Absolutely one of the neatest days hunting of my life...

Four deer picked their way across the oak flat in front of me. I knew well where they were heading, and wasted no time in circumnavigating the area, heading to the mass of green briar they were sure to enter. I reached the thicket at the same time as the gray-coated does. Each deer passed me at a short twelve yards, never offering a hole to slip my Grizzly tipped shaft through.

Fair enough. Rather than push them from the comfort of their beds, I elected to slowly back out and still hunt through a familiar creek bottom. It was December, and Mother Nature was making sure I was fully aware as I met a gust of bitter wind head on. The fallen leaves did little to help my cause, with each footstep seemingly louder than the last.

Across an ancient, fallen maple, two squirrels enjoyed a game of tag. Another squirrel busied himself with the task of collecting breakfast, conveniently, in my direction. Having never been a picky fellow, I quickly traded the broadhead for a blunt and waited. The hungry squirrel seemed to turn over every leaf in this path on his quest for acorns, and closed the thirty yards slowly.

As my fingers began to strain the Hickory bow's limbs, I caught movement from the Osage stand  to my right. A red fox, much like myself, was hunting the squirrel. Finding this far to interesting to take either, I eased the selfbow down and watched, enthralled in nature's game of tag.

The fox stalked the rodent with skill enough to turn any cat green with envy, closing the distance quickly and quietly before lying in ambush mere yards from the clueless squirrel (Not more than 15 feet from me...).

Then something happened that took all three of us by surprise; a silent shadow sped through the canopy, barreling down on its quarry at warp speed. The Red-Tailed hawk connected with outstretched talons, instantly killing the squirrel. The fox, obviously surprised and offended that this newcomer should take his brunch, leapt from his ambush and confronted the raptor.

The hawk covered her prize with outstretched wings as the canine circled. In a display intimidating enough to unnerve even me, the hawk shrieked and hissed at the would-be robber, convincing him to search elsewhere for a meal. Once satisfied that the fox was far enough away to cause no further disruption, the hawk collected her victim in her talons and glide gracefully off to parts un-known.

The rest of the morning passed relatively un-eventfully, but the convergence of three predators was more than enough that day. We, as bowhunters and outdoorsman, are truly blessed...

Neet story. That squirrels number was up.

I wish I had been there to see that with you.

Dennis

Now that was cool!

i have had an extremly hard, crappy week of work. this story just picked me up and made me smile, i would give anything to have been in your shoes. thank you so much for sharing this story!!!

Really great story showing what it's like to be a hunter and why we love it so. Thanks!

Great story, and very well written!

That was a great story and you did a fine job of relaying it to us. Thanks!

Great Story! Thanks for sharing!

Seeing that would make my day, something that few get to witness, treasure the memory, because it surely is a treasure!


David

I had a hawk bush within two feet of my face a few days ago.  It's events like this that keep us in the stand for hours on end.  It's something  non-hunters will never understand.  Thanks for the story.

That is incredible.  Nearly the same thing happened to me 3 years ago.  The exception is none of us ended up with the squirrel as the convergence of predators confused us all enough that we lost track of our prize for long enough for it to escape.  Thanks for sharing.

Awesome story and an incredible experience.

Great story!  I agree well told/written.  

I was in camo and scouting for deer or turkeys years ago, and had made a twig and leaf dying rabbit call.  I was blowing it and not paying any attention  as I wasn't actually hunting.  I was suddenly in shade and had not moved! I ducked and turned just as a hawk wa about to light on my head!!! I think he thought I was a stump to sit on while he looked for the victim.  Scared the c--- out of me and him.
Thanks for the reminder.

How cool - great story!

Great story, sounds like you had a pretty successful day!

Wow! thats just an awesome hunting story. I'll bet you wish you had taken your camera along! Things like this are certainly the reason I spend so much time in the hills.

That must've been an awesome experience! Great writting of the story too! Thanks for sharing!      

Nigel

As good as bagging one of those deer.Very cool.

Matt,

You were blessed that day.....now whatever camo you were wearing, stick to that stuff, it must have worked well.  To be that close to predators on their own hunt that did not konw you were there is a great testament to the effectiveness of your camo within that particular environment.