Public Hunting Craziness... Off the Charts

[Singing Bridge]

What are some of the craziest things we've seen while hunting public land? Heck, public or private...

Years back, my father came across a guy on public land hunting whitetails with a .375 H&H Magnum. The cartridge is about 3 times the size of a .270 and is an elephant gun. It is considered to be the smallest caliber of the "charge stoppers" for an elephant. It would go through a tree, through you and keep going...

My dad knew that no one would believe him. He asked the guy if he could have one of his cartridges and the guy obliged. My dad brought it back to camp in northern Michigan and everyone was stunned !! We passed it around and viewed it for many years afterward.

How about it- what kind of crazy things have you come across during your hunting career??

Bridge

[JAK]

Years back we were doing some deer drives on public. And on r way out we came across a guy in orange laying on the ground. So not knowing really what to think one of the guys in the group went to see if everything was alright. The guy ended up to just be takeing a nap . probly not the best place for that .

[mspaci]

watched an old guy try & lob slugs 300 yards in a field. Smooth bore just a bead sight, doe I remember just stood there, he fired like 10 ties. Mike

[stash59]

Not on public, but pressured private. I still wasn't even old enough to hunt yet, maybe 8 y.o. Opening morning of gun had my dad, older brother and some neighbor friends hunting in a neighboring county. A bunch of us kids and the women were at our house, inside.

We heard a gunshot, close. Then heard men talking and another gunshot right by the house. Some not so law abiding neighbors had shot a buck right by the house. From their car. The buck actually ran into he house and broke off one side of it's forkhorn rack that had caught in the siding. They had to finish it off as it lay against the house. I can still picture the bloodstained trail on the leaves from where they drug it to their cars on the road.

To say the least the women folk were upset. A couple of them went out and gave them an earful. The hunters had also already been drinking. Then when my dad and the other men got home they had a "neighborly" chat with them. They couldn't be sure but it kinda sounded like they had actually shot toward the house with their first shot! Takes all kinds of people.

[A5BLASTER]

Let's see where to start.

The weirdest thing I have seen would be on opening morning of gun season 3 years ago. I hunted deep in a oak ridge bout 1 1/2 back but used a pipeline to make some of the walk quicker. I come out at noon only to find a grand total of 27 diffrent people on the pipeline hunting.

And from where I parked too where I turned in at the end of the pipeline is only 400 yards.

So I'm walking back and there is a young woman sitting in a fold up chair reading a book and nursing a baby, right in the middle of all these rednecks with loaded high power rifles.

Her old man who was hunting was off in the brush taking a leak.

I get to my truck only to find I was so boxed in I would have had to drive down the pipeline throw a private deer lease that borders the wma I hunt.

I had to call the wardens and he drove down the pipeline and escorted me out back to the other road in the center of the wma.

I have found pot feilds, meth shops, a cemetery and several Indian mounds, lots of flint arrow heads.

But the woman breast feeding the baby is the craziest thing I have seen.

[Sailfish_WC]

Breast feeding?
Lol my gosh

[Josh_S]

When scouting I bumped a bedded sheep

[Tufrthnails]

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.

[Crazinamatese]

Almost 10 years ago a friend and I during bow season decided to check out some public areas. In one section we found what appeared to be a hobo camp. A tarp shelter with fire pit, clothes line. No one was there at the time... We talked to some other hunters weeks later who have hunted that same section and they told us this story about a scraggly old man with long dirty hair and beard that they saw wandering through the woods but naked one afternoon out there.

[Singing Bridge]

Almost 10 years ago a friend and I during bow season decided to check out some public areas. In one section we found what appeared to be a hobo camp. A tarp shelter with fire pit, clothes line. No one was there at the time... We talked to some other hunters weeks later who have hunted that same section and they told us this story about a scraggly old man with long dirty hair and beard that they saw wandering through the woods but naked one afternoon out there.

Prolly taking a shower in the lake? lol

Lots of craziness out there. I may have to speak of Gandolph before this thread is done!

[218er]

I’m jealous. These are great. Make shift meth kitchen or just old people mumbling about are my two best.

[hunter_mike]

I was eating lunch in the public hunting land parking lot when a guy pulls up and starts chatting. He said he hit a buck last night and is going to go blood track it. I offered an hour of my time, said i could help track for a while. Well we get back to where he shot the deer and i notice there are some pheasant hunters out walking around. No big deal, they are pretty far away. We blood track a while and it turns into kind of a grid search. I am on the opposite side of the thicket when i hear the guy yelling. Cant really hear what he says except "come here". I finally get over there and he says "i just shot a dog". I said what!!!??? "i shot someones dog". Sure enough i walk to the dog, a yellow lab and he is bleeding out both sides, looks like a liver shot. Arrow passed right through him. I am just in disbelief. Then i hear the guys whistling and hollering for the dog. He says "here hold my bow". I said no. Then he sets the bow down and picks up the dog and starts running for the road. ( i did pick up the bow then, just hesitated to grab and hold a weapon that was used to shoot someones dog). The guy finally gets to the two guys who owned the dog and their reaction was just about the way you could imagine. They were good guys, they didnt even swear i dont think. But they did freak out as much as anyone would. I gave the one guy a fast ride to his vehicle. They loaded up the dog and took him to the vet. I followed and made sure the guy who shot the dog followed all the way to the vet. At the vet, I gave the dog owners my contact info and told them feel free to call me. Then i left. I couldnt even believe that happened.

I was told the dog died shortly after making it to the vet and all the nurses were crying in the vets office. I later had a few long phone chats with the dog owner. I felt so bad for him and his family losing their dog.

The guy ended up having to pay restitution and I got a letter in the mail saying that I was to contact the authorities if the guy tried to contact me.

[greenhorndave]

That’s a brutal one Mike. Not good.

[matt1336]

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.

Holly cow....I laughed pretty hard at that one. Wouldn’t they have to take turns tho?

[Uncle Lou]

I was in the U P's Garden Peninsula we must have gotten too close to someones cash crop while fall turkey hunting. A gentleman on a quad asked me and my brother to leave the area in a hurry. We obliged.