A fun thread
General Topic
So since it seems my other thread has triggered some guys I thought maybe a fun thread would be in order and the subject was brought up in another thread. Who all has went into combat with an animal? What was it? How did you end up in that situation? Who won? When I was 6 I got my arse handed to me by a doe mule deer it was the neighbors pet she didn’t care for it when I stopped petting her and she most definitely won.
My dad, brother and I went to help a couple buddies find a deer they hit during rifle season several years ago. After several hours and a long ways later we found it. It was a small buck. We all assumed he was dead. It was dark out and we all had our flashlights on till we found him. We were standing on all sides of him and upon finding him we shut our lights off and was standing there talking. And all of a sudden the woods came alive and I didn't know what the heck was going on. People hollering, flying all over and so on. Well my dad and I finally got our flashlights on and there were our two buddies laying on the ground and the deer running away. Not sure how it all went down since it was dark. But it sounded like a rodeo. We found him about 100yds away and dispatched him.
Every day I’m in the back country with my horses. Takes a little creative thinking sometimes, but I won this particular battle!
I stepped on a hornet's nest when I was eleven. They got inside my pants. I was stung 7 times including one in the testicles.
Father Joe moved me over to a soprano for that Sunday's mass.
Hahaha habitat you may have just won the internet hahahahha
Man.
Monkees who want to kill the American and freedom for mankind with every oz of thier blood.
Nothing harder to hunt.
K~
Deerslayer, ya got my attention ! Story?
Those Hornets are serious. When my brother and I were little (me 11 & him 6) we were at a lake which had a dock with a roof on it. There was a hornet nest under the roof. We had the great idea to knock their nest down with a boat oar. I told my brother "when they come after us, just jump in the water and go under water and swim away". So I whacked them. And here they came. I hollered "jump in the water". So we did, and I dove under and swam as far as I could before having to come up for air. When I surfaced I could my brother letting a blood curling scream. We never took into account that he had a life jacket on so he couldn't go under. They got him on the head so many times we about took him to the hospital. So the outcome on that one is they won. Which brings me to the next story. This was when I was 25 and him 20. My brother and I were going to hook up to a gooseneck trailer. I got backed up to and cranked the jack all the way up. And like i always do, I stepped in and bent over to lift the jack stand up the rest of the way. And all of a sudden, something stabbed me in the back. And in a mad dash to get the hell out from underneath the trailer. I took off running, which was a good idea. But bad idea to stand up to take off running. Ran my head smack into the off side gooseneck hitch beam. Knocked me flat out. When I got up and came to. My brother was on the ground rolling around laughing his butt off. His only comment was. " I wondered what you was going to do when I seen that hornet land on your back. Remember the boat dock". They had a nest under the hitch. And he watched that succer land on my back and get me.
Now that is a Great One KS!
Got in a bit of a tussle with a bull elk once.
Highly not recommended!
Let’s hear the story treeline? It sounds like a good one!
Great thread. I posted about it when it happened about a year ago. But I ran up to a coyote in the bush last year and went hand to hand and came out the proud winner. That fur is stretched but still waiting to be tanned now come to think of it. In the winter, to escape boredom and manotiny, I go for walks in the bush with a headlamp or by moonlight once the kids are in bed. I enjoy catching small game by blinding it with the headlamp from time to time.It’s amazing how they freeze. It’s usually catch and release, with the release being very quick on a flying squirrel that took a good chunk out of my thumb once I grabbed on. Bit clean through a Kuiu Yukon Pro glove, still see that hole every time I wear those things
I was on a mountain bike ride with some friends once. One was about 50, and refused to wear lycra cycling shorts, he wore cut offs, commando. The guy raced masters worlds that way to the chagrin of USA cycling, it was hilarious. Any way, we were going down a single track trail and his son gets nailed by a yellow jacket - the next was under the trail in the ground apparently. He yells "BEES" and takes off, I accelerate, but still take a couple to the head and maybe 3-4 more on the legs and arms.
But then the last guy rolls up jumps off his bike and rips down his pants. He got stung multiple times on the "sensitive parts", also on his head, legs, arms... being last in line the bees felt he was a great target!
Poor guy...
I've gone into combat with bats that managed to get into the house. A fishing net swung like a baseball bat leads to swift victories! (and a few broken vases...)
Buddy and I were coming home late one night and he hit a Buck with his car. Just clipped his back end and he spun into the ditch (the deer not us). We stopped to check on the buck and he was struggling. He couldn’t get up on his back legs. We didn’t have a firearm or bow but did have a hunting knife. I figured I’d just go down and slit his throat and end his suffering. Well apparently he had not yet had enough suffering. When I grabbed his rack he went ballistic and basically tried to gore me. Let me tell you a mature buck is a pretty formidable critter even with only two good wheels! I was holding onto that rack for dear life and trying to get at him. I finally got him subdued and did the deed. In the meantime he had cut the hell out of my hand. I couldn’t tell whose blood was who’s. My buddy of course was laughing his arse off at me the whole time. I came out of the ditch and all he had to say was “who won?”.
Turkey for me.
20 years ago was spring scouting mid-morning after a hunt for gobblers. On state land driving down the road with my two buddies. I was in the back seat behind the driver when I spotted a big gobbler out in the woods about 60 yards off the road. Jumping up and down flogging around like he was fighting another turkey. I screamed for my bud to stop and was out the door before the suv stopped. I was sprinting towards this gobbler bearing down on him and, he was still fighting this invisible turkey and, never noticed me.
Understand, I used to have speed. Played a lot of ball and had a great set of wheels. 4.5 speed at 210 pounds. And I had it cranked up. lol Anyways when I get to about 10 yards I realize this is going to happen. About that time the gobbler notices me and turns to run. It was too late. I smothered him like any good linebacker would a ball carrier. And, we went a rollin' down through the woods in an entangled ball. Somehow, I never lost hold of him.
I had him by the leg and this thing was jumping up and down and beating the senses out of me with his wings. It was all I could do to keep hold of that leg. This went on for about 15 seconds until I finally was able to pin his right wing with my foot, straddle him, grab his neck and apply the coup de grace. When I looked up my two buds were just standing there looking at me in total shock like I was a mad man. One of them actually said "WTF just happened!". It really was pretty funny.
