then finally retreated. He drew back on him as he was coming up, but like I said it just wasn't the bear he was looking for. The bear climbed down and went back to the bait. After it was dark and obvious this bear wasn't going anywhere we whispered what our next move was going to be. My friend asked me to hold the flashlight on the bear while he took a shot. He carefully aimed about six inches off the bears but and let the arrow go. The bear looked at the arrow, looked up in our direction, and went back to eating He said hold the light on him again, again another arrow hit within inches of his but, but to no avail, the bear looked at the arrow, at us, scootched over and back to eating. I said to my friend, "you gotta go down there and kick his but out" It was probably goin' on a half hour well after dark and my friend took a hand full of change out of his pocket, whipped it at the bear and he finally got up and walked into the thick brush. Oh yeah, while this was going on we could still hear that sow in the brush clicking her jaws and just sounded ticked. Any way we got down he grabbed his arrows and we got the out of there. I swear I was stepping on his heals as we hurried out of there with our one dim flash light. Oh yeah, I had the hee bee gee bee's walkin' out that night!

[Black Squirrel]

My Dad always told me, The woods are the same in the dark as they are in the light! You have nothing to be worried about.

I'm going to use that with my kids, that's a good point.

[adrenalin]

I see dead people

[Singing Bridge]

I was in a tree bowhunting one time when darkness finally set in. I put my arrow quiver back on my bow, and began lowering it to the ground with a small rope. I had just dropped the rope and secured my pack when it happened…….. through the treetops I heard a loud SSSWWOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!! followed by a THHWWAAAACCCKKK!!! as some godawful creature of the night slammed into my leg at 30 miles an hour and sank its fangs in deep! (or so I thought).

GAAAABBBAAAAWAAAAHHH!!! I screamed like a little girl while spinning and twisting and falling down onto my stand (how I didn’t fall out of the tree is amazing, as back then I didn’t wear a safety harness).

When it was over, I realized a damn flying squirrel (nocturnal squirrels!) had mistook my leg for a tree limb!
I’ve had a number of similar episodes over the years, guess I’m real lucky when it comes to this kind of stuff.

[Stuart]

Dan that was one of the only articles that I have not read and another great one!!!

[GRUD]

As a teenager I was bowhunting a semi remote swampy part of town. There was at that time only one house way back off the road. One evening after dark I decided to walk up out of the swamp and just walk the field edge back to my truck about 1/2 mile away. Only a few steps down the field edge I hear big dogs barking and running right at me. As they closed in to about 20 yards I could see two large bodied dogs and I didn't have anywhere to go, they were on me. Only option was to call their bluff, I raised my bow and charged and yelled at them, Luckily they turned tail for home. Whew!

[GFY Camp]

While tent camping in the Nicolet National Forest east of Three lakes I got up to take a leak in the middle of the night. This area is known for a very active wolf pack. Two dogs have been killed by Wolfs within 2 miles of our camp. There also is a pretty decent bear pop there as well. Well standing there at full stream and all of a sudden something large is walking the edge of the woods. I'll tell you what, I pinched that off quick and scurried back in the tent. Not idea what it was.

[<DK>]

bump

One of my first times out on public land alone I went out for an evening hunt. A large track of 1000ft hills and timber. My access was poor, bumped some deer. Pretty much an un-eventful night hunting. Darkness came and it was time to head back. I really dont care for the dark, especially far from home in the middle of nowhere. Walking out, I used a creek w banks about eye level. All of a sudden I hear really loud crunching and it was coming straight towards me, eye level. I shined the flashlight that direction but couldnt see anything and it kept getting closer and louder. I figured it was a coyote... Since I dont really carry a pistol I took an arrow out of the quiver and was getting ready for something crazy to happen. It kept getting faster and closer.

It was an armadillo... Scared the heck out of me!

