Close calls or ouches

[JWCalgary]

Saw this last night and wondered how everyone else has faired with close calls with the beasties in the woods

https://youtu.be/yWJ1ys3XXhE

For me two years ago. No injuries but as I was walking an overgrown cut line in dense bush I heard a branch snap loudly. As I was wondering deer, elk, Sasquatch I got huffed by what I would assume to be a very large bear (sounded that way) very close and i couldn't see through the bush to confirm. Freaky to say the least. Quickly made my exit and got a nice safe distance away

Yep cross that location of the hunting spots

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[sureshot]

Had a cougar stalk in to 20 yards from and just sat there staring at me for about 5 minutes. I didn't even hear him come in at first. Almost had to change my shorts.

[tikka250]

Fishing for salmon on vancouver island i heard splashing in a nearby stream and from past experience knew that the splashing was coming from a tiny little fishable bend in the stream. Thinking the splashing was coming from salmon working up the creek i walked through the alders to be 20 feet away from a sow blackbear teaching her cubs to fish. She let out a big woof and they took off.

[The moose]

^ I had the same thing this season, I was in a treestand though. It did not see me and I heard it first, Purring. Then a growl/hiss. Took me a very long time ( or it felt like it) to pick it out of the grass. I will never forget the Eyes as they were like blue ice. Spooky. It stalked away after a few minutes and I could not believe how quiet it could move thru grass and tried crackly leaves.

[Albertadiver]

Charged by a bull moose about 4 years ago in heavy brush.

This fall got charged by a feral horse.

Didn't shoot either of them, but came REAL close.

My bear encounters have been a lot more docile.

[Big Lou]

6mmRem needs to chime in here. He's had a couple encounters that if it were me, would have resulted in thrown out sets of undies.

[luckylarry]

Last spring went turkey hunting in S.E. Montana with a fellow forum member. After a week of no gobbles we decided to pack up and make our way back until we saw two jakes cross the road in front of the truck on some BLM land near Custer National forest. We parked and made a sneak to set up the decoy with our backs against a big pine to hopefully call them back towards us but the weather started blizzarding a bit on us and they shut up. Just as we were deciding to head back to the truck we called in a coyote up to our decoy who sniffed around it, figured something wasn't right and booked off. My hunting partner was pretty impressed with his calling skills and we both thought it would be cool to try and call it back in to with 15-20 yards again. A few minutes after he started chirping away on the slate again something slams into my head and I react by slamming to my right into my buddy, who stands up, shouts and points his shotgun at two coyote tails running off into the brush. I immediately ask if my face is bleeding and my buddy laughs it off like I'm crazy thinking that the dog just surprised me into him. I respond by telling him all I saw were the ridges on the top of the dogs mouth and a blur of white. By the time we got back to the truck I had a clear red line below my left eye and a slight non-bleeding skin puncture under my jaw on the left side of my throat, knees were shaking and the beers flowed that night. We figured that since we were camoed up head to toe the dog thought the triangular patch of skin by the eyes left exposed looked close enough to a turkeys white head that he might get an easy meal. The seven hours back to the Alberta border were filled with great conversation and a little worry about how quick the effects of rabies set in on a country where I had no healthcare provisions but also well that ends well.

And my buddy still thinks he's an amazing turkey caller.


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[pikergolf]

My wife and I were approached by a cougar on a hike in the west block of the Cypress Hills. Never saw him, but he was close, man they rumble deeply when they growl. Dogs went crazy, and he ran off.

My brother was treed by a young bull moose in the Cypress Hills in Ab. on a deer archery hunt. We were both very young and didn't think to much of it, or at least I didn't.

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

Charged by a bull moose about 4 years ago in heavy brush.

This fall got charged by a feral horse.

Didn't shoot either of them, but came REAL close.

My bear encounters have been a lot more docile.

Had experiences with Feral horses aswell, they can be nasty

[sioux 1876]

This past fall I was hunting with my Tahan(brother in law) we were up on a ridge scouting for Bachidin(Elk). We noticed a big black figure at the bottom of ridge making it's way toward us. Pulled out the binose,It was a Ozinja(grizzly) sow with her two cubs. Our hearts started racing and we high tailed it outta there.

[Sooner]

Years ago my Uncle and I were charged by a young Grizz protecting it's dead & buried calf moose that we didn't know about. Lucky i caught a glimpse of the bear first, moving off it's kill (still unbeknownst to us), so we were looking that way as we thought it might be a moose walking around. We were parked on a trail and beside our quads. Thank god it was a bluff. Got to about 25 yrds from us. Guns still in their boots, nothing we could have done but pray if it didn't stop. Major yelling and swearing seemed to get it's attention .

