I know you all are a bunch of tough guys and gals, but be real we all have fears so what are your fears that you have when hunting. It could be being lost injured or who knows. time to come clean and let it out. :eek:
:campfire:
I have bad knees. My biggest is stepping in a hole or twisting and hurting one of em. Im not crazy about walking out in the dark when I cant see the ground good when snakes are still out either. lol
Myself and many other have seen mountain lion in my area. I really don't care for walking in the dark with the thought that I may not be the only hunter in those woods. Like BOHO early season hunting and rattle snakes isn't my favorite either.
I can not walk,always fear falling off my ATV and not being able to find my cell phone for the boy!! :scared: :scared: :scared:
Falling out of a stand when hunting or hanging a stand. That's mostly it. I have been using a modified harness, but doesn't cover all situations.
Walking into a 4 or 2 legged predator. But that's going to get solved real soon
I hunt alone alot since my father passed away and I worrie about falling from the stand or being bit by a snake and no one even knowing where Im at .
Going back to work!
QuoteOriginally posted by BRITTMAN:
I hunt alone alot since my father passed away and I worrie about falling from the stand or being bit by a snake and no one even knowing where Im at .
Always leave a map in the car or on the fridge with the general area you will be in highlighted. just in case.
Stray bullets. Our game commission was inconsiderate enough to include rifles into our early bow season for a week.
I lack confidence in my set up. I always question myself and my equipment. I fear wounding an animal.
-Jeremy :coffee:
I have to say grizzly bears. I am not where they are very much, but when I am, especially when I'm bivvied alone in something flimsy especially cold camping, I always imagine I can smell one's hot breath right in my face when I'm trying to sleep. There is just something about that whole idea I don't like. Or while I'm trying to stalk a buck winding up on top of a mamma or a cub. I've never been closer than a half mile from one, but that's plenty.
Making a poor shot and wounding an animal and falling out of a tree!!!
I'm a bit like Jeremy. However, I do have confidence in my equipment and abilities. But, I know that sometimes (rarely thank goodness)something happens that you don't expect.
1. I fear I will make a poor shot and wound the animal.
2. I fear I will spook the critter I'm hunting.
I have no fear of the animals that inhabit the areas I hunt.
I don't know if it fits your thread but less than 50 yards from where I enter the woodlot, is the location in a ditch where a young murdered girl was found in the 1970s. Her killer has never been found. I'm always respectful when in her location and I always say something nice, but for the life of me I can't stop the hair on my neck from standing up as I step off the roadway and into the darkness and quiet of the forest.
At my age I don't want to carry a lot............so I sometimes think about the difficulty packing an animal out.
Im not afraid of much except stepping on a snake but osages story made the hair stand up on my neck!
Out west I worry more about injury or illness while way back in. Around home I think more about meth heads or stumbling onto someone harvesting an illegal plot.
D.P.
I've got two
1. I hunt alone and PEOPLE who drive by my camp and slow down scare me. not bears or lions or gravity.
2. Making a bad shot on one of Gods greatest creature.
Chupacabra
Grizzlies
I have to agree with BOHO.... I always have a Cane or Walking Stick with me, and generally SOMEONE knows pretty much where I am, BUT there is always that "Nagging Little Fear" in the Back of the Brain saying "Ok, What Ya Gonna Do If???" :saywhat:
Not Scary enough to make me Stop enjoying what I do, but I know that the Possibility is Always Lurking in the Blowdown I just crossed, or the Sand Bar I just made it across on, or the Fence I made it Over once again... :rolleyes:
Not FEAR , at this age, Prudence comes into Play. I believe "Its Not a Sin Dying Doing What You Love" and that God is always watching out for ALL of us. :archer:
It's common in humans to fear the unknown. I'm no different. Being stranded at sea or in the middle of a forrest is an intimidating thought. I don't ever find myself scared of cats or snakes or falling, though. If I lived further NW it might be different.
Bumping into a predator early morning or evening.
Bumping into crazy hunters in their swamp buggy with their shotguns at Corbett.
My fear is leaving my wife and children behind to struggle with the loss and economic impacts they cause.
Getting to and from....i.e...Oncoming Traffic.
Since I bowhunt from the ground here in Texas, I fear getting bit by a rattlesnake.
Texas has lots of rattlesnakes.
Not so much afraid during the daylight. Whether true or not I feel able to deal with life if I can see it coming.
But at night,
especially in the tent trying to sleep. I get a bit bothered by thoughts of bears visiting and helping themselves.
I have a handgun in the tent, but I have to stay awake all night protecting everything that way. Gotta learn to let it go.
ChuckC
I had a forest fire blowing my way last elk season, and that got me a bit concerned.
Stopped hunting the Washakie Wilderness a few years ago when the grizzlies got so bad, not to mention getting snowed in twice in September on two different trips. I'm too old for that stuff nowadays.
