Tales from the deer stand

[leadeye]

Post up any observations from the hunting stand that don't concern what you are in the stand for, like other wildlife and such.

Thought about this when I was out hunting yesterday evening, was not seeing any deer, but watching a squirrel eating an acorn on a branch of a tree about 15 yards away. Heard what I thought was a puff of wind above me and saw an owl silently swoop down and grab the squirrel without even slowing down. Away it went through the trees until out of sight. Walking back I thought, well somebody had a successful hunt this evening.

[Wolfer]

While hunting between the Jacks Fork river and a slough I had an otter come by my stand. Pretty cool I thought.

[richhodg66]

I had that happen to me, only the squirrel was maybe ten feet above my head and annoying me when hawk swooped in. The hawk missed, and the squirrel raced down the trunk stopping right next to me chattering and raising all kinds of sand. Startled me real bad and apparently scared him out of ten year's growth. It rained all kinds of twigs and leaves and stuff down on me. Pretty cool experience once I'd calmed down enough to appreciate it.

[Moleman-]

36 years of deer hunting, finally had a DNR officer walk out to check if I had a deer tag and hunting license.

[725]

Long ago, while in Canada hunting bear, I had a young one climb my wooden ladder and reach my "floor" level before I stomped my feet and shoo'd it away. Even the rather young one looked real big to me at the time. Probably 125 ~ 150 pounds, or so. Have to admit, I almost launched a 7mm Mag on him as the more my knees progressively shook.

[Wolfer]

One cold morning I was setting on a small bluff overlooking a bench. About 20’ in front of me was a hollow tree with about a 2” hole. After daylight a squirrel comes out and goes down and starts gathering leaves. He goes to a lot of work to place these leaves so he could get them in his mouth.
When he comes back up the tree he has a wad of leaves at least 10” across. The hole is barely big enough for his head but he tries head butting the leaves inside. 99% fall to the ground. He goes inside where I can hear him arranging them. He repeats this process many times. Just couldn’t seem to learn you can’t head butt 10” of leaves in a 2” hole.
I didn’t see a deer that morning but it was entertaining.

[Hickok]

All camoed-up for bowhunting, I climbed into my stand before daylight.

As the sun rose, and shooting light appeared, I look over and sitting on a limb a few feet away is a Red-tailed Hawk. Both of us were hunting out of the same tree. After eyeballing each other, he flew away.

These hawks are pretty good size!

[Hossfly]

Sitting in my ground blind 100 yards from my corn feeder, I watch squirrels feeding everyday. 2 days ago was watching thru my scope and one climes up the 1” leg to reach the motor spinner and hanging on reaches over and spins the plate that throws the corn, while his buddies wait for manna from up above. I was hoping it would come on while he was up there. Very entertaining.

[ole_270]

A few years ago I was sitting in a tree stand wearing a faded orange "sock" hat. As light started fading in the evening I happened to look to the south and spotted an owl gliding my direction. About 20 feet out it dawned on me that he was aiming at my hat! I started waving my arms and jumping around and he flared off. Glad I spotted him in time, might of been painful.

[WebMonkey]

this year i saw the usual squirrel picking through the food plot.

the interesting part this year, a big 'ol crow dive bombed the squirrel and ran it out of the plot.

:)

[MT Gianni]

I have had birds land on my shoulder while looking at ridges. That is a good check of your cammo.
Two out of the last ten days I have spent 6 hours in a ground stand watching 50-60 head of deer willing them to clear the pivot line within 300 yards. A 3x3 buck and 2 does have done that I am done for the year. I held out the first day trying for the dominate buck as my buddy wanted him out of the breeding pool. He never got within 350 yards and stayed next to fence lines with the neighbors. I dumped a doe then when someone opened up 1/2 mile away and the herd got skittish. Last week I dumped the buck and another doe when they got close enough.

[Winger Ed.]

I was in a blind once and had a squirrel climb out on a not to distant branch and start barking at me.

When another animal is mad, loud, and sounding a danger alarm, deer will tend to move away from the sound.

The squirrel wouldn't shut up. At least not until I tagged it on the end of its nose with a .30-06.
Then a 1/2 hour or so later, the deer came back.

[Pipefitter]

A few years back I saw something on opening morning that reminded me of my elderly Grandfather. Got out to the woods well before daylight, was sitting on a log when it got light enough to see. About 20 feet in front of me a possum comes out of it's hole, looks around, stretches and yawns, scratches it's butt, takes a leak, and goes back in it's hole.

[Wolfer]

A few years back I saw something on opening morning that reminded me of my elderly Grandfather. Got out to the woods well before daylight, was sitting on a log when it got light enough to see. About 20 feet in front of me a possum comes out of it's hole, looks around, stretches and yawns, scratches it's butt, takes a leak, and goes back in it's hole.

