Never worry about bobcats... never had one get even a little agressive... this is about the only thing that can hurt you

I don't get the hibbie jibbies, but I do get the walkin' farts.

get worse than that lol

Nothing better than to jump a covey of bobwhites before daylight to get the blood pumping

Nothing more fun than walking into 20-30 javis to wake you up

A couple of years ago I scouted an unfamiliar area in the afternoon and got up the next morning to hunt. I drove out to the ranch at 530, parked, grabbed my back pack and rifle and started walking down a trail I had marked the day before. It was one of those darker than death mornings. No sounds but my foot falls and pack scraping the brush. The trail was lined with cedars and it was a tight squeeze most of the way. I stopped every 20 yards or so for a moment to listen and to keep my breathing normal. Total silence for the first few rest stops. I squeezed into a cedar to progress and suddenly bells started to ring in brush. And heavy hooves stomped by. Scared the wits out of me. At the camp that evening I was told there was a neighbor's mule somewhere loose on the property. I guess I found him.

I hunted Mule Deer on a ranch north of Sanderson in the early 90's. The guys showed me the ranch layout and turned my loose. The first morning I hunted by myself on foot when I came across a herd of feral goats/sheep and 2 Llamas. Those Llamas watched my like a hawk from 3-400 yrds. When they tried to walk around them they started to parallel me and angle to me. I went up on top and they then stayed down low. When I got back to camp I told the guys I was hunting with about them. They laughed and said you have to watch them Llamas they are very protective and will come after you. It made my morning hunts walking in before dark very exciting in that pasture.

I guess the worst scare I ever had was about 5 years ago. A buddy wanted me to come bow hunt with him one morning just so he would have someone in both of his stand locations. We were heading along the edge of a CRP field, making our way toward the stands. We got into an area that was pretty tall vegetation and heard the sounds of what sounded like a fairly large hog coming toward us complete with the chomping and grunting sounds one makes when they are not liking your presence. Take into account, it was very dark, we were bow hunting with no pistols, and only one flashlight (mine which I let him carry so he could lead the way). My buddy starts to make a run for it and I grab him and told him to just walk away steadily, but there was no need to run, better to stay together. As we were making our collective retreat, we devised a plan that if the hog attacked, we would try to feed it our bow while the other attacked with a knife. Needless to say, no attack, the hog quit following us after a short distance. I look at my buddy, laugh and say "told you so, no need to be worried." I turned, took about two steps and busted a big covey of quail and have had high blood pressure ever since. Forget the hogs, them killer quail will get you every time.

OK, I've had enough laughs at this one I guess I'll join the frey. A couple years ago I left my house at 2 am to go to the lease so I could hunt the morning hunt. I would be the only soul on the place (very remote). When I got there, I discovered the snow had drifted pretty deep along the only road to get to my stand. I unloaded the Polaris and started out. I had traveled only about 50 or 60 yards when I fell through the snow into a hole and high centered the thing. I winched it out and started again only to do the same thing. Well, time was getting on and I dang sure wanted to get to the blind. It was a bright moon, clear sky and snow on the ground so I thought "crap, I'll just walk". My stand is about 2 miles from where I now sit. No big deal, I still had plenty of time. I started out with nothing but a head lamp for light. A few minutes later, my head lamp went out. No problem, bright moon, clear sky...I could see easily. I had traveled about mile (half way) when I noticed it getting dark. I look up and sure enough a thick cloud cover is blowing in and in almost no time it was pitch black. A mile to the stand and a mile back to the truck. As luck would have it a couple of weeks before, a hunter on the lease across the road had gotten attacked by a wounded hog and tore him up pretty bad. Now we have loads and loads of hogs on our place. I can honesly say that the next mile to the stand was one of the most intense walks I've ever had. I swear every bush moved. I crept to the stand like I was alone walking through Taliban territory, gun at the ready and head on a swivel. Turn a 360 every other step. Ninja style. Got to the stand and the feeder went off as I was climbing the ladder. Deer were already on the feeder and I had a great morning in the stand. I kinda laughed at myself for a while when I realized how stupid I must have looked. I'll never forget that walk into the stand.

Thers's something that gets me everytime. That dang feeder goes off when everything is silent. I know its going to go off but i still get a little jolt when it spins out and I'm looking the other way. My bow stand is 3 yards from it so it's loud when it spins.

You don't wanna miss,do you?

