Close or scary encounters in the dark??

[wolverinebuckman]

I had one close call skunk encounter last year, and this year after doing some evening glassing I was walking out and had some coyotes howling and making a lot of ruckus behind me, staying about a hundred yards behind me the whole mile walk out. That was a bit creepy.

The one that really got me happened my first time hunting up north. I was like 12, and I had quite a walk from the stand to my uncle's car, so I didn't wait till dark. Yes I was a chicken, and nearly a mile away from everybody else that was hunting.
Anyway, as I was walking down a path, a large heavy rustling began to my right, heading straight towards the path. I froze and nocked an arrow, by the time the rustling got just off the path, my heart was beating in my throat and I could barely take a breath. Suddenly, this huge porcupine burst out about 20 feet in front of me. I nearly soiled myself! ( I couldn't remember if they could shoot their quills or not)... He was cool, and he just wandered off the other side of the path and on his way.

[Cuzzinfish]

Never been “scared” in the sense I feared for my life or anything. Bears and coyotes and such don’t really do that for me.

However, I almost pissed my pants one night when a fox snuck in on a rainy evening and screamed less than 10 yards behind me. Talk about your heart beating out your chest.

[Boogieman1]

Never been “scared” in the sense I feared for my life or anything. Bears and coyotes and such don’t really do that for me.

However, I almost pissed my pants one night when a fox snuck in on a rainy evening and screamed less than 10 yards behind me. Talk about your heart beating out your chest.

Reminds me of when I was a kid hunting in mountain lion country. One morning in the dark I jumped a covey of quail! Believe I dropped my weapon and was high stepping over the brush lol

[PK_]

Banana spider to the face.

[matt1336]

I’ve been concerned with an aggressive bull in the pasture. I’ve also had bears bluff charge and snap their jaw at me as I walked out after bear hunting. The bulls really concerned me. It was foggy and I couldn’t see five feet in front of me. I could hear them walking around and snorting tho

[bowhuntr09]

Anyone ever have any spooky or scary encounters in the dark while hunting?? Either walking in in the morning or walking out in the evening?? Strange noises, predators etc.?? I guess I never really have but I'm sure some forum members have!

I was walking into my stand in the dark. It was a bright moon so I was not using a light. I was going through a cutover to hunt on a creek where some trees remained. I heard something get up just 10 yards in front of me, but it did not run like a deer typically would. I reached in my pocket and got my light and there stood a black bear. He/she didn't appear to have any interest in leaving and it was between me and where I needed to go. I slowly started backing away and speaking in a clear voice so it would hopefully realize I was human and run. Eventually I heard it crash of through the brush and I waited until daylight and went on to my stand. My head was on a swivel the rest of the morning but I never saw it again. I was hoping it would come through because bear season was open and I was ready.

[Swampbuck]

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.

Boogie, its definitely one of two things that could have happened. You walked into one of the time portals that bigfoot used.

Or, aliens abducted you for a short while and didnt put you back in the right spot.

That is pretty strange for sure tho

[Dewey]

Sounds like an alien abduction to me Boogie. Did you have any probe marks on your body?

[Scratchman]

Not scary but close. I was sneaking through some low pines one morning in grey light. I was almost crawling, when something moved about 3 feet in front of me. It was a yearling doe just looking at me. We looked at each othe for several seconds and she just skipped away.

[Cuzzinfish]

If you want a “close encounter” then I can say I’ve had a UFO experience. “UFO” in the sense of seeing a flying object I can’t identify and it did something weird.

It was about a half-hour before sunset. I was standing on my porch enjoying the breeze and the view. I didn’t live on the lake but it was all downhill so I could easily see Lake Erie on the horizon.

As I was standing there I caught sight of a solid green light hovering motionless. I could see it had depth like any object would because of the sliver of a shadow under the light.

It stayed there for approximately 30 seconds and then dived vertically down. It traveled about 1/2 way to the horizon and then disappeared. And I mean completely gone.

I stood there trying to make sense of it and was ready to write it off as lightning bug or some weird light trick when a military helicopter flew from the south over my house and toward that area less than 5 minutes later.

[Boogieman1]

Sounds like an alien abduction to me Boogie. Did you have any probe marks on your body?

No probes but a heck of a wtf just happened look on my face lol. Personally don't believe in any of those shinanagins but what happened on that day even my imagination can't explain. True story fellas believe it or not. And when I looked in the rear view mirror there was a hook! Just j/k but it did happen and I was all out of peyote so I know for certain I wasn't in the spirit world!

[Robert501st]

Besides an Iraqi insurgent bumping right into me as he was sneaking backwards out a doorway? That was fun...

I’ve walked up on coyotes or they walked up to me within touching distance while going in or coming out in the dark. Heard more than one bear woof close by in the predawn hours. Best however was back when I was about 20 on a full moon morning following Halloween night. Had just climbed into the tree stand an hour before first light and was attaching the safety belt when a screech owl that couldn’t have been more than five feet away let out with a loud blood curdling shriek that sounded like a baby having its head torn off. Lets just say I should have worn a diaper...

[Jhand]

I had one kinda weird incident. I have shared it on here before I think. I was hunting a small piece of private land I had just gotten access to. It was the beginning of November my first time hunting it. Picked out a spot from aerials and had never hunted this one side of the property. I got out real early in the morning so I could take my time getting in. It was a real foggy morning and I was cutting through a small grass field. I didnt have my headlamp on and was just trying to use the moon light.

I'm walking about half way in the field and I hear something in front of me and off to the right. I freeze and look but dont see anything. The foggy was thick and I could only see a few yards in front of me. I wait a minute thinking its probably a deer. I didnt hear anything so I slowly started moving again. Then I see something moving out of the corner of my eye. I get a glance of something white and I'm thinking I just saw the biggest piebald deer and he's like 10 yards away from me. I figure I was busted so I turn and slowly take a step forward. Then I see it and he's standing right there, I make out a big body standing in the fog. I decided to turn on my light since this is probably the biggest deer I have ever seen close up. I reach for my light, and he doesn't move... hit the button... and the light hits him... then I see a white donkey standing about 5 feet in front of me.. I don't know who was more scared me or him lol..
I get setup a few hundred yards away and when day breaks I can see and hear this donkey just wondering around in the field. If I would have seen the property before I would have probably changed my access to go around that field.

[NEbowman]

My second season hunting, first time ever bear hunting was a few years ago. I had no idea what I was doing. I walked to my bait around 4:30am, like I would for a deer hunt. About halfway to my stand my head lamp passes over a large dark shadow and I see two eyes staring a hole through me. I keep my headlamp on the large shadow and eyes staring at me for about 15 minutes, clutching the 44 mag on my hip. I start thinking, "man this bear is just waiting to pounce, what's taking so long?" I begin slowly inching forward, handgun trembling in my right hand. When I got to within 5-10 yards of the bear I realized it was a large Boulder with two pieces of mica reflecting off the light from my head lamp

[E72]

My son and I were out scouting a piece of public last week and we stopped for a break. I was telling him I recently read about a guy from PA who was hiking and got bit by a rattler. A few minutes later we were walking back to the truck through a thick CRP field ..... My son was behind me and he lets out a yell then runs past me like hes shot from a cannon! With a white face ... he said ...DAD...HUGE snake was right under me! I went back to investigate and sure enough a 5' rat snake laying in the grass. May be his last summer scouting trip !