I resemble that remark.

[ChristopherO]

Was coyote calling over a farm field years ago. Tall grass and the wooded creek line was behind me as I was resting against the fence line. A Redtail Hawk was being attracted by the squeals of the mouth call so I kept toying with it as it came ever closer. At one point he was lured to land in the field I was overlooking about 100 yards out. Some more calling and up he flies, coming my way. As this marvelous bird was making a banking maneuver to swoop down on me, which I was beginning to become concerned about, a Cooper's Hawk, that was previously unseen, Came from the creek line and dive bombed the Redtail, causing to flair off to safer parts unknown. That was an incredible experience.

[WinchesterM1]

I’m blessed to have 14 acres that I can hunt, for about 4 years I watched a chipmunk in a tree that snapped about 10’ high, I got to watching it for long enough that I would but 10-12 pieces of corn out every time I hunted.. then one year he just stopped coming by.. I dont know why but it really made me sad.. that’s what I like about the hunter mentality.. we love and respect nature so much that we aren’t bothered if we don’t kill a deer, that’s just icing on the cake

[chutesnreloads]

Last year heard some movement sounds behind me. Little later I hear what sounds like a chihuahua doing a kitty imitation or maybe vice versa. Little later this grey fox steps out not 5 yards in front of me... Pretty sure it's same one I caught in a box trap few years back and turned loose after niece and nephew oohed and ahhed over him. Twice since I've walked right up on him napping in a warm patch of sunshine... He hops up on a log looking right at me stretches his tail straight out behind and hair rises down his back and lets out that meow-growl then hops down and saunters off back into the woods like he has no care in the world. Guess that means he got the last word in. Yeah.... I laughed out loud... made my whole season

[elk hunter]

Once, in Africa, we watched a hawk or eagle land on the side of a tree then holding on with it's beak and one foot it reached into a hole on the tree with it's other foot. You could tell that it was feeling around inside the hole. It then few to another tree and repeated the maneuver. It moved from tree to tree doing this as we watched from fifty yards away. Never saw it catch anything but it was very interesting to watch. Unfortunately I didn't think to ask what species it was.

[koger]

Me and a buddy were hunting on a small property that borders a huge piece of property, owned by rich oil/gas/coal guy. His wife is a treehugger/bunny hugger so no hunting on that property. They also take in exotic animals that have been abandoned etc. They have two huge barns converted to a zoo of sorts. One of the animals they have, is a small elephant that was the product of inbreeding, a stunted animal about half size.They have a high fence around a large part of the property, and we were hunting backed up to it. My buddy carries a flask full of liqour from time to time, and has been know to take a nip or two to fight the cold. I was sitting there and down the fence line comes the elephant, trumpeting, walks right on by me. Headed towards my buddy when it dawns on me that I had not told him about the exotic animals that could possibly be seen. I sat still for about 2 more hours, no deer were moving so I headed back to the truck, anxious to see what my buddy had seen. He came out shortly with a weird look on his face, so I chuckled as I asked him what was wrong. He pulled out his flask, poured out it contents, and pitched it to me, said I could have it, he was done drinking. I asked what caused this sudden change, and he said" I have heard all my life about drunks seeing pink elephants, and thought nothing of it, but today I saw a little elephant real as heck, after taking 3 snorts, and I aint going to keep at it till I see a pink one"!!I about peed my pants laughing at him, then told him the truth

[Thumbcocker]

I have seen a few things that struck me as neat over the years. One morning setting in my stand I heard a ruckus in the leaves. A red fox was being chased by 2 coyotes right past my stand. Another morning I watched a mink come out from the creek bottom , climb a tree, crawl in a knot hole and come out with a baby squirrel in it's mouth. Once while I was sitting in full cammo a wren landed on my head for a second. Another time I watched a squirrel climb up the next tree over. I heard him cross over into my tree and start moving around then I heard him climbing down my tree. I sat real still until I felt his little hand touch the top of my head. I giggled like a school girl and he launched up the tree. He sat there for a long time cursing me.

Another time I was sitting in my tree with an arrow knocked. There was a small tree about 3 feet from my tree. A squirrel climbed up the neighboring tree and stopped even with my arrow. He paused and sniffed the end of the arrow and went on his way. Another time a crow landed in the tree I was sitting next to. He looked down and saw me and dropped what he had been holding. It was the back half of a gray squirrel.

I love being in the woods.

[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.

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[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.

http://photos.imageevent.com/cas6969/guns/websize/83401032-8961-4E35-8E89-7A52760FC836.jpeg

[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.274031

[chsparkman]

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

274033

[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 !

