Speaking of walking to the stand

[huntfish]

The spider web thread got me thinking. Walking into a stand in the early morning can be a little spooky. What, if any, event spooked you during your walk in?

For me, it occured in Colorado. I was walking across some CRP land to set up for some speed goats. There was a full moon so I wasn't using my flashlight. All of the sudden, I hear some hissing. I stop, it stops. Take another step, the hissing gets louder. Pull out my flashlight and what do I see?..........










One very agitated Badger within 1 foot. I'm sure I woke up the whole county.

 

[slightly grayling]

I guess mine was similar.....

but I never could get a light on what was making the noise.....when it was light enough to see I made out two skunks waddling around...man I'm glad I didn't get sprayed!

 

[Branchminnow]

Ill have to say that one will be hard to top but here goes and I think I have posted this before, me and my huntin buddy were going down an old woodss road and it was before daylight well he and I never use a flashlight any way but we usually keep one with us but as we were walking we kept hearing something moving beside us on the road, we did not know what it was and pretty much ignored it for a while but in a few minutes I looked at him and said"what do you reckon that is ?" and he replied "I dont know" well I started digging around in my pockets and finally find my flashlight (the batteries were about gone) and shine the light on a polecat that was in the process of turning around and putting the crosshairs on us.

To say the least the two of us ran like a couple of little girls all the way back to the truck and found another place to hunt that morning.

 

[dutchman]

Apart from a flock or two of turkeys peeking the bark off of their roost trees in the dark or a possum sitting in my stand, I dont reckon' I've ever had anything startle me too badly.

 

[Nugefan]

I think the 1 that got me the most was a Grouse get up while walking along the mountain trail , my friend and I both almost jumped down the mountain....

had a box stand built once and as I climbed 1 morning 2 squirrels jumped out of the box......just as my head cleared the floor so I could see into the box the last 1 came running out and almost used my noggin' for a spring board.....

I ain't skeered but ......sometimes things happen that will make ya soil the shorts huh ?

 

[rip18]

I went to help a guy find a deer one night. He was kinda scared of his shadow in the dark anyway. We were walking in to the stand & each of us passed on the opposite side of a small clump of huckleberries (we were less than 2 to 3 feet apart. A covey of quail erupted from the clump with some birds flying into both of us. It frightened me, but BOY did it ever do a number on him. That is one of the funniest things that I have EVER seen or heard!

 

[deerhunter401]

mine would be the time i was taken my son out for a deerhunt. it was in the early morning and we where about half way up this moutain we were climb'n. well we started to walk into a ceder thicket and all of a sudden about 40 turkeys fly off the roost about ten feet in front of us. i nearly jumped out my skin and i can only amagin how my son felt.

 

[SouthPaw Draw]

The most startled I've been is walking to the stand and jump a covey of quail also. Had another experience last season while removing feeders in August. Myself and another club member were taking down our 5 gallon plastic feeders. When we went to take the lid off the feeder to emtpy the remaining corn out, a squirrel had chewed a hole in the plastic bucket and gotten in there. When I removed the lid he ran right up my arm to my back and jumped into a tree. My blood pressure was definitely up after that encounter! I would have given anything to have a video of that!

 

[fatboy84]

Turkeys get my vote. Had them fly off the roost and sounded like they were gonna knock the trees around us down.

 

[Just 1 More]

QUAIL... The devils bird

 

[UGAalum13]

Had a screech owl cut loose on me one morning and I screamed right back at it. It still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I think about it.

 

[HT2]

Hogs.........

They have flat scared the fool out of me before goin' into the woods and leavin' the woods too........

They weren't terribly close, but I think I startled them as much as they did me........

Kinda made me wondered if I needed a new pair of "fruit of the looms"........

 

[Joe Moran]

One morning, I walked in with my climber on my back. I used a flashlight the whole way in. As I got to the tree that I was gonna hang my climber in, I turned off the light.

I'm facing the tree, & before I could get the thing off my back, I hear something big steadily walking towards me from the other side of the tree.

It gets closer & closer, & I let it get almost right in front of me. I clicked on my flashlight for a second, & I'm standing face to face with a 4 point buck!

He stood up on his hind legs, & I turned the light off & jumped back.

That buck never ran off! He stood there a minute, & then circled around me & continued on his merry way!

That tore me up that morning!

 

[SPITCAN]

Never seen anybody crap their pants over a squirrel....or should I say panties?

 

[MSU bowhunter]

I was walking out of the stand one day from a huge bottom (had to walk a long ways...couldn't drive in) and an owl hooted when I was right under it; being about 12 years old, it gave me a good scare.

 

[DSGB]

I've 'bout ruined a set or two of drawers when I jumped a covey of quail.
Last year, I had just got settled in my stand. It's pitch black and still about an hour before sunrise. I thought I heard something fly by but didn't see anything. A few minutes passed and all of a sudden......WHOOOOOOOOOOO! An owl had perched two trees over from me and 'bout made me jump out of the stand.

 

[crappie fisher]

I have a good one i was about 13 yrs old I left the house about a hr before sun up.I walked across the road opened the gait closed it took about 6 or so step and ran into something as i feel backwards it snorted all i could feel was something cold and wet on my face. I jumped up and was running bamm i forgot about the closed gate. While I was laying on the ground for the second time I realized well it was my horse that i just ran into. I will never forget that as long as i live

 

[Woodsman]

Joe Moran........

Had the same thing happen to me. My hunting buddy and I had filmed a hunt one night. We had seen a few small bucks about an hour before dark. Well we get down, remove the lock ons and get ready to walk out. We did not have our lights on so we could slip out. We get about 20 feet from the trees and a small four or six pointer is stareing us down. Our stands must have sounded like bucks fighting and he wanted in on the action. We did every thing but knock him over the head. He would not leave us alone. We got out of there with him watching us walk out backwards. Man I just knew I was going to make the six o'clock news.

 

[Mossy0ak270]

Somethin spooked me opening day of bow season this year. I'm walkin in before daylight and I hear something walkin behind me in the leaves. When I stopped it would stop. I would turn around and didn't see anything. Ofcourse I started walkin a lil faster to get to my stand, the whole time hearing this something behind me. Finally I get to my stand and start puttin my climber on the tree and then I found out what the evil creature was! It was one of the straps from my climber dragging behind me That dang srap bout gave me a heart attack.

 

[GA DAWG]

QUAIL... The devils bird

I've had these little creatures get my heart racing time or 2.