Who' s had a close call

[Woodsman]

I'm wondering how many people out there have ever had a close call out in the bush hunting? Safety is always a big concern of mine. Yet with all the proper training and preparation sh_t sometimes happens.

My last experience muzzleloader deer hunting this year was one of those "close calls". We were on a smaller lot in the eastern townships in Quebec. Most of the land in this region is privately owned consisting of farms and patches of forest/woodlots. We were new to the area, only having gone only once before last year, and still very unfamiliar with the surroundings.

I was sitting higher up on a hill on the edge of bush and open timber, hoping a doe would come romping by. Suddenly, a fellow comes walking by wearing dark blue (no blaze orange) asking what I was doing on his land. I apologized believing I was on my friends property which was exactly 30 feet over. I moved my stuff over and continued to hunt. I thought to myself what a STICKLER, but hey no biggy it's not my land and some people are very particular about their property. Later, I decided to join my father to talk to him about the incident. I decided to post myself at the back end of an old hay field sparsely covered in bushes in the middle of the forest. My dad was sitting at the top end of the same field. It started to get darker as the afternoon progressed and with the heavy clouds came a good down pour!

All of a sudden I spot old "Mr. Stickler" in his dark blue jacket romping through the thickest thickets heading towards my dad. I thought to myself what an idiot! Old Mr. Stickler is now on my friends property and spoiling our hunt!

Little did I know, until later when I was speaking to my dad, that my dad had spotted movement in the thickets and a flash of white. My dad thought to himself "a deer". This was happening during a dark, cold, almost gloomy afternoon, with a heavy down pour in progress. He kept looking at the spot and was getting ready to raise his gun and then thought to himself something doesn't seem quite right?!! He couldn't positively identify his target so he waited. And Lord it was good that he did! Low and behold here comes old Mr. Stickler in his dark blue coat!

Thank God that my dad had the dicipline, maturity, and experience to wait and properly identify his target! Who the heck thinks some idiot will pass by in the middle of a forest through the thickest bushes, on my friends property, in pouring rain, and not wearing orange during deer hunting season!

My dad was very angry at the stupidity demonstrated by this fellow. My dad could no longer hunt as he felt really upset at what may have happened. We both decided to call it a day and went home!


Be real careful out there! Always clearly identify your target before you raise your weapon!

[wabi]

I voted close call, but it may not really have been. I was hunting with my father and a friend and my rifle fired when I flipped the safety off to take a shot. We were walking closely together (within a few feet - side by side), but thanks to all the safety training, and application of that training I did have the rifle muzzle pointed in a safe direction (a steep skyward angle away from any people) before I touched the safety, so the only bad result was a badly shaken ME, and a bit of ear ringing from the blast. BTW - the gun did get a careful inspection of trigger parts and some adjustments before being returned to service. Had I not been practicing safe gun handling habits disaster could have easily been the result!

[mtbyak]

I voted yes, as one evening while out bowhunting private property that I had hunted for approximately 12 years I was coming out in the dark walking a fence line that I had walked hundreds of times so never used my flashlight.
Heard some noises up ahead of me approximately 20 yards so quietly pulled my flashlight out & when I turned it on I was greeted by another hunter (who did not have permission to hunt this property) with his xbow shouldered & pointed right at me.

Not a pleasant experience, took his license number for his van & went & spoke to the landowner but never heard anymore about it.

Shoot Straight
mtbyak

[Red Label]

close calls -

almost flipped a canoe once when duck hunting in a fast cold creek...it was an eye opener.

hit the moose last month with my buddy's truck...if that wasn't a close call I don't know what is!

I have looked down at my gun before and noticed the safety off...like Wabi it wasn't life threatening as the muzzle was always under control.

caught a ricochet (shotgun pellets) in the back of a heavy hunting coat once when rabbit hunting. Pellets bounced off ice puddles in the woods, large public area and too many guys hunting in it. Did not penetrate the coat.

[maple]

Yep,

Many years ago I was about 20, hunting deer with my dad. This was before I had ever shot a deer and was under his close tutilage. We came up to a small clump of cedars and I bent down to see the sillouette of a deer, nose to the ground, walking back and forth in the darkened area under the foliage. DAD...DAD....I see a deer ...should I shoot??!! I asked. I had my shotgun ready on the deer's chest.... No... he says. Not yet.

