I thought it would be a learning experience to hear some incidents that happen during hunting.
One I still remember well was I had just started hunting with traditional equipment and was after the mighty squirrel. Had one in a hedge row about 12 yds away. If you ever been around hedge you know they have tons of limbs and twigs. Pulled back let her fly arrow clipped a limb flew over in the next hedge tree bounced off a couple other limbs and stuck in the ground by my toe. Never even spooked the squirrel.
Another was stump shooting with a rubber blunt. Pulled back at a knot on a hickory tree about 12 to 15 yds and just very missed my head as I ducked out the way. I think that thing flew backwards faster than the bow shot it. :eek:
Had a wheelie draw on me in the dusk when I walked by with all white fletching bobbing behind me. Knew he was there but could not see him good in such low light. I was standing there looking up and he was at full draw with a bead on me - lucky I said "hey" when I did or he was gonna loose his arrow. I shoot purple or yellow fletch these days.
Oh yeah I had walked out into a field and then into the corner where he was located - when I was in the field he had grunted at me, just about the time I turned and headed in his direction. Funny how little details lead to disaster.
Man so many others but not for here.
J
Let's see - not sure if this counts but ...
This season (in October), I was sitting with my bow in my final position for the evening, I was busy thinking the deep thoughts that hunters think (this seat stinks - what if I were to make a hammock chair; shoulda brought another apple; I'm chilly *and* swatting mosquitoes - one or the other) when something made me look to my right. I think what got my attention was the noise of the wind streaming over a pair of rapidly approaching hawk wings. The red-tail hawk saw me turn my head and swerved at the last second (about 5 feet away) and landed on a neighboring tree rather than on me.
Not sure what he had been planning - maybe i was twiddling my thumbs and he wanted to attack them or maybe he was planning to land on my head. Whatever - I'm glad he decided against it. Though I outweigh him by a fair bit, he has sharper talons than I do and the element of surprise was very much in his favor.
I had the same thing happen with an owl about 2 years ago. I think he thought my eyes were food, they were the only thing not in camo. He may have been after the beaver balls on my bow, i don't know. All that I do know is that he was coming talons first and I almost jumped from my tree. :scared:
Many yrs ago when bow quivers first came out, some didn't have covers for the broadheads. We were at a friends house before daylight getting ready to go to the woods and a friend started stringing his recurve. He stuck one tip under his insole and was sliding he string up the top limb when it slipped and a broad head sliced his inner bicep cutting a main artery.
Blood was spewing everywhere. Got him in the pickup and sped the 18 miles to nearest hospital in about 10 minutes. Floor board was full of blood and nurse said a few minutes later and he would have been dead.
Had an interesting "accident" this past year during deer season.
Was sitting in a treestand for about 6 hours when 11 deer came trotting through the woods toward my stand. The first deer came right up to the tree I was sitting in and started licking the tree she looked straight up at me and saw something wasn't right. She snorted jumped to my left and started walking away at about ten yards, I thought ooo a nice "chippy". However, I didn't shuffle my feet and just rotated my hips. Well I picked a spot and let the arrow fly, I heard a loud snap the bow jumped from hand flipped in the air and fell to the ground. The arrow stuck in a tree eye level at 90 degrees to where I was aiming.
The string had raked across my chest and caught on my safety harness buckle and yanked the bow from my hand. The 11 deer exploded and I thanked the good lord for I was not harmed and my bow was just fine! Fewww!
I think it was in the '60's. I was walking into the woods and tripped, and had my arrows in a tube quiver in my hand. I fell on the end of the arrows, and the nocks made a serious bruise in the middle of my chest. Good thing they weren't turned the other way! A real learning experience for me.
I had an odd thing happen in Missouri this year with an owl. Like others I have had them come swooping in then at the last second veer off.
This year I had one land in the next tree to me about 12 yards away eye level. He just sat there turning his head different angles. I thought I'll move my hand and spook him. Didn't work. So I stood up he still sat there. After a minute I waved my arms and he still sat there. I was begining to worry some and he finally took flight. Hate to admit it but I ducked when he took off. He had me a little gun shy.
Thing is he did the exact thing 2 days later. Maybe I was in his stand?
Was out bow hunting squirrels one day when my buddy spotted a nice red fox squirrel in a really tall oak tree. He shot and the arrow deflected off a branch. That arrow thumped into the ground inches from my right foot. Now when we go rabbit hunting he has to jump on the brush piles.
