Public Hunting Craziness... Off the Charts

[camelcluch]

Common occurrence here during elk season. People use their scopes to look at another person across a ridge. Nothing I like better than people pointing high powered rifles at me. Not too many orange animals here in Colorado.

[G-Patt]

Nothing terribly crazy like some of these posts, but I jumped coyote about 20 feet from me while surveying a creek. He must have heard me coming and was hiding underneath the creek bank waiting for me to pass. He was a big boy, the size of a German Shepherd. I didn't have enough time to put a bead on him. One other time, I stumbled upon an abandoned still site.

[Dewey]

Wow you guys have some crazy stories. Thankfully I never really had any issues like that. The lunatics must not like trudging through miles of marsh grass/cattails and muck/water. Tends to get rid of all the undesirables.

Worst thing I can think of is hitting the ground as slugs whistled right over my head a few times and idiots looking at me through scopes during the gun season. The morons are out in full force during the 9-day gun season. It’s amazing more people don’t get killed and the reason why I have been heading far north the last 25 years.

About 10 years ago I did come across a dead cow elk in the cattails while hunting my local marsh. Pretty shocked to see that since I’m obviously a long ways away from any elk herds. Apparently a bunch escaped from an elk farm in the area and were roaming around for quite some time. Looked like it was shot but no idea by who. Maybe the DNR killed it due to worries about CWD.

[may21581]

Hmmm a lifetime of hunting Florida swamps not sure where to start.

Old guy sitting on a two track in a chair with his 20ga propped up on his walker waiting for a deer to cross was a heck of a conversation. Pretty cool old dude. I stopped and chatted with him for about an hour. Then met him on my way out and helped him carry his chair and his shotgun back to his truck.

Had a kid fall out of his climber a few hundred yards from me sounded like bloody murder going on. Ran over to find him hanging from his harness. His Gdad showed up a minute after I got there. I went back got my climber and helped him back to his climber. His Gdad laughed for 10 minutes solid when he told us he fell asleep.

Had a guy tweeked out of his mind come up to me in my stand telling me I needed to repent or I was going to . Mind you I was 2 miles into the swamp. Ranted for 20 minutes before finally stumbling off. told the FWC officer about and he said yeah we are looking for him you are the 4th complaint today.

Found a Glock in the swamp that I turned over the PD. A week later I get a phone call about where exactly I found the pistol. The pistol had been used in 7 murders in NY. Ended up taken officers back to where i found it so they could continue their investigation.

Watched a guy sneak up on another guys turkey decoys and shoot the out of one of them. Scared the heck out of me when it actually happened. They weren't even good decoys they where just the cheap walmart rubber ones.

I wasn't hunting I was just out trail riding in the Jeep with another buddy. Driving along and there are two dudes plowing each other on the hood of a car. Never even stopped to look up. We just kept on rolling.

I have stumbled upon a man in woman meeting up in a secluded parking lot several times. Man they took off like a bat out of when they seen me coming. I'm assuming they weren't with their significant other or car pooling! Lmfao
Also drugs are bad anymore, I was told by a park ranger to be careful after dark. He said alot of the dealing is going on in these areas! Just another reason to pack a heater. That would be my luck to get tangled up in one of these situations after an evening hunt. I've heard from multiple professionals and testimonials that violence blind sides you. I guess this is how crap happens sometimes.

[Tennhunter3]

Opening morning 2017 I got to my hunting area about 3am.

Parked my car checked the weather on my phone and began putting on my hunting clothes for the Am hunt. Had a white pickup truck drive down the road and stopped beside my Suv. Guy got out of the vehicle wearing what appeared to be dark clothes and a mask asked what I was doing I told him it was deer season morning and I was going hunting.

He said no it's not started yelling and screaming for me to get out of the car with his 2 buddies still in his truck windows down. I drove over several small trees and got out of their asap. Drove 80 mph out of their incase those nuts were following.