My biggest fear is that you all will find out that one thing I'm afraid of and exploit it for your own enjoyment.
I fear the two legit praetor hunting in a place they have no business hunting.
I fear people with guns that decide to target practice while bow season going on off the road.
You just can't fix stupid
I also keep a eye out for the big kitty
Squatches :biglaugh:
My biggest fear besides falling from a tree stand is other carless hunters.
I was walking out a little early one evening and saw a trespasser sky lined in the last bit of orange sun setting. He had his compound pulled back and aimed right at me since I was still in the shadows. I yelled at him and gave him a tongue lashing and let him know I was ready to call the sheriff.
When I was about 12 I was straffed by an owl on my walk out of the woods. I swear his feet snagged my hat and moved it a bit. I am always looking up.... :rolleyes:
And meth-heads.. yup.. they bother me.
For some reason Bears... and dark is pretty spooky when your alone!
My wife will find out how much money i spend on archery.
Maybe I should be fearful.But when hunting I never am.Hunting for me is a vary spiritual event. I feel closest to God when I'm in His wild wonderland called nature.I always hunt alone and I never fear anything- honestly!
Swirling wind!! :scared:
Bill
I don't think I necessarily FEAR anything when I'm hunting. I do however enjoy knowing when someone is also on the lease to help out if something should happen. I'm far from being OLD, but also farther from being young!LOL
I dont want to run into a skunk... again...ever
We have a lot of mountain lions and it is illegal to hunt them here.
We have a lot of drug cartel pot groves--not good to stumble onto.
wouldnt be so bad if we were allowed to carry a side arm, but that is not allowed during archery season.
I think I'm with Terry on this one. The farm I hunt on is off a busy two lane highway that people drive WAY to fast. Lots of deer are splattered along this stretch of road. I worry that in the early morning hours that a deer will run across the road and the on coming vehicle will swerve into my lane. I never relax until I turn off that darn road.
Glenn
No real fears, more like concerns. There is a saying in ultralight backpacking circles that you "pack your insecurities". In other words whatever you pack a lot of is where your concern lies. I pack a lot of water/electrolyte fluids (3-5 quarts), food (2-3 high calorie sandwiches, 4-5 clif bars, trail mix), and a great headlamp. So, I'm always hoping I have enough food, water, and daylight or battery life to get home. Especially the food and water, I've found that the better the shape I'm in, I can just keep going as long as I have food and water. Conversely, if I run out it can turn into a real forced-march type thing.
"Drive-By Bandits"... Let me explain:
While black bear hunting in Central Maine our guide gave us this advice... "I'll come to pick you up after dark right here. When you see the headlights don't just jump out to the road! Bandits know where all the stands are and show up at dark and may rob you at gun point. Stay hidden, wait for us to call you by name, then come to the truck."
Interesting, don't ya think? Till this day, even hunting in my own back yard in The Catskills, I'll not get near a vehicle at night while walking back home on a dark road... :dunno:
... mike ...
BIG FOOT!!! lol
my biggest fear is people who will shoot at any noise or movement they see. I got shot in the hair once(back when I had hair) It doesnt get much closer than that.
Cougars & bears are rare in Texas. No worries. Opposite for rattlers. Not afraid of snakes but they can make you do stuff you wouldn't ordinarily. Getting really lost freaks me out!
After a days hunt and I am walking 3/4 of mile back to my camp, sometimes I think about the rare big cat, or the pack of timberwolves that is in the area. But that really is part of the spice of life to me.
Maybe because of my age, I am more fearful of a slow, painful death in a nursing home. Having watched my mom hang on to life for years, I know I want no part of that.
Perhaps it is because I can prepare or do something about the first scenario and really not much about the second one.
When elk hunting in the high country, those wicked lightning storms and if still hunting deer, being shot by a hungry hunter.
We have wolves packs in the Cascades (Central WA), Selkirks (NE) and Blue Mtns (SE), and grizzly in the first two, but Black Bears and Cougars are more prevalent everywhere, because hunting with dogs was legislated out. Probably time to start carrying when bowhunting afield. Then there are pot growers in National Forests, and idiots breaking into vehicles at trailheads and camp sites. In SE Oregon, along the Idaho and Nevada borders, cattle rustlers are a problem. :dunno:
Releasing a bad shot and wounding an animal and then not finding it.
I hunt the mountains here in CO by myself a lot, so I worry about falling and hurting myself, bought one of those SPOT emergency beacons this year, that eases the worries a lot. Other than that, I worry a bit about my camp getting ripped off by the lazy and meth heads.
Falling out of a tree is my biggest. I keep planning on going ground only but chicken out because we EAT MEAT.... lots of deer.
Living down here you would`nt think it but I hate snakes. Have had a LOT of close calls. RC
Not much I'm afraid of where I hunt, except falling out of a tree or tree stand. I use a safety harness but there's still always a slight chance of falling at some point or another when you're off the ground.
