Tales from the deer stand

[jcren]

Years ago I used coon pee for cover sent. One evening sitting in a tree stand with my recurve, I heard a serious ruckus coming through the woods and got excited expecting a deer. In waddles the biggest tom coon I have ever seen, before or since. He hit the trail I walked in on and made a bee line for my tree. Sucker kept rearing up looking at me trying to figure out what kinda coon I was and even climbed half way up the tree a couple times. Probably thought I was the ugliest coon he had ever seen!

[Stewbaby]

In Mississippi, so I’ve had everything from rattlesnakes, moccasins, alligators, raccoons, beavers, squirrels, possum, armadillos, foxes, bobcats, skunks, otters and now even black bear visit me while on my stand.

Seeing and alligator grab a small doe from the edge of a slough was the oddest thing I’ve seen along the lines of the natural selection mentioned above.

[richhodg66]

For more than 20 years now, I've had a stand of one type or another over watching an old stock tank on what's now public hunting land, it rarely holds water anymore after sveral years of dought we had, but back then, probably 18 years ago, it was full of water. This is a good spot, it's at a junction of several trails moving between bedding and feeding areas and in evenings hunts, I can usually cound on seeing deer, at least in the early season.

So I was bowhunting, must have been early October, when a doe and fawn came to the water. Mama, went to drink, but the little one wanted to play and would run aimlessly around in circle back and forth for no apparent reason the way kittens and puppies do. This was pretty entertaining, but shortly, a big sand hill crane flew in and started wading around in the pond. The little deer got real curious and started following the bird very slowly, nose down getting close enough that it made thecrane uncomfortable, but not scared. The crane would take a step or two, the fawn would take a step or two to get close again, trying to sniff the bird. This went on for a while until they were in the middle of the pond and the fawn was past belly deep in the water (the crane was longer legged than the fawn). I was having a hard time keeping from laughing. Eventually, the fawn lost interest, wandered back to mama and they left to go to one of the milo fields. They never came close enough for a shot, but I couldn't have done it anyway.

I was in that same stand a year or two later about the same time of season when a mother bobcat and two half grown kittens came down to the water. Mama, stalked around looking for small critters while the kittens chased each other around and pounced on things. I used to see a few bob cats every season, but haven't for a few years, but that was the only time I ever saw juvenile ones.

[Hook]

Saturday was opening day of gun season here in Alabama. Sitting on my tree seat in the thick woods, I had a covey of quail feed across the bottom and just past my feet. I've jumped plenty of quail while hunting, but never had them walk within kicking distance. They fed on into a thick spot about 15 yards from me. When I got up to leave about an hour later, I walked over to the spot and, sure enough, they were still in there. Even expecting the covey flush, it still caught my breath when the little buggers exploded around me. Wild quail aren't very common around where I hunt, and I really enjoyed watching them meander along feeding.

BTW, I was carrying my 'new to me' Winchester M54 in 30 WCF. I worked up a great load for it with the RCBS 180 gr FP bullet, gas checked and powder coated. Quail was all I saw that morning, but Monday afternoon, Wiley Coyote got a taste of one of the bullets...it gave him indigestion!

[William Yanda]

My SIL told me that his hunting buddy saw a Martin from his deer stand, opening day, located South of US 86 in Allegany Co., NY.

[Brass&Lead]

Happy Thanksgiving! Your wonderful recounts have brought a smile to my face. Thank you all!

[Chihuahua Floyd]

Deer stand looking over corn field, heard something walking towards the files along old road behind me. Lots of dry leaves, crunch, crunch, crunch. Could tell it had four feet from rhythm of steps.
Got turned around and 30-06 pointed down road, when two wood ducks walk into view. They played in a big puddle for several minutes, then walked back toward creek.
No deer that day, just a memory.
CF

[KCcactus]

I had a really loud bird fly over this year. He came from behind me, climbed and then turned to the left. They usually don't get close enough for pictures.

[cas]

I've experienced the hawk thing twice. One time deer hunting, sitting on a downed tree. A red squirrel got up on the tree and slowly started working it's way towards me. I didn't want to move, those stupid things love to alert the whole world when they see something they don't like. Plus I wanted to see how close he would get. He came up to about 3-4 feet away, suddenly they was a flash and a squeak as a hawk hit it and took it in one fell swoop. It was amazing to see, and amazing that I didn't need to change my underwear after it happened.
The other while turkey hunting walking down a trail I heard a slight whistling noise. I started to turn and a hawk went past be at shoulder height about, about two feet away. Again scared the carp out of me.

I used to like to hunt sitting leaning against a stone fence watching a field. Had several chipmunks and a couple mice run down the wall and across my back/shoulders and even head. That'll wake you up.

[cas]

I had a really loud bird fly over this year...

Reminded me of the really large tracks I found a couple years ago. I stood there a bit looking at them trying to figure it out, quite puzzled. The smaller tracks near/across the top of the picture are deer tracks.

