your weirdest encounter while in the stand?

[Keith]

I had a squirrel spot me, then cautiously sneak down a limb that was right behind me and reach out to sniff of the side of my head.

[BBRU]

One evening I was in a tree stand overlooking a field. It was a still and quiet evening. Several does and a couple small bucks had made their way into the field. All of a sudden I could hear from the woods what sounded like a person walking. The leaves crunching and twigs breaking under the footsteps. All the deer looked in the direction of the sound I was hearing. I just knew a poacher was about to ruin my hunt. The steps got louder until I knew any second the person was going to walk into the field. Well the noise entered the field then I could just barely hear steps in the grassy field. I also couldn't see anyone. However, every deer was looking at the same location. In unison their eyes followed "something" from one side of the field to the other! All the deer watched with their eyes moving across this field. The object they were looking at was about 50 yards from me, but nothing was there! The grass in the field was only about 6"-8" and I was 20 yards up a tree with a full view. After the deer watched the "noise" move across the field they went right back to feeding! Freaked me out! I got down before dark that day

That would have freaked me out....

[rjtkdplus]

I was hunting wood ducks in a cypress swamp Florida. Calling to some when I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. A bobcat jumped on and launched off of my leg just below my waist! I guess he thought I was a tree and the "duck" was on the other side. I didn't scream but I did start talking aloud to myself! "That was a bobcat and he just jumped on my leg!" He disappeared pretty quickly after he realized I wasn't a tree.

[Pullersboy]

Watched a Bobcat take out a rabbit that was eating corn under my feeder. That was fast! As soon as I saw the cat, he took off after the rabbit, the rabbit bolted and made it about 20 yards from the feeder when the cat caught up. There was one quick cry from the rabbit and it was over. Cat didn't waste any time hauling him off either.

[Cbb1722]

Coon hunting one night a few months ago. Just gotta puppy that didn't know nothing about what she's supposed to do. So I decided to let her see as many coins as I can let her see right now to start her off. Well I got her In the back of my side by side and have my headlamp turned on and see a set of eyes in some grapevines low to the ground. So I think it's a coon and grab the .22. It was just sitting still as I got about 5 ft from it which surprised me. I want the coon alive to let her play with and fight. So I shoot pretty low and it starts turning flips and this and that then it sits up and looks at me. So I'm thinking dang that's a big ol coon right there. Well I chamber another round and shoot him again and he jumps more than before. Then looks at me and this time through a hole in the vines............come to find out it was a big ol bobcat that I'm standing 5 feet away from! When I realized what it was I emptied that lever action .22 on that dude. Looked like the rifleman doing it too

[Pullersboy]

Same year and same stand as the bobcat and rabbit, just before time. I'm sitting in a ladder stand about 12' up and wearing a camo leafy suit with matching headgear. The only thing to be seen is my eyes.

I saw some movement in the trees about 40 yards in front of me. Then the squirrel that had just started getting active threw a fit and took off behind me. Then, I see it and it was HUGE. It was an owl. I'm not real familiar with different species of owls but thins things wing span had to be greater than 3' maybe approaching 4'. After he moved around in the tree for a few minutes, he kept from his limb and headed right for me. It was truly amazing watching him dart between and around limbs. I still don't know how he fit between them so effortlessly. There was never a sound. He kept getting closer and closer and I realized he was heading directly for my face. At the last second, I ducked my head a bit and moved my hands up to block my face. I was literally looking him right in the eyes from maybe 2 yards when I finally moved. He rapidly changed directions and wasn't seen again that day. I thought he was about the attack my face. Scared the crap out of me. He really was an amazing animal though.

[lovemylegacy]

I was hunting public ground in Kansas. Nice overcast quite day, mid week. I hear what sounds like a deer coming through the woods and he was grunting. Got my bow in position ready to shoot and its a young boy about 16 walking and blowing a grunt call. He looks up and sees me, drops the call and turns and walks away. Crazy kid.

[hero_moneybags]

I once was sitting on the edge of a cliff looking down on small pond formed by a natural spring. There were a few deer along the bank eating hand corn and several ducks sitting in the water. I was being very still and quiet while watching the animals when I started to hear something rustle in the brush behind me. The noise kept coming closer and closer when all of a sudden a fox appeared on the cliff edge and sat down right next to me. He was maybe two feet away from right hand and was just staring at the ducks on the pond. We sat there together for a good five minutes observing our prey when the fox turned his head and noticed that I was right next to him. The look on his face was priceless as he slowly backed up the way he came then turned and took off running.

[hpdrifter]

Was bow hunting, sitting on an old tree stand on the Slater Ranch just outside Llano one real quiet peaceful morning when an F-4 came barreling down the little valley I was overlooking. So low I could see the pilot looking around moving his head. Probably wasn't more than 60-70 or so yards away.

Wasn't as loud as you expect and once gone it got real peaceful again.

[iamntxhunter]

a tresspasser climbing up my tripod in the dark....with me in it.

I have onlyrread the first page and this one cracked me up. I bet that was a wild encounter.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

[NoFence]

Had a hunter (public land) come to my stand on a bike with a small motor on it yelling at me, clearly trying to scare off any deer right at sunrise. He claimed I threw sticks over his path so he couldn't ride (which the motor wasn't legal anyway). Needless to say I was stumped. I got down later to look at the "sticks" and found a foot wide dead tree that had blown over and come out of the ground. I didn't know I was that strong. The next year I saw him again but he didn't recognize me. He started telling the story of how some guy (me) was disturbing his hunting the year before. I didn't say anything because I just wanted to kick him in the teeth. Who knows, maybe he'll read this. Ha

[stixx]

Nothing as crazy as some of these stories, but one day I'm hunting one of my spots at my lease and it's about 6 miles from the highway and in the middle of the week so only about 2 of us are out there on a fairly large lease. Well I'm sitting in my stand and it's just after day break and I'm staring at my feeder. All of a sudden I hear a loud sneeze behind me like when someone is trying to hold it in. Petrified and my hair standing up on the back of my neck I grab my gun and slowly turn around to see who snuck up on me, only to find a doe standing there looking around. I just sat there stairing at her. She just walked right by the stand, ate at the feeder and left.

[DBLHKUP]

Walked up on a group of bedded hogs all nestled under the yupon bush at the base of my tree. Never know they were there until I put my foot on the first rung of ladder and all hail broke loose.......

[redleif]

I pulled up to my feeder to check it out and see a bunch of javalinas down the sendero about 200 yards. I get out of truck and see one of the javis coming towards me. About 75 yards out he turns into the brush. I'm thinking maybe he's headed to the feeder. Sure enough he pops out of the brush 10 feet from me and starts snapping his jaws and grunting at me. He wants me out of there so he can get to the corn. I yell and he leaves but comes back shortly making more threating gestures. I go to the truck and get my 45 and find my ear protection. He's still there. I point the pistol at him and he seems to realize I mean business and he takes off as I pull off a round behind him.

[Big pig]

Believe it or not:
Sitting in a tripod on a small tank in northwest duval county years ago.
Watched excitedly as two the first south Texas bucks I had ever seen fed near me. Suddenly both went on full alert and bolted. I looked back towards the tank and a female Mountain lion and two half grown cats were drinking from the lake.
She spied me and the two young ones went past just left of my tripod and she went past closely on the right. Still one of the coolest things in my hunting life.