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The Coolest Thing

1. About 10 years ago, I was in my climber and I heard leaves rustling coming toward me. It ended up being a racoon that also decided to climb the tree I was in. The higher he climbed and the closer he got, I thought, "what am I going to do?" I decided to get my arrow off my bow and give him a little poke as he got closer. Thankfully, it didn't come to that. he finally saw me and went back down. I thought we were going to tussle though.

2. Last November, on a morning hunt, it was a nice brisk, clear morning. While me and my oldest boy were getting the smoker lit and ready, I took a minute to point out Orion, the hunter, in the sky. We stood there for a couple of minutes and admired the constellation. I loved that morning. He was amazed at it once he was able to connect the dots and see the hunter. Pretty cool moment...
 
Any of the hunts with my father. Will remember those for the rest of my life.

The other cool thing was watching an eagle fly down the river looking for a snack while I was sitting in my stand one day last year.

I agree. Being there when my dad shot his first buck of his life last year was AWESOME!
 
Yep I was in the tree 100 yards away when my dad dropped his first buck and was in the tree with my brother and actually called in his buck during youth gun, his first deer ever. Both of those were great times!
 
Once watched two squirrels tusselling, then the one chased the other....chaser jumped and missed the branch he was going for and dropped about 30 ft to the ground - THUMP - man, I laffed my butt off. I can still see/hear it if I close my eyes
 
Not in a treestand but my most memorable was watching my daughter harvesting her first deer. what a great feeling that without any pressure to do so, but only encouragement that she found a love for the outdoors also... Ok most of the time, she is a teenage girl...:smiley_depressive:
 
Had a redtail hawk pick a squirrel off the side of a tree a short distance from me. You see so many cool things while youre in a tree it's really hard to pick one out, but that one stands out in my mind. Neither the squirrel or I heard that sucker coming.

I had the same thing happen, that hawk was fast but didn't plan the attack well squirrel got away
 
I just missed getting this action on video a few years back and it still pisses me off!!!

I was filming a huge red squirrel gather acorns and bury them at the base of his tree on a bowhunt in early October. I filmed him for 3-4 minutes, then turned off the camera and went to check the woods behind me. Not 5 seconds after I turned the camera off and turned around, I heard a commotion in the leaves and turned in time to see a huge hoot owl perched atop the squirrel and then he flew off with him in his talons. I literally missed filming that kill by a few seconds!!!

Turns out that owl had been in the tree above both of us for who knows how long waiting to make his kill. He basically "fell" off his perch and landed right on that squirrel!
 
Last year I watched a flock of hens come off of the roost about 50 yards from me, frosty morning and they all hit the ground walking around and checking the area out and they started down the hill and there was a deadfall half way down.... They would jump on top of the tree and jump down and keep going.... Out of the ten or so hens 8 of them slipped off of the deat barkless tree falling on their asses.... I was in tears as they all tried too regain their composure like nobody seen what just happened.....

Couple of years ago a young red fox was laying wait for the turkeys on a roost about a 100 yards away from me and as they would fly down the fox would chase they trying too sink it's teeth into one of them.... That fool fox got his ass handed too him lol... Just got tired after a couple of minutes and ran off......

Saw a small doe try too make it down a steep hill after a couple days of it raining and she didn't make it on her feet.... Her whole one side was nothing but mud and she jumped up and looked around as if too see if someone just saw what happened too her lol...
 
So far, the wolf experience Gern had wins this contest for me. You guys all have some amazing stories, but I just don't know that I will ever get a chance to see a wolf in the wild AND lipsqueak it closer! Awesome!
 
Years ago I was bowhunting in a ground blind that was a dead fall that I got up against by clearing out some of the brush. Was sitting there on my folding stool watching a mouse off and on for part of the week we were up there. One day while sitting there here he came, only this time he hopped up on my boot and just sat there for a while. Was the most still he had been any time I saw him and he just sat there looking around.
 
I have heard some really COOL stories on this thread! The Owl related ones are so similar. I do believe,that the Owl is the " BADDEST ASS " around!! Quite possible and probably is the best hunter in the woods!
 
Years ago, I was out in my treestand in the woods behind the house. While there, a Dalmation came thru. Nobody around owned one that I was aware of. After he passed thru, about 5 min later I saw him coming back thru again in the same spot where I first saw him. Only this time something didn't look right. As he got closer I could see that THIS Dalmation only had three legs ! How odd to see two in my neck of the woods, let alone a three legged one. Anyway, when I walked back home later, I forgot about them. A few days later, after my wife got home from work & I was downstairs watching TV, our dog was outside barking his head off . I yelled up to my wife & asked what Pete was barking at & she replied that a Dalmation was passing thru. I immediately jumped up & ran up the stairs yelling .... how many legs, how many legs !
 
Couple years ago I was sitting on the outside of a field that had a powerline running right through the middle of it. Not paying any attention to the powerline above I was glassing the field looking for deer to be peeking out of the woods and coming into the field to feed that night. I had been sitting for a couple hours and as I was looking through my binocs I heard this crazy loud....baawawawwawawawaaaaaaaa as if someone had hit the lines with a baseball bat. It startled me in the dead silent and I snapped up to look at where i thought if came from and a big bird (some sort of really colorful duck that I don't know the name of) had flown directly into the powerline and died by electrocution on impact. i watched him fall to the ground not 50 yards in front of me and he made a big thud when he hit. I went and found him after that hunt that night and he was toasted...it was crazy! Scared the poo outta me, but made me laugh too. Won't forget that one for a while!
 
On one property i hunt i have two homemade buddy stands that you access from a trap door. They are about 20' high and are wrapped with camo to conciel the kids movement. Last year i was drinking with the neighbor until 4 am, when i got up to take my son hunting he wanted to hunt by himself so i slept on the floor of my stand. I opened my eyes when i heard a noise and it was a mouse 3 inches away from my face just looking at me. After about 15 seconds he left. He had made a nest in the camo skirting on the stand. After that everytime i hunted the stand i would bring food for it. It was good entertainment tha season. My son also had a mouse crawl up in his stand at a different time, when it seen him it went back down the tree.
 
25 years ago I am at Wildcat Hollow hunting the Early Muzzleloading hunt. I climb up a tree for a stand. A little while later a young guy comes wondering thru the woods like he is rabbit hunting and sets at the base of my tree. I thought what the hell.
I go PSST and he just looks around so I go PSST again and he just looks around. So drops a little piece of bark on his head and he takes his hand and wipes it off. I drop another piece of bark on his head and he wipes it off.
So I go HEY and he looks up at me with is mouth wide open and waves at me and goes back to hunting. Then I go would you get the hell out of here. He looks at me and put his head down and doesn't move. Then I go I mean leave now. He finally got the hint and left. Never did know if he was just slow thinking or never seen a guy in a tree before.
Frank