BTW, it's true, Grizz run real fast lol.

[West O'5]

Wow,where to begin....
-cougar stalked me for at least 400m as evidenced in fresh snow an hour later when I circled back on a ridge and seen his tracks....so then I was following him following me,lol.....never did see him as daylight was fading and I hiked out,but it was creepy.

-playing with a big 50"+ bull moose while deer hunting,I was doing the antler waddle thing and he chased me back to my truck

-cow moose and calf in stream when I rounded the bend trout fishing....she had ears laid back and mane all bristled up stomping and bluffing @25yds......that was tense.

-pack of eastern coyotes when I was a kid (13-14?)in NB out checking snares after school were almost nipping at my heels,running and charging in to 10-15 yards maybe,yippie and snarling back and forth all around me in pitch black darkness.No flashlight walking on a sled trail and just a hatchet,I did a lot of yelling and tried to sound big....they finally buggered off but only after harassing me for a good 5 minutes and 3-400m.
-multiple occasions as bowhunter/bear guide been chased off of baits and/or treed at dark-thirty with 5-6 hungry bears on an active bait woofing and popping.
-giant 35'mud shark caught in a cod net (thought it was a whale at first) Bay of Fundy that almost ended up on deck of 45' Cape Islander.....enormous 13-15ft tail thrashing around overhead almost fell into boat.....and that is without doubt THE BEST fishing story I have,lol.... and only one of many near death experiences on the Bay.....most others are weather related.

[Bushleague]

The first moose I ever shot went right down, so I walked up to about 5 yards from him intending to give him one in the neck. Instead the moose jumped up, put his head down, and came after me. I had my scope cranked up and all I could see was hair in the scope, I was trying to run backwards turn my scope down but out of necessity I ended up just shooting and hoping for the best.

My shot hit him right in the neck, and I got an interesting lesson in the crazy things that can happen when your bullet connects going way faster than it was designed to perform at. The bullet hit him in the windpipe, and exited at a 90 degree angle. The moose did not go down so I'm assuming the bullet didn't hit the spinal column. There was a steady fountain of blood spraying out of the exit wound but the moose stayed on his feet, still looking mad as heck. The fountain turned into weak spurts and he swayed a bit but still kept his feet, by this point I'd got another round chambered and my scope turned down so I dropped him with another shot in the neck.

Heres a link to what happens in this situation when you aren't so lucky. When I first read this it gave me the heebee jeebee's, knowing I was probably only one lucky shot away from getting the same treatment.
http://www.all-about-moose.com/moose.html

[CanuckShooter]

Had a cougar 18 paces away growling at me...she left so I didn't have to kill her. [saw her kitten before seeing her]

Last fall packing up camp to move, turned around and there was a grizz in camp, perhaps 40 or 50 feet away.

Hanging in my Summit climber...and along comes a grizz following my scent trail...dang thing was hunting me.

November deer hunting, pack of wolves following me and howling, the howls were coming from both sides of the road. That night they circled our camp and left tracks all over in the snow.....I didn't hear any huffing or puffing though.

[6mm rem]

I was out checking a trailcam I had set out for a big whitetail I was keeping tabs on. I arrived at my camera pulled the SD card and swapped out the batteries. No sooner had i turned around there was a big black bear strolling towards me. I froze on the game trail and started yelling at him and waving my arms. He kept on coming towards me and stopped about 12 feet away. I jumped towards him hoping to intimidate him. My heart sank when he didn't back down at all. I grabbed the handful of AA batteries and thew them at his face which did nothing.
Not wanting to run I side stepped around him and slowly walked backwards. He started coming at me again until I reached a fallen log across the trail. He was about 4 feet away from me at this time. I was yelling at the top of my voice and kicking a large branch on the tree to use as a weapon. At this point the bear stood on its hind legs. I managed to break off the branch and struck the bear on the top of the head twice. The bear then got back on all fours and backed off about 15 feet . I spear chucked the branch as hard as I could hitting the bear in the ribs and he ran off about 30 yards and watched me. I slowly backed away and continued to hike back to my truck. Needless to say the next time I went to check that camera i was packing.

[fish_e_o]

i've had two good ones

one time i had a cougar stalk me back to my truck and when i turned on the headlights i saw him sitting there looking disappointed.


the other time i had a bear jump on my tent while i was sleeping. i yelled and punched the roof of the tent that was pinned on me and i think i hit the bear in the nose because it ran off.

