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Tales from the Tree

Filling empty time with good adventures feels like a good idea.

One of my favorite "hunting stories" comes from literally the first hunt I ever did on my own. This was late 80's or so. I was 15, and hiked into the woods behind my folks house in Z6 in the dark. I had a buddy with me and sent him one way down a trail, while I set up in a different spot, where I'd put a home made stand.

I was a kid, I tried to build the stand from a Field and Stream article on how to build your own portable stand. I couldnt cut angle iron, so I used an old bmx bike tire screwed to the post of the stand for tracktion on the tree, and screwed stainless hooks into the post to "grab" the tree. It's a miracle it held up at all! I dont like heights, and didnt have steps, so I nailed branches onto the tree like a ladder - resulting in the platform being about 6 feet up.

When I reached the stand it was getting a hair gray, and, if I'm honest, I was scared, pondering what may eat me in the dark woods, but also super psyched.

So I walked about 50 yds away, put down some doe estrus urine on a home made foot pad - constructed of a bit of craft felt and a shoe lace. The fear was hitting me though, so I bee lined to the tree and hooked to the west and right up the ladder.

I climbed up, and not 15' later the hinge holding the platform to the post broke off. So I'm sitting there, hoping I dont fall off, but realizing that so long as I stay seated I should be ok. Youth!

7:30, I hear something, look to the side an from the north, comes a bunch of deer. All bucks. No "big" ones, but amazingly the little herd was together in November. Well, they hit that doe in heat trail, turned, and walked right to me. Regrettably up the right side - tough for a righty to shoot to the right seated! Well, they walked up and literally straight to the ladder.

Ill never forget the lead buck, an 8. Nose to the ground, then to ladder step 1, then 2, then 3. I swear he looked confused as he looked higher and higher for the doe in the tree.

Finally, he looked at me, his eyes got really big - bear in mind, i'm in a stand where the platform is at most 6 feet up, and he's literally nose to the tree.

If I was not hooked... I've been ever since!

Amazingly, My wife shot her first buck within sight of the tree. I killed my first about 400yds away up the hill. Makes me feel good every time I go through that spot still.

Lets hear some good stories - doesnt have to be the first deer... Just a cool experience in the woods!

Good stuff I still go to some of my old stompin grounds

Awesome story will. The doe climbed the tree hahah. When I used to hunt PA we’d designate one afternoon to driving around the farm and trying to do the ole drop off trick. The deer were not aftraid of the truck. They thought it was a piece of farm equipment. So when we’d find the deer you just drive past them until you were out of sight. Someone would hop out and sit on the tailgate. Full camo, arrow knocked, trigger on the loop. Drive back past the deer real slow..... the guy on the tailgate steps off and stands as still as possible as the truck drives away. The deer keep watching the truck..... zip!

I love that mcgyvered treestand, Will. Moons, smart idea using the truck like that.

One of my most memorable hunts was when I saw my first deer during my first year hunting in the fall of 2014. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, nor did I have any business being in the woods with a bow. In retrospect I couldn't shoot well enough to be hunting and I hadn't yet found this forum. I knew enough to know deer regularly traveled the same trails. I had a tiny little foldable chair I would set up a few yards from well worn trails, wayyyy to close, many times I was basically on the deer trail.

One morning I'm sitting in Harold Parker State Forest and I hear crunching coming down the path. Is that a deer!? I had no idea what a deer walking sounded like. Finally the crunching is directly behind me and it stops. I slowly turn around and there is a doe standing a yard or two from me. We lock eyes and I'm not sure who is more surprised, me or the deer. We have a stare down for 15-30 seconds, she snorts directly in my face and bounds off. I just about fell out of my chair. I had no idea deer snorted like that and I certainly didn't know why she did it. The one thing I did know is that I was hooked! I proceeded to sit that same spot every morning before work for the next week, of course I never saw another deer there.

Cool strategy Moons! Joe, that's hysterical. A snort at that range had to be, um, startling :)!

Very cool sounding hunts guys.

Cool stories guys.