Birds man. Rooster and a swan in two separate occasions when I was young. Was fishing a pond in Florida when a big white swan came out of nowhere and gave me hell. The rooster was my fault. I was messing around with some chickens waiting for my mom to finish up with one of her friends she rode horses with. I got the shit kicked out of me by the king cock.
Rooster Pheasant that came ‘back to life’ in my vest game bag...I’m not sure who could get out of the vest the fastest, but my dad had a good laugh...He made good his escape also!
I also did hand to hand with a coyote once. Killed it with my biltmore stick I use to cruise timber with. Not MPauls quality but, I'll take a dead coyote anyway I can get it. :^)
Barn cats, semi-feral, my mom had 4-5 of them she'd adopted from the neighbors. We kids would chase them all over the place, and one day I got one fully cornered between the barn and the haystack. It suddenly looked so sad and cute, resigned to its fate or whatever, so I felt sorry for it and tried to pet it. That thing turned into satan incarnate, it crawled right up my arm using all 4 sets of claws and teeth and came at my face. It was all I could do to escape with my life, I was absolutely shredded from my hand all the way up to my ear. My cousin was rolling in the dirt, laughing hysterically. My dog, who was fully complicit in the chasing, was giving me this look like "SEE? That's why we try to never ACTUALLY catch them!" I never bothered that cat again...
I was about five years old and at a family reunion in a town park. A small river ran passed us and us kids were of course playing in the water. I had a hot dog bun left after eating the weiner and was flicking little bits of it for the ducks to fight over. A friggin huge swan all of a sudden bull'ed in there, scattering ducks and glided right up to me. I dropped the big chunk of bun that was left right by my knees, mostly out of fear and the swan immediately went for it. Now it could have ended peacefully right there, except for the lack of common sense that only five year old boys can muster.
I bent over and grabbed that bugger halfway up the neck with both hands. All hell broke loose as both of us went into full blown panic mode!! I just hung on as if that was the only thing that could save me, and that flopping, flailing white devil kept pouring the beatings to me. I don't remember much of the fight really, except for going down and under in the shallow, muddy water. My Dad finally came to my rescue. He would tell me the story every couple of years or whenever I was going goose hunting, reminding me that I was natural waterfowler as I'd gone eye to eye and hand to wing with a real heavy weight.
Lived across the street from Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Women’s game going on one Sunday. Opened the trunk of my beloved Oldsmobile Delta 88 to find one rooster wasn’t dead. Flew across the road toward the people filtering in for the game. Grabbed it and wrung its neck in front of a few horrified basketball fans. Ran back to my apartment building.
I had to finish a mountain goat with a Havalon. I stood a few feet in front of him for over and hour out of arrows and he just wouldn’t die.
When I got close, he didn’t move but when I went to stab him in the neck, he lunged at me and horned me in the leg. Ripped my brand new Attack pants. That was one of the dumbest things I ever did. It was about a 25 foot fall onto jagged scree if he’d have tossed me.
I had to climb way up to get on the cliff behind him and finally was able to stab him from behind. I was lucky to catch the carotid and he died quick, but still fell.
You can see the red spot on his neck where I stabbed him.
Dang Ike, that's hardcore!!
My nephew shot a buck with gun walked up and tagged it. Buck got up and ran away with his tag never did get it. Called the state asked for another tag state said no can do. Lol
Came home from a moose hunt to a pine marten in the cabin. We took turns chasing each other while I used the broom for both offense and defense. He wanted more raisin pie and I was NOT going to bed with that murderous weasel. somehow he made it out the door and I could not have been happier. (He ate the breast of a Turkey and nearly half the pie while we were out. Not sure where he put it all!)
Back in the late 70’S running my trap line before school. Had a cubby set and seen the trap was gone and wire led into the cubby.
Pulled out my 22 and grabbed the wire to yank it out and dispatch what I thought was a coon. It turned out to have racing stripes and nailed me before I could even get the safety off on the rifle.
Finished the line and dropped the fur off in the garage and left my cloths in the yard and put on my school cloths. But my boots I wore to school and put them in my locker and put my sneakers on for classes and gym. I didn’t even make it through the first hour and I was to report to my locker and meet the maintenance person and principal at my locker.
I was told to either throw them in the dumpster or take them home. But get them out of the building. Of course I took them home and soaked them in tomato juice. My pop didn’t know wether to be mad or laugh.
A long time ago I roped a WT doe that came up into our corrals. A real rodeo
2006 - archery elk camp - woke up with a Rocky Mtn Spotted Skunk in the wall tent. That tent got real small, real fast
Did you know they do handstands before they spray?
You're a modern day barbarian Ike. You're next level of mastery is to kill a California Mtn Lion with your bare hands, by choking it to death.
Cnelk
I’ve seen them on wildlife TV shows. Never seen one for real in the wild though. Can’t fathom being cornered in a tent by one. LOL
Driving home from a Wyoming mule deer hunt in the 90s. East bound on I-80. In Illinois or Indiana.
I notice a whitetail laying in the median with his head up looking around.
I told my dad to Pull over and back up. So I’m just going to run across a very busy interstate and get into a knife fight with a deer. No problem.
As I walk up the deer starts dragging himself towards the opposite lanes of traffic. His rear legs aren’t working.
So I go for it and jump on him both hands on his antlers. He is throwing me around dragging me with him towards the west bound freeway. Amazing strength
I finally somehow get my left arm around the front of his left antler and grab his right antler with my left hand. Freeing my right hand to grab my knife.
All the while my brother in law and father would not get out of the truck. They are hearing truckers on CBs yelling. “ there’s a mad man in the median wrestling a deer”.
After what probably looked like a Halloween movie of me stabbing him in the heart and throat he succumbs to either a heart attack or blood loss. Still not sure which.
Had elk hunting friends walk up on dead bull elk
One only had a bow in hand and the bull jumped up and pinned the one guy to the ground and was swinging his head trying to gore him. The other jumped in to help and the bull turned and did the same to him before finally dying on top of him. Both were very banged and cut up. But no life threatening injuries.