Also, I sometimes fear having a confrontation with a trespassing hunter that could turn violent. You just never know what kind of people you can run into. I've seen some pretty heated arguments concerning who's land is open/closed to whom for hunting.
I have no fear of snakes. Call me stupid for that one, I guess!
I would fear getting lost, especially at night, and in very cold weather, while hunting a new and vast hunting land.
Lastly, I have more than once feared going hunting with a friend into the morning darkness and blindly climbing into a tree only to notice, at first light, a bald-faced hornet's nest hanging from a branch right next to my head and it's still warm in early autumn!
Getting lost without enough food :knothead: :knothead: :knothead: :bigsmyl:
F-Manny
Lightning and high winds...don't like those at all.
I`m afraid some fool will come along and wake me up before I`m ready.
Waking up from a dream just before I shoot a P&Y buck, Mt Goat, Elk or moose. :thumbsup:
Definitely falling out of a tree stand. I'm afraid of heights. That plus getting lost.
Getting shot by another hunter. Happens way too often around here. My faith in God allows me to trust that whatever happens, I and my family will be alright. But ... nobody wants to be gut shot & left to die by some slob. Oh, and drowning - that's another way I'd just rather not go.
That I locked my keys in my truck..............again
The one thing about hunting I really enjoy is the walk out at night especially if its calm. But I am concerned about meeting a bear or some other toothy animal. So now I always have in my hand I strong flashlight to blind or scare them off with.
A Marine like myself scared........NEVER!!!!!!!
Well, there is one thing I'm a touch scared of. Scared that my nephew will find out that I'm going to put doggie doo doo in his blind this year. :biglaugh:
I never considered myself afraid of the dark but.... One morning I went out to my farm. About 4:00am. I was walking down to my stand . I was walking by what moonlight there was, my head lamp off. Quiet as I could be, I walked right next to a doe and she blew. Never even seen her until I hit her with the head lamp. Swear I felt the snot hit me in the face! SCARED THE EVER LIVING CRAP OUT OF ME!!!!
Fear itself.... :scared:
Last Sept in CO, dead trees were falling in the high winds. I thought for sure one would find my tent squarely.
Got lost once when I was a teen, Not cool at all.
Don't like know creepy stinking crawlers with 8 legs for dang sure.
I was walking out one year and walked through a web and looked down to see a huge banana spider on my shoulder! Like to beat my self to death with my bow and coming out of that tree stand that was strapped to back. I'd rather get eat by grizzly than have a stinking spider crawling on me.
I am afraid of lightning, falling out of my tree stand, snakes, and bees/wasps/hornets. I try very hard to get out of the woods quickly if a storm is brewing. I always use a safety harness in the tree, except for one stand that is so low, that I will hit the ground before the safety webbing engages, so I am not sure quite what to do other than be very careful. Now, I wear snakeboots regularly. I try to watch out for stinging things, particulary yellow jackets and hornet nests, but these seem to be hard to see at times.
I was not too happy to hunt during the October snowstorm this year. Trees were falling everywhere. Wouldn't climb my treestand and left after an hour or so. The woods got wrecked and I actually had a deer go by me on my way out of the woods and did not even think of taking a shot. I didn't even hunt for 2 weeks after-lost power for a week and had to focus on the family. Very strange weather this past year.
I enjoy hunting the desert alone and I'm pretty careful to not do something stupid.
What concerns me is running into someone with bad intent or finding a body. Came close one time; I found a complete set of clothes for a young woman scattered over a few square yards of desert. Never found her, though.
Oh... and I am petrified of getting my truck stuck in sand. I absolutely pucker up when a dirt road suddenly turns to sand. You couldn't pull my seat cover out with a pair of Vice-Grips.
Guy
What scares me most if something would happen (I hunt alone alot) and my family would suffer the consequences of my actions...like finding me partialy consumed by God's creatures....
Otherwise I try to be careful and let what happens - happen....
><>
Glenn
A tumble or a hard fall. I'm in the back country a lot by myself. I feel fairly confident I can handle most any problem and pack for it and excercise caution when necessary. Even when I tell loved one's a specific location I have been known to travel off course a bit. Wife's gift of a gps helped me out there. Trying to do a better job about that one!
Afraid I will miss.
Getting struck by a terrific pain, followed by a case of the runs, while up the tree in a climbing stand.
I fear when I finally get home from hunting the door locks will be changed and all my stuff will be in the front yard :D :D
Don't worry H.M.80, I ran in to a BigFoot last year while Deer hunting. and he showed me were the Deer where hanging out. Really nice Guy. :biglaugh:
Frankwright, I sometimes wonder about finding the same thing! LOL
Porcupines are the only animals that scare me when it's dark. They are slow about getting out of the way. One night I was coming outalong a grass rd at a trot i saw something dark thinking it was a rock I was about to launch off of it till the last second . Man that was close. Been wary ever since .