I did not think that was right, but obeyed......and soon, out from the shadows walks this big black and tan hound... as big as a small deer... perfect deer shape in profile... perfect deer motion....but not a deer. Thank you dad.

Other than that:
2.Lost in the swamp for day.
3.Chased by a crazed bull.
4.Got so bloody frozen while hunting in the duck boat I could not row back.
5.The warden who thought I was the guy who shot up the road signs.
6.Camping way deep in Algonquin Park one May 7 (1982?), got snowed in for two days. Three campers died there during that blizzard.

Safety first - safety always Maple

[Sliver]

I will make a long story short....

I was not a deer hunter at the time but A buddy who was shotgun hunting a few years back was next to a tree when he heard a sound ???? Next thing he knows **Whack** a slug into the tree he is beside,, ** Whack** then another... A shooter at the top of a hill,( from another party) shooting at a deer standing on the side of the hill. He packed up his gear and has not been in the bush since. He is a very lucky man.... A very good lesson for knowing your area and who is around..

Be Safe

[Ontario Bow Hunter]

Some pretty scary stories people! I've never had anything happy except for an old duck hunting boat that leaks like a tap,... by the time we got back to shore we were all most up to our knees in water!

[chris4570]

I guess I have a couple of stories. One personal the other from a relative.

The one from my relative, my dad, pertains to him. Time was probably early eighties, perhaps even late seventies, not really sure. This was in Nova Scotia. My dad decided to get the advantage by staying in the woods all night. Well he heard some movement and wound up shooting at it. He said he didn't get the "deer". He told me this story, and all I could think was 'This is not right. I'm glad you don't hunt anymore.' I asked him how he knew it wasn't another person walking through the woods. He said because no one would be out there. My response was 'You were out there, why couldn't someone else have been'. Kind of ended the conversation.

I don't know how "close" it was, but this is my story. Actually I have two. I was hunting grouse with my uncle, we were both in blaze, using shotguns. I heard a shot. Then I heard the pellets hitting the trees a few feet above my head. Another shot, same thing. I hit the ground, and yelled that he was shooting towards me. I could not see him from where he was shooting. I was in a depression, in relation to where he was shooting from, so I may have been in no danger, but it was unnerving.

Another time, same place. My first deer hunt. I was using a 30.06. Got my first deer. Excited as all heck. Next morning we took some pictures prior to skinning the deer. I laid my rifle on the table near by. I opened the action. There was still a round in the chamber, from the previous day!! I don't know how many times someones life was in danger, if they were at all, but I felt like I was the luckiest person alive for not having something bad happen. I learned a valuable lesson.

[Mighty Mooser]

When out Moose hunting a few years ago on opening day of Rifle season, a Non resident of Ontario was out hunting Partridge in a black Skidoo suit. The Moose season for him only opened 2 days later, but he almost didn't make it there. We were party hunting and had a Bull, Cow, and Calf tag that year, and as well I had a bear licence, some would say (black its down). I still made sure of my target through Binoculars, but he was so far away, one had time to get nervous relax and get nervous 20 times. When I positivly Identified him at 400 yards to be a human, I got so outraged. I walked to him in full hunter Orange and told him to fet the f_ck out of the bush, I gave him my hat and told him to leave it at the vehicle when he got to the road. His interpretation of our hunting regs could have cost him his life, as his moose season was not open yet.