Cnelk, I helped a friend rope some bison heifers that were too fat to calve properly and were bred to a bull that was too large. So the calves were too big.
So we headed and healed them to pull the calves. Quite the rodeo. Some heifers died, some calves died, some pairs died. But we did save most. He learned bison can not be that fat going into calving season, and breed to smaller bulls.
When I was still active duty in the Marines, I took my future wife to visit Miyajima Island, in Japan, 1994 I think.
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It was October, and all the tame Axis Deer were starting to rut. The Bucks were very angry, and I had to fight off more than one agressive Buck that was trying to gore us with antlers.
I found that a good kick to the throat will temporarily stun an Axis Buck, so you can get away.
I won't say that I won any of the fights, just that I was able to escape the agressive ones with a kick to the throat.
Tony
In 8th grade a buddy and I got the bright idea to try and ride his young bull. He was pretty timid and liked to have people around. Plan was to have my buddy walk bull past hay loft and I would jump down on his back and go for a ride. Well let's just say that the first part of the plan went well. As soon as my ass hit his back he jumped like a rodeo bull and I went flying ass over kettle and landed face first on the ground. Never have, or will, f' with a bull again!
I could write a book. As a DNR wildlife biologist one of my jobs was dealing with nuisance critters and semi-tame animals kept illegally in captivity. I've wrestled bears-a fifty pound cub on the end of a 6-foot choke stick inside a dog kennel is loads of fun; too many deer to mention-the worst one was a mature doe that had fallen into a 20 deep footing for a support structure under a mine conveyor. The floor of that pit had 8 inch re-bar sticking up in every square foot and 6 inches of water. It was one hell of a fight but I won. I also did gator relocation capturing at least two that were over 12 feet. Believe it or not they are easier to handle than the small ones. A six foot gator is the worst. One six footer managed to bit my watch off of my arm without breaking the skin and I didn't even know it had done it. He got away from me while I was sitting on his back. When I regained control and started taping his mouth I saw the last inch of my watch band sticking out of his mouth.
Ike, never take a Havalon to a horn fight.
I was at the bow club shooting summer league when I went to pull my arrow out of target a hen turkey was behind target with her babbies and she went nuts on me chased me all the way down too the next target
I had to finish off a very much alive 5x5 bull with a knife when I ran out of rounds (during a rifle hunt). I had 5 rounds and hit him with 4, lung shots and one hind quarter. The last one, the intended killing shot deflected off a stick and missed. For the next hour I waited for him to bleed out but he didn't die so I had to stick him with a knife. It took several stabs in the chest and neck, until he finally struggled to his feet, blew down a steep hill and got tangled in a blowdown. It was only then I was able to finish him off. Thought I was gonna get trounced by him. He wasn't too cooperative.
The story about my elk fight is an older one - 2008.
Told it on the Bowsite and it was also kicked around in a few other circles back when it occurred.
I shot a bull thru the bottom part of the heart with my first shot. Walked up on him and he stood up. Shot the same spot.
He charged me after the second shot. I was lucky enough to get turned to my side before he smacked me or would likely have been gored by the antlers. I extended my bow in my left hand towards him. He came in low and faster than I could imagine and my bow and arrows were scattered on impact.
He flipped me up into the air with his rack like a rag doll and I do remember hoping not to land on a broad head on re-entry.
He was back on me as I hit the ground and it was all I could do to keep those antlers from skewering me or taking out an eye. The antlers turned out to be less damaging than his feet!
He alternated front jabs with those big old feet and antler attacks with the offside - left antler and right foot then right antler and left foot, repeat. I am pretty sure that if I would have taken a kick direct to the head or chest, he would have killed me.
Luckily I was able to get my legs and feet up between us and keep from getting gored or kicked in the groin or stomach. He bulldozed me up the hill with his antlers and feet kicking me for about 20 yards until I was able to roll under a dead tree and stump.
The bull smacked the stump a few more times and then started acting drunk. He staggered back down the mountain a ways and then locked up his legs facing away. He was bleeding pretty good out the holes on both sides and from all the exertion.
I was a bit shook up but saw my bow and several arrows scattered around. I slid toward the elk and over to my bow on my side and found an unbroken arrow laying not too far away. I nocked it up and rolled to my knees behind the cover of some stunted pines.
The bull was under 20 yards, hard quartering away. That bull definitely needed some more killing so I drew back and sent my third arrow into him. The hit was solid at the back of the ribs toward the offside shoulder. The arrow sunk to the fletching and the broadhead buried in the offside shoulder.
It was all that bull could take and he stumbled sideways, tipped over and died in short order.
I was shaking excessively and had to just sit there for a while. It’s not every day a guy gets in a fight with a critter that outweighs him by 4 or 5 times and wins!
While breaking him down, I pulled the heart and there were two big cuts about 1” deep through the lower muscle of it. Amazing how tough these critters are!
I didn’t really notice how beat up I was till several hours later. My legs, ribs and back really started to hurts lot. After a couple of days the bruising started blossoming and I was totally bruised from my groin to my feet with several pretty ones across my sides and back.
I can highly recommend NOT getting into a fight with a bull elk!
Drop Tine's story reminds me of the one time checking traps....ended up getting sprayed by one very pissed off skunk. Anyhow, get home, park and my dad meets me on the patio. "Strip" he said. "You are NOT going in the house. Strip NOW!" I responded "But dad its twenty freaking degrees!!" He didn't care. I really didn't either. What I DID care about was that it was time for the three teenage girls next door to leave for school.
I got bit on the deltoid by a horse when I was 6. My older sister set me up - she never liked me, and got me positioned so the horse would grab me from behind. Never had anything hurt so much in my life. Turned my whole arm black and blue. Then in HS, I was trying to catch a live muskrat bare handed (well with my feet actually), and since these little mothers are vicious, he ran up to me and bit my foot right through my rubber packs. I still have little tooth mark scars from him. He got away too.
Bull from the above story
Bull from the above story
Treeline, Then you woke up...right? ;)
Nope TrapperKayak, that one really happened.
Have tussled with with a few whitetails, mule deer, turkeys, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs over the years. Been in more than my share of fights and brawls with people.