[Ronji]

I had an extremely close call when I somehow managed to get between a cow and her calf moose 3 years ago.
She was within 10 yards of me, ears pinned back, hair all standing up on her neck and a whole lot of snot coming out of her nose. I was hunting bull moose at the time with a rifle.
We had a Mexican standoff for what seemed like 15 minutes, and all I could think of, is either I end up as dirt, or her dead. Calf walked/ran to her so close past me, she created a wind draft.
There is a soiled pair of under wear just off that trail.

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

i've had two good ones

one time i had a cougar stalk me back to my truck and when i turned on the headlights i saw him sitting there looking disappointed.


the other time i had a bear jump on my tent while i was sleeping. i yelled and punched the roof of the tent that was pinned on me and i think i hit the bear in the nose because it ran off.

Good thing it got off, a German tourist wasn't so lucky in BC the bear started eating his buttocks...

[fish_e_o]

oh ya i don't sleep easy in tents anymore. after that i bought a trailer

[corky51]

1. Charged by head stallion as I was cutting across their range, he stopped 5 feet from barrel 7mm rem mag. I'd have killed him about same time he killed me. We both walked
2. Short close charge, huff, stomp, 6 feet away, cub was above my head in tree I was sliding behind. She let me go with a warning. Walked backwards all the way to camp.
3. Black bear charge turned rifle length away as I was in hurry playing catchup to raise rifle. Gone before I got it up and finger on trigger. When I'm along, my rifle is locked, loaded, and on safety.
4. Grizzly sow with yearling and cub charged from 70 feet, Dad passed me going other way, I didn't ask but retreated right behind him. She.they let us go and returned to elk remainder. We didn't argue over ownership.
5. Hunting partner had grizzly chace him off moose he just shot.
6. Partners son had grizzly herd him back to truck away from kill.
7. Face staredown with numerous bears both kind from 30 feet but they all wooed at me and walked away. Never shot one yet. Don't intend too.
8. Woof from directly behind me while flyfishing encouraged me to find out how much water my waders would contain before drowning me. Still here. Waders hold a lot of water.
9. Woof close at treelined creek edge encouraged new wife and i to see how fast we could paddle 16' canoe. It worked
10. Woof at my face level scared both of us in opposite direction walking away from camp in total darkness. Never "saw" woofer..Too damn dark.
I now carry bear spray on front, camera in pack along with extra shorts.
I no longer go by nickname Grizz. It helps

[bessiedog]

Oh Man... I got lots.

Setting up a GPS cache course for my students up a mountain late in the spring.... headlamps show three sets of eyes approaching us in the bush.. eyes are illuminated by my headlamp and are 20 feet away... I can't tell what they are. All three sets of eye stop. The biggest one's moves right to the ground....I decide 'thems aint cattle' and fire my 30-30 in their direction....

Mama coug and her two kits go bounding off.

I was doing a 15 second sprint on a trail run 2 years ago.... dogs with me. We turn a sharp corner and just aout collide with a cinnamon bear going full tilt towards us.
Bit of surprise, barking, yellin, swearing..... we all high tail it in different directions... My dog hot on BooBoos trail.

Worst close call to date has no critters involved, but I still get chills every time i think about it.
I was on the ice (yup) with my three little girls set up for pike.... Local small lake. The chinook winds were drifting alot of the fresh snow everywhere and we had poor luck that afternoon. My kids were toodling all over the place cause it was February and I figured the ice was ok.
We were packing up and I got my auger hoisted over my left shoulder (my right shoulder is completely separated from a soccer thing... it just floats there cause the doc won;t repair it). My middle girl who's 4 at the time and I are the last to get off the ice... we take a shortcut over untracked lake, I'm not payin attention to things..

Next thing I hear is my little girl quietly say .. "Dad.." and she's going down through the ice. I leap 2 strides over grab her with my bad arm and toss her a good 5 feet back onto tracked snow. The ice under ME doesn't give way. My girl was at least up to her waist in water-slush when I grabbed her. I know that we were in at least 15' of water where she was going in.

I haul her up to the truck, strip her down and get the heater going. Her siblings huddle into her. They don;t really grasp what happened.

I drive home ... very silent. Shaken up big time. The pain in my shoulder kicked in right about when we rolled into the driveway.


I have no idea why that patch of ice was like that. I never checked it ourt later, there's no springs there. My only guess is maybe someone sawed a big hole in the ice and the snow drifted over it concealing it.....

I just know I dodged a tragedy.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

Charged by a bull moose about 4 years ago in heavy brush.

This fall got charged by a feral horse.

Didn't shoot either of them, but came REAL close.

My bear encounters have been a lot more docile.

Been a couple of times I've given a feral horse a warning shot.

Grizz

[raised by wolves]

Sham charged several times by a grizzly boar up on the trail to Goat lake, above the Snowshoe Trail. He charged us several times. That stops the heart and starts the bladder.

