Hunting bloopers
Whitetail Deer
I have had a few. I hope you don't mind but I included a couple where we hunted with other hunting tools. I had a nice spot where deer left the orchard before daylight. I set up on the runway to the bedding area, One problem , I went through thick brush to my stand. I sat down in the darkness and found all of my arrows were gone. I back tracked and found one arrow. Back in my stand I found my activity was enough for the deer to take another route. My hunting partner had planned to meet for a muzzle loader hunt. We met well before daylight. One problem. His rifle was still at his house. By the time we both had rifles it was light out. Same partner, Different day. He and his son were to sit on a runway while I drove a basin to them. We are safety conscious so the bolt on his rifle was open. yes , You guessed it the bolt was lost on the way to the stand. In all cases we found our equipment but lost time in our hunts.
I sat up in my tree stand during early bow season for almost an hour before I realized that I had left my bow in the truck. So many Dog gone accessories o remember these days you can forget the obvious. Very embarrassed
Guardian that’s a good one! I have gone out with my quiver back on the hood of my truck. Not really any different than leaving the bow behind.
I watched my dad climb down a tree in his climber on a steep hillside and Jump out the downhill side to get out ......he must have been about 7 ft off the ground on that side of the tree, but he was looking up and thought he was good. Hit the ground like a ton of bricks and rolled down the hill about 10 yards. Cussing the whole way! Once I checked that he was OK, I laughed and laughed.
Went duck hunting in a swamp. Had to walk 3/4 of a mile to the spot through river bottoms. My buddy stops and said "something's following me" I said you're full of poop, come on we have to get to the spot so we can get set up. Ten yards later he races past me screaming that something was following him! I pull my gun to my shoulder and shine my flashlight and see nothing I turn to him and say "what's following you?" He turns around and there's a stick hooked to his decoy bag on his back! I laughed so hard I cried! Another duck hunt I left the shells at the truck, not fun. Went through the ice on a frosty November deer hunt once. All in good fun!
Forgot my knife. Gutted my deer with a Bear Razorhead.
Did that once, forgot my knife and gutted with a BH.
The one I will never forgot. Would be loaded up all my gear for an early morning bow hunt. Got to the treestand and had no release. Went back home just as the sun was coming up and the wife said that was a quick hunt. Found my release and went back to see zero deer
Flipped a flat bottom floating a river in December.
Fell face first in flooded timber duck hunting the Cache. Was 11 degrees that morning. Tripped busting ice.
Friend didn’t tie bottom section of climber to top. He lost it about 15’ up. I heard him screaming and ran to find him up there stranded. Pretty funny.
Emptied my partner’s shotgun while he was pissing. Should’ve seen the look on his face when that first set of mallards decoyed. Lol!
Got charged - literally charged - by a goose. Had shot it three times with 3.5’s and he made it off the pond into the field hobbling. I cut around the pond and the chase lasted about 40 yards till he decided to fight or die. He turned and hissed, and here he came...
I maced myself with bear spray while climbing a steep slope in MT. I was carrying it on my pack belt and my elbow knocked the safety lock off without my knowledge. Pssst. "What was that?" Then the burning and coughing.
ROTFFLMAO!!!! Now that's funny!!!!
Cause I know ya I just have to ask how long was it till you got your sense of smell and taste back ;)
A buddy and I were bowhunting near a small town that was home to several state mental institutions. I shot a deer at dusk and as we were trailing the deer on hands and knees a barred owl let out a blood curdling scream about 10 feet over our head. The back story is that many times residents from the aforementioned institutions would go walkabout and I warned my friend pre-hunt not to engage anyone he saw wandering around in the woods. Well my buddy lit out of there like his hair was on fire. I found him 30 minutes later curled up in the floorboard of my truck with all the doors locked. I'm still using this against him 40 years later.
Last Saturday of PAs flintlock season. Few inches of snow on the ground, temps in the low 20's, clear. Gonna be a good morning!! Drive to my spot, put boots on, grab my pack, open the gun case to see my .243. Grabbed the wrong case......
Travelled all the way to Kodiak only to discover I'd brought two LEFT rubber boots! Fortunately the guide had an extra pair, which is not likely when you wear a size 12.
Cold crisp October morn I am in my stand in the middle of an apple orchard... I spray myself down with fresh apple juice, well ends up 74 degrees by 10AM and I am surrounded by yellow jackets... I'm allergic to bee stings.
Crossing the river with a pair of the old big snow shoes on I broke through the ice. Glad the water was only thigh deep.
