What are the two most dangerous things that has happened to you while hunting ?

[Duffy]

Wow! Those are some stories. My two aren't nearly as involved as some of yours, but here goes:

1) Fell out of a tree overlooking a ravine. Yes, I rolled down the ravine. Not too far, and no broken bones, but good size bruises and cuts.

2) Having been told by a fellow woodchuck hunter whom I had never met before that he had the back of my head, which he mistook for a woodchuck at 300 yards, in the crosshairs of his .22-250! I was in a prone position at the time, he was that far behind me, and I guess I stood up at just the right time! Needless to say, I now wear a blaze orange cap whenever I hunt woodchucks.

[fabsroman]

Yeah, #2 would scare the #2 out of me. Blaze orange should be used for all hunting that does not require a person to get close to his/her quarry. I know some people do not believe in blaze orange, but if it doesn't scare the game away (i.e., shooting groundhogs at long range), what does it matter.

[Lilred]

Originally posted by Skyline
Fortunately I do not live or hunt in the conditions you guys do......and never will thank God. I hunted in Oregon once during an open elk season years ago and I will never go back...it was an absolute zoo and it was not fun.

On the other hand I hunted in Wyoming and Montana a few times on private land (paid a small tresspass fee) and had a great time and rarely saw another hunter.

If you are going to have things set up in areas with huge populations so that it is a free for all on the small areas of BLM land and tags are just bought over the counter as opposed to a longer time period of staggered seasons with draws, then I guess you just have to put up with it.

I

OK honey...now let me read this again..you payin a tresspass fee? Last time I was thinkin..which aint but so often mind you...the werd tresspass means you done went on somebody's place without them givin you permission to. Iffin that's the case...dont that put you back to square one??
I was huntin on private land when I seen that fool by the way...he was where he wont supposed to be. Which makes it even worse iffin you ask me. Here I was not expectin somebody and like a fly in yer grits...there he is.

And I wouldnt trade goold ole Virginia fer 1/2 of Canada and all it's cold..I mean gold

[fabsroman]

Lilred,

You have me in stitches tonight with this post, the immigration issue, and the pot of gold.

A "trespass fee" is usually paid to the farm owner for the right to legally trespass on the property. I know it sounds weird, but that is the term that they use. In essence, you are paying in advance for breaking the law, kind of. Probably comes from some English law from 500 years ago. Quite honestly, they should just change the term to "fee" for hunting.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

so far the griz in the tent and the wild bore got my attention..I would have to rate these as #2 producers.
hunting between 2 cornfields for a 12pt whitetail the size of the farmers cows during archery. I had 4 doe and a 6 pt messing around my decoy and since were only 15 yds from me I sat there till well after dark so as not so give up my hiding spot to them..on the way out later and walking in crunching leaves in steps of 4..(trying to sound like the 4 legged critters), all heck broke out from the cornfield. Sounded like a truck as the big one crashed through it then the 10' wide strip of woods only to land square in front of me and I know darn well he thought I was the spike he kicked butt on the night before..(he killed it..the farmer found it in his field)..or the 6pt...after a short staredown, he bolted never to be seen again..but I figured he was either going to kick some butt or get some but t..either way..it didn't look good for me..I had ran into him a few times before this during groundhog season..and what a trophy he is but he is still there...oh and the deer jumping out of the corn on way out of woods has happened quite a few other times over the years but they weren't anything like this one so keep alert out there. We have all heard the stories..

[Lilred]

Fabs...thanks fer explainin that to me..even tho it still dont make no sense. That's what been wrong with the world all along..them dern English. They fought just bout every country in the world tryin to take it over (includin this one)....so it figures that somethin that backwards would come from over yonder

[Andy L]

I had two really scary ones to me.....

1. We were making a deer drive. We were driving out a steep, brushy ravine and the shooters were on a open saddle on one side. I was at the very end of the line, being youngest and that being the longest walk. I came out and started toward the meeting place when a very nice 10pt came out about 25 yards in front of me, loping across the saddle. I could see the shooters from their elevated position at the other end of the saddle. The grass was pretty tall and they couldnt see me, obviously. I was waiting for the buck to clear them so I could kill it. Easy shot, he hadnt seen me and was not running hard. Then, I heard two bullets whiz by my head, a sound you wont forget. I hit the deck and continued to hear bullets go by for probably a split second that seemed like an eternity. My uncle killed the buck, but he also about had heart failure when he saw me stand up out of the grass as he walked out to it.

2. I was elk hunting south of Gunnison CO. I had hunted my way back about 4 miles that morning, from the nearest road. I had no idea anyone else was in the area, as most wont get over a mile from a road. It was first season and was about 80 degrees by noon and I was working up a logging road (no vehicles allowed) to the dark timber to try and find a bedding bull. It had been about 20 deg that morning, so I had some clothes on. I stopped by a downed tree over the road and took off my pack, laid down my gun and started taking off clothes to adjust. Of course, this meant taking off my orange first and laying it on the tree in front of me. In just a few seconds, I heard what sounded like a bottle rocket taking off and a tree about 3 feet from me exploded in a small area, a bullet had hit and then I heard the shot soon after, about a half mile down the mountain from me. I really dont think the guy was shooting at me, I dont think, I think he shot at something and the bullet travelled past and happened to land there. Spooky though.

This wasnt while hunting, but still scary. My family has alot of land that borders Ft Leonard Wood MO. Sometimes we have cattle get out on the fort and we call to see what areas have what activities before we go in horseback to get them back. My uncle, same one as above, failed to do so one time. We were coming up on the back of a firing range that he said they never use, looking for the cattle. The trees were dead and riddled with holes, well above our heads from bullets clearing the dirt banks at the targets. We were on our way out when the shooting started. It went on forever, it seemed. The horses were going nuts, we were trying to hold them down while keeping on the ground ourselves and I think doing alot of praying.

I always hated going on post after that.....

Andy

[Valigator]

This big boy, just about broke my arm, we spent a a couple of hours finding him then a couple just getting him in the boat, he was bangsticked a good four times witha 44 cal. and appeared dead. Big Mistake and I dont do that anymore....when we go to tag him, he reflexes his head and gets my arm between him and the cage at an unbelievable amount of speed, I just knew my left arm was broke...anyway it wasnt but the bone wasnt right for months.
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL11/8...0/35225885.jpg

that look on my face is pure pain...

[Valigator]

The other stupid thing I did was back into this trailer "in the dark" carrying a 9 footer, I thought everyone taped their kill, obviously not, I fell down "amongst them" as they say and one big boy almost got my leg ....another reflex I didnt see coming...

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL11/8...4/68990573.jpg

PS. You know how people describe fear....In all my life I never had a feeling of pure panic ...like I did that night...

[Critch]

1. I got snakebit by a copperhead when I was 16.

2. I got caught in a forest fire near Greenville, MO that some morons set to drive the deer. My brohter-in-law and I spent the rest of the day fighting the fire with the Forest Service. Those guys burned over 40 acres. They were caught BTW.