Eastern Oklahoma may be one of the safest places in the world to hunt, but the wildlife dept has been releasing mt lions and timber wolves in various places, or so i have been told. That is changing the outlook a little bit!
Too many big cats around here.. I gave a mountain back to one while hunting one year .. Just something about having a stare down with a huge mature Tom Cat with his hair standing up on his back. I have lost two dogs to them over the past 15 years, and that's around the house.
Scott
I have 2 big fears, and both are from past experiences. Unfortunately more that 1 time each.
#1 Leaving the truck lights on and coming back to a dead battery.
#2 Locking the keys in the truck without a spare key.
Pete
Think my two biggest fears are 1) getting lost and 2) bears-grizzlies or blackies. Been as close as 150 yds from a grizz and to me that's too close.
Walking back to camp after dark . I have seen a few cougars on the coastal range in California.
I have had face offs with bears and mountain lions, I have tripped over a new badger dig and blew out my back, I have had anxiety attacks from pain after struggling for miles to get back to the road, I have left a bow behind because I thought I was having a heart attack, (some unknown other person now has that bow). what scares me more than anything is sharing the woods with the inline muzzle loader group. one of them shot at a deer an hour after sundown and straight towards me, another time one of are group was nearly hit when a deer came close him and two muzzle shooters tried to shoot past him to get the deer before he could shoot. They knew he was there because they tailed us out and sat on a hill above him. I cannot tell by looking which ones will be dangerous and which ones will be safe to hunt within a mile of.
You notice how many state their concerns about drug dealers, meth heads, and bandits? You need to make your own choices concerning your personal safety and the weapons you possess. There are two legged predators in every location, it will be up to you to defend yourself and your family. train hard, hunt hard.
i hunt mostly alone. i sometimes think about snake bite. taking a fall and going down injured. cutting myself badly.
while not hunting related one time in the bush i hit myself in the knee with an axe that was shaving sharp. saw my own bones that day.
My biggest fear is losing another hunting spot that I have SOOOO much time and experience into. I know here in Eastern Mass. all areas are eventually sold, posted or developed.
I don't have many areas to hunt anymore, and its always in the back of my mind that I will lose another precious spot.
a crotch full of chiggers !!!
QuoteOriginally posted by bfrbmj:
I was not too happy to hunt during the October snowstorm this year. Trees were falling everywhere. Wouldn't climb my treestand and left after an hour or so. The woods got wrecked and I actually had a deer go by me on my way out of the woods and did not even think of taking a shot...
Same exact scenario up here during that storm! I was headed to the powerlines. I think she was headed for the golf course...Doesn't matter, we were both getting the heck outta there!
I'm a bad diabetic, very dependent on my insulin pump. My biggest concerns revolve around me having a problem related to low blood sugar.
I guess my biggest fear is having the "Big One" while I'm out there and not being found for a long time.
That's pretty much it.
I can't say I'm to scared of critters ( even though they've seen several big cat's around here lately ) I'm more worried about who I'll run into. I've been packing a pistol for years during bow season. I usually don't ever go to the wood's without one. It's better to be safe than sorry!
To many looney people out there these day's!
Jason
Never had a fear of anything with four legs. My only concern is the two legged anti version. Came back to the truck one night to find my driver side mirror shattered. That was a $78.00 replacement, I removed every membership sticker I had from the truck and park a little farther from the road now.
Brown Recluse Spiders...aka fiddle-backs...my grandpa got bit by one when I was younger and I have never been the same after seeing the pit in his leg that the venom ate away....rather not see a clown in the woods either...I don't like clowns
I always hunt alone and a long ways back in. I don't consider myself scared of anything where I hunt. Although having serious heart problems, when I get real cold and start feeling weird ...I change my mind.
ever since jumping to the ground from a 16' platform stand, WASPS!!!
My biggest fear by far Is wounding an animal. Prior to 2009 I had wounded one animal In 24 years of bow hunting (hit a bear In the foot In 1991). In 2009 I wounded a 150's whitetail and again In 2011 I wounded a 120's whitetail. The 150's buck I just plain and simple missed my spot and hit the thicker part of the shoulder blade. In 2011 I did everything right when I released the arrow. Upon Impact the buck moved to go chase a doe and hit him on top of the back In the spine. Off he went, he lived just fine. After having not so good of luck the last 2 out of 3 years It's In my head constantly now. I have a huge mental game going on now In my head.
I wouldn't call it scared but I don't like the thought of falling down anywhere.
I lost the use of my left lung as the results of a fall taken right here in my home.
I sure do worry about wounding an animal.
The very thought that I can cause suffering makes me very cautious about the shots I take.
I have found a couple of old camp sites that were cause for concern. If I am correct there was some kind of meeting/ritual took place there satanic in nature.
So I'd say running into anyone who isn't of sound mind(especially if they are carrying a weapon)
I was black bear hunting in Arkansas and returned to camp to find one really strange dude looking things over.