Doing some spot and stock mule deer hunting in western KS when I was younger. After a long unsuccessful stock I got back to the truck and set my bow on the ground (dumb, dumb, dumb). Got in the truck, turned around and headed to the nearest county road. Got to the road and remember I left my bow on the ground...heart moved to my throat. Went back and found the bow with tire tracks less than 2 inches from my bow. I have never set my bow on the ground again. Always goes on the tailgate or in the cab.
Of course my hunting partners were empathetic...not. I heard, “Do you got your bow” with a chuckle at least 1000 times that hunt and the next few hunting trips. Uggggh.
In my early days of deer hunting, I was on a hunt at a military base here in Indiana. I'd never shot at a deer before, and that was my goal that year. That afternoon I found an open, grassy area surrounded by woods and found a tree near one of the corners for my climber. I chose this spot because there was a small pine tree in the open area that had been torn-up by a buck. This was a gun hunt, so like a responsible hunter, I took the shell out of the chamber of my shotgun before heading up the tree. I climbed up, got settled and waited.
Two and half hours later I hear a deer coming through the woods. It's a buck, and he's going to pass right through the only shooting lane I have back into the woods. I lined-up my gun, he trotted into the opening, and CLICK! I'd forgotten to chamber another round.
I tried to find another opening ahead of him, shot at him twice, and nothing. Didn't hit him (I looked for blood and hair), he didn't stop, didn't look, didn't slow down. Just kept trotting out of my life. I was dejected, but I'd met my goal of getting a shot at a deer after 3 seasons of hunting.
That hunt took place 30 years ago, and I could still walk right to the very spot. Burned clearly into my memory.
Good Luck to all this season.
I almost cut my middle finger off while gutting a buck on the Kaibab! Hence the name Scar Finga as my hunting buddies call me... The language alone was a major blooper!!
Meat Grinder, was that Crane or Attaberry?
Yes, a few. Watched the bottom half of my climber “bumper jack” its way toward the bottom of the tree once. I was younger then and was just barely able to retrieve it with my feet. There was a rope on them after that !
Went to the stand without my release TWICE. Bought a duplicate that stayed in my fanny pack after that.
Went to my bow blind, got dropped off, only to find it slam full of wasps. Sat out in the open on a bent mesquite trunk and several turkeys came through. As I slowly started drawing they slowly started leaving, but one of them was dumb enough to hang around. Ate that one !
I’m sure there are others, but these are all I care to remember right now...
"I maced myself with bear spray while climbing a steep slope in MT. I was carrying it on my pack belt and my elbow knocked the safety lock off without my knowledge. Pssst. "What was that?" Then the burning and coughing."
Funny story, never heard that one.
I know a guy who, on a javelina hunt, realized mid-stalk that he had left his release in the truck. Just before getting out of said truck, we had a conversation about where put our release to ensure you don't forget it.
Slow learner that guy. ;-)
ahawkeye--that was Crane Naval Base. It was about 1990, but I can see it like it was yesterday.
I've hunted Crane twice. It's a fun hunt but a hassle to get through the briefing. Wish they'd open it back up.
I used to work the Crane hunts when I went to Purdue back in the 80's. We would check in hunters, assign areas, and then take ovaries and adrenal glands out of the deer when the guys checked their deer in. One day actually had two antlered does checked in, those where some confused hunters!
One year had a hunt planned near Washington after working the Crane hunt. Was not expecting the hubbub at the gate when we drove up with muzzleloaders in the gun rack. Those guards went through every inch of my truck, was worse than crossing the border. Had to leave the weapons at the guard station, and had to clean out about 4 cases worth of empty beer cans from the back of the truck before they'd let us in. My only comment was "Hey at least I'm not a litter bug".
Anyway, thanks for triggering some memories of working those Crane hunts.
Did you see many big bucks? I know they get killed in there just don't know about how frequently anyone ever got one.
I was helping a buddy quarter a coues buck, about 3-4 miles from the truck (about an hour after dark). I was using my trusty little raptor claw shaped knife, that was extremely sharp. I slipped, and jammed it 2-3 inches into my leg. I stand up, and instantly felt warm fluid running down my leg filling my boot. I said "I think I just F'ed up! I might have just killed myself!". I pulled my pants down, to find the blood strongly oozing out of my knife wound (missed my femoral artery by less than an inch). My leg was completely red, and my pants and boot were soaked. My buddy looked at me, and went white as a ghost. He started stumbling like he was drunk. I quickly rolled up some toilet paper, jammed it into my leg, and wrapped tape around it. It stopped luckily. Lol. I pulled my pants back up, and started skinning again. I've never seen anyone that close to blacking out before, without actually blacking out. Haha. Knife safety is something I take very seriously now. Could have been the end of me.
