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Strange occurances in the woods

I was bowhunting in Nebraska a few years ago with my dad and uncle. There were rumors of cougars in the area and my uncle and me saw a very large cat track (had to be from a cougar) in the gravel road on the walk out from our morning hunt.
Later after the evening hunt I was walking back to the truck in the dark. With my headlamp on the red light setting (cant see sh!t with that light) shining at the ground in front of me. I hear something big moving in the bushes 15 yards to my 10 o'clock.
I jump back and put my bow up in front of me to shield me from what I'm sure is a cougar about to jump out of the bushes and eat my @$$.
With my free hand I switch my headlamp to the regular setting and there in the darkness....... is a big horse with a wagon on it tied to a tree. There's Amish ppl around there.
I looked at the horse and had a little chuckle to myself and finished my walk. Got a lot of sh!t from my dad and uncle about that one.
 
Dsabhunt said:
I was bowhunting in Nebraska a few years ago with my dad and uncle. There were rumors of cougars in the area and my uncle and me saw a very large cat track (had to be from a cougar) in the gravel road on the walk out from our morning hunt.
Later after the evening hunt I was walking back to the truck in the dark. With my headlamp on the red light setting (cant see sh!t with that light) shining at the ground in front of me. I hear something big moving in the bushes 15 yards to my 10 o'clock.
I jump back and put my bow up in front of me to shield me from what I'm sure is a cougar about to jump out of the bushes and eat my @$$.
With my free hand I switch my headlamp to the regular setting and there in the darkness....... is a big horse with a wagon on it tied to a tree. There's Amish ppl around there.
I looked at the horse and had a little chuckle to myself and finished my walk. Got a lot of sh!t from my dad and uncle about that one.
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You got off easy, lol.

I'm more scared of horses than cougars.That'd be hell for me.
 
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Plebe said:
You got off easy, lol.

I'm more scared of horses than cougars.That'd be hell for me.
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My father in law is a farrier and has a couple mini horses so they don't bother me. But I was glad to see that horse instead of the blood thirsty cougar I'd convinced myself it was
 
Dsabhunt said:
My father in law is a farrier and has a couple mini horses so they don't bother me. But I was glad to see that horse instead of the blood thirsty cougar I'd convinced myself it was
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I saw a cougar in MI before they were confirmed in the area by wildlife officials (the following year). I was so intrigued by what I was seeing that I kept stalking closer (with my bow). Thankfully that cat hauled off and didn't eat me.

In many respects, it could be my most successful stalk, lol. It certainly ended how most have, and in this instance I appreciate that.
 
Another one… I’ve been inches from live bears…dog/bear pile ups, had a wounded mountain lion jump from a tree once landing a few feet from me, but nothing compares to this next one.. hands down the most scared I’ve ever been while in the woods from a live object, was some stupid bird.. I was doing some summer scouting, cranking down a trail, a couple miles from a public road in the big woods, the trail was bad and really thick, lots of saplings, all the once I hear this whoosh noise and immediately knew something was wrong, then I hear a screech and here it comes right at me, some bird, I can only guess it was some sort of hawk, bigger than a pigeon and smaller than an owl, this thing was pissed, and I’m telling you it was on me so fast I freaked out, so there I am in the middle of a crappy trail, a couple miles from the road, with about a 5 lb bird attacking me, this thing was missing my head by millimeters, it was fast and relentless, dive right at my head go back up 20 feet or so and come right back at me, so I draw on it, I always carry while in the woods, I have no idea if I could have hit that thing… but the first thought that comes to my brain was I’ll probably end up in jail if I dispatch this nuisance, all I know is this thing wanted me out of there and I had a serious problem. This whole mess probably lasted more than a minute, screeching and dive bombing me, what a show. So I finally dropped and grabbed a limb on the ground and started waving it like a mad man at this bird, all while running for cover, I bet I ran 50-100 yards before it left me alone, through the woods. So I keep about my business, rattled, but whatever… I tried to mark the trail once I was back on it, so I would remember to avoid that mess on the way back, no ONX back then, but, yup I didn’t, and sure enough a few hours later I experienced that whole ordeal once again on the way back out, same thing, screeching, dive bombing my head. All I can figure is that thing had a nest right in the trail or something, and I’m assuming it was some sort of hawk, I definitely don’t know my bird species, but I’m smart enough to realize it was probably some sort of protected species or something and NY would probably rather I die by a bird attack versus protecting myself, so I’m sure I made the right choice and left it be, all I could picture though was a family with kids out for a hike someday dealing with that ****, I don’t scare easily and that thing put the fear of god into me lol.
 