[elk yinzer]

Place we hunt in Ohio you have to cross a cow pasture. I was just about through and I hear running footsteps behind me. I kicked it in gear and hopped the fence in one stride with bow in hand and summit on my back just in the nick of time. I don't like cows.

First time I heard a bobcat scream I knew what it was but it was still eerie as heck. Man is that a weird sound.

Scouting a public property when I lived in Pittsburgh and these two mangy pitbulls started following me. I was unarmed and a little uneasy but I tried to stay calm and look tough. Pretty sure they were sizing me up for dinner.

Don't like coming across people in the dark. Been a few times I'll meet someone along the trail or back in the parking lot and in the dark that always puts me a little on edge. I never carry but I probably should.

[fr0sty]

My daughter and I climbed up into a box blind at 0 dark 30 (gun opening) and when I pulled off the propped up plywood door, a large critter which I assume was a raccoon came blasting out of the blind, over the plywood in my hand and over the side of the blind. It happened so fast I didn't have enough time to be scared!
'

[Drenalin]

I had been scouting a new area late one evening, and had run into a juvenile bear about an hour before dark. Which is no big deal, I have a reputation for running into bears. Anyway, I gave him the ole "Hey bear!" and he scampered off. I'm heading out right at dusk, and I've got to pass a pretty big blackberry thicket right up against the trail I'm on. As I get broadside to it, some humongous black monster comes thrashing out of the blackberries just a few feet away . I freaked thinking I was being charged by the biggest black bear God ever stretched a patch of skin over, and turned to fend it off with my walking stick (I go well-heeled). Turns out my attacker was just an ordinary black cow. Should have known it, cows all over near there and just happened to be one out playing games that night. Never had any legit trouble out of any of the bears I've seen in the woods. But I sure hate cows.

[Boogieman1]

I had a dream once where I ate the worlds largest marshmallow and I woke up missing my pillow if that counts

This ones true that baffles me to this day. I got bad lost in the dark once that is unexplainable! Property was less than 40 acres and I got more lost than 2 mother scrunchers. It was a easy route, I would park and follow one of the perimeter fences until it hit a creek then hang a right in the creek bed and I had one trail marker where I would pop over the bank an scoodley doo up my tree.

The day in question is the strangest thing I have ever encountered. It was prime rut and I stayed out of the area all year and was planning an all day sit. Got there early to give myself plenty of time to ease in to my stand. What happened next I have no explanation for!

Walking in the dark I see head lights and hear traffic buzzing by. I'm wondering wtf next thing I know I cross a ditch and pop out on the side of the highway. I'm 5 miles from where I parked. I had to wait until daylight to figure out where in the heck I was. I know how long it takes me to get to that stand and I certainly did not walk 5 miles nor was I up all night partying with some Columbian bam bam. I would have to had crossed over 5 property fences and I didn't cross any. Took me until after lunch to make it back to the truck. To this day I don't know what happened. I still hunt the place and have never had another prob.

[Beastintraining]

Well my encounter was in the dark but not with anything living, just a little ice.....my friend and I were up in Central PA driving up a dirt road to the top of the mountain to hunt his families property for rifle. We are about 100yds from the summit and all of a sudden my truck stops moving but I am hitting the gas.....then my truck starts going backwards and spinning.....on the drivers side is the high side of the mountain and on the passenger side is the shear drop off for the down side of the mountain. The front end is trying to spin and face downhill and its pushing the backend towards the drop off and I am pumping the breaks like crazy. Finally after a 200yd slide the breaks catch and we stop. I slam it in park and hop out. My rear passenger side tire is hanging in thin air off the drop off. My buddy and I push my truck to the highside of the road and I drive back down the mountain half in the ditch incase we slide again so I can just put my truck into the dirt to stop it. I will say that was a slight adrenaline rush.....I feel for my buddy because he was asleep when we started to slide and I woke him up yelling "oh crap, oh crap!"

[<DK>]

These two threads are some great reads, figured id post a link so they can go together
Scary Encounters - viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6900