Funny to me. Not to my buddy. We met up after dark on our ATV’s. Buddy ride up and laid his bow on my back rack. As he had no bow holder so, he had to hold it while he drove.
We talked for 10-15 minutes when he fired up his quad and said he’d meet me at the truck. He had a big one that was fast. Mine was an old slow one. He tore outta there laughing cause he knew I was going to have to eat his dust for the next 5 miles. Neither of us remembered he had laid his bow on my 4 wheeler.
Anyways, I make it back to the truck and he is all smiles happy with the idea of me sucking his dust. Until he realized he had laid his bow on my four wheeler. Anyways, he had to unload and go back while I loaded up and waited on him.
Somewhat related^^^, always put your bow and other important items on the back of the ATV rather than the front. Ask me how I know...
Seen a couple of big Mulies working there way through some Crp 300 yards to my Nw. I used a fence line choked full for tumble weeds to head them off and a heads up decoy. The bigger of the two stopped at the fence line and looked straight at me. However i didnt not know a forky was being a forky and came in behind me then blew out. Big guy headed for the hills. Frustrated i set my bow and decoy down to mark the trail and went back to gather my pack and the rest of my gear as the sun had set. Only to have 30 does and bucks come within bow range with no bow in hand with about ten minutes of legal light left. Laughed as I drove fours back home as i knew better than that. It all worked out as i killed a 189" Whitetail the next evening.
Many years ago in Kaibab before we had trailers, a buddy walked over a small hill to take care of business. It was midday and didn't take his bow since he was only going a couple hundred yards from camp. He comes FLYING back to camp. Says there was 4 nice bucks bedded just over the hill 30 yards away. Of course they were gone when he went back. Still give him grief about that one.
On a solo bow hunt on private property in Kansas. I watched a slammer cross the field 80 yds away. I tried calling him to no avail. I watched helplessly as he made his way down the drainage. Ten minutes later he emerged from the creek cover 150 yrds away. He was coming on string. Being to smart by half I decided I had time to snap a few photos of him with my Nikon pocket camera, At about the 60 or 70 yrd mark he abruptly stopped, took a hard look, causally about faced, to head back in the direction he had come. Never to be seen again. The 2 or 3 photos I had taken on that cloudy morning turned out to be with the flash feature working fine. Turned out the photos were to grainy to see much detail. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I've never shared that story till now.
ahawkeye we saw some decent bucks come out of Crane but nothing spectacular. Most guys were just shooting the first thing to walk by. That was a long time ago...
Walking back from a deer hunt one morning I decided to try to push over a dead oak that was soon to fall across the trail. It was a very rotten 24” oak trunk standing around 20’ tall. As I pushed it would almost go so I leaned into it harder and gave it a couple rocks. Bad idea, it broke right where I was pushing & the top 15’ came right down on my back. Luckily no serious injury just a lesson.
I was much younger (young teens). Packed for the hunting trip - everything I needed. Except a fresh change of underwear! That gets grimy after a day or so. But I've never forgotten them again. (and the inside out thing isn't so worthy - just saying)
Broke my own nose giving myself two black eyes. I was practicing, latched my release to the loop, half way through my pull the release, released from the string. Punched myself so hard that I could not see anything blood was everywhere. Very happy that no one was present. Very difficult going in to teach martial arts class and having to explain how I got two black eyes by punching myself. That release style was the type that you had to close on the loop. I never used that release or that style of again.
Was a freshman in college enjoying my first year of college decided to go back home and hunt with my dad and good friend during the rut. Rolled into town Friday night and thought why not go out night before hunt I am used to this right living college life. Well wrong ended up staying out later than expected surprise surprise. Long story short three hours sleep later I made it up to hunt Saturday Morning not in best shape but I made it up. It was one of those perfect midwest rut mornings cold frosty, deer running everywhere. In stand in the dark have deer running all over grunting can't wait for first light, right on cue first light here comes 150-160" ten point coming right at me, forty yards out I pick up my bow and hook up release look down I don't have arrow on bow or in the tree. Long story short had multiple deer inside 30 yards that I would have shot no arrows! They were still safe in the truck!
On bright side I climbed down and went to sleep after third deer I would have shot cruised bye, got picked up too plenty of ribbing from buddy and Dad. Went home hydrated caught a nap hunted the same stand that evening and my buddy and I doubled out of same stand. Will say deer I ended up tagging was smaller than any of ones I had in range several hours earlier. Twenty years later I still hear about that one.