Did it spook me? You betcha! I was all alone since my two friends were on a trip to a local town picking up supplies.(supposedly...lol but that's another story..lol)
I built a nice fire and a scarecrow of sorts to sit around the fire then I backed away and positioned myself under a nearby cedar tree with my weapons in hand, just in case.
Looking back on it, it reminds me of the movie "Home Alone!"...lol
God bless,Mudd
PS: when I said a strange fellow.. I don't mean just a little bit strange.. he made the hair stand up on my neck for sure.
Quote from favorite T shirt
"I live with Fear everyday, but somedays she lets me go fishing"
Falling, drowning, getting lost, and people who shouldn't own guns freak me out.
Where I hunt I am most concerned about Mtn Lions either at night or dusk. But I am rarely afraid - just aware and vigilent.
I have had one experience that creeped me out and I never saw what did it. It was there, it was stalking me or in some way a danger. I will stand by that. My 6th sense was working in overdrive, hair was up and skin creeping...! It wasn't the woods, it wasn't the shadows. I love all that. It was something else.
Joshua
I fear walking into a banana spider web with the spider on my face! It has happened a few times (I think I live where they originated!) Other than that, the only things I fear while hunting are the things that I don't see. If I see a 20 ft diamondback before I stumble on it, I'm not worried. If I see a mountain lion (and have the means to survive an attack, IE my Bowie knife or a gun), I may get an adrenaline rush, but I'm not really afraid......okay, I lied. I'd probably piss a little. But I'd gut him like a fish if I had to!
There are not many bears around here other than small black bears that are rarely seen. Bobcats- I can put them. Coyotes around here are small also. Nothing my bowie knife can't handle. Basically, I may get bitten up by the things around me, but I'd win those battles!
QuoteOriginally posted by Jaypo:
I fear walking into a banana spider web with the spider on my face!
Those are cool spiders as long as you see them before they're stuck to your face. Once they are stuck to your face they deserve nothing but death.
I can't see a dang thing without my contacts in. I fear losing them, whick I have done on occassion. I carry a spare and a set of glasses when I am in the woods. I have thought on many occassions what a drag it must have been to be a near sighted hunter/gatherer...
I hunt on a cattle ranch and to me one of the scariest things is running into a big black upset bull in the dark. Last year the Rancher placed 7 bulls in my favorite hunting area. Every morning and evening when I would walk to the stand or back to truck was always a tense time for me. As far as I know the bulls were probably very tame but they were my biggest fear.
Gilbert
well i would say falling and getting hurt but i did that about15 months ago,after surgery and 8 weeks of therapy my knee is as good as new!
since i got my wife into hunting i guess i worry about her, not sure why...i would hate to stumble up on her in the woods(we both have concealed carry permits and we use them)we carry our sidearms bowhunting especially since you never know what youll find or who may be hanging around the truck when you return!
snakes...i have a healthy respect for,my wife laughs at me but im always looking.she says im paranoid...i say if one bites me it will be in the butt because ill be going the other way!
Running into someone in the act of stealing from my camp........or some person who thinks they can threaten violence to claim an animal from me...never had either happen to me, but friends have...
In either case I know exactly what my response would be, and that's what worries me.
I wasn't afraid of anything until I read this thread, now I'm nervous wreck. Had a mature mountain lion 20 yds from my ground blind with 15 minutes of light left last year in Colorado. That'll get your attention. I'll be pack'n heat from now on.
As was said previously we fear the unknown. I in particular fear unknowingly coming upon a snake. As irrational as it may be I fear the buggers. Unfortunately my wife likes to exploit that fear on occasion.
I mostly wear flip flops and shorts in the summer. As we were getting ready to go to the grocery store one evening I noticed a healthy population of frogs around the back door. I thought to myself that would be a prime spot for a snake. I didn't say anything about it to anyone I simply took note. As we returned home I looked for the frogs to try and figure out why they were all right in that one spot. About that time my wife yelled, "SNAKE!!!". Now I'm a pretty big fella, but I jumped far back I almost hit the car. I was half way down the drive way before I heard my wife laughing. She just stood there pointing to my flip flops still sitting where I had been standing before she yelled.
Now let me tell you, as soon as I cleaned up from the involuntary bowl movement, I gave her the what for.
Chip
QuoteOriginally posted by MOFISH:
I wasn't afraid of anything until I read this thread, now I'm a nervous wreck.
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
I'm not afraid of getting lost. Hell, I'm used to it.
...running out of coffee in my thermos before lunch. And when I have the "Big One" its not big enough and I end up a potted plant in some hospice.........
Grizzly bears. They are getting rather thick in this part of the world. As for two legged predators...those Simmons Treesharks would give ME the chills if they were pointed in MY direction.
A big thunder storm with lots of lightning in a snow storm
That it may be my last time.
That if it starts to rain I'll have to leave early or stay the night..
The big ones always die in the creek.