That bull elk was the nastiest by far.
I have a computer down but might be able to find the pictures of my legs and back. Will see if I can find them.
I was 16 so the year was 1986. Me and 2 of my buddies were all hunting the same large piece of property. We were all walking in the same logging road and eventually we split off into different directions to head to our spots. We had only split off from each other for about a minute when I hear my friend, Sam, to my left shoot his bow. He immediately starts hollering he just shot a buck. Me and my other friend quickly head over to where Sam is. He is very excited and tells us that as he is walking he looks into a huge tangle of grapevines snaked around the base of this cherry tree about 15 yards in front of him and there is a buck bedded in the tangle. The buck is hunkered down like a rabbit with it's head laying down looking right at him. Sam draws back and shoots the buck right between the eyes with his compound and a 3 blade fixed broadhead (terrible shot to take but he was young and dumb). I honestly don't even know how he got an arrow through that mess of grapevines even at 15 yards, I could barely see the buck as Sam was excitedly telling us the story. The buck was laying there, head flopped over and bleeding from his head. Now, how are we going to get this buck out of this ungodly tangle? Sam wiggles his way in with the buck, grabs him by the rack and about the time he realized that his arrow had somehow only managed to hit the buck in the head, cut him and knock him unconscious that buck woke up! So here is Sam in this massive grapevine tangle with a very alive and now very upset buck. We can't get in to help Sam and he can't get out. Luckily, we were all wrestlers and farm boys. Sam kept a hold of that bucks rack, grabbed his fixed blade buck knife out of it's sheath and proceeded to slit it's throat. He got pretty banged up and completely head to toe covered in blood but he killed that buck. We had a heck of time getting that buck out of there, never did find Sam's arrow and all agreed that was a shot none of us would ever take again. Craziest thing I ever saw hunting and wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. It was a really nice 8 point and a buck none of us will ever forget.
many years ago, we were driving from an antelope hunt to a mule deer hunt and dad spotted a red fox in a field, shoot it he says. I did, and it rolled then got up and went over the hill, dad says go get it, I got to the top of the hill and shot again and missed then chased, shot, missed, chased, shot, missed, soon the little guy was bleeding out and running shorter distances, and I was out of ammo. Therefore I just chase hoping he bleeds out, finally he decided to turn and fight. When he jumped at me I got the barrel of my rifle in his mouth and my hand around his muzzle, slit his throat, and started the 2 mile journey back to the truck. Next morning we are driving back from a hunt and dad watches a tractor roll a badger out of the ground. He reaches under the seat of the truck and pulls out the tire iron and says go get it. whoooo the fight was on, the badger was stunned but not injured. You would not believe how fast they can dig a hole in tilled soil. wow. then they turn around in the hole and make the scariest sounds you ever heard. When you bonk then on the head with the tire iron, they give chase. We went several rounds. I won that battle too, eventually.
oz
Bruise on my back where I got swatted by an antler
Bruise on my back where I got swatted by an antler
My leg bruises after the fight
My leg bruises after the fight
Tavis, you take this primitive weapons thing way too far!! You may be interested in the new Kuiu Kevlar jumpsuit aimed at guys like you.
Several years ago a couple of buddies and I were driving along when a badger ran across the road into a culvert. I posted my buddies on one end with their bows and I chucked rocks in there to try and spook him out. I got the bright idea of crawling in there to spook him out. They said your crazy but I was sure it would work (alcohol induced thinking). It was a tight fit but I could manage to slowly crawl towards him yelling at him the whole time trying to spook him out. When I was about 15 feet from him I was relieved when he ran out the end of the culvert. Problem was when he saw my buddies he came running back in the culvert full bore! I found myself face to face with a badger in a tight culvert. My buddies said all they heard was blood curdling screams and could visualize the badger chewing my face up! I am sure I broke some kind of world record crawling backwards that day!
Damn, Treeline !
After that story...I basically got nuthin! Just a cat on a fishing pole, and getting attacked by yellowjackets, when I unwittingly used their nesting log, to try to cold call elk!
"That bull definitely needed some more killing" Haha, um, YEAH...
Several of the above have certainly had me laughing!
Some crazy stunts pulled by some of you guys!
Keep em coming!
I'd say you made out pretty good treeline, no deep punctures. Thats a big bull. I found a very large 6x6 with a hole through his ribs and heart from another bull that left him dead. Seen footage of bulls fighting to the death. They mean business. Mine never got on me, he just scrambled to his feet when I kept sticking the knife in his throat.
Those turkeys can get you, I once pounced on a Tom my buddy had shot, I’m pretty sure it was about to run away after being body shot with the shot gun. He ripped my pants into shreds and luckily he never hooked into anything real important! I caught a great horned owl in a fox snare 30 years ago, my brother was going to hang on to him while I got the snare off. He managed to latch both feet onto his chest and there was no getting him off. It was pretty comical for me but not for my brother or the owl.
I took on and finished off a pissed off Badger with a shovel that I had shot with a 222 and I also finished off a buck with a knife, but nothing like you guys... You're Nuts!!
Those are some crazy stories..... As a cop..... We put down a fair share of injured animals and loose aggressive dogs......
One funny story I recall is when we got sent to an injured goose on the side of the road. It needed to be put down but there was too much traffic passing and houses near to shoot it. My buddy got out a dog snare pole and decided to choke it out. That goose went absolutely nuts when he snared it around the neck. It was flopping for its life..... He dragged it into a shallow ditch and proceeded to drown it. It was flopping and splashing water all over the damned place.... as people dove by in shock at what was happening. I couldn’t help but laugh........:-)
About 50 years ago I had befriended an old rancher who would let me bowhunt on his property in central Texas. Yes this was back when people would actually let you hunt their land if you asked nicely. One morning I had finished my hunt and was walking back to my car and Mr. Moss was drinking coffee on his front porch. He hollered at me to come up for a cup. He had a yearling buck in his front yard whose name was "Buck". His wife had found Buck as a fawn and they were raising him. They had a fence around their yard to keep the other deer out but let Buck stay inside. He was a cute little guy with golf pencil spikes. As I opened the gate to get up on the porch, Buck casually walked over to me. He had a red ribbon with a bell tied around his neck. I figured he wanted to be petted. Buck liked being scratched behind his ears and put his head on my leg just above my knee. As I started to walk away, Buck decided he did not want me to stop and started pushing me around with my knee in between his little spikes. He would not stop pushing me and pushed me all around the yard. That little sucker was unbelievably strong and I could not get away from him. Mr. Moss was on the porch laughing hysterically. Finally he let out a loud whistle and Buck released me from his spikes (which had by then grown into massive antlers). Buck would have certainly whipped my arse had not Mr. Moss intervened.
