Lets hear some stories of some close encounters you've had with little critters while sitting in your tree stand.
To start things off. The first time I ever went bowhunting with my dad I had a mouse on the tree right above me. I've had birds fly right by me (and poop on me :rolleyes: ). And I'm sure we've all been startled by the occasional tree rat :D .
Zack
had a chickadee perch on my arrow in stand...had to hit a 6x6 bull elk with video camera, while it was running, to avoid getting stepped on...
heartshot
this oughtta be a good post..
Gillie suite bird landed on my head.Boy did i jump :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
squirrels playing on the roof of my plywood box blind. NOISY!!! but entertaining
I have had a pileated woodpecker land on the branch right next to me. not 2 feet away.
Once when my son was too young to sit in a stand by himself, he and I were sitting together in the same tree stand. Shortly after daylight we felt a sprinkle, even though the sky was blue and cloudless. The nutty smell made us look up. It was not rain. Instead a big squirrell had just peed all over us.
Lessee...
I've been buzzed by a great gray owl, stalked by a gray fox, trodden on by a chipmonk, pooped on by an ornery bird of some sort and serenaded by a house wren while s/he perched on my arrow.
i had a coon try to climb the tree i was in early this month.
I had 2 ravens 3 feet away while in a tree stand on a bear hunt in New Brunswick last fall. I never knew how vocal these birds are even when they are perched. Plus they are good sized critters.
2 days ago I was charged by a herd of wild deer and wakened from a sound sleep. Luckily I was in a treestand,and managed to drive them off by shooting an arrow just under the largest one.
Last year we set a stand and managed to put it 20' from a pileated woodpecker nest hole with 2 birds living in it!
Neighbor had a porcupine pee on him from above. He was not thrilled.
Had numerous encounters with hawks and owls. Had a three legged coon climb a large vine that ran up my tree.... right past me. Had chickadees land on my nocked arrow (2x).
In a ghillie suit on the ground, I had a decent buck come within just 3-4 feet of me. Got worried when I remembered the doe-in-heat wafer I had pinned to the suit.
ChuckC
I've always been one to go to my treestand while it is still very dark. One morning instead of waiting for it to get slightly light to climb into my stand I proceeded to climb up the tree steps only to come face to face with a big ol coon. Not sure which one of us was startled more. He took off up the trss like a lightning bolt and I hung on for dear life with my heart in my throat.
Mystikbow...same scenario, 'cept it was a porcupine. He won, I hunted from the ground that morning.
Close call, Kenny, glad to hear you came through it OK :bigsmyl:
Kevin
:archer:
I had a momma bear with 3 cubs standing less than 5yds from the tree I was in. She could smell me but couldn't see me so she wolfed and sent the cubs into the trees. Problem was they climbed the trees surrounding me. I could have touched 2 of them with the end of an arrow. Of course they stopped eye ball to eye ball with me. I was scared to death that they would see me and start whining. After about 5 minutes she calmed down and they climbed down and ambelled away. After I calmed down I figured I had enough of the outdoors for the day and got the HECK out of there before dark! Still makes me worry about what could have been. I'm a pretty good shot but they're quick and it's tough shooting through the slats in a treestand.
GLENN
I too had a porcupine in my stand one morning :eek: :eek: ,good thing I always shine my light up before I climb, I hunted from the ground also that morning :bigsmyl:
Back in November this year while sitting in a stand I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned just in time to see a small hawk coming in feet first - right at me... :scared: I threw my arms/hands up to block and it turned at the last second and then lit on a branch in a tree about 20 yards away from me.
I had a Great Horned owl come in for a landing on a branch right at my elbow and actually hit me with his wing as he landed.
Been attacked by a flying squirrel twice on different farms. Vicious little creatures they are. Both times it was almost dark when the invasion of my tree started. Makes it hard to get down when they are charging your head!
GLENN
I had a bald eagle do a fly by my stand about 5 feet from me down in the Shawnee National Forest. I guess I never really had a grasp on their wingspan until then. Dang they are big! They really catch some air as they glide by too.
Coonbait, they swim good too. I hit a dead tree with the front of my boat once and they came flying out and a couple didn't make the bank in the air. But swam to it.
I can't believe how hard they hit a tree when they glide from one to another. Would kill anything else!