The only thing for me would bears in the dark... I've bean really close to both grizz and blacky, like 5yard close and never had a problem... That said I still don't like them to be that close!!
Here, no other animals are to worry about, maybe bull moose in the rut?!?!?
Things that I fear are someone in my family getting hurt or needing help bad and not being able to get ahold of me...( no cell phone service where I hunt) or my son.. my hunting partner..getting hurt and me not being able to find him. When he is late gettin back to camp at night I just kind of sit there with a knot in my gut imagining all the worst things.
that buck being 20 yards to far away
Falling,snakes and ticks I hate ticks.Some places MT lions.
I wouldn't mind and encounter with a bear, or cougar,but them skunks!--just can't stand 'em and have more fear of a skunk coming at me than anything else!...even a wolf I would not mind! lol
Kenny :bigsmyl:
stepping on a booby trap while checking out the pot that grows in my woods i hunt in, i show the growers where i am hunting and share the woods with them as long as they share with me, they are not bad people, they are just trying to survive like the rest of us
I fear wounding an animal...so I take only slam dunk shots
I fear falling out of a tree...so I am strict on safety harness's, and hunt off the ground more.
I fear having a heart attack dragging out a deer...so I workout a ton and pace myself while dragging.
Wow, a lot of interesting fears, encounters and hilarious posts!
Clowns?! I'm still laughing!
I don't fear these things now but they were scarey at the time:
Kansas (Newton) - 1991-I was in a large osage tree. Heard shooting on the river behind me. Heard little ticks and pings among the branches in the tree I was in. I realized the bozos (uh oh --Clowns)were target shooting with what sounded like .30 caliber rifles on the surface of water. Bullets were ricocheting through my tree! I was amazed at how harmless the bullets sounded as they whizzed through.
Indiana (Elkhart) -- ~1984 -- In a tree bowhunting on openind day of Mzzl season. A wad of does were pushed out of a cornfield by a buck. They stopped under my tree. A tresspassing MZZL hunter stepped out of the fog about 80 yards away on a ditchbank. He saw the does but not me in the stand. Before I could holler or hide he pulled up and shot at the deer. He missed all of us. I provided him some suggestions for future aliases and he left. I killed a different Doe a few minutes later.
Crossbows in the dark.
Hunting alone back in the 90's, I was sneaking through some black timber, along a well used elk trail, attempting to be as stealthy as possible. Suddenly, a loud "woof", and I was eye to eye with a big boar grizzly. As we bored holes in each other for several seconds, I am happy to say that Mr. Griz turned around and left in a big hurry. I paced off where I had first seen him, and it was 30 steps. I decided that this would be a nice time to return to camp and change my shorts.
A lot of us are showing our age with the fears that we have !
Like many others, the idea of having a heart attack while in the woods is a big concern. Most of the time nobody knows where I am.. I'm out every afternoon and always in a different place. I do keep my phone with me now..
I love the walks out in the dark but here in the south we have snakes..
I've fallen from treestands twice, actually limbs broke that I was hanging onto or standing on both times.. Those falls were over 30 years ago and I try to be much more careful now.. The way I feel now I'd break in a thousand pieces from a fall from 15' or so, maybe even 5 feet !
But, I feel more at home in the woods than anywhere and won't let these concerns keep me from these wonderful outtings that God has allowed me..
I would have to say my biggest fear while hunting is getting caught in the high country when a lightning storm rolls in and you have nowhere to go. I'm a powerlineman by trade and have seen first hand how destructive it is! As for all of Gods little creatures go, lets just say some of them get a WHOLE lot more respect than others :D
Amen on the lighting,I was caught in a storm at 10700 ft and the hail started falling ,started looking for a rock to get under,I walked wood for 20years and seen a lot of lighting damage...
I used to have a Loggy Bayou tree stand that scared the crap out of me on a regular basis. It would slip while climbing sometimes, and not just a little. I'm a little nervous about heights anyway, and slipping a couple of feet down the tree didn't help.
Other than that, not much.
I did once get pretty creeped out in the woods by an old abandoned church and graveyard in the predawn hours.
If I lived where there were Grizzlies, I'd probably be nervous about that.
If I lived in Georgia where "The Walking Dead" is filmed, I'd fear zombies. Hell, I already fear zombies. Vampires, not so much. But zombies scare the hell out of me.
Big kitties when I'm alone and bivy hunting the wilderness... mostly while in my tent at night. I watch the house cat torment a mouse and figure it wouldn't be pretty if one decided to mess with me.
It didn't help when my grand-daughter said that me in my bivy tent looked like a "human burrito"!
Neat thread!
QuoteOriginally posted by centaur:
Hunting alone back in the 90's, I was sneaking through some black timber, along a well used elk trail, attempting to be as stealthy as possible. Suddenly, a loud "woof", and I was eye to eye with a big boar grizzly. As we bored holes in each other for several seconds, I am happy to say that Mr. Griz turned around and left in a big hurry. I paced off where I had first seen him, and it was 30 steps. I decided that this would be a nice time to return to camp and change my shorts.