The next year Mr. Moss advised me that Buck had got out of the yard and was shot by a road hunter and left to rot.
Have an uncle who shot a 3 pt whitetail (spike one side, small fork on the other). We were in the woods with snow. My Dad and I were with him, given smaller size, plus snow, uncle took off on the drag alone while me and Dad went back to hunting.
Got to truck end of the day and there's blood everywhere, his pants are torn and he's trying to patch up his leg. Seems, he dragged it down a hill, it picked up speed in the snow and tackled him, spike antler ripped through his pants and opened up his inner thigh. Came damn close to killing him a bit over and a bit deeper and he was toast.
Still, since no harm no foul, it was, and is, funny.
I wouldn't call it "combat"........................................had a "run-in" with a nasty Timber Rattler.........................HE won! : (
Dang, I didn't know elk hunting was so dangerous!
cnelk's story reminded me of when I decided to deoderize a young skunk with a single edge razor blade. This was when I was a kid. I wanted a pet skunk so I boxtrapped one and was told that if you removed the nipple-like spray jets from their spray apperatus they would not be able to spray. I got my hands on some cloriform so as to not hurt the little bugger. I learned very quickly that they can spray from any position such as upside down from my hand directly into my right eye. It is also true that it is blinding. This is how far I got with my procedure before I let it back to the wild. Skunk wins without a doubt!............Bob
Ken, I believe a story is in order...
Ya just can’t post up a dead bear and holes in your leg with no STORY!
Come on MAN!
I’ve had lots of close calls with no actual contact with snakes, both cottonmouths and copperheads, but only two ever actually struck me, neither one getting a fang in me though. One struck the sole of my boot and the other the shaft. Last one actually hung his fangs in the hem of my jeans and left venom on them and my boot. But the one that really scared the hell out of me never struck. I was about 14, down on the creek (nobody knew where I was), about a mile and a half from the house. I had a pole stuck in the bank fishing for the jugheads that lived there and I had spent a good five minutes down on my knees getting it just right, stood up to admire my set, and it was then that I saw about a two foot cottonmouth coiled up with his mouth open. He had been lying within 8”/10” from my hands all that time. I blew him to hell with Daddy’s old 12 gauge and then had to sit down because my knees wouldn’t hold me up anymore.
One more: When I was about 25 and running a dozer cleaning up a pipeline r.o.w. I came to a fence gap. Now, those gaps are as long as the r.o.w. is wide, which was 60’. There were several cow/calf pairs just across the gap. I got down off my tractor and shooed them away but they didn’t go far. I jumped on the tractor, made it through the gap, got back down just in time to try to intercept a 250/300 pound bull calf that was headed for the opening. At that time in my life, 6’2”, 280 lb. , I was a bonafide badass, (I thought) so I just put my best block on him. It was like hitting a hair covered brick wall, but it scared him off of the gap, damn near knocked the breath out of me, and I ain’t tried that anymore !
Raccoon for me. We were fishing a small pond in Illinois and my buddy wonders off with a pellet gun. Comes back saying he killed a huge raccoon. We follow him and the raccoon is way up in a tree “dead” in a y between branches. I get the not so great idea that I should climb up the tree and push him off the y. I’m hanging on to the tree about 30 feet up pushing up with a stick when another buddy yells: LOOK OUT! I look up to see the “dead” raccoon on a downward sprint with me in his sights. My other buddies were calling me Tarzan for how I bounced from branch to branch headed for the ground. One friend was up half as high as I was and I beat him to the ground. You know the saying about only needing to be faster than your friend...
Dang, I didn't know elk hunting was so dangerous!
Not my story but one passed down about my wife’s grandfather, Pete. Seems he and a younger friend were rifle hunting elk near their home in Helena, MT. At the time Pete was in his mid-sixties. He and his friend got separated but then the friend heard a shot. Thinking Pete had something, he walked over to where the shot came from. When he got there he sees Pete’s rifle and pack laying on the ground, bushes torn apart, and a trail of kicked-up rocks, dirt and broken tree branches leading downhill.
Following the trial for 100 yards or so, he soon finds Pete gutting a spike elk. The first thing he says is “Pete, how did you get the elk down here?” Pete looks at his friend and in all seriousness says “I rode the SOB!”
Pete later related how he went to cut its throat and stepped over the animal when it stood, catching the lace of his boot in an antler and depositing Pete on his back like a bareback rider on an unbroken mustang. Pete proceeded to hang on for dear life while cutting his throat until the animal went down and died. Pete swore his friend to secrecy, and the story never came out until after Pete’s death but knowing Pete, I believe every word of it!
Speaking of wasps, bees, hornets and such.......A couple years ago I was clearing out a little trail on our lease in order to have a shorter route between food plots for a tractor trail. If I could have completed the trail, it would have cut twenty minutes or so off the usual route between plots. The lease we have grows pine trees and we are forbidden to touch one, but all junk brush is fair game. So I’m on my dozer in the thick brush and something starts stinging me. I’m in a tight spot, have to twist around to get out into the open, meanwhile the honey bees are tearing my ass up ! I finally get clear of the tight spot and throw the dozer in third gear, still fighting bees. I clickety-clacked about a half mile before they finally left me alone. I smashed the last two with my hand still trying to sting me through my jeans. Sixteen stings that I could find. Benadryl !