Looked like the guys were growing drugs or something back their
in the middle of the night. I went to the warden and reported it. Warden said he would go look for them never heard another thing about it. Was a very terrifying experience.

Oftentimes now I carry a pistol with me bow hunting it's not legal here but after this experience i value my life and deserve to protect myself. I did tell the warden of the state park I would start carrying he never said anything about not letting me carry.

[Tufrthnails]

Opening morning 2017 I got to my hunting area about 3am.

Parked my car checked the weather on my phone and began putting on my hunting clothes for the Am hunt. Had a white pickup truck drive down the road and stopped beside my Suv. Guy got out of the vehicle wearing what appeared to be dark clothes and a mask asked what I was doing I told him it was deer season morning and I was going hunting.

He said no it's not started yelling and screaming for me to get out of the car with his 2 buddies still in his truck windows down. I drove over several small trees and got out of their asap. Drove 80 mph out of their incase those nuts were following.

Looked like the guys were growing drugs or something back their
in the middle of the night. I went to the warden and reported it. Warden said he would go look for them never heard another thing about it. Was a very terrifying experience.

Oftentimes now I carry a pistol with me bow hunting it's not legal here but after this experience i value my life and deserve to protect myself. I did tell the warden of the state park I would start carrying he never said anything about not letting me carry.

I got so bad here that I guess it was about 5 years ago they changed the laws on carrying during archery season WMAs. Guys were getting jacked coming out of the stand at night.

[G-Patt]

Wow you guys have some crazy stories. Thankfully I never really had any issues like that. The lunatics must not like trudging through miles of marsh grass/cattails and muck/water. Tends to get rid of all the undesirables.

Worst thing I can think of is hitting the ground as slugs whistled right over my head a few times and idiots looking at me through scopes during the gun season. The morons are out in full force during the 9-day gun season. It’s amazing more people don’t get killed and the reason why I have been heading far north the last 25 years.

About 10 years ago I did come across a dead cow elk in the cattails while hunting my local marsh. Pretty shocked to see that since I’m obviously a long ways away from any elk herds. Apparently a bunch escaped from an elk farm in the area and were roaming around for quite some time. Looked like it was shot but no idea by who. Maybe the DNR killed it due to worries about CWD.

I would soil my pants if someone was shooting slugs at me. Man, glad you're still on this earth. We just had 2 hunters (a father and a son) shot during our turkey opener. They both survived but badly injured. Some fool with 35 poaching convictions, seven of which were felonies, unloaded on these people thinking they were turkeys. I avoid public lands during deer gun and turkey season. Too many idiots with little bitty brains and big guns out there. It's really unfortunate because I would love to gun hunt our public lands.

[Singing Bridge]

Worst thing I can think of is hitting the ground as slugs whistled right over my head a few times and idiots looking at me through scopes during the gun season. The morons are out in full force during the 9-day gun season. It’s amazing more people don’t get killed and the reason why I have been heading far north the last 25 years.

I hide too, Dewey... it can get pretty bad out there. A friend of mine on opening day of Michigan's gun season jumped a doe from her bed next to a stump (he wasn't trying to...). 2 different guys opened up on her with their rifles from 2 different sides... he hasn't hunted public land since.

[Singing Bridge]

When hunting pressure gets crazy here in Michigan, for example during the gun opener... I head deep into the interior of huge cedar swamps... so do the mature bucks that have made it through a few seasons... I kill 2 birds with one stone. Hunters are afraid of huge conifer swamps and they leave both the bucks and I alone.

Bridge

[d_rek]

I wasn't deer hunting but foraging in Michigan's Pigeon River forest 3 years ago with my BIL. We both found a goldmine of morels and were bent over stuffing a few sacks for better part of an hour. Then I hear my BIL call my name softly and I look up and he's pointing behind me where maybe 10 yards were 2 cow elk and 1 calf. They were so big I about crapped myself, but held my composure and just stood like a statue. They looked at us, sniffed the air a bit, but paid no mind and kept on moving along and browsing. How they snuck up on us i'll never know.