Yeah. I don't like brown bears. Black bears are OK, with exceptions. Two years ago I was hunting near my house and scared a black sow and her cub. They skedaddled. I was on the side of a steer face slope in black timber and all of a sudden I heard this clamoring in a pine growing up right next to me and then I was face to face with cub #2. We just looked at each other. I was thinking "Aren't you a little cutey." And then its face wrinkled up just like a little baby's and he started bawling. I heard crashing in the woods down below and man I was a 17 year old high hurdler in the state track meet all over again.
And ticks. I hate ticks. I'm not afraid of them but I hate 'em. There is only one thing in the whole world worse and that is the 3 a.m. ear skeet.
I don't fear anything cause I'm the meanest SOB in the woods. :bigsmyl: Actually, we don't have any dangerous critters in this state -- black bear and wolves, but no grizzlies or big cats, and no poisonous snakes to speak of.
I also hunt in western states and Alaska, and grizzlies and cats would definitely get my healthy respect, and I expect fear, If I came face to face with one that wanted to do me harm.
Around here, I'm more worried about the Bozos who shoot first, at movement, sound, before or after shooting hours, in the dark, etc., and determine what they shot at later, as well as vandals/thieves who damage vehicles and other property.
Don't really worry about getting hurt while hunting. Suppose I should. Have always managed to get myself out of tough situations none the worse for wear. If I "buy the farm" while hunting, I figure there's nothing else I would rather have been doing when the lights go out.
meth-heads/simply desperate individuals, since I usually hunt alone I have taken to packing heat! Not far from where I hunt a guy was attacked at the lake where he was fishing..robbed and left for dead. :campfire:
A few years back....There was a member on here who got shot in the leg by a teenager who fired his rifle at a noise in the bush....sorry cant remember who.... Ever sence then it is always on my mind!
And a couple years back.....here in Oklahoma several wardens were injured by traps set up by pot growers!!!
:dunno:
Walking out in the dark bothers me because I hunt in an area full of lion and bear. My last hunt I walked out on a trail with fresh cat tracks, (big ones) all the way to my truck. I had my knife in my hand all the way and was shining the light in every direction.
I now carry a .40 Springfield XDM for the other hand. I will put my bow over my back for added protection . LOL
God bless you all , Steve
I don't know if anyone has said this yet. But, my biggest fear is forgetting my s_ _ _ paper! :scared: :scared: :scared:
QuoteOriginally posted by MOFISH:
I wasn't afraid of anything until I read this thread, now I'm nervous wreck.
X2
I will say that on the day my son shot the rabbit shown in my avatar we had an encounter with a "big cat" while hunting javelinas. My boy was just little but he had an arrow on the string and wanted to creep up and check out the "scream" we had just heard from the other side of a mesquite bush.
Not sure if "scared" is the right word but having a young son that near to something that wanted the javelina on the end of the blood trail we were on was a sobering experience to say the least.
Great memory that I wll cherish until the day I die!
Any fear was what his Mom would do if I didn't bring him back in one piece.
Running into a Grizzly. If I stay in Montana next year I want to go way back in, ~5-10 miles, and I'm worried that I might break something and not be able to get out. Probably going to buy one of those emergency SOS location devices just in case. Also, I'm a Type 1 Diabetic and worried I'll run out of food for when my blood sugar goes low or insulin for other times. That especially is another element that I have to deal with for hunting that most people don't have to worry about.
Missing or even more - wounding!
QuoteOriginally posted by buckster:
I don't know if anyone has said this yet. But, my biggest fear is forgetting my s_ _ _ paper! :scared: :scared: :scared:
Buckster, so long as you're wearing a long sleeved shirt you're good for the weekend :eek:
Guy
I've had several scary situations while hunting but I guess what scares me now is my lousy back. Once in awhile a nerve will get pinched (knock on wood its been about 4 years since the last time) and I'm just a cripple. I mean I can't even hardly crawl, Its takes a couple of days until i can get to my feet even with pain pills.
It would defiantly suck !
I stepped on a rattlesnake here in Texas not long ago one evening walking to the stand, called the owner of the land and his son came to where I last seen the snake. He brought a rod and reel, hooked the snake and put it in a cage, I stood back from a safe distance and watched, never will forget that one.
My fear is having to leave the woods and come back to this stinking town when I'm done. I wish I could just stay there, I don't get there nearly enough.
Heat.
QuoteOriginally posted by Rob W.:
Going back to work!
Amen to that!
Getting shot by Bow or gun. There is a new breed of people out there who just wan t to kill a buck. No respect for the game and absolutly no respect for the other hunters in the field.
failure.
