Felt eyes on me while hunting rural H. School

[Dancer]

H S sits on leveled windy hill surrounded by farm land. Day was dark, cold, dreary, With a little blow going on. Perfect for a Sat. morning hunt. (No one around) After a busy half hour of shallow clads popping up, started getting a creepy feeling. So started taking a look around once in awhile after poucheing a coin. After a few times, bingo. Down over the hill in heavy brush, eyeballs !
Three white tail doe, ears standing up, tails twitching stareing at me. I was wearing a drab gray hood. The two smaller doe bounded off right away to a small woodlot. Mamma hung around watching. I'd move along, stoop for a target, get up and there she was hiding, but still watching. Finally she joined the other two, browsing for acorns. While later, a much bigger one showed up.(Buck maybe) Lot smarter kept his head low, couldn't make antlers at that distance. Anyway first time I hunted this school, snatched little over $12, no trinkets. Not bad.
Those deer brought back memories from when I hunted them. They wouldn't be there, then turn your head and here they where. No sound. Some of you guys know what I mean.

 

[Ism]

I've had whitetail walk within 30-40 feet of me while detecting.
They are curious, but I'm not sure if it's what I am doing or if they can hear the beeping from my headphones.
They tend to shy away and move on when I look directly at them.

 

[Sven]

And if they only had guns

 

[GeorgeinSC]

There are times that it appears that the deer just materialize right out of the ground. Be looking at an area that appears to be void of deer and when you look back there is one standing there looking at you. By the same token I Had a doe walk behind a group of three trees and completely disappear. I never did see her again. Deer season opens tomorrow morning and I will be in the woods looking for a couple nice fat doe for the freezer. The land owner says I can take two doe so I will attempt to honor his wishes.

 

[Hightone]

Funny Sven. I'm not a hunter myself, but it is our nature. As long as cow is in the supermarket, I'm OK. If it gets scarce, I'm sure I'll hunt.

 

[ironsight]

Far as detecting in remote areas only scared away a couple deers. Its the coyotes and deer ticks that keep me alert in those remote areas.

Not a deer hunter, hate venison! Not gonna hunt them just for the bragging rights or the antlers though i got enough hardware to do it. There's a 8 pointer laying back in my woods coyotes must of got last Spring. Some day i'm gonna get them and hang them over my barn.

A few years ago my 'ol big bad a$$ buddy dog duncan got himself a bambi back in my woods. By the time i got there all i seen was a dead bambi and the mother deer looking on in horror! That is until 'ol duncan gave chase! lol. Gave it to my neighbor.

My county is overpopulated with deer enough that i had two vehicle-deer collisions over the years. Them stupid things just dart out of the brush. What the hell ever happened to the 'survival of the fittest (or smartest)' theory. You'd think by now the dumb deer genes would be gone as road kill.

So you deer hunters keep on hunting.

 

[fowlercharles]

Hi, ism, you are so right about the Whitetails coming close for a look. I have even had them look me right in the eye and do that snort/bleat/whistle whatever sound they make that to me was a definite warning for me to keep "my" distance. I have noticed that quite often while in the woods detecting real slow and easy that if you make a habit of watching your surroundings real good that you will see lots of deer around you. That's not hard to do when you have made it a habit to be watchful because of all the wild hogs that are in most all our woods now. I remember once years ago when my son was still a teenager and we were detecting the woods.. A small herd of cows had just walked by us by only a few feet while we were busy detecting . After they had passed by my son asked me if I saw the deer. When I said" no" and asked "where" he said they were "mixed in with the cows,". Lol that made me glad there was no BA boar hawg with them, or worse yet a Sow with a bunch of little piggies! LOL , Now that can really develop into a bad situation! Been there and done that one also. Y'all be careful out there! HH Charlie

 

[mudpuppy]

As cute and cool as they are, Whitetail deer attack and kill more people in NA than any other wild animal...especially in November during the rut...a little fun fact for y'all ....yep, more than snakes, sharks, and bears combined...add to that the amount of people killed when they hit one with their car, and it really gets huge...a Whitetail buck will stomp you down in the dirt, till you in with those big antlers, and stir you around good and proper as if He's fixing to plant tomatoes with you as the fertilizer...me and a buddy got jumped once, out cutting wood in SD in November...the only thing that saved him was a heavy pair of Carharrts..and the only thing that saved me was I was a bit faster than him on foot!