GLENN
I had a brown thrasher(ground bird) chase me out of my tree stand, 2 nights in a row, before I realized it was after the copperhead skinned bow across my lap. Opening weekend this year I had a small hawk(Kestrel?)fly close by and land and began checking me out(Full camo with face mask[not the bird, me!])then he came straight at my face with wings swept back. I anticipated his move and waved my arms and stood up just before he got to me.
Years ago while on stand it began raining feathers. I never saw any critters but guessed it was a hawk making a meal of a bird in the tree above me.
These are the things that keep me coming back year after year. Never a dull moment in Mother Natures yard! Pat
I was going to my stand one morning and as I entered the woods I saw a large raccoon and 4 smaller ones in the beam of my flashlight. I stopped and let the cute little things cut across my trail before walking the 1/4 mile to my stand. Around 10:00 a.m. I see the same line of raccoons walking directly toward me. They were still cute. They made a beeline to my tree and started to climb up it. I quickly tried to talk them down, but they would have noting to do with it. I grabbed my bow by the tip and tried to push them off the tree. One fell but the others pressed upward. I finally threw my bow to the ground and jumped to a nearby tree. I had never been in a stand where I could do that before. I climbed down and retrieved my bow. When I left, three of the raccoons were sitting on my stand platform. They weren't so cute after all.
On another occasion I had left my stand and was walking back to my truck. As I entered an alfalfa field I saw a big grey fox about 300 yards away. I lay down quickly and did my best imitation of a wounded rabbit. The fox began to run directly toward me and before I knew it I was standing up and telling him to go away. I had an arrow in my hand but no time to string. The fox was certain I had a wounded rabbit in my pocket and he wanted it. It was a standoff at 8 feet and he began to circle around me. As soon as he got downwind and smelled me he bolted into the woods. That was exciting.
Been buzzed by hawks, and owls. Had squirls run across my lap and had a cardinal land on my shoulder. One morning a few years back I was climbing up to my box blind on my old lease in Texas and there was a ruckus in the blind. Peeked in and there was a Kestrel in there. Near as I could figure he was chasing a bird and they flew into the blind. the windows were down but one was not latched. I pulled the door open a bit and let him fly out, there was a dead sparrow in the blind. Do not know how long he had been in the blind.
Danny
I was sitting beneath a nice, cozy hemlock tree this year and it was cold, snowing hard and blowing so I had my bomber hat on. Difficult to hear anything but I thought I kept hearing a ticking noise. I finally looked up and was face-to-face with a porcupine coming down the tree. I let him have the shelter of the hemlock tree and moved to a nearby maple.
I was sitting in my 1st tree stand hunt a few years back. A hawk was chasing a little bird, which flew right past me. The hawk was hot on his tail and as the small bird flew by I flinched my head which caused the hawk to see me and flair and go higher. He was so close, I felt the wind from his wings! :eek:
I was setting in a favorite oak patch watching squirrels when a red tailed hawk gilded in and grabbed the squirrel in his talons off a low limb and never touched the ground. As he was flying off the squirrels only movement was wringing of his tail. AWSOME!!!!! Now I know why the old timers called them squirrel hawks :)
One more for me... it wasn't necessarily a "close encounter", but I did watch a fox climb a tree and check a squirrel den in a hollow tree. I never knew a fox could/would climb like that. But the thing that really shocked me was when it came down the tree it came head first - just like a squirrel. It even stopped about halfway down and checked everything out before it came on to the ground. It went about 30-40 feet up/down that tree.
Several encounters for me that I will remember.
Two different evenings as I was leaving my stand I have had a skunk come walking down the field row and stop to sniff my boots, one even raised up and sniffed at my leg, and then travel on his way. Both times I stood stock still while saying a silent prayer that he hold his fire.
I've had one squirrel land in my lap.
Two birds have landed on my arrow at different times. One Chickadee and one Carolina Wren.
A mouse repeatedly ran across my legs while turkey hunting.
Three times I have had a bobcat come up to my tree, sniff around it, and look straight up at me. Every time the season wasn't open.
Had a coon climb down the tree past me just before dusk. That made me hold my breath.
An armadillo stopped to sniff my boot while I was sitting on my tree seat.
On another occasion another dilla had stopped just in front of me and I tapped him on the back with my bow. He jumped three feet straight up and landed in high gear. He crashed into my left leg and nearly knocked me down. Had a baseball sized bruise on my shin for a while.
Wasps and bees.