Usually my first fear is walking in to my tree in the dark. I'm usually tripping over things & making all kinds of noise. Once I get to my tree, my next fear is falling from the tree as I'm hanging my sticks & stand. Once I get into my stand, I feel pretty good. My harness makes me feel a lot better once I'm set in the stand. My next fear is walking out in the dark or falling out of my tree while taking down my stand.
That it will be my last time in the woods. Life is fragile and lately that fact has been very top of mind for me. Enjoy each day afield fellas. Tomorrow is never promised.
Good advice JJB2...the thought of the last time IS indeed scary.
Bears and cats don't bother me too much as long as I'm with a partner and its not pitch black.
However, crossing the Gallatin river at O dark thirty in the dead of winter to get to my deer stands makes me VERY nervous.
That inky rush of icy black at me knees is an adrenaline shot. If I slip and swim its hypothermia at least and maybe a premature burial.
Four years ago my partner and I fell through the shelf ice in December and were slurring our words by the time we got back to the truck. However, we still go back.... Darwinian I'm sure.
NOTE: I down play that crossing to my wife. :)
I am scared to death right now that my Dad may never hunt with me again. He is in a home and hating life right now. I go every day for a few hours and have since Dec 7th. I am having real doubts he will ever come home.
Now doesnt it feel better to get it off you chest,and now you can conquer all those fears seeing your not alone.
I have to say out of all the fears I read the one about the meth heads and pot growers are unbelievable, I did see a few documentary's on this but it wasnt about the threat on hunters. Un real
QuoteOriginally posted by emac396:
I am scared to death right now that my Dad may never hunt with me again. He is in a home and hating life right now. I go every day for a few hours and have since Dec 7th. I am having real doubts he will ever come home.
My thoughts are with you. My dad is my favorite hunting partner too.
As Buckster knows I deal with anxiety issues when I am in and of the world, as a small business owner and my son as my partner I carry allot on my sholders. My GREATEST fear in this world is that of loosing the limited moments of pure sanity I am able to experience when I am in the woods, I refer to this as my tickle me elmo therapy! As a new Reconvert to trad hunting I see this as a rebirth of my enthusiam and love of hunting,shooting,and love of this wonderful experience we call LIFE! Thank you brother for showing me the real light,the bright light....the light of the ancient way!
Rolling an ankle and tearing ligaments. I did it once had to walk a short distance. Feet, ankles, knees and legs get you in, they got to get you out. I try to avoid risky terrain and especially shale slides, boulders fields and X-steep slopes.
Getting a sandstone thrown at me while in the outhouse taking care of business. The outhouse at our lease in san saba,tx was a portable one made out of plastic. The sun takes a toll on plastic over the years making it very fragile, enough said, rock hit me in the head, it was a blast.
I do not have any fears about hunting. When I am in the woods I am at peace with the world and all my worries go away, a bow in the hand and a quiver of arrows is all I need.
I don't really fear too much while hunting. Not too many grizzly bears or mountain lions in central NY. I would not want to lose another Skullworks knife, though. I lost one on a walk up in the mountains about 3 years ago and it still angers me!
Other than serious mechanical injury I guess Coyotes.
I stumbled across one on a kill site last year without knowing it (till I heard the grow)
I conceal carry in the woods now just in case.
To be honest, I am a former Marine and have spent many many dark nights in the jungle on patrols and for some reason that walk out at the end of the evening hunt keeps me on edge(a 30 round magazine and a M-16 gives you a safe feeling). But besides that in my area its the clown who watches you and comes back the next day and hunts 30yrds from your stand and some times in your stand. I fear the lazy hunter I guess.
QuoteOriginally posted by emac396:
I am scared to death right now that my Dad may never hunt with me again. He is in a home and hating life right now. I go every day for a few hours and have since Dec 7th. I am having real doubts he will ever come home.
That would be tough, I love looking forward to getting back into the woods with my dad as well. My prayers go out to you.
A note about fear...
One of the most important lessons I ever learned was when I was 6 or 7 and jumped off the high diving board at the pool. I was scared terrible, but I very quickly discovered that the fear is completely separate from what it is you're doing that scares you. (Plus, I was more scared of going back down the ladder.)
I am never really scared of anything when hunting, though wolves and bears (and %"&£$@ snakes) have have had my hair stand up when hunting in the us.
The one thing that has had my heart pound heavy from real fear, and made me think "**** that could have been bad", is other hunters, and their irresponsible gun handling habits.
K
I see a lot of people commenting about carrying a sidearm while bowhunting. I'm curious- is it legal in your states? I live in Lousiana, and the only sidearm we can carry while bowhunting is a .22 with rat shot. It's illegal to carry anything else. I'd prefer to carry my .45, but I would be the lucky one to get nabbed by the WLF agent! So is it legal to carry a larger sidearm in whatever state you guys hunt in?
The 2nd Amendment is honored in Wyoming. Yes, we can carry while bowhunting. If I was hunting in griz country, a 44 would be on my hip.