I was on the ground in south Florida when I came upon a 200#plus sow with 3 boars, all bifger than she was. It was obviously pig making time and the biggest of the 3 boars was trying to do his thing but the other two wouldn't let him. He'd jump off aqd chase them off, then go back and try again. this went on for sevral minutes and I was getting closer each time the big boar tried to mount.
At 15 yards, one of the smaller (only 200#) boars hooked him again and he jumped off and went after him. Now.........if you've ever been inside the ring with 4 big hogs and one in heat, you know how much squealing and grunting is going on. If not, just know that it is hair raising at the very least.
As the big boar turned back to the sow, he saw me standing there and without hesitation, he came for me. At this point, it went form a hunting situation to a survival one. I drew my arrow way past my normal 32", I faintly remember touching my ear, and tried to hit him between the eyes. He was coming so fast that I hit the top of his shoulders and it went in only about 5 or 6". It stopped him though.
The sow took off and he looked in her direction and thankfully, he decided to go after her.
I had to sit down for a few minutes......
1999- We'd been hunting a massive non-typical for 3 years and he was a narly beast this particular year. We had a sighting of him around 3 particular stands. As luck would have it, the next morning the wind would be be good to hunt all three. So me,Ben,and Rob set up and I chose the secret stand. About 8:00am I see some does coming and then it was him. He stopped 10 yards broadside when I picked my spot. As I was drawing my Zipper he looked up at me and I panicked. I rushed the shot and cut his skin on his back. I was sick!!! That gun season a guy about 1/2 mile away killed him. He green scored in the high 180's with 16 scorable points.
The worst part about this story was I hung up trad archery and went back to wheels. After several deer later I decided I was not having fun bowhunting. In Sept. of 2006 I decided that I had made a hugh mistake and I was going back to trad after the season. I sold my wheels and bought a Morrison in Feb. I've never looked back since, and never will.
Mike
Last year I was stump shooting and neglected to check a carbon arrow that I just hit something hard with. The next shot was my last for the day. The arrow exploded into three pieces and left me with four pieces of carbonfiber sticking out of my left hand.
Had a few bad run in's with Poachers that really could have gone ugly,
we had some real problems with poachers killing game on the farm i was getting sick of it, Id set up to catch them and scare them away, all went to plan until i realized i was out of radio signal and on my own, my blood rushed like iv never felt before when i heard the machete's and sharpened steel droppers banging together and the dogs sniffing getting closer as i pressed my back hard against the base of a thorn tree.
Had i not been armed and if they had known i was alone id hate to think what could have come form the situation.
Give me a angry Cape Buffalo anyday, but men, men are a different beast.
Another time backing up on a Water buffalo hunt, the bull winded the hunter and started to circle us when he got our wind he started coming in at about 20m i closed the bolt, he stopped at about 8m staring us down, the hunter was about to climb the tree i told him one more step and im gonna squeeze the trigger. Stand off and after what seamed forever he turned and left.
Had a few close calls with broadheads that are worth mentioning, the first was a goat i had shot i had put three arrows in him and thought all three had passed through. The Goat had rolled down a very steep bank when i went down i was pulling hard to get it free of the bush suddenly it came free and the broadhead tipped arrow whipped around and stuck deep in the dirt right next to my thigh still sticking out of the Goat, had it hit my thigh i would have been in Trouble!
Another time i had a bad fall down a steep bank whilst hunting Elk in Colorado when i got to the bottom i was still holding my bow i looked at it and there was only 1 of 5 arrows left in my quiver all the others had come out during the fall and its so lucky i did not land on one of them on my way down, both time i was so far from help i would have been in big trouble.
Be Careful with those broadheads!!!
the on;y one i got so far came at the end of a bowfishing trip late one night. i was trying to unstring my bow by putting the tip under the sole of my foot and pushing the limb away. it usually works fine but that night i had fish slime on my hands, and about the time i got the string loose the bow slipped, and hit me square in the bridge of my nose. let me just say that doesn't feel good coming from a 55# recurve. it cut me from the bridge of my nose to the corner of my eye, and i bled like a stuck hog. that was better than getting it right in the eye though. i got a pic of it somewhere i'll try and find. needless to say that was the last time i ever unstrung a bow that way.
also had an encounter similar to biggies, except most of the pigs were in the 150# range and there were about 10 of them. that and when the pigs came after me shooting was the furthest thing from my mind. i ran like a little girl, and climbed a tree
On my first boar hunt I shot a hog with a 48# recurve. The hit was a little too far back. I came upon him under a tree in the middle of an open field. As I tried to get closer to finish him he got up and squared off. I never knew a hog moved so fast. He got to about 10 feet away when I shot my arrow. The arrow went into his mouth and must have hit his spine. He rammed into my left leg and knocked me off my feet. Thats why I LOVE BOAR HUNTING!