Most memorable was the doe that walked up right next to me (close enough to touch) and stopped to look around. It was fun to watch her eyes grow quite large when she realized what she was standing next to. She then blew snot all over my leg and almost fell down when she ran off. I love my shaggy suit.
Dennis
While hunting from a ground blind, I had a vole and a deer mouse run over my foot. From the same spot, my son had two fisher cats go by about ten feet away.
I hope Killdeer sees this thread! She has the most unbelvable picture of a squirrel on her hand....simply awesome :thumbsup: Kathy, you out there?? :confused:
Ah yes....the squirrel whisperer. :wavey:
Squirrel landed on my head while I was leaning against a tree. I never jump so high in my life from sitting position. Also a bird landed on my shouldders and stood there for awhile. It was kind of cool.
-Scout38
On a hunt with a buddy of mine I was lying on the ground with a radio and he was in a tree a couple hundred yards away.I wasn't feelin well so I was just lying there while he hunted when I heared the skweral alarm system go off.I didn't think much of it until he keyed the radio.It startled me so I set up quick to see a big bobcat stalkin me,I ran him off and thought he was gone only to have him stalk me again.He must not have known what I was but when I finally got him ran off I was a bit worried.
Elk hunting in Idaho i came around a small knoll and was face to face with a black bear sow about 10 feet. About the same time she stood up her two cubs ran up a tree right behind her, she started bouncing on her front feet. All i could do was stand my ground and after what seemed like an eternity she backed down with the two follwing her back to where she came from. Needless to say i took the long way around to bull i had heard bugling.
I dont hunt in a tree but have had a few things go on while sitting next to one.
1. Had a button buck walk up and smell the bottom of my boots all the while the doe was 15 yards away snorting a stomping i finely jurked my leg and the buck went stright in the air and almost came down on me.
2. ive had birds land on my bow limb (2x)
3. while watching a cotton tail feed on grass about 5 feet away a hawk came down and snatched it up.
4. Saw a skunk at about 80 yards slowly walk right at me i finely got it to turn with a arrow just in front of him a 5 yards
5. while taking a leak behind a tree i was stalked and attacked by a coyote (grabed my hand jurked a few times then let go and ran off)
6. Had two young bucks sparing/playing almost run me over.
I had a yearling black bear climb the tree my stand was in, up to about 6" from the bottom of the stand.
I had a Fisher "charge me" wondering what I was.
A herd of elk that i was stalking nearly stampeded over me when a wolf appeared on the other side of the meadow.
Saw a great horned owl swoop down and pick up a snowshoe hare I was about to shoot.
A bald eagle picked a trout out of the water about 10 yards from my float tube.
I was hunting from a ground blind in S. Africa a few years ago. A bull elephant came in to the waterhole about 30 yards away. I slowly picked up my 35mm camera and snapped a pic of him. He heard the shutter go off and complete anger went through his eyes! He raised his trunk and tried to wind whatever made the noise. After a couple very tense minutes (on my part!) he finally settled down and walked away.
A couple nights later the same elephant charges us while we were returning to camp in a jeep. It was dark, the PH was attempting to back up and turn around, no back up lights (of course!), and 2 scared to death bowhunters trying to shine their mag-lights out the back to light the way! It was quite a scene!
I was sitting in a stand and had a small hawk come straight at my face. Waved my arms like some of the others said and it swerved at the last minute. Everything was in camo except a small part of my face and eyes. I guess the hawk thought I was some sort of rodent?
I also had 4 or 5 turkeys land on branches in the same tree as me when a coyote scared them out of a field. They ran from him and flew up into my tree. I was eyeball to eyeball with 'em. They sure are big. The rest of the turkeys(about 18-20 of them) stayed in the field and squared off on the coyote. They actually ran him off. He looked pathetic!
And of course there have been the voles, mice and squirrels, but no near death encounters with any of those guys!
-Charlie
Brother had an owl snatch his hat from behind two seasons ago. He had a talon scratches on his temple. To this day he's scared to death when he sees one.
A buddy of mine's Dad had to get 6 stitches afyter getting hit in the head by a Redtail hawk...seems it was attracted to the little fuzzy top knot on the man's knit cap (LOL)!!!!
I've had a owl to buzz me...a solid black fox squirel to climb my arm....several chickadee's to land on my arrow at differnt occasions....had a young coon to climb my ladder stand with me in it , but the best one was a black bear scratching herself on the tree i was sitting in....that rank's right up there with the wasp nest i ran into while climbig into the same stand, different day.