[Guest]

I can't recall any close ones dealing with shooting, but I know all about falling out of a deer stand. I was putting up a climbing stick in a neat funnel. It was a strip maybe 30 yds wide that was between the dam of a pond and a creek. My stick is 3 sections, each 7' long. There were lots of branches in the tree I picked, so I could only put up 14' at first and went up to trim limbs. Had a safety belt on, but the buckle somehow slipped off and down I went. My head was at the top of the stick, right at the 14' mark. I was leaning back when the belt slipped, and I shot off the stick backwards. I remember seeing the nice pretty October leaves on the way down, and they were rapidly going faster and faster away from me like a Star Wars movie. I had enough time to think "tuck and roll", but no time to actually get into that position. I hit with a thud, and landed dead flat on my back. My head, shoulders, butt, legs, everything hit the ground at the same time. It didn't even knock the wind out of me. I was conscious, but I figured I had to be hurt somehow. I slowly moved arms and legs. Eh...no pain. I stood up and brushed myself off and looked at the tree. Well, like they say about horses, if you get thrown, get right back on! I went back up and finished trimming, took the stick down and added the 3rd section, put up the stand, and shot a doe out of the stand the next morning. I was lucky, and use extreme caution when climbing anymore. I also use ground blinds a lot more these days.

[fishon]

Last Monday on opening day of Dec. shotgun season, one guy in our party shot three times in my direction with slugs from about 250 yards. ( deer in between us). This was in a field and we all were wearing lots of orange, first slug hit low and deflected over my head. I hit the ground and watched the flash from the end of his barrel twice more, he hit the deer on the third shot. This guy saw nothing but the deer and is a long time hunter. He will be never hunting with us again and he is the last person I thought that this would happen from. I have been hunting 23 years and this has got me really shook up and am considering bow only from now on. MAN WAS THAT CLOSE!!!!!! The good thing is my wife and three kids still have me here.

[Quickshot]

Two years ago while moose hunting a river by canoe, my partner and I took a calf on the rivers edge. we cleaned it up and put it in the canoe. On the way out it became dark, but knowing the river it did'nt seem like a problem. The water that year was very low and as we rounded a turn we ran into a slightly submerged clump of swamp grass. Our bow went up and the water came over the stern sinking the canoe. There we were at night in cold water and rain starting. To make matters worse if you have ever been in the north you know that the bottom of most of these small rivers is nothing but muck. Sometimes called loon sh_t. As we stepped out of the canoe we sunk to our knees in the muck making it impossible to move the canoe to shallower water. To shorten the story we ended up using a can of beans to bail the canoe as we could,nt find the bailing bucket. We cut the top of the can, ate the beans and started bailing. We were in the water for about 40 minuets, we got the canoe floating, got in it and made back to the landing. By the time we gat there we were frozen.
This could have turned into a dissaster but we are both well experienced in the north country and tried not to panic. This is the closest I've been to a real mishap. Oh and by the way the canoe was not overloaded and we had on our PFD,s.

Be safe out there

[Hoss aka Okie man]

I got to my tree one morning anxious. I was hearing alot of activity in the near woods so i was ready to get into my tree. I just stepped onto the second screw in type foot peg and put my wieght on it when it snapped off clean and left the screw in piece in the tree WOOOOOPS Shiznik. glad it was the second one and not one any higher up...I really got a reality check from that...I cleaned out my drawers and recovered from that cold sweat and went and bought a lone wolf climber....never again will my big butt be on a screw step...




Dedicated too all the sweet Bucks yet to die!

[Bronco]

Yes me and a friend had a close call. A couple of years back during the gun season in our area we were following a deer thru woods when all of a sudden my friend in front of me got his feet tangled in some roots and fell. Thank god he remembered his safety training and didn't worry about himself just worried about not pointing his weapon in my direction. Thankfully he wasnt hurt and his gun wasnt loaded anyways but you never know.

Bronco

[xbowjay]

its an old thread but I have a little story.

Few years back during the deer rifle season was sitting in the tree stand. Sitting there all day was just getting dark, when a i here some crashing coming up the walking path to my stand. I could see the movment and could make out a slight brown colouration. Now it only took about a min to figure out this was a upright walking animal coming (but the bush is thick). wait for just the right moment and yell as loud as I can **BANG**. The 2 MNR hit the ground prety fast. mabey it was a faulsity on my part cause they were pretty pissed after that. Its fine they are doing there job I actually appreciate that. BUT it is private property owned by us. They were wearing brown uniforms with no hint of orange. I gave them as much crap as they trid to give me. the only response from them was "you have to know what your shooting at" and yes they are 100% right (thats why one of them didnt get shot) But my response to them was " I wouldnt want to explain that to your family".