Two weeks later I’m at home on my backhoe grubbing a few small trees out across my pond in order to mow a little easier over there. On a blackjack oak was a low hanging limb that hit my tractor cab each time I mowed, so I’m going to just break it off the tree. I put my outriggers down, front bucket down, locked the transmission brake and broke the limb off. The honey bees were on me instantly. My Jack Russell Terrier was on the hoe with me and they covered him up too. I had to pull the outriggers up, pick up the bucket, and switch the brakes off to move. Meanwhile, .....yep, the bees were tearing my ass up ! Finally I just jumped off the hoe and took off running. These particular bees didn’t follow but fifty yards or so thank God. Walk to the house, count the stings.....twenty-four bee stings. More Benadryl !
I was in the mountains of Tennessee looking for wild boar when I jumped up on a big log laying on the ground. The log crumbled under my weight. Then the earth exploded into a buzzing frenzy. Yellow jackets. We stopped counting the stings at 67. I wouldn’t call it a battle in anyway. Because it was all one sided. They whooped my butt.
I've always been pretty cautious with game/wildlife. I did finish off a doe hit by a car with a skinning knife once (in city limits, saw the hit happen, followed her into a grassy field, checked her on a ML tag as season was in)
I thought I told you the story about the bear Tavis? I was bowhunting for bears actually when I was living in Cordova when it happened. I was walking back home in the near dark in an old dry creekbed when I heard something come out of the brush right behind me (15 yards or so). I could make out the shape and it was a brown bear cub (2 year old cub, so pretty big). I knew that wasn't a good thing and dropped my bow and reached for a pump shotgun on my back. The cub saw/heard me making a commotion and took off into the brush. Momma bear came out of the brush about 40 yards away, stood up on her hind legs and locked onto me. By the time I got the shotgun/pumped a shell in I shot the first time from my hip. She veered left and I sidestepped while trying to load another and she came again and knocked me to the ground. I was able to fight her off with my feet (while she was biting at my legs) while loading another round. I finally got the second shell in (actually the third shell--while "wrestling" around on the ground an unspent shell fell out of the ground and I heard a click on the second pull of the trigger). I put the shotgun between my legs and fired--so close that the hair on her chest caught fire. While she was biting at the burning hair, I hit her one more time. She ran off into the brush, as I would find out the next day, mortally wounded and just inside the brush line. I don't remember the whole thing, but was able to figure it out with the footprints in the sand the next day. The first shot went in, hit breastbone and veered over into her shoulder--shattering it-which is why I was probably able to keep her off me for the most part. Second shot was the killer and the third shot was just insurance. Pretty lucky for the most part. Just some small bite scars from my knee down to the calf. Not a big sow--maybe 7.5'. The worst was the infection i ended up having to go to Anchorage a few days later, but that's a whole 'nother story...
Holy shit !! Did you have buckshot in the gun ??
You did, Ken!
But was thinking you had the best critter fighting story ;-)
akbow for the win, holy s*it!
I have several turkey stories. Been spurred several times. Think the last one left a scar. The best one happened in a creek bed, half in the creek, half on the gravel bar, as I chased a wounded bird in circles (he couldn't get back up the bank) and ended when I threw my gun at the bird, knocked him down, then pounced. That one is better told in person
I've been charged by a deadly coyote and "stopped" him at my boots. Real "blood on the shoelaces stuff".
One of the best involved a couple college kids, of which I was one, a small female coon hound, and a BIG unwounded boar coon. How 3 idiots, one hound, and one coon all ended up bloody was anyone's guess. Fortunately only the coon lost his life that day :)
**Uncle Percy Ledbetter cried, "Old Highball is gonna go through eternity thinking that coon killed him!"
The number #1 rule in Trapping is set for a mouse stake for a lion.
Caught this beaver in a bobcat set . Had never seen any beaver sign in this lil creek before. Trap was attached to drag with 10+ ft of chain, drag luckily had caught on a LARGE ROTTEN LOG . He must have been a SJW because when I moved into his safe space for dispatch, all hell broke loose.
He lunged at me and wouldnt you know the drag pulled loose . Let me just tell you they may look rotund and slow but beavers can move quick when necessary. Left 4 holes in my hip boots , lil sob was quick.
I just HAD to get a better/best picture of this moose. Fifteen minutes before I hear and then see this bull moose in the timber. Picture time! Being 100 yards away, I had to get closer so I walked towards the moose, bow over head and rocking my body back and forth, while also doing my best bull moose grunt. I could see the bull was getting agitated and he started to pace back and forth but never giving me that perfect picture.
I moved closer and now 22 yards way but still not the perfect picture as the moose was behind trees. The forest was made up of a lots of small to medium size lodge pole pines so I figure he was not going to have a good chance to charge me. I WAS WRONG!
As he moved to an opening, OH BOY A CHANCE AT THE PERFECT PICTURE. I stepped out into a small opening and raised my camera for the perfect broadside shot. As soon as the camera blocked my vision for a second I hear pounding hooves and looked up just in time to see the bull moose charging from 20 yards way as I dove behind the trees and hit the ground, and he went charging past with his head down nearly clipping me with his wide antlers. The perfect picture I got was of the the ground but I guess I got my life back also. Later I saw this bull with a cow moose. No hurt to the body but just to my pride and a lesson learned.
Too bad we don’t have videos of many of these experiences!
Great stories guys!
Kind of wakes you up and makes life worth living!
I do have video of the doe whooping my arse, though that was about the lamest story on this entire thread.
Great stories. One of mine wasn't really a fight but I lost badly anyway. Novice turkey hunters. My brother had rolled a turkey with a shotgun and all we had ever been told was to get to them quick so they don't get away. I'm in a full blown sprint at this flopping bird without a solid plan until I see his head and neck sticking up. I decide right then that I'm just going to kick him in the head. I'm still running, and rear my foot back to punt his face into the next county. The bastard lunges forward at the last second and I end up punting all 20#'s of bird. Tore all the ligaments in my foot. I was down for the count. The bird survived for a few more minutes until my brother choked him out.
Holy my..... Travis and Ken.... wow. Good nothing serious.... or fatal! That'll get your heart pumpin"!
When the elk story came up the first thing that popped into my head was a story I read here on the bowsite many years ago. I'm not even sure who posted it.... was a native American bowhunter I believe? but maybe not. It was so funny (to me anyway) I copied and saved it.