I abandoned that stand after that....bad mojo.
Over the years...I have had a few..
A pine snake coming up the tree I was in...
A doe wondering about that strange bush next to a big tree while sitting in my ghille suit... Stompin her way to 3 yds...
A pair of bald eagles trying to home in on the hen as I was tring to call in a gobler...
A bobcat easing through the pines coming to about 5yds staring at me in my ghillie suit while leaning on my tree seat...
meeting a doe in the dark while trying to sneak under a roosting tree about an hr before first light as this fella had me fuzzled for weeks...
Had a coopers hawk bouncing to limbs within 5 yds trying to figger how that bush got up into the tree...
This year, I had another hunter ( a buddy bout 200 yds down the same hard wood bottom, stand and stretch) get busted and a momma and her two yearling came right towards me and I could've stuck out a hand and hit her as she came bounding bye...
Had a buddy get schat upon by a big ole coon while in his climber...
I have seen so much more by wearing a ghillie suit and hunting on the ground the past few years, than many of the years before that...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/2008%20Hunt/Img_0463.jpg)
:goldtooth:
1. Not a tree stand, but I had a bobcat come up onto a low stone wall that I was sitting against in the predawn darkness. The wind was from him to me, and I had been trying my hardest to be still while I waited for the opening of turkey season. I didn't know the cat was coming. I first heard him when he landed on the wall about four or five feet from me. He discovered me very quickly and flung himself off the wall in shock and horror at finding me there.
2. Not a tree stand, but I had a deer run across my chest while I laid in very tall grass waiting for a SAR dog to come find me on a training problem. I heard the dog coming and at the last instant realized that it was two deer, not a dog, coming hellbent for election. I flung an arm up to protect my throat and face; one of the deer stepped on my arm as it crossed over me.
I was hunting in Colorado several years ago. A pond dam had broken and beavers had patched the dam but there was a big hole below their patch. I was sitting in the hole using it as a ground blind. A weasel would pop out of the patch and stand inches from my feet and stare up at me. After popping in and out of his cover several times, he jumped on my boot and stared up again. I thought it was cute till he decided to go up the inside of my britches legg. I grabbed my legg and stopped him just at my knee. Luckily he exited the same way and went back in the beaver dam.
a hen turkey landed on the limb behind me. Damn!
I remember your post with the squirrel Kathy, that's pretty cool.
Dennis
When my oldest, Matthew, was 8, I took him with me on a turkey hunt. I set him up next to a valley oak about 10 yards away from my tree. It was a warm day, and he promptly fell asleep, rolling over on his side. No turkeys responded to the calls, but soon a blacktail doe, trailed by a fawn, came up from down-wind. She walked up to the boy, sniffed his face, stepped back, then came forward and sniffed again. It disturbed him enough that he brushed his hand across his face, popping her on the nose. She jumped back about 20 feet in one hop, blew, then ran off blowing repeatedly with the fawn following, but hanging back and looking curiously back at the scene of the farce. I had been sitting still during the events, but eventually laughter took over. Matthew slept through the whole thing, and even when I showed him the tracks, would not admit that he had been that unconscious.
Once about ten years ago, I was on an all day sit
at the peak of the rut. I was on a saddle in some open hardwoods, with a rubline running right down the runway I was guarding.
To my surprise, I watch as a giant Beaver comes along, dragging a fresh cut popple branch down my deer run.
I KNEW that area very well, and he had a LONG way to go before he got back to his pond, or ANY pond to store that branch for a winter snack.
I think he was newly divorced, and was starting over, carrying all the judge left him.
Well, letsee here... Almost got hit in the face with an owl on a couple of occasions, but they were just cruising through. Had a squirrel come right up next to my head, then notice I was there, bark at me, swap ends and run. Several woodpeckers... then there was the fawn that stuck her head in my ground blind and licked the fletching on my arrows and sniffed at my quiver for awhile.
I remember one afternoon in Colorado, I was leaning up against an Aspen tree watching a deer trail about 20 yard up the mountain when all of the sudden I hear rustling leaves to my right about 20 yards off...I drew my bow slowly and found what was making the noise., a big greyish bobcat had been bedded down in an huge pile of leaves taking a nap...As he was stretching, I eased my bow down(not sure of the regs on bobcats),I watched him and then he moved right towards me! He was about 3 feet from me when he decided to move down the mountain, he was just ambling along until he caught my scent downwind ...then he was outta there...It was upclose and personal for a litle while...never forget it...