Good stories. I dug this one up from some old photos. This relates to what we are all guilty of while stump shooting. My friend picked his arrows up and didn't see the cedar shaft was cracked lucky he had an arm guard on. Broke his watch also.
(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii185/bofish-il/IMG_0001.jpg)
Not my story, but my brother's as told by my Dad. He and my Dad were hunting Spanish goats on San Clemente Island back in the early 80's. My dad stuck one that crawled down this thin, steep trail and disappeared. Dad was tired and so my brother decided to go after him. He inched his way down this trail and out onto this ledge that was maybe 30 feet wide. He is standing close to the edge of this ledge with about a 1000 foot drop behind him and peering into a shallow cave. He can just make out the horns and eyes on this goat and sees that he is still alive, so he decides to try and shoot him head on in the chest. He draws the recurve back and lets fly. What he had not seen is that the goat was lying down behind a rock and the arrow ricocheted off of the rock and grazed his back. The goat jumps up, puts his head down and charges him full bore. Dad is standing on up above and watching the whole thing and thinking my brother is a goner. Now my brother can be pretty cool when he wants/needs to be and he quickly nocks another arrow and drives it straight into the charging goat and drives it clean through him at a little less than ten paces. The goat keeps coming and then stumbles and falls just to his right and tumbles off the cliff. They tried for several hours to get to the thing and finally gave up as it was too steep and dangerous. I really didn't do the story justice here, to hear my dad tell it is something special. He really thought he had lost his #2 son that day.
I was attacked by a werewolf, well I guess you would not call it a werewolf it was a coyote and I guess you wouldn't call it attacked but I was hunting and nature called, the standing kind, so I'm standing there taking care of business and I get that feeling, that one you get when you know something or someone is watching you. Well I turn around with all my glory in my hand and there is a coyote standing about 3 to 4 feet from me just staring at my hand, the one with my glory in it and the next thing I know this coyote is leaping at me, I let go and swipe at him with my hand and two of my fingers end up in his mouth. He grabs on and jerks two or three times like a dog tugging on a rope, then let's go and turns and hauls butt out of there. I had a couple of shallow rips on my index finger and the one next to it, he must have been young because his teeth were sharp as puppy teeth.
Scared the hell out of me but I laugh about it now, he must have had visions of a veana sausage or something for lunch.
This happened about 30 years ago when I was young and dumb, I didn't even go to the doc to have it checked out.
On a serious side if any of you out there get bit by something wild go get checked rabies is nothing to mess with
WTPops, That scared the s*** out of me just thinking about it. I don't know you but maybe you should have clubbed it over the head.
Wtpops That was more than a close call...
Wtpops,
You sure that wasn't one them Coyote Ugly women that hang around them bars at night? :eek: :biglaugh:
Well most of us have probably shot an arrow straight up right...well that is pretty scary (best if you don't run I think) the more you move the better chance of getting hit.
Well lets just say the first time I heard about tuning bareshaft I DIDN'T READ THE PART ABOUT NOT SHOOTING BH'S while doing it.
That was scary - I was shooting at a bale about 40 yards...I took my knife out and stripped he feathers off a field point arrow (IT WAS WINDY TOO and it was coming at me).
It flew ok - not great, but ok.
So I took my knife and striped the feathers of a BH arrow.
Shot and it and it took off and went up in the air and I lost sight of it. Never did find that arrow.....what was scary is that they are unpredicatable and when I read the article again I saw where it explained "DONT SHOOT BH BARESHAFT".
So yes that was scary.
jer Bear
About 20 some years ago I was hunting from a tree stand about 15 feet up. A 4 point came by and stopped at about 12 yards quatering away. I drew back, picked a spot and let fly. It went right through the boiler room. The next thing I knew the branches above my head rattled. When I looked up there was my arrow about 2 feet above my head. Blood end to end.
The only thing I could figure was that on the pass through it must have hit a rock that turned the arrow straight back at me. Still to this day it has me baffled. Not only did it richochet back but almost directly back up from it's original downward path. Wood arrow and a 2 blade Zwickey Eskimo. Arrow was in one piece. Buck was piled up 60 yards away. Weird and scary.
My worst experience while hunting....
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000044
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000046
I was 9 years old shooting one of those 25-30# fiberglass Stemmler Recurves. well, no one ever really showed me how to shoot a bow. Being right handed, iI used the shelf on the right side of the riser. The cedar shaft that I was shooting was split along the grain.