At this point in this thread I think we could start up another called who’s afraid of the dark :tearsofjoy:
 
Tim0712 said:
At this point in this thread I think we could start up another called who’s afraid of the dark :tearsofjoy:
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Lets here about your mountain lion sighting in Mass, I have neighbors that see them every week where I live in NY, only problem is I’m the only one in this area that has actually hunted lions out west and have to tell them when they show me a track on snow it’s not a lion… almost always here it’s usually a blonde coyote or barn cat, so lets here the Mass mountain lion sighting, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but I get these calls about once a month here, my brother has one fully mounted in his house, 167 lb tom, we’ve had thoughts of parading in front of a few locals trail cameras.
 
Topdog said:
Another one… I’ve been inches from live bears…dog/bear pile ups, had a wounded mountain lion jump from a tree once landing a few feet from me, but nothing compares to this next one.. hands down the most scared I’ve ever been while in the woods from a live object, was some stupid bird.. I was doing some summer scouting, cranking down a trail, a couple miles from a public road in the big woods, the trail was bad and really thick, lots of saplings, all the once I hear this whoosh noise and immediately knew something was wrong, then I hear a screech and here it comes right at me, some bird, I can only guess it was some sort of hawk, bigger than a pigeon and smaller than an owl, this thing was pissed, and I’m telling you it was on me so fast I freaked out, so there I am in the middle of a crappy trail, a couple miles from the road, with about a 5 lb bird attacking me, this thing was missing my head by millimeters, it was fast and relentless, dive right at my head go back up 20 feet or so and come right back at me, so I draw on it, I always carry while in the woods, I have no idea if I could have hit that thing… but the first thought that comes to my brain was I’ll probably end up in jail if I dispatch this nuisance, all I know is this thing wanted me out of there and I had a serious problem. This whole mess probably lasted more than a minute, screeching and dive bombing me, what a show. So I finally dropped and grabbed a limb on the ground and started waving it like a mad man at this bird, all while running for cover, I bet I ran 50-100 yards before it left me alone, through the woods. So I keep about my business, rattled, but whatever… I tried to mark the trail once I was back on it, so I would remember to avoid that mess on the way back, no ONX back then, but, yup I didn’t, and sure enough a few hours later I experienced that whole ordeal once again on the way back out, same thing, screeching, dive bombing my head. All I can figure is that thing had a nest right in the trail or something, and I’m assuming it was some sort of hawk, I definitely don’t know my bird species, but I’m smart enough to realize it was probably some sort of protected species or something and NY would probably rather I die by a bird attack versus protecting myself, so I’m sure I made the right choice and left it be, all I could picture though was a family with kids out for a hike someday dealing with that ****, I don’t scare easily and that thing put the fear of god into me lol.
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I've been bombed by owls a few times. Always during the gray light of morning. You hear them before you see them typically, just the heavy sound of wings pushing air. Probably that means they saw you first and decided you're not prey. I had one contact me but it must have been trying to change direction or I'm sure I'd have been hurt.

In PA I heard a woosh inches from my head and a bald eagle hit a tree a few feet in front of me. Moments earlier a squirrel had been on that trunk and I watched it leap to another tree like you'd never think possible. I sat there watching the eagle stare at that squirrel for quite some time until it finally flew off, apparently thinking the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.
 