Walked in on a cougar's deer. Didn't see it and she didn't hear us coming. She had been busy munching on a whitetail. Scared momma off but the kitten pressed flat into the ground screaming at us.

Had a cougar stalk up on me as I was sitting under a tree and behind some brush during bow season. Came up within about 20 metres and growled at me.

Swimming off Texada Island I had a bull sea lion pop up beside me in the water. He was only curious, but he was just suddenly there. Scared the crap out of me. He hung around the beach for a few hours, coming in close to anyone in the water.

[CutterRMH]

Only 2 close calls so far.

I was quietly creeping up to my blind, I got to with 150' of it when I heard a very deep woof 3 times. First one didn't seem so loud, but the next 2 sure seemed like that bear was only a few feet away. Any time I went back to that blind during bow season, I had a rifle with me.

Other time was opening day for elk last fall. I was sitting in the bushes waiting for the elk to show themselves. Couple of cows pop out into the field followed by a nice 6x5 bull who was trying to corral them back into the trees. Once he had pushed them back in I did a couple of Cow calls. It got his attention but he wouldn't approach. Each time he would lose interest, I'd call. After a call I saw a quick flash of grey to my left. I slowly turn my head to see a friggin coyote has moved to within 15' of my position and is ready to pounce. His eyes were squinted and was staring at me. From my knees I slowly turned and stood at the same time drawing my bow. His eyes got bigger and bigger as I was getting taller and taller. He moved behind a tree so I couldn't get a decent shot at him. A few seconds later he caught my scent and bolted away. It was an interesting experience to say the least!!


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[fordtruckin]

I've come within 20 yards of a grizzly several times hunting and hiking around Yellowstone. Last time was elk hunting and I scared the bigger off a gut pile. Glad I had 3 others with me as I didn't even notice the bear as it crossed behind me dragging what ever it could.

[slough shark]

Mock charged by a black bear, luckily it pulled up before it took a bullet. Had some very fresh grizzly sign and I believe a track in mine maybe 5 miles away from where I had a good friend killed by a grizzly 2 years ago, this was my first time back to that area since that incident. Maybe it's just the guys I know but I've had a lot of friends and aquaintences charged by both bears and cougars, it's a good reminder to be safe in predator country

[The Fisherman Guy]

Worse close call for me was being shot at by another hunter - who knew I was there.

This year, hunting grouse on new to me land permission, I jumped two bull moose in their beds in a thicket. Only saw the one, who laid his ears back and put his head down and started toward me at a few paces away. Jumped behind a large tree and yelled at him until he left. The other bull circled behind me, and was grunting heavily at me for a few minutes, even after the other bull had gone. Neither of them ran, they just sort of sauntered out of sight into the dark forest and finally went silent. All I had was my .22 rifle.

Summer scouting outside the William A. Switzer park, I had walked a ridge and a creek bed looking for Elk sign. On my way out, I followed my tracks on the same trail I took in. Not far after I turned around, I see cougar tracks, in my tracks, in the mud. No weapon, I thought it would be just a short day hike looking for Elk sign, near the rig I was on. That was an anxious walk back to the truck that I'll never forget. Never did see or hear it.

Last one, this one scared me the most though...

Walking alone through a draw in heavy cover after an early fall snow, I turned a corner and somehow 10 yards directly in front of me is a very large black blob. This was in my early years as a hunter, so bear with me. My rifle was over my shoulder, no cartridge chambered. I remember thinking there's no way I can get a shot off in time - I have to scream immediately if I have any hope of scaring it away. Well, my heart basically jumped out of my chest and I almost passed out from the jolt of a overturned root-ball stump that appeared as a monster grizzly bear just before I yelled at it. Still makes me smile when I think about how much that frightened me.

[The moose]

o forgot one. I got treed with my brother and a couple friends by a very aggressive agitated bighorn. was about 12 at the time on a trail around minnewanka loop.

now thats a story many dont have. Dam thing stomped my bike too.

[JustMe]

Yeah, there is nothing like sitting in a deer stand on the ground and hearing said cougar "scream" not far behind your back! If that doesn't make your hair stand up, not sure what will!

Originally Posted by pikergolf

My wife and I were approached by a cougar on a hike in the west block of the Cypress Hills. Never saw him, but he was close, man they rumble deeply when they growl. Dogs went crazy, and he ran off.

My brother was treed by a young bull moose in the Cypress Hills in Ab. on a deer archery hunt. We were both very young and didn't think to much of it, or at least I didn't.

[JustMe]

Was that in Nelson, BC?

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I got ravaged by a cougar at the Legion one night.