[missionary5155]

About 5 years ago I was in a river bottom sitting in one of my stands. This tree stand is about 15 yards from the slope that goes up to field level. It was early morning and no deer were in sight or hearing. I heard a soft rustling to my left side and a young groundhog was browsing and moving along the slope side from my left to right. The farmer who owns the property desires all ground hogs, racoons, muskrats and beavers to be removed as they all eat his corn and beans. So I got ready to double arrow that little feller. As I was just starting to pull my 55# recurve I noticed movement in a tree about 20 feet above the ground hog. Hopping from limb to limb was a Red Tail hawk moving as the ground hog moved always staying about that same distance above and slightly behind the ground hog waiting for the moment to swoop down. I watched this little side show for about 50 feet going to my right until I could no longer see them.

[Texas by God]

An old tale and a new one.
Twenty odd years ago my wife and I put a camo burlap screen between two trees and sat on our folding stools waiting for the turkeys to leave the roost. When they did, a couple of them flew ten feet above us and kept going. A short while later my wife was picking a Tom to shoot from 3 that were crazily answering my yelps. They were trotting to my decoy. All focus was forward.
At that moment my wife and I looked at each other- and a Jake was in between us. He looked at me, looked at wife, as if to ask us- "what are we looking at?" Then he jumped away from us and in the ensuing madness my life mate dropped a nice tom that couldn't make his mind up which direction to go!

This very morning, I was sitting on a warming cushion leaning against a Bois d' arc ( horse apple) drinking coffee, eating jerky, then smoking on a cigar. Watching for a cull or a nice doe with my 44-40 leaning against said tree. Hard core hunting, you know....
I focused so long on one side of the trail my neck reminded me to turn to the right. When I did, a coyote was walking directly to me, but not seeing me somehow. 20 yards away he stopped and just looked at me. I slowly reached for the rifle and he leisurely trotted away. I leisurely (my top speed) crawled around the tree trunk and whistled at him/her. Posed broad side at 100 something yards, looking smaller than the front sight, so I just said see you later, go eat a pig please!

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[KCcactus]

Several years ago, I had a barn owl that would fly over when I was walking back from the blind just before dark. He usually came from behind about 10 ft over my head, made a tight circle around me once or twice and then went on his way. He even did it a couple of times in the morning when I was late going to the blind. His wings were moving fast when he circled, but I couldn't hear a thing. He did it at least 6 times that year, but I haven't seen him since.

My other close encounter with an owl was a large great horned owl that landed in a tree 15 ft from my blind one morning as it was just beginning to get light. He sat there for several minutes looking at me. He flew off when I reached for my camera. He went right by my blind, so close I could have reached out and touched him.

[thegatman]

Hunting in tree stand and a turkey lands above my head. We are 20 feet up.

[chsparkman]

Watched this guy for a couple of days but sadly saw no deer.

[missionary5155]

So another day I was sitting in a tree blind back off Shake Rag Road. Had our 1819 Flintlock Hall .54 with me that November afternoon. Arrived at the stand located at the end of a brushed over farm strip about 3pm. Got all settled with the Hall barrel resting in my left hand muzzle to the left where the does usually come from a thick woodsy brushy area passing to eat in a grassy area down to the right. About 30 minutes before sundown a flock of blue canaries came along and stopped below my tree hopping about, chirping and having a fine time. Old corn cruncher hunter that I am I sat there getting my eyes full of beautiful little blue Canaries.. After a bit they moved off to my right from where they had come from.
So looking back to my left in the clear spot not more than 20 feet away was a nice doe standing there looking at me. So there we were about a minute just looking at each other until she finally decided that camo blob up in the tree was not going away. She politely turned around and went back the way she had come from. Me I had a good laugh and soon headed back home.

[CLAYPOOL]

I have 2 adult wrens and this year there were 2 later young ones... hung a house under the roof inside the wall holding up the roof but they aren't interested yet..

[SeabeeMan]

Had a bunch of snow geese or swans come bombing over me just above tree top level. I've goose hunted for years and didn't realize how loud those things are when they fly! Just about scared me out of the stand as they weren't calling and came in from behind, directly over me.

[ChristopherO]

I shot a fox one morning. Skinned it out and removed the full bladder to fill a bottle for cover scent. The next morning sitting on the edge of a woods and a small opening with that bottle open beside my foot waiting for deer to move through I heard what sounded like a large body moving through the tall dry weeds in front of me, sure it was the biggest buck in the woods. Out popped another beautiful red fox only 5 or 6 feet in front of me. The look on its face when it saw that I was the ugliest fox around was priceless, a true double take. Then it promptly turned on its heels and departed the way it came. Worth the time and effort to wake up that morning.

[green mountain boy]

i was calling coyotes one night in a nebraska corn field when i was hit in the back of my head by an owl, it took off my watch cap and dropped it a few yards away. it scared the bejeepers out of me as i did not hear a thing until i was hit. im glad the talons didn't get me !