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Seen coyotes, mama turkey with chicks, owl, and a blue bird that nearly landed on my rifle, but thought better of it.

One morning I got in my stand before sunup. After a bit, I started to hear some clucking, then turkeys started decending from their roost in the woods behind me. Stopped counting around 20 or so, but they kept coming. Haven't seen them since.

This year, I saw a doe leave her fawns in the hay field I hunt while she entertained a young buck back in the woods. Also watched a doe wind me and pitch a fit, but wasn't bothered enough to run away.

[Bowhunter73]

While sitting on my stand one morning I heard something behind slowly turned in my stand and about 30 yards away I see a racoon climbing a tree watched as it went up and then squeezed into this hole I did have a picture of his head sticking up in the hole looking at me but I guess I deleted it.275210

[wc870]

I have seen all sorts of critters runnin, jumpin, flyin all around me. However one morning I heard something under the stand, it was a racoon sniffing around where I had set my pack down, after a minuet he started up the tree! No way i needed to get in a fight with a racoon first thing in the morning. Of course I didn't want to spook any deer in the area by shouting at him, so I stood up and had to spit on his head several times as he kept climbing. He made it all the way to the bottom of my stand (20' or so), by then I had an arrow out of the quiver in case I had to poke him in self defense lol. about that time he decided to head back down anyway, so no harm to him or me.

[FarNorth45]

Well one winter morning whitetail hunting my brother-n-law goes to his tree stand well before daylight. He is scared of heights, so his treestand was a double bench seat one . It had 3 extension... but he only used 2 lol.
Ha!ha
Anyway he begins his ascend up the ladder , right as his head starts to rise above the bench seat his there is this loud hissing /growling sound !!! His headlamp lights up this big eyeballs and and snorling mouth full of teeth !!!! ...... he falls to the ground flat of his back !!!! He isn't hurt , but his dad is close by and runs to him to see what's happening. He proceeds to climb up the ladder carefully to find a Full Grown Man Eating Opossum waiting !!!! Man oh Man , me and his dad never let him live that down !!!! ...... but in his defense he did show us why he only uses 2 extensions lol

[FarNorth45]

One day after work i rushed home , grabbed my bow and my wife ask if she could tag along ? I said sure, so we head out to this hidden 20acre wheat filled on a creek bottom . Time was limited and we were pressing the time so we just crouched down on the edge of it with our backs to the woods and fence . Behind us was about 30foot of thick woods/brush and then a 20foot drop off into a big creek .
So the sun is setting , time is getting perfect and my wife nudges me ...pssssh!! Hey look at the beautiful bobcat over on the other fence . I look , he is pretty and all spotted up . He travels on down the fence row to the corner where there is a nice game trail and a water crossing.
We go back to watching the field , we are entering the perfect time !! All of the sudden i here this light snap of a twig behind us , my wife knows not to turn fast ....... weve been down that road Lol! Anyway we both start turning slowly and my wife is directly nose to nose with that big beautiful Bobcat !!!... She starts screaming ! Bobcat starts screaming !! My wife takes off running into the wheat field, and i could hear the Bobcat tearing through the woods in a dead run screaming !!!!
... then i hear a Huge Splash of water from the bobcat falling from the 20ft drop off !! This whole time i never move ..... I couldn't, as i was laughing to Hard !!!

A once in a lifetime story , most of my good times /good memories come from hunting ,camping and just being out in nature..
Oh and all this happened when i was still living in Oklahoma , no white tails or Bobcats here ha!ha

[rogn]

I was up in an abandoned board tree stand that had a cedar tree growing nearly thru it. I had a pair of kinglets start feeding in the cedar. Kinglets are tiny, think humming bird size, birds that eat insects and insect eggs. They are nearly fearless. They were giving every needle in the cedar the once over. They came within a foot of my face/head several times. Then the male flitted out of the cedar to change branches. He was about 2 feet from my head when he vanished in a small puff of feathers and the hawk that got him disappeared behind the cedar. I think it was a sharp shin, but everything was so fast I couldn't really get or have an idea what it was.It was so close I'm sure I could have touched it as it struck the little kinglet. Nature is amazing.

[selmerfan]

Not from the deer stand, but I'll never forget the first pronghorn stalk I went on with my dad. We were moving along a fenceline toward a band of goats and we heard a gunshot far in the distance. Then this whirring sound a few seconds later that starts getting louder. I'm behind dad, we're both crawling on hands and knees. He whispers loudly, "STOP". So we both freeze. "WHUMP". Dirt flies up in the space between us. The whirring sound was a .30 caliber bullet from a hunter who had taken a shot that either ricocheted or was a skyline shot. I used my pocketknife to dig it out of the prairie. Something one never forgets. Ever.