Not me again. I hate to keep telling on my buds. But, I can’t remember the dumb things I’ve done hunting. Because I’ve done too many for one to stand out.
Anyways, a coworker 15 years ago went home to his family farm over thanksgiving to do some rifle deer hunting. He crawled up in the old barn and waited.
Not to long before dark a big buck comes out pushing a doe. He levels his 270 and shots that big ole buck. Dropping him dead in his tracks.
He was so excited, he jumped outta the hay lift, leaving his rifle and pack. And sprinted out to the deer. Well, the deer wasn’t dead. And as he got near started dragging himself off with his front legs.
Bill tried to subdue the deer but, it had a lot of head gear and had no intentions of letting him strangle it out. So they fought for the better half of the 50 yards it took to get back to the pasture fence.
Bill realizing he needed a knife or, better yet his rifle, left the deer at the fence. Ran back and got his stuff returning to where he’s left the deer. It had made it through the fence and into some thick brush. Instead of shooting the deer at this point, he decides to lay the gun down and cross the fence. By the time he did, the buck regained his feet to never be found. I ride him pretty hard. As he was orettty bruised up and his pride took it worse.
I had a gobbler giving me the slip over and over. His favorite fly down spot was a wide open ridge that only had 2-3 small bushes growing on it besides grass. My father-in-law has a camo chair with a small blind attached to it that you could pull up and over your head to conceal you. I decided I’d try it one morning so I set it up right beside one of those bushes. Well, no gobbler came by. As I went to pack up I realized I’d dropped something near my right foot. Now mind you, I had not pushed the blind back over my head yet. Anyway, the ridge was very knife edged and as I bent over and leaned on the right side a bit the whole thing collapsed and I went down face first. The blind and chair wrapped around me like I was in the middle of a burrito and I just started rolling down this god awful steep hill. I finally came to rest very disoriented and had to struggle out of the thing by shimmying backwards on my belly to escape. Very embarrassing even though I was alone.
My first deer hunt ever, I arrived at the farm I just about exactly 1/2 hour before sunrise. And just as I turned off of the road, I saw a couple of deer bounce away from the coulee and off into the wind-breaks.
So of course, I stopped: ran to the back of the jeep, grabbed my bow and one arrow out of my quiver and hotfooted it down the road to the next break. I got there about the same time as the deer and shot right over the back of the nearest one. And we all three just stood there.
Many years later and about a mile up in elevation, I watched an entire herd of Elk cross the trail not more than 15-20 yards below me as I crouched, struggling to free an iced-up drop-away rest.
And in between....
One day in the climber I tried to adjust the length of my chains and dropped the pin. That was fun getting down.
Worst mistake was on a ML hunt, though; I misread the angle on a small buck and hit him poorly, but hard enough that he ran maybe 5 yards and flopped over, clearly nowhere near enough dead for my liking. I had my capper in my pocket, so I reached for powder, patch, and.... ummm.... Nawdammit.... Not a single ball to be found anywhere but the truck. That situation was entirely Not Funny, though, with him not dead and me not able to correct my mistake. He got even though, about an hour and a half later, and bailed off the back of the ridge as I sneaked up for a finisher.
Hunted with a guy and we were on 4 wheelers. When we get to the spot, he notices all his nocks were completely bent over from the ride. That was funny.
Also know a guy who fell out of a tree after shooting a buck. That wasnt the bad part. When he fell, some arrows came loose and he landed on one. A arrow snapped in 2, and one half of the arrow went through his NUTSACK. He said he was pinned to the ground. Luckily he is ok. Still horrifies me.
ahawkeye--The day I had my blooper, there was a father/son duo hunting nearby. The dad had taken a 12-point buck that morning. That was the biggest buck I've seen taken at Crane. The past 2 or 3 times I've hunted Crane over the past 10-12 years, I've not seen any particularly big bucks in the woods, and noticeably fewer at the check station.
Left my elk tag locked in my gun safe once. had to call my brother in law to go break into my house. Worse part was I had to give him the combo to my safe.
Walking out of the woods in the dark with a climber on my back and bow in hand, flashlight in the other. I was about 20 yards from the parking lot when I stepped on a pheasant that knocked my hat off when he flew up ! Bout messed my britches up that evening.
One morning going duck hunting my buddies and I motored our boat to the boundary of the refuge to set up in our usual spot in the trees. The wind was off the lake and blowing into the shoreline. Once we arrived at our spot I jumped over the side of the boat to walk the boat into the blind. Luckily, when I went over he gunwale, I hung on as I went totally underwater. Not sure my feet touched the ground. Needless to say that hunt ended early.