Shot a doe very late tracked it about 100 yards across a creek. I decided to go back in the morning because it was a cold night. Found it not too much further. It was covered with leaves and sticks. Had some bite marks. Looked around it in the mud and saw the cat tracks. Hair on the back of my neck stood right up and backed out slow. I did not carry gun in case I had to drag it out. Last time I do that. That was first of 2 deer i found covered on that property. Cats normally do not stray far from their kills.

Lol

lol

Sometimes I would get the creeps a bit, but I just finished hunting a ranch near Sanderson, Tx where they have trapped 7 mountain lions in the last 4 years. I heard stories, and saw evidence, of the awesome killing power of those animals. This came right after reading a story from TPWD about how the Mountain Lions have spread to the hill country, my neighbor telling me he spottted one in our neighborhood, the guy who runs cattle on my lease saying he saw one about 1.5 miles away from me, the lion spotting on Brushy Creek a couple of years ago, and the folks at Balcones Canyonlands telling me they have a lot of them there. I was a skeptic for a long time, but I have been confronted with too much evidence lately. I think they are taking over the world! I wonder if they can take out the zombies when they attack? Heck, I am getting scared to walk at night in my own block!

Nothing will wake you up quite like walking to the stand in the dark thru hip high range grass and feeling whatever you just stepped on move, make a loud, high pitch scream, and jump above your head. That was the highest I have ever seen a jackrabbit jump and it was the fastest I have ever ran in my life.

I have only been deer hunting about 8 years so going to the blind in the dark is still fairly new to me. Walking under a turkey roost in a dark creek bottom was my first scare but not all that bad as I knew it was trukies. The second year on the lease I got a real good scare. We had a blind on the edge of a field with a dry creek running 20' behind the blind. This creek was deep and we had anchored a 6' ladder to the wall of the creek because the wall was 8' tall and straight up. I would ride the ATV about 80 yds down the creek right to the ladder and leave it in the creek. One very cold morning, I had on long johns, blue jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve flannel shirt, vest and camo jump suit. I always dress in layers so I can peal layers off as it warms up. Any way, when I stopped the ATV and turned it off it was so dark I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. I walk to the back of the ATV to get my not yet loaded deer rifle out of the Kolpin gun boot when a pack of coyotes goes off and they sound like they are around the next bend in the creek. My one and only gun is still in the boot, my shells are in one of the many pockets in my backpack that is strapped to the front of the ATV and my only flashlight is in one of my shirt pockets 3 layers deep. To say I felt vunerable is an under statement.
I didn't get eaten and made it to the blind just fine and had myself a good laugh at myself. While sitting in the blind waiting for it to get light I counted the pockets I could have had the flashlight in and the number was 14 and the shells could have been in any one of the 8 pockets in the backpack. I'm a little more organized these days when traveling in the woods in the dark.

I always....ALWAYS have ALL of my guns loaded. You just never know when you will need it NOW.

I've heard woodcock aren't scared of ppl and only flush in the presence of a Bigfoot Boogymonster stalking his prey.


Nothing really bothers me and I'm not turning on a light to give away my position.

Yeah but what if you have Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lamb, dancing around you singing, "It rubs the lotion on it's skin. It does whatever it's told. It rubs the lotion on it's skin or it gets the hose again."

You would totally miss that without a light and he has night vision.

I have an uncle that will not go to his stand before first light and has to be back to camp before sunset.

If you don't see it is it really there?

I remember walking to my tree in east Tx before the sun came up and every 20 yards or so would be these giant spider webs going across the trail with these huge brown hairy spawn of satan spiders right in the middle. As I would walk along I would knock the web down with my gun. Did that over and over again on the way to my spot, careful not to walk into one of these webs for fear of the monster spider that was sitting in the middle of every one. Had a flashlight on my head and after a while wasn't seeing anymore spider webs. Got too comfortable and started looking around while I was walking using the flashlight on my head to look around and not watch the trail when it happened and I felt what can only be compared to a fish net wrapping around my head and the alarms go off because I know somewhere on me is one of those spiders from hell!!. You can only imagine what it must look like when a fat man with a light on his head starts spinning around, squealing and slapping the crap out of himself.

Bahahahaha!!!! You guys are cracking me up! I don't feel so bad now I thought it was a girl thing.

Several years ago on my first predator hunt we were on the fourwheeler sitting on a dirt road pitch black. We called for cats in the dark for a good 45 min all the while my friend was telling me cat spotting stories. I already had the heebie jeebies but while driving back we came to a T in the road. When our headlights flashed on the woods it looked like Godzilla was taking down the trees in front of us. Up popped the AR out came the 9mm and to our surprise out walked a yearling doe. We both agreed we wouldn't tell anyone about that trip!

LMAO. Dang fat fingers. 35 yards.