I released the broken arrow, and the opening of the split caught my thumb. I had a 3 inch splinter lodged between the artery in my thumb and the bone.
The thing that scared me the most was that, mom and dad were out, and I wasn't supposed to shoot it when they weren't there!!
Guru glad everything turned out OK that would be spooky. What did the guy think you were for Gods sake?
Wow Guru what a story. Glad you ok....how long ago was that?
I almost got it during the bow season in alta. I was on a counrty road and saw some whitetails going into a strip of bush early in the morning just before daybreak.
THe bush was about 200 yards long and about 75-100 yards wide (wind break) between fields.
They had been munching on oats. So I parked the truck and got down wind and thought I would just zig zag slowly through the bush still hunting. I hadn't gone 25 yards and I heard a vehicle hitting the brake on the gravel....I was about 75 yards from the closet road.
Then there was a BANG and a bullet ripped through the bush in front of me....I hit the deck. Then another and another each one further up the bush.
I ran out of the bush in time to see a guy getting intoo his truck and speeding off and down the bush was a coyote running for his life.
I was so pissed, but he wouldn't have known I was there anyway. The fact that it wasn't gun season was my reason for being so mad too.
I took up bowhunting so I wouldn't have to hunt during the gun season. Then this happened.
One more:
My father inlaw was under his tractor middle of the field say 125 yards off the closest road. He had a problem with the hydraulics and was under the tractor. He heard a shot and then another one and then smash.....right through the window wear he was sitting...then one more.....
He climbed out from underneath and this guy was over the hood of his truck shooting at a big buck running across the field.....
The season didn't open for 6 days and he had no hunting without permission signs all over his place....
Never did get the guy either.
JB
Mine is a falling out of a tree story. I was in College. I had a stand hung on the edge of a dry creek bank. On the top of the bank the stand was only 15 or 16 feet tall, but on the backside of the tree (where my screw steps were) the stand was well over 25 feet. I had sat till around noon on a beautiful november morning. I went to climb down, and the first screw step I stepped on broke. It was one of the old collapsible deals. I took a nasty fall and tore a bunch of ligaments in my knees and legs. I could not walk....and I said a few choice words. I had to drag myself out of the woods with just my arms for over a half mile. The funny thing is that When I got to the corn field, a few cars went by and saw me dragging myself out of the woods while I was trying to wave them down for help! They just waved and kept going! HA! They probably thought I was crazy. The worst part is that I had to sit out pretty much the rest of November. That hurt the most!
Guru- I remember that, I sent you a PM.
Guru,
Your accident is very much like a hunting story that happened to a fella and his son in my church...These two guys are from Missippi and were hunting some public land turkey hunting and as they were getting set up to hunt some fella shot them both.Phil got some shot in his body area somewhere but his son Ben got it all over the upper area and some in the face/head but the good thing was the distance from where the guy did the shooting must of been far...It basically broke the skin but didn't penatrate nor hit any vitals...The guy thought they were turkeys he told them...Good thing is the "Lord" was watching His flock and they are healthy today.
It was a very cold morning and I was late getting to my stand. I knew there was a chance that I'd come onto deer before reaching my stand so I decided to nock an arrow and still hunt my way in to my spot.
As I pulled the arrow out of the quiver I noticed that the broadhead was slightly unscrewed and went to tighten it. I was shooting satellite 125's back then(4 bladed replaceable blades). Being short on time to make it to the stand or just being plain too lazy to take off my back pack to get out the broadhead wrench was a big mistake either way.
I put my bow on the ground(because I wanted to be safe..lol) so I could use both hands to tighten the head. I was very careful to place my fingers between the blades. When I 1st tried to turn it, it wouldn't budge but I knew it needed to since I could see a couple of threads outside the insert.
Maybe it was the cold or maybe it was the fact that aluminum on aluminum tends to stick, it sure didn't want to move. Here's where my stupidity got me. I knew for sure the smart thing would be.. stop get out the tool but no! One more try but this time I told myself "just grip it real tight and give it a swift twist, that'll break it loose." I did and it jerked in a strange way but it also sliced my right thumb down to the bone. Blood was spurting out my thumb like a garden hose. I dropped the arrow and immediately clamped off my thumb with my free hand.
I had to wait quite awhile before I had the bleeding stopped enough that I could now use my uninjured hand to drive me back to town and the doctor.