Its a cool experience to see them when we are out detecting though...we see all sorts of neat things others miss by staying in the house!
Mud

 

[mudpuppy]

Me and Ted were out off a logging trail near Rockerville, SD merrily cutting wood...I think it was back in 86 or 87...Anyway, I hear Ted say "What the hell?" as this buck came charging at us through the woods, ears back and head down. Ted had a split second to drop his saw and he grabbed that deer right by those antlers, tried to plant his feet to throw him...Ted grew up on a ranch and was familiar with tossing big cows and whatnot...that deer picked him right up between his horns and was trying to rake him with his front feet! Ted sucked his legs up tight to his body and hung on! That deer was swinging him around like he didnt weigh a thing! Then, he put his head down and plowed Ted up into the base of a big Ponderosa pine. Those two long sharp tines on the deers rack were firmly in Ted's chest, but he hung on to the outer antler branches and was kicking and fighting...I ran up behind the deer and whacked him good on the back with a piece of wood...that deer tossed Ted away like a piece of litter, and turned to come after me! I bravely ran and rolled under the truck, Ted bravely scrambled up a smallish tree...the deer snorted and ran off..Ted had some good bruises on his chest from those antler tines, and its only the Carharrts that kept him from being punctured...After that, I read an article in Field n Stream about these kind of events....that was some day alright...I doubt anybody can survive a situation like that without a good big dog along...I dont hunt deer anymore, I figure we are even and would like to leave it at that...plus, I'm ascaird of them...!
Mud

 

[ironsight]

Deer 1, the mudpuppy/Ted team 0

OK another deer story.
A few years ago i was run'n my dogs back in my woods! Oh Oh, a big buck and about a 4 or 5 does about 50 yards away peacefully grazing that is until my dogs got a whiff! They all start a barking and 'ol duncan as usual gave chase. Problem was that big 'ol buck was in no mood for run'n with his harem behind him.
Dog vs. deer standoff with dog fueled by adrenaline barking.

My two female dogs just sat there with a bark once or twice but were content to just watch the show. Duncan gave a worthy charge but that 'ol big buck stood his ground, put his head down antlers pointed 'n aimed and charged duncan. Duncan decided discretion is the better of valor and skeedaddled but barking all the way. Once the deer momentarily stopped his charge, duncan i think thought about charging again until the deer aimed his antlers again. Duncan had enough, was outclassed the first time i seen it happen.

Now it was my turn, that buck now that he got rid of the 'domestic coyote' threat was staring at me now, put his head down again as to charge BUT i pulled out my .357 mag. revolver and fired a round in the air.

The buck and his harem quickly disappeared into the brush never to be seen again. lol
I ain't afraid of no deer! That is if i've got my sidearm with me. Never leave home without one especially when out in the woods.

 

[Steve O]

Love these stories.

I was way back in the woods detecting, here in Pa. We have some big buck in Pa.
I was down on my knees in a hole looking for a target, headphones on mute, very quiet. Just happen to look up and around as usual. About 50 feet away comes a doe a two bucks and a few more does behind them. They were on a slow stroll coming straight at me. I thought I'd wait to see how close they'ed get before sensing me. Well, they didn't have a clue I was there. It was like playing chicken but I was the only one playing the game.
My adrenaline spiked and I lost my nerve, too close. I stood up and did the Philly "YO" (glad it wasn't November). Some turned left, some turned right to do a U B, I thought they would collide. One doe stood there a second with wide eyes and ears honed in, then she took off after the herd. Went back to digging thinking,...that could have been ugly. I would only hope I had enough time to get untangled from the wires, set my detector down in a safe place before climbing a tree or pulling my knife before the buckster got to me.....never happen.

I have also come up on two big buck with their antlers locked in battle...what a sight.

Yea, staying in the house ain't for me either mud.....too much going on out there in ma nature.

