How Close?
Whitetail Deer
This morning I was working my way back to my truck and was stopping every few minutes.
All of a sudden I saw a doe running towards my direction and knew a buck was behind her.
Well the buck was a young'n but what happened next was crazy.
I stood still next to a tree and the doe turned and ran right at my tree. The buck followed.
They then proceeded to do ring around the rosey around me and my tree and the doe actually brushed up against me.
I am not sure why I let them get that close - guess I got caught up in the moment.
So how close have you gotten before?
I was deer hunting one year in UT and had a spoke elk walking toward me (thought I was other elk he'd been with because of the noise I was making walking through a deadfall area) and thought I let him pass by and slap him on the hind quarter.
But, my [common] senses took over and waved my arm when he was about 5 feet away.
A fawn reached out and smelled my glove once. So I would say a couple of inches.
I smacked a yearling 6 point on the rump once. I was screwing in tree steps and he came up the ridge on a trail right by the tree (I wasn't setting up on the trail he was on, but to hunt one upslope and along the contour)
I was standing on step #2 and froze as he came up, he was head-bobbing and stomping, at a possum that was just past me. So intent on the possum he never saw me. As he passed I smacked his butt. Fun stuff. LOL
Walked up on a doe once at dusk, about 3 steps away. Scared the heck out of both of us:)
Within a couple steps many times, but never touched one. Had two fawns run and stop right at the base of my tree as I was climbing down. I was only 4' off the ground and they were just below me. They just stood there for a minute, so I said, "boo!" and they about jumped out of their skins.
I'm allergic to deer hair so I avoid petting them.
I've had a fawn inside a foot. Petted a "pet" doe, she wasn't wild but she would leave and run with other deer.
I could have grabbed this guy's antlers while he was trying to push through the cedar tree i was in. Thought about it but I guess I was just to chicken to grab ahold.
I've had them close enough to sniff my arrow before. I hunt on the ground.
This year my muley buck walked by at 10 feet - I measured - and I let him walk past before drawing and shooting him at 7 yards. I could hear him breathing as he walked by. He actually walked up to the fallen stump I was hiding behind and walked around it so at one point he was closer than 10 feet.
I once had a five point bull elk step over my legs where I was leaning against a log. Closest shot on an elk was three yards as he was trotting toward me. Drew and shot the longbow in one motion, and when the arrow hit he had spun and was quartering away.
Once had a whitetail doe smash into me head-first, right after dusk. I saw her coming and threw up my bow just before impact. She wrecked my bow-mounted quiver and a couple arrows, but I was unscathed ;-)
Almost got stepped on by a caribou calf in Quebec once. Was belly crawling towards several bedded bulls. I could hear clicking, peeked under my armpit and watched the calf step within a foot of my arm.
This little guy almost stepped over my log a couple weeks ago before walking over to sniff the decoys.
8pt buck 15 inches from my face for 1 min...pretty cool at the time...now i feel luck nothing bad happened
I was on my way to my stand early one morning walking down a logging road in steady rain with my hood up and my headlamp on. It was the first week of November and the bucks were really cruising so I was headed out even though it was raining.
I looked ahead and saw what looked like two flashlights coming toward me and it kind of freaked me out and I stopped walking. It was a yearling 6 point buck walking straight at me. He actually had to veer around me so he wouldn't walk into me. I smacked him on the left hind quarter as he passed within 6 inches of me and he instantly donkey kicked and damn near kicked me in the head.
150 bore hog at 3 feet. Close enough I was worried if my arrow was going clear the rest!
2 doe fawns close enough I could've grabbed either one easily. I saw them coming and just crouched down on the field edge, they walked right past me and I don't think had any idea I was there.
A tame doe walked up and let me pet her when I was on my way out to the stand. She actually licked my hand. She was not a pet that I know of but it is possible as I don't know any of the neighbors around there.
One morning while working on a the first house in a new subdivision a tame doe came up to me just like a dog would. She was happy to see me and rubbed her head on my hands so I would scratch behind her ears. My boss figured she was diseased or something so he called the police to let them know about her. Two cops showed up, one cop was going to call the dnr and before she could the other cop walked her into a field and shot her.
I have had to move or be run over a few times, and a few times the deer was to close to shoot , the arrow would still be attached to string.
Have touch a Cow Elk once, had Antelope close enough to reach out an dtouch several times while in a sage brush blind, have had Deer close enough to touch twice and had one spike buck actually walk to me a year ago while scouting as I stood and watched him in plain sight with no cover close to me, never did figure out what was going on with that one. Actually saw that same buck 3 times and he never had any fear of me, maybe he had seen me shoot before, HaHa.
I was gong through a cedar swamp on the way to retrieve a stand during a late muzzleloader hunt. I was following fresh deer tracks and saw a small doe looking at me. As I got closer, I was surprised that she didn't run as there were several other fresh beds visible. As I got closer still, I saw that she was stuck! He hind quarter was down in a hole and she couldn't get away. I set my muzz gun aside, and went to help her out of the hole (hind legs out in front of her in the hole so she had no lift apparently) and as I touched her, she bleated really loudly and about scared the bejeepers out of me! I told her that the coyotes were around and she should quiet down!
I then got ahold of her from the back and grabbed under her front legs. I was able to lift her out of the hole (of all days to travel "light" and have no camera!) and set her free. She ran off a few yards, then stopped and looked back at me as if to say "thanks"! Then she ran off slowly. I wished her well and went on my way.
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poked a spike buck with the muzzle of my rifle when he tried walking by me. I was standing in one track of a two track road and he was walking in the other.
Won't do that again, just saying.
oz
I used to hunt from the ground on one of those three legged stools at the base of a tree. I would lean a few branches up against the tree just to break up my outline. Twice I've had deer actually come up behind me and touch me with their nose.