I think my thumb hurts just remembering the story as I typed it.....lol Looking back on it now I think I might be a wus.. one little cut on a single digit and my whole hand was useless.. come on!.... I musta be a "big baby!"!
God bless,Mudd
God bless,Mudd
I wasn't hunting, but when I got my first bow, about 55 years ago, I was goofing around with it and shot a friend in the eye. The arrow hit just above the orbit at eyebrow level, so he didn't lose the the eye, but that accident haunts me to this day.
Gee Mudd be careful big guy. Yeah it's funny how hindsight makes us feel.
Jer
Mine is not with a bow but it has a good message, if yall want to hear it if not delete it.
I was about 11 years old, dove hunting with my dad. I had the gun pointed about a foot behind him and into the dirt, "safe location" as he taught me to always point a gun. Any way I was trying to let the hammer down when it slipped out from underneath my thumb had I had I pointed the gun just a little further forward I would have shot my Dad in the rear end. But because he has taught me gun safety it end up being a good day hunting and a learning experience. The moral is make sure you teach you kid safety they really are listening.
well during my time shooting wood, I had half a dozen that were perfectly strait and flying great. I was shooting with my buddies that didnt always shoot nice, if you know what I mean, they were hard on knocks. But the wigglyness of the wood made it really hard for them to do any damage, I on the other hand could take out theres pretty easily. But they would keep tryin. They had made groves in my cedar shafts. And one day while shooting those shafts, one exploded on me. Scared the bejessus out of me. The part with the tip flew and stuck low into the target, the part with the feathers went to my right, and crushed the cement wall. The middle part went right above my bow arm. The thin sharp peice of wood missed my arm by inches. Lets just say I dont shoot wood anymore, and it is a shame because I was really starting to like it
I was out with my dog and bow one time close to town were I was staying at the time. My dog was a Russian wolfhound/greyhound/blacklab cross and was very fast and could cover large parcels of ground in a short time. It got to where I was just looking for stone (flint/agatized wood etc.) in some eroded breaks but the area was very open (short grass prairie) and the dog had strayed pretty close to a farm house that was about a half a mile or more away. I new I should have been keeping an eye on him better but we were right behind the county fair grounds and I didn't think it would be a problem but I still called him back of course. I also new the dogs only interest were female dogs and rabbits and coyotes, he never messed with live stock at all. Well some guy that was renting the farm house came out with 22 and opened up on the dog who was now headed for me at warp nine. The dog crossed in front of me overrunning me by 20 yards or so drawing fire all the while from the gunman. Bullets were right behind the dog and went right by me on both sides with two hitting close on either side where I could see the dirt fly up. He finally stopped shooting for lack of bullets or that he saw me standing there right out in the open. Thank god for lousy shots. Well I didn't know if the guy really was homicidal and we were on the town/ fair property but I just felt like getting the hell out of there. He came out and got in his truck and went driving by on the road, with his eyes about as big as dollars realizing that there really was someone out where he had been shooting. Turns out it was just one of the towns folk who had been having trouble with a big stray dog. He came by the house and apologized profusely for an eternity, and I felt sorry for him for sure. I dusted a friend with dove shot once when we were kids so I know what he was going thru.
Mudd I had the same thing happen with the old satelite 3 blade years ago except it got my index finger. My wife almost passed out when she saw all the blood.
Must be something about satelites or we both were not thinking at the time.
Guru your story scares the crap out of me! I guess it is a good thing the kid was a bad shot? Or this could be a different mood. Everyone in my state has to take the course, but I wonder sometimes. Out in the western part of the state whitetails are life, they live off the land and that whole aspect is pretty cool, but then that makes them a bit more desperate for meat. So they shoot. And during the drives, it kinda scares the crap out of me. Luckily I have never seen a drive in person, but dad has had them walk 4 feet away from him and not even see him. Makes me wonder what would happened if he was napping and he moved his foot or something? Glad all is well and that you are still hunting! I think alot of folks would give up after that!
God Bless
I had a few hours before I had to go to work - on opening day of duck season. I decided to go for a short walk on the river where guns were not welcome; and shoot some carp and bowfin.
I had a good stringer of carp behind me; and I was in almost knee deep muck; when I heard some ducks.
In came a small flock; one hen mallard was really close; and I drew back and shot my fish arrow at it.
I knocked some feathers loose- but missed the kill.
Then the string on the fishing reel ran out;the arrow turned around in mid air and came straight back for me.
It was one of those moments when you feel real- real: smart.
My feet were stuck in the muck; and I just dodged getting arrowed by inches.
Valuable lesson- yeah that's it !