"First off many of ya are aware I recently had a goround with a critter that resulted in my endin up in a hospital.
Now for those of ya who Darren notified of my accident I want to say thanks for your prayers, Those what don't know what happened well I shot me a 1200+ pound elk bout a week ago, 25 yards thought it was a double lung hit but snow was commin down pretty good an as later discovered the arrow actually went right between the lungs clipped the heart an exited just ahead of the right shoulder. It took me an my partner about an hour to locate the critter piled up in the bottom of a narrow ravine, I gave David my bow while I went to pose for a picture with the critter, well that big ol'fella wasn't much into havin his picture took cause when I was bout 5 feet from him he come up off the ground an started arguin with me bout it, I tried to get him to look towards the camera by grabbin his antlers an twistin his head around a lil but he didn't care for that either an forced me to kick his front leg an wrestle him back down to the ground, now this has always worked with cow critters so I didn't see a problem, we was discussin the picture takin idea when my partner gets a lil over excited an whacks the elk with MY bow not once but several times (that indian just ain't never learned ya can usually talk anyone into posin for a picture long as ya don't whack em with a bow) Well the elk critter got mad over bein whacked an decided to hook me a couple times with his antler whilst pretty much layin atop me, this forced me to have to remind him of the age old adage "Never take an antler to a gun fight" o.k maybe ya white folks ain't never heard that one but its very popular amongst us indians.
I yelled at David to stop whackin the elk (and subquently me) with my favorite bow an get clear, at the same time I reached around mysellf an got my .357 mag outa the holster aimed it as well as I could towards the critters head (try aimin a gun behind your back sometime while layin on that arm its great fun) fired 4 or 5 shots, well the elk died pretty fast with most of his head shot off, but one of the bullets richocheted an hit me in the pevis bounced round to my hip an somehow ended up in my butt (least thats the excuse the doctors gave me for them puttin 15 stiches there) well after tryin to talk the elk into posin for the picture I was pretty tired an decided it was a good time to take a nap, I had the strangest dream of an indian draggin me behind a horse over every rock an tree he could find while I was nappin I know it was a horse couse even on his worse day Dave ain't never farted as bad as no horse.
The doctors decided they wanted some pictures of me (I don't understand why seein the elk wasn't in none of the pictures they took) so they flew me around Oregon lookin for a camera to take pictures with (I coulda told em there was a Wal-mart just down the road if they woulda just asked) I did notice somethin suspicouse in one of the pictures of my head thoough, when the doctor turned the picture backwards I coulda sworn them wierd marks on my head were the letters PSE now this is a very intriuging clue seein as how my bow has them same letters on it, I will discuss this with David when I'm feelin a lil better.
All said an done I got a busted wrist from shootin from a bad angle a few cracked ribs several bite marks 6 or 7 antler holes 1 bullet hole the holes account for a grand total of 147 stitches an a major headache, my bow got 2 busted cables a cam was lost an the cams axle mount is all busted up, my favorite .357 just needs cleanin, my elk got mostly ate by critters but David did recover alot of the meat an my antlers I do need some tips though bout how to best glue the antklers back together one of the bullets blew off a whole branch an Dave busted off many of the tines while field testin my bow for durability now ya taxidermist types would know if super glue will work for puttin em back together again.
I'm doin alright (got me a bunch of pain pills) I blew the quitin smokin after I got here since I strongly believe the critter just didn't want to pose in a picture with a non smoker, this has brought me to another thought I think I'v figured out where it is them elk are when we can't see em......they is hiding havin them a ciggarett I'm sure of it so folks instead of the usual deer style blind set ya up a ciggarett stand an they'll come runnin I betcha. For those who actually read this whole thing I will now reward ya with some prime elk wrestlin tips:
1. Elk are not impressed with how much martial arts training ya'v had so save your breath.
2. Do not kick an elk in the nose this will anger him.
3. Do not attempt to throw the elk prior to tying, the antlers hurt when they land on ya.
4. Do not let a life long recurve hunter use your compound they may become dissorientated and confused by the two extra bow strings an revert to cave man tactics of beating the elk with your bow as opposed to shooting it.
5. Elks cheat! They are not above biteing.
6. Carry more than one gun (2 ankle holsters, 2 hip guns and 2 shoulder rigs should be sufficient if ya don't mind feeing under armed) Use Magsafe ammo it won't richochet like hollow points will if they hit an antler.
7. This is very important, never never shoot yourself in the butt! .
If the above fails a nap is good. Dewayne "
So this one time a few years ago I went to take a dump next to a log... lets just say I learned that you should kick the log before you drop drawers. Because that particular log happened to be filled with bees. Ever had a bee sting in your nether regions?? Not fun
Ain’t many Injuns ‘round can tell their stories ‘bout tusslin’ with an elk!
Most of ‘em not sayin’ much these days...
Wrong side of the grass ;-)
Since this is still going, I have another one that didn’t involve me but happened last year to a friend. My son and Ray were at their lease doing limb trimming and other chores. As they are about to leave, they notice two hogs at a feeder a hundred yards or so away. Ray pulls his rifle out of his truck and shoots one of the hogs. Daniel tells him to go drag it away from the feeder because they need to get going. Ray walks down to the feeder, no rifle, and grabs the hog by the hind legs and just then (the hog’s buddy was still hanging around in the brush) Ray is charged, knocked off his feet, rooted around a little, then thankfully the hog exits. Ray said the last thing he felt was the hogs junk dragging across his face. All he got was a few scratches on his legs and road rash on his palms. Daniel witnessed all of this and after he saw Ray wasn’t hurt, it was really funny.
Two weeks ago Ray and Daniel were at the same place and Daniel shot two hogs with one shot (he thought). So he goes to find where they ran to, and finds a wounded sow and one very pissed off and unharmed boar weighing about 175 lb. The place was clearcut three years ago, so it’s very thick. He could hear the boar growl at him, but couldn’t see the hog. He took two more steps and the boar charged. The hog was about thirty feet away, (a scoped rifle doesn’t make for a quick shot), and he’s using a TC Encore, so one shot is all he’s gonna get. Luckily, he hit the hog in the head and killed him instantly. About that time he got a glimpse of the wounded sow and put her down. I don’t think he’s making jokes about Ray’s hog incident anymore !