 

[papalittle]

One time my wife and I were camping at Castle Peak (near Hill City, SD). One night as I was sleeping on the ground in my sleeping bag I was suddenedly awoken by the feeling of breath in my face! Thought it was my wife so I reached up to push her face away but instead of flesh I felt fur! A buck was standing over me checking me out and of course I screemed like a little girl who was being chased by a mean dog. I think I scared the deer more because it ran off after knocking me in the head with its hoof. After that we got a tent to sleep in.

One other time we were near Victoria lake camping and it was about 1 AM, pitch dark out, when all of a sudden I hear a scream that sounded a lot like a woman and something falling down the cliff above our tent. Whatever it was walked around our tent sniffing the edges 2 or 3 times. I yelled real loud and banged on the tent walls almost knocking the tent down. It ran off and the next morning there were mountain lion tracks all aroung the tent. next year we bought a small RV!

 

[ironsight]

One time my wife and I were camping at Castle Peak (near Hill City, SD). One night as I was sleeping on the ground in my sleeping bag I was suddenedly awoken by the feeling of breath in my face! Thought it was my wife so I reached up to push her face away but instead of flesh I felt fur! A buck was standing over me checking me out and of course I screemed like a little girl who was being chased by a mean dog. I think I scared the deer more because it ran off after knocking me in the head with its hoof. After that we got a tent to sleep in.

One other time we were near Victoria lake camping and it was about 1 AM, pitch dark out, when all of a sudden I hear a scream that sounded a lot like a woman and something falling down the cliff above our tent. Whatever it was walked around our tent sniffing the edges 2 or 3 times. I yelled real loud and banged on the tent walls almost knocking the tent down. It ran off and the next morning there were mountain lion tracks all aroung the tent. next year we bought a small RV!

Deers are one thing but mountian lions are carnivorous. Mt. lions when hungry enough won't care about the difference between deer and human meat!

A bunch of years ago while camping out in a cheap canvas tent in the Montanna mountains, we heard someone speaking in a loud speaker in the distance. As the sounds got closer it was a park ranger warning of a known human killer grizzly in the immediate area. They suggested to leave the area immediately or stay at your own risk. Was one of those white knuckle nights to say the least though nothing happened that night.

As an aside, while approaching the Yellow Stone park entrance years ago, there was a long line of cars waiting to get all in a stand still. Me and a couple buddies back then were on our Harleys. Here i was standing still on my bike trapped with cars in front and back when this big ol bear came out of the woods and started to come right up to me. Holy sh1t!! Thought about dropping my Harley and running but i didn't want to scratch it. lol

With that big ol bear now only a few feet away, my adrenline starting to spike and with that bear still approaching i tried revving up the engine as a last ditch effort before dumping my bike and running like hell.
It worked! Spooked that ol bear who quickly ran back into woods! Thanks to my loud pipes! Wheww, yet another save!

 

[GeorgeinSC]

About 50 years ago a friend and I decided that we wanted to go to the mountains of Virginia for a couple of days hunting squirrel. We were both stationed in Norfolk so it was a minimum four hour drive.

We got there and proceeded to do some hunting. Cleaned our squirrel and put them in a plastic bag and submerged them in the very cold mountain water.

After we had eaten dinner we had a nice camp fire going when I hear a Bobcat scream up against the side of the mountain to be answered shortly by a second cat. I was sitting there enjoying the serenade when I realized that my buddy was no where to be seen by the light of the campfire. .

I finally located him. Locked in my Car. Took me at least 10 minutes to talk him into unlocking the door. There was no way that he was going to spend the night.

We had to drive thru a stream on the way out to the highway. Got stuck in the stream. Finally got out and made it home as the sun came up the next morning.

I never took him hunting again. That is the only time that I have ever heard such a blood curdling scream . It sounded like someone was murdering a Woman.

 

[Dancer]

Brother and I were night fishing about 30 yrs ago. Man we heard a loud , awful scream seemed right behind us. If I'd been alone I would have ran on water to get out of there. Turns out it was a couple Raccoons mixing it up. Made my hair stand up. Might go back and hunt it, see what the fishermen have lost.