It was about 10 degrees and the wind was blowing 25 to 30 pmh while climbing into a blind made of wooden legs with straw bales around it to get away from the cutting wind. I was about to sit down when through my thick hat and the wind i heard a loud hissing noise. Pitch black dark and stuck in a 3x3 area with a 10 pound possum. It took a stick and a little coaxing but he wasn't getting the blind over me.
Got in a stand my dad and I had set up in a swamp well before daylight one morning. I think I was 13 or 14, anyways it still wasn't quite light enough to see when I hear a the most god awful racket directly above me. I've never been more scared than that morning that a turkey decided to roost in the tree my stand was located on. My favorite hunting memory though stems from a hunt involving my dad, brother, and I. One of the few we all three went on. We were set up on a power line about 250 yards away from each other. Across from my stand on the other side of the power line and in the top of a dead tree is a red-tail hawk. Behind me, is a group of squirrels oblivious to this predator and making a whole bunch of racket. Well after about 10 minutes the hawk takes off and flies North and gains altitude. It comes screaming back and I've got a front row seat to nature's dive bomber. He nails a squirrel and takes off down the power line towards my little brother and dad. I'm sitting there going back over the whole thing when I notice the hawk coming back over the top of the hill to my south. My stand was on top of another hill so while the hawk was 20-30 feet off the ground in the valley, he was dead on eye level with me in the top of my stand. I'm getting pretty nervous as he gets closer and closer with no change in altitude and I had no idea what to do if he flew into the stand with me. But my fears were unfounded because as he closed to within 5 feet of the stand he suddenly veered up, over, and back down the other side and continued on his way. Man talk about an adrenaline rush. WOW! I don't think I will ever experience something so cool again.
Last year I had a small hawk mistake my eye movement for some thing else. I saw it swoop across in front of me, then it disappeared. Suddenly I'm looking into 2 big yellow eyes with a pair of talons only inches from my face. I ducked my head just in time as the hawk also realized the error and bounced off my head, fluttered around me and flew off. It was easy to laugh after the fact, but I almost lost my eyes.
I was sleeping on the mountainside in CO mid-day and had a very large sow and 2 cubs wake us up, ending up 5 yds or so away...luckily she ran
A fisher let me get within a few feet to check him out. Never saw a human??
Got charged by a 6 pt after I missed him, shot him the second time at 7 yds w/ longbow and scored 93 P&Y. Good old 6 pt. Only deer I have had scored.
Shot a carp out of a creek while deer hunting and had a fox respond to the water thrashing, couldn't get a shot.
A box turtle came from out of sight right up to my boots while turkey hunting, turned and left. What a slow critter. Damn near ran me over!
Just heard a story yesteryday about a guy that switched stands midday on opening day of bear season in PA. He got to his stand, and there were three levels for him to climb up. When he got to the second level he heard something wierd, but kept going. when he opened the door to his tree stand a bear paw came swatting at him. He fell back and took a shot right through the bottom of the treestand. The bear then climbed out a window and fell to its death. At least it was bear season when he found a bear in his stand!
I too have had similar encounters with small critters and raptors from the air. But the wildest thing i ever was allowed to experience was while i was hunting a private piece near Duluth, i watched a young doe and buck work their way out in front of me. The small buck walked within 5 yards of me but i was waiting for the doe to follow so i could put a little meat in the freezer. After five to ten min. she failed to pass by, however i spotted a brush wolf working the area where i last saw her. As soon as the brush wolf stepped off the trail there was an explosion of movement. It only took a few moments to relize there were four brush wolves and they had jumped my doe. They caught her less than 30 yards from my stand and did what God created them to do. It had went to dark when i relized i had to climb down as they ate just to my left. That was the quickest exit to my truck ever. WOW!
What a wonderful outdoors we get to experience.
Do rattle snakes count? I've had a couple of close encounters. I swear, when I hear that rattle the hair on the back of my neck... well you get the picture.
The usual squirrel about scare me out of the tree running down past me. Once had a Owl land a few trees over trying to decide what I was. That Owl did a 6" "fly by" of my head...
The best was last May when a 250 pound black bear climbed up to take a look at me.. Scary!! We had a stand off at a distance of two feet. I did pull the mace but "talked" the bear down. What a day in Alberta!!!
John III