Don't say that in front of the UIBA. Geesh!

i wasn't scared near as much until the rancher put his dam cattle out on the lease and they camp between my blind and where i am supposed to park. they are skittish as hell and i don't want to get trampled by 100 stampeding cows. hell i am skittish with them in the day time. everything else, i figure i can take with my 9.

I do... I do... I do believe in spooks!

UIBA? Guess it is an inside thing?

Ultimate Internet Bad Ace...I should warn you, that is me

Its all on you ,the only thing scaring you is yourself. Once you get passed that you get your man card back.

except for the fact it is documented here for eternity and searchable on google.

I can tell you one thing, having the guts to post up on a public forum that you're afraid of the dark tells me you can get past this, George Garvin.

If you are the UIBA, it would have been "I should warn you, that is I"

Is this an actual topic? I hope you have also resorted to squatting when using the restroom. J/K woods do eerie things. Helps me knowing Im the baddest s.o.b out there. Or thats what I tell myself constantly.

I would recommend becoming as familiar with your hunting area as possible. When I first got on my current lease outside Junction I did not feel comfortable going to certain parts of the lease by myself on morning hunts. I always felt like I was going to get off track & get lost ending up in some pig hole or run into some random stray person wondering the lease. In the three years I now been on the lease, I have spent countless house walking the place during the day & am very comfortable on any of the 1,000 acres we hunt on. The other 4 guys on the place work M-F & I am a shift worker & I wasn’t about to sit at home during the week just because they couldn’t go. Force yourself to get outside your comfort zone & you will slowly overcome your fear once you realize there isn't anything out there going to mess with you. I do enjoy going up to the place when the guys are there, but I also now find myself enjoying going up by myself during the week knowing I will be the only one there (quieter & better hunting). Make yourself walk to the stand w/out using your light on occasion. You will get used to it eventually as I did & not want to use it at all. Put that pistol on your belt, grab that hunting bag full of the 75% of stuff we never use anyways, & go enjoy your new found passion. Good luck!

You may have been jesting there, drake - but that's one of the best ways to slice the fear. Got to believe it, though.

I think this is the only way to conquer it.

Go out on full moons when the ground is lit up and then try it again when when there is less moon. Keep trying it until there is no moon.

Just make yourself do it a few times. Once you have made it without anything getting you then the confidence should help resolve your fear.

Brilliant original post, George! That creepy feeling in the woods is simply your common sense ringing alarm bells. It knows that there are things in the woods with teeth and claws. Big things. And that even though bobcats and coyotes won't hurt you, there may be something out there no has ever seen before...and lived. The Chupacabra? Bigfoot? Or worse? But hey, it may just be an armadillo. This time...

If you haven't already, check out the "Who gets the heebie jeebies going to your stand in the dark" thread. Pure gold.

I had a friend that I used to let hunt on our place. The first few hunts he just tagged along with me to the blind. No problems. Once he started going out by himself he just always seemed paranoid about it, but never mentioned anything was wrong. On an evening hunt one day, I dropped him off at a blind and told him I'd be back after dark. I ended up shooting some pigs and had to drag them off which my it a bit longer to get over to pick him up. When I got to the stand he was nowhere to be found. Cell phones didn't have service so I didn't know where he was. I take off driving and found him 2.5 miles down the road back to the headquarters. FInally broke down and told me he was scared to death of the dark and he just couldn't stand sitting there not knowing what was around him. Not sure if he ever got over it.

I got over being scared of the dark at a young age. First time mule deer hunting in Terlingua when I was 10, my dad dropped me off at the base of what I'd call a dang good size hill. He told me to go all the way to the top and find a crop of rocks to get in. He drove off to go to his spot and I realized I had no flashlight, and there was no moon. After I made it to the top that morning, I haven't been afraid of the dark or what I can't see since.

And if something does get you, you don't have to worry about it anymore

Just ease into it and do what you need to build your confidence. The woods are a great place, but fear is a powerful emotion.

This is the key. I'm actually stoked now about working on it.
Thanks. This is much cheaper than going to a shrink!

FWIW - I have lived in the backwoods all my life. I have never been afraid of the woods at night or at anytime for that matter. I also hate to carry flashlights, but sometimes it can't be helped. On most clear nights - after your eyes get accustomed to the dark - it's not really as "dark" as you think. But txhillhunter has made a good point: Take it but don't use it sometimes.

Also on the exposure portion - take someone you trust. Don't allow some dunderhead to go with you that will sneak up on you and pull a dumb stunt like trying to scare you.

Grow a pair

Depends on what you mean by "using the restroom." Sometimes you're better served by not standing up, and I hope for your sake you don't.

Cheaper than a shrink? This forum, yes. Hunting, not so much.

Ok. Thanks, I guess.

Yeah...