My first year bow hunting was 2000, I was 41 years old. My brother had just given me his Bear Whitetail 2and I was using an LL Bean sold stand and climbing steps. I was hunting in Kittery Maine in September during their nuisance season. First time bow hunting. I had set my stand up the night before with an abu ndance of deer sign. Found my stand in the dark with carefully placed night tacks and used an early season can call every 15 minutes. Hunted a few hourswith no sightings. Tied my bow on the cord , lowered it down RIGHT on top of a spike lying under my stand. Had not heard or seen it. In my defense it was windy. BUT I was hooked!

This is very entertaining stuff everyone. So it had rained all day and night but was going to clear up for the morning. I headed out to a zone 9 spot for the morning hunt. Sun started to peak threw the tree tops when I caught movement coming from the Jack pines. Turns out to be a young deer that walks passed me at 10 yards and stops at a big puddle, the deer starts jumping around like bucking bronco! Then it stops and comes back too the puddle. I was trying to figure out what is going on when I noticed the deer was staring at its reflection in the puddle! Then it would start slapping the water with its hoof as it it was a child playing in a puddle. Deer would start bucking around in and around the puddle as if it thought his reflection was another young skipper too play with. That went on for almost an hour. It was truly entertaining.

Very cool encounter deanmann !

This tale happened about 8 years ago and during spring turkey season. I had a nice Tom all figured out for opening morning. Opening morning came and I was all set up near a field where the Tom would fly down into every morning. This particular morning my 20 year old son decided he wanted to observe the hunt ,so he sat about 5 yards behind me. Just as the Tom started firing off I heard something crawling down the the small pine tree I had my back up against. Once I looked up it was light enough for me to figure out if was a porcupine less than a foot from my head! I jumped up and at the same time I pushed it with the butt end of the gun. Problem was I pushed it right on my son! Yup he got quilled bad in his arm. We started pulling quills while the bird continued to gobble of the roost. My son said that he wanted to leave but I talked him into 5 more minutes. 5 minutes later we left with a 20 lb bird and a ton of quills!

good stuff guys! I will add to this when I have some time to type... hmmmm... where to start!

Dino - those are AWESOME! Painful on the quills, but overall, hilarious!

One time a buddy and I were off school due to veterans day, we got up early and went out into his families land to hunt. Nothing happens on the misty AM sit, and we reconnect at 9 on a powerline. When 100yds out a real big 10 walks with a doe. We just knew he was big, figured out the points shortly later. Anyway, he stalks through the woods and I took a belly crawl down the power line. I get to where I think he is, and he's staring at my buddy 50yds out in the woods, so I ready for a shot. I missed horribly - quartering away and it went between his back legs ankle high so to speak. He trotted off and my buddy missed him 30" later. I leave my stuff to go get by bag, at the bag I stand up, only to see a super tall 8 walking right to me... My bow, 50yds beyond him on the ground! I could only watch as he walked past... My buddy missed him too.

We saw many bucks that day - all over a hot doe... And this was about .5 miles from the edge of Quabbin before the quabbin hunt, so she was sucking deer from all over to the area. No deer were harmed, but it was one of the most fun hunts I've ever had!

I think my favorite hunt ever, so far anyway, was this fall my 10 year old daughter bugged me to get a deer - any deer. We have a double ladder stand a property owner found illegally on his proerty and he gave it to me, and we brought the ML, because my daughter can't pull 35#'s just yet. So we're up in the stand, I brought her sleeping bag that she uses for sleep-overs so there was no scent control going on! Well, she's tucked into the bag and snuggled hard into me when we start hearing the crunch - crunch of a deer in the leaves. It came right under our tree, then went back the way it came. 5 minutes later it came back with it's mama and twin sister. My daughter has the smoke pole out in front of us and the deer are meandering around, then all three right under our tree. The mother starts rubbing her face on the ladder, shaking the whole stand! My daughter is amped up by this point, but she can't get a bead the old doe, just the young-uns, and she doesn't want to hurt them. She actually had these 2 come up and smell her hand in the early summer off our patio. Anyhow, my daughter had no shot so handed me the gun.

Now-a-days those twins are still living out behind our house, and they've been joined by 9 other does that came back after being chased off by they're old bitchy mom. She's resting peacefully in our freezer.

I've heard you guys say that hunting with your kids is the best, well I agree, that was my best hunt ever, reminded me a lot of hunting with my dad. I'm hoping for many more! This year is her year to take one, bow or gun, and I can't wait!

MRW - that, is absolutely frigging AWESOME! What an experience for both of you!

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