Had a young doe walk up behind me and chew on my ghille suit. Damn near wet myself trying not to laugh out loud.
One early May morning while Turkey hunting, I was sitting at the base of a tree with my bow in my lap. Slow morning and the sun shinning on me I sort of fell asleep. Guess I heard something shuffling around my feet that woke me up. When I opened my eyes I was looking straight at a Skunk. From sound asleep to heart pounding out of my chest in split seconds. Not cool! Couldn't move. Just had to sit there still while he investigated me. At one point he actually put his foot on my leg and sniffed my arrow. Way not cool! He finally walked away and I never got sprayed but I got to tell you, I've had encounters with Bears while hunting and they didn't scare me as bad as that Skunk.
Haha! Red October that's hilarious. I can ONLY imagine!
As for whitetails..I was standing between 2 big trees and had cut a few green leafy branches an shock um in the ground crating a quick blind..nasty rainy evening..tall crp grass in front.. a doe races out of the crp. Slides to a halt,panting,,,rockets off...15 seconds later a lil buck,her trail,,,rips right up and stops 2\3 feet from my face.drool ,slobber hanging down out if his mouth..he shakes his head,,slings it all over my upper body and face...stunk like hell.......I was squirrel hunting,,had my limit,, sitting against a big oak..5 dead squirrel s laying by my feet...I sitting very still.out of the corner of my eye,close movement..a red fox is belly crawling toward my squirrels,,very slow and easy.he gets a foot from the squirrel,rolls over on his side ,opens his mouth up and inches forward with back legs only,,he never made a sound doing this,,if I'd been sleeping he would have scored,i screamed,,HEY!!!! just as he was about to clamp down,,that dude jumped 4 ft straight up with a twist or two , gymnast like!. Gone like a jet....it was funny
When I was very young, I was sitting on the ground under a tree taking a break, I had my face net on and had a pinch of Copenhagen in... This little forky came in down wind of me. caught the smell of the Copenhagen and walked straight up to me right by my bow with a broad head sticking out. he was within 6 inches of my face sniffing very loudly. I let out a little boo and he came unglued. he literally turned inside out and jumped about 10 feet! Stopped and looked at me like WTF WAS THAT!!!! I about peed myself laughing. Looking back on it probably shouldn't have let him get that close, but it was a very cool experience:)
Scar.
As for whitetails..I was standing between 2 big trees and had cut a few green leafy branches an shock um in the ground crating a quick blind..nasty rainy evening..tall crp grass in front.. a doe races out of the crp. Slides to a halt,panting,,,rockets off...15 seconds later a lil buck,her trail,,,rips right up and stops 2\3 feet from my face.drool ,slobber hanging down out if his mouth..he shakes his head,,slings it all over my upper body and face...stunk like hell.......I was squirrel hunting,,had my limit,, sitting against a big oak..5 dead squirrel s laying by my feet...I sitting very still.out of the corner of my eye,close movement..a red fox is belly crawling toward my squirrels,,very slow and easy.he gets a foot from the squirrel,rolls over on his side ,opens his mouth up and inches forward with back legs only,,he never made a sound doing this,,if I'd been sleeping he would have scored,i screamed,,HEY!!!! just as he was about to clamp down,,that dude jumped 4 ft straight up with a twist or two , gymnast like!. Gone like a jet....it was funny
My hunting partner had a cow elk come up behind him and tug on the hood of his sweatshirt. When he got back to camp there was still dried cud on the hood.
Had this buff come to about 3-4 metres a few years ago. Good fun.
https://youtu.be/YiAnfJUWfYM
I watched a Texas buddy of mine sexually assault a Sitka Blacktail doe once, that was too close.
Caribou at zero yards. It had been spooked and as I came up from a face down position, the caribou slipped on wet ground as he tried to go around me. I released the arrow from just above my belt level. Arrow entered the bou before it left the string. Not even a big bou, but one of my best memories.
One of my first oh hunts, I was walking back out of the area I'd been hunting along the South Platte.... I did have an air on the string, but I also had my head down and was making pretty good time, not paying any attention to anything in particular…
That was when a little bunch of doe mule deer blew up maybe all of 2 yards off of the trail like a covey of quail getting away from a coyote. Probably four or five of 'em ...
So I drew, swung, picked a spot, and in a moment of panic thought better of it… So I dropped my bow hand and sent the shaft into the dirt 4 inches under her brisket. Dead-Nuts perfect on the swing, though.
And I had a fork bull at about 7 steps.
At that range, you can just about hear the snot-bubbles pop. And you know, there's nothing quite like hearing your bowstring hum each time your pulse smashes into your bow-hand.
Had deer run up the next row of corn early morning in the dark. Too close!
While hiking in the dark and light rain, I dropped my safety strap (the old school kind that wrapped around the chest and kill you slowly). I figured I would wait for sunrise to backtrack and look for it so I stood under a tall evergreen to get out of the rain and 2 min later I could hear a deer walk up and bed down under the same tree next to me! Too dark to see it. I stood perfectly still in total disbelief for what seemed like an eternity, and then started to doubt if what had just happened was real. I made a slight movement and herd a loud snort and it was gone.
Had a bear poke his nose into my brush blind while I was calling with a fawn bleat. Came behind me and I never heard him until his nose was 2 inches from my back. Last fall I called a young bear to within 5 feet of me on the ground. When I spoke, he took off so fast he threw leaves and dirt on me.
Wow cool story. Definetly very close.
I shot a buck one year at 3 yards. After the shot he and angled by at 2 yards. I was on the ground next to a cedar tree and a big cottonwood. My dad asked me what I pin I used. I told him all of them.
The weekend before that I shot a doe at 4 yards sitting next to a tree.
