Non-Hunting:
Group of campers on heavily wooded private property one mid-evening near a river, standing in the dirt road/trail in a circle with no fire, chatting when someone hears a low 'thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump' of a large SOMETHING running our way.... We just move off the road into the treeline when a (guesstimated) 1,000 pound steer RUNS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF CAMP just where we had all been standing... We all laughed, slapped each other on the back in the middle of the road and giggled - Right up until the time HE CAME RUNNING BACK THE OTHER WAY!
THAT was funny, because it was so unexpected. The closest ranch/farm was over 3 miles away... He was named 'Ferdinand' and stayed around until someone finally came and picked him up.
Hunting:
1. Deer hunting in AR, wearing my electronic ear muffs... Hear something 'moving' in short steps to my left - look - nothing! It's an open area, just 12-inch and shorter scrub under the trees, but the NOISE is there! I just can't SEE anything, but man is 'it' moving.... FINALLY I spot one little quail, standing in the trail, then I look more closely now that I 'see' it - and there is a freaking MIGRATION of over 40 quail I count after I finally see them... They cross the trail, and make a swishing sound as they cross the leaves in the forest in front of me - then some flush! And I can hear a heavier movement through the brush in front. The sound circles from left to right, and just as it breaks brush on the right, it clears the creek and a fox pops up! First one I see while hunting, but I have terminate orders on fox and coyotes (chicken farms all around), so the .308 gets the nod. It's downwind and sniffing, I cluck at it a bit - it raises up to see better - One dead fox.
2. Large group (13 hunters) just limiting out on Goose while hunting North of Lubbock. We had policed up all the birds from a pond we were hunting near, and noticed a VERY LARGE group of geese wanted to land on the pond... I mean VERY LARGE GROUP of geese. The pond was about 200 yards in diameter - the geese landed nearest to us (in the decoys) in rapid succession - and filled the pond. Just at the last / rearmost geese landed, the first geese lifted off. Seems like Nature was telling us that we only scratched the scratch on the goose population that day.
That day was a fantastic sight, with the sky almost dark with Canada Geese, Snow Geese and various Ducks flying together and stacking up to get to the decoys and water... looked like a WWII bomber formation with fighter escorts...
The best part of that hunt was my 11-y/o daughter saying 'That's cool!' on her first hunt with Dad. Made everything come together, that did.
3. Had a Deer hunt in Michigan ruined by the gray squirrel from h*ll barking at me from 3-foot away. He didn't know what I was, he just knew I was in his turf. He made sure everything else in the forest knew he was pissed. And the red mist I would have created and covered ME with was the only consideration given for his survival. The Pest.
4. Sitting in a climbing Deer stand in AR, the tree started to shake. Sounded like someone was beating on the tree, then something hit me in the head - looked up - A squirrel was jumping up and down on limbs above me, pelting me with acorns on their way down. He didn't bark, so the camo was working, but the acorns were a little annoying...
I shot a doe about and hour later, and about 15 seconds after that, an 8-point buck that was chasing the doe... I call him, 'Hero'.
This story took place 2 days after a doe ran INTO the passenger side window of my car moving at 20 mph at 9pm the night before opening day - Something had my attention in the yard of a house on the road, and as I looked back to the front - I saw a deer face in the passenger front window *just as it impacted*... left a nose-print on the glass, fur in the window trim and dent in the right rear roof pillar where her hind legs wrapped around as she piled up on the side of my car. Thankfully, the window was up, or she might have 'come on in'... I scrempt like a little girl!
We vowed to kill her, her friends, and anyone that knew them... Did my part after the squirrel pelting...
I think Nature was getting 'it's turn' that year...
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I have lots of little observances like these hunting stories. For me, it's just being a 'part-of' that makes it worthwhile for me.
Like the other hunters have said, when you're camoed enough to be a part of the environment, it's beautiful to watch the animals' reactions.