Holy crap Tom..... That’s horrible...... Get to feeling better. You’re lucky you’re not dead !!!!
And Ray........ Tea bagged by a pig............. yuck !!!!
I have worked as a blacksmith (farrier) for close to 30 years....i battled animals every damn day but the worst was while working as a LEO i have a suspect sick his pitbull on me. The dog grabbed me by the front of my duty belt and tried to drag me to the ground. I ended up having to shoot it. The funnest was while horseback riding, i roped a doe who was hiding in some scrub.
badguybuster, I had a dog sicced on me once too.... working environmental health and went to a house to do a 10 day confinement on a dog that had bitten someone... I wasn't carrying so I had a struggle
Giving it my best smile even though at this point I was still just very embarrassed about the whole thing.
Giving it my best smile even though at this point I was still just very embarrassed about the whole thing.
Back in 2015 I went on my first and only caribou hunt. They were essentially non-existent so when on day 5 I spotted a small bull on an island it was a no-brainer - I had to get there. So I waded across and snuck in on the bull. There wasn't much cover and a fairly good cross-wind. Worried he'd leave the island I took the first good shot I had. A quartering away 50 yarder, in the same wind I'd practiced yesterday. The shot flew true, but at the last second the bull ducked string and took the arrow along the shoulder balde and into the neck. The island wasn't big, so I quickly nocked another arrow and as he ran in a semi-circle he came whipping by me at about 30 yards I loosed another one just nipping his nut-sack. This island is about 80 yards wide and 250 yards long. The bull stops about 70 yards downwind and I am getting pretty panicky thinking he will vacate and I don't have a lethal arrow in him. So in I draw back now on arrow #3 on a full frontal at 70 yards and hit him in the neck area to which he runs a little closer and at about 50 starts walking to the waters edge. Now fearing he will leave even worse I take my final arrow (as #5 was a judo) and try and snap a shot at him in what is now a cross-wind forgetting about the wind in my panic and hit him in the hams. He bucks and runs slows down, and stops 20 yards from the waters edge. I pancake trying not to scare the bull and he over the course of time decides to bed. I stay pancaked and watch as slooooowly his head goes down, then lays sideways. A few minutes later it comes up one more time then goes down sideways and never recovers. I cricle downwind and sneak up to what I presume to be a dead bull.
When I am 20 yards away he lifts his head and attempts to reach his feet but is unable to. So I just continue walking towards him, and a couple yards later I guess adrenaline kicks in and the bull tries again and makes it to his feet, and starts bookin it towards the water. Immediately I sprint and the race is on. I catch up to the bull just as we reach the shoreline jumping onto his back and grabbing the antlers with my weight on him we crash into the water. In my stealth attack I had prepared my only knife the trusty havalon as a weapon and now on the bull in the water before he could regain his feet I attempted to slit his throat naturally snapping the havalon blade before causing any damage at all. Knowing there was about 1/4" of blade left I tried and tried to slice but it didn't work. Throwing it to shore and looking for any weapon while simultaneously attempting to keep the upper hand on the bull I pulled the initial shot with a VPA out of his neck and attempted to use it to stab him in the ribs. Either an arrow doesn't enter chest cavity as easy as you'd think, or I am simply not strong enough, but I was unable to cause any damage with the arrow, so I threw it to shore to join the useless havalon. Now out of options I resorted to attempting to drown the beast. Using the antlers to my leverage I tried to keep it's head under water, which seemed to work, but the bull always seemed to fight hard enough to get a breath as we were wrestling. Eventually I had enough of the upper hand that I'd weakened the bull, and instead of finishing him by drowning (which is a real ugly way to go that I wasn't enjoying in the slightest) I finally figuring I'd have enough of a break and jumped off the bull and grabbed a different arrow I'd pulled off in the melee (a rocket steelhead) and threw it back in my bow and simply shot him again now from a few yards away.
Thus ending the most embarrassing display of shooting and thought process of my life. Looking back there basically isn't a thing about that situation I wouldn't do differently, but I hope to think I've learned from that situation.
This bull was the only archery caribou taken in 2015 and also remains the last archery caribou taken in Manitoba that I am aware of. I hope that changes one day.
Damn!
Wish I was there Adam!
Your relating of the tale is pretty awesome though! Busted out laughing at the office!
Man that’s crazy !!! I’m surprised the shot to the nut sack didn’t kill him instantly !!! I sure wouldn’t get up after that !! Great story !!
What’s the prize for the best story?? Adam just won it!!!
That judo to the ball bag would have definitely been a game changer
Wow, helluva story, Adam!
Velvet looks amazingly intact, after that wrestling match!
LMBO! I could picture every scene............................................................. : )
You guys are too kind, I didn't even want to write it up after reading the epic tales above. Treeline with the elk, and akbow with the bear are insane stories!!!! The velvet was very tight. Unfortunately I stripped it right away. Worse yet, after getting home either my wife or myself drove over the skull on the driveway so I don't have a great euro of my only caribou. It remained the only caribou I saw on the hunt.
Great friend of mine Tyler who outfits in Australia was guiding a client and they knew I was going to be stalking this bull at the time. I thought they had watched the whole thing. She used my camera to take the pictures of me, and when I reached the shore with my bull I just kind of looked at Tyler expecting him to be just pissing himself laughing at me. We have some awesome hunts together with no shortage of laughs. Anyways he just noncholantly walks up and I look at him sheepishly and ask him: "So did you just witness that?" He says "No, what happened?" HA HA!!!! It's like "long story bud." They had walked over the ridge attempting to call in or locate a white wolf I had seen earlier. You just missed a show lol.
I have an "almost" story from this past weekend, involving 1 dead black bear and four live ones. Blundered into a Sow and three cubs while looking for my dead bear) Luckily "momma bear" and I were mutually respectful of each other's potential. It's not a bow hunting tale (blackpowder) so I'll leave the details out.
what a week that was Adam. Shame there were not more then 4 bull caribou in the province that year which we managed to get all of them, even more of a shame I was not watching you.