Topdog said:
Lets here about your mountain lion sighting in Mass, I have neighbors that see them every week where I live in NY, only problem is I’m the only one in this area that has actually hunted lions out west and have to tell them when they show me a track on snow it’s not a lion… almost always here it’s usually a blonde coyote or barn cat, so lets here the Mass mountain lion sighting, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but I get these calls about once a month here, my brother has one fully mounted in his house, 167 lb tom, we’ve had thoughts of parading in front of a few locals trail cameras.
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It was quite a few years back I was sitting on a pinch between the swamp and the “apple orchard” it’s a neighbors back yard. It was muzzle loader and I was just sitting hunkered down in the stone wall waiting for the deer to feed through the oaks and make there way to the orachard when all of a sudden I caught a glimpse of something jump on the stone wall probably 100 yards away. It’s all old pasture in there from what I’d guess was 1800s seeing as the oaks in there are rather mature. He walked along the wall for a bit then got down about 50 yards away from me and slowly just walked off into the swamp. I wouldn’t say this was any 167lb Tom but I’d give it a good 120-130lbs. I know what a cat looks like and it was in doubtfully a cat. Nice long tail beautiful tan coat and lighter on its feet than a feather. If I didn’t catch that first glimpse of it I never would have seen it till it crossed my line of view. The other one I saw was a few towns over just a few years ago. I wasn’t sure at first if that’s what I actually saw until later my buddies neighbor had a picture of what certainly looked to be a cub. Again that one isn’t 100% but the one I saw in the woods was with no doubt a mountain lion. Edit: for what it may be worth I’m in a quabbin town
 
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Topdog said:
Lets here about your mountain lion sighting in Mass, I have neighbors that see them every week where I live in NY, only problem is I’m the only one in this area that has actually hunted lions out west and have to tell them when they show me a track on snow it’s not a lion… almost always here it’s usually a blonde coyote or barn cat, so lets here the Mass mountain lion sighting, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but I get these calls about once a month here, my brother has one fully mounted in his house, 167 lb tom, we’ve had thoughts of parading in front of a few locals trail cameras.
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I remember there was one hit by a car in CT not far from MA, and from trail cameras and DNA they were able to establish it was from South Dakota. Crazy.

I thought I was nuts when I saw the lion in MI. I wasn't aware of other sightings or anything. The next year they had "Beware" signs all over the woods. They had ongoing video surveillance and it was proven, unequivocally, there was a resident population.

In retrospect I found a sightings website, and combing through it I was often like, yeah..that's a bobcat.

Where I hunt now a bobcat is as rare as a MT Lion.

Found it: https://www.wshu.org/2022-08-25/wildlife-biologist-breaks-down-mountain-lion-sightings-in-ct
 
Plebe said:
I remember there was one hit by a car in CT not far from MA, and from trail cameras and DNA they were able to establish it was from South Dakota. Crazy.

I thought I was nuts when I saw the lion in MI. I wasn't aware of other sightings or anything. The next year they had "Beware" signs all over the woods. They had ongoing video surveillance and it was proven, unequivocally, there was a resident population.

In retrospect I found a sightings website, and combing through it I was often like, yeah..that's a bobcat.

Where I hunt now a bobcat is as rare as a MT Lion.

Found it: https://www.wshu.org/2022-08-25/wildlife-biologist-breaks-down-mountain-lion-sightings-in-ct
Click to expand...
We don’t have many bobcats here anymore as well, don’t get me wrong if we spend a couple days looking generally we can find one somewhere, I can’t remember but I don’t think we killed any last winter, unless it’s a nice tom my brother won’t go after it, we let most go.
 
A number of years ago I was muzzleloader hunting in Northern Wisconsin, early December. We were group of traditional shooters from across the state, the hunt was more about getting together than hunting, but we always shot a deer or two.

One day we stumbled across a bear hibernating in a thicket on top of a pile of leaves, like a nest. I thought it unusual to find a bear hibernating above ground, but a couple of guys from the area said boars sometimes do that.

Early spring with warming temperatures and melting snow found a few of us in the area . We hiked out to the bear's location to see if it was still there. As we got close we heard some strange sounds, and were surprised to see our "boar" bear was really a sow...with five cubs crawling around on her bawling.
 
During grad school in Louisville we had a big snow and school got called off for a couple of days. I got stir crazy and started walking a stretch of woods adjacent to I-71 and a ritzy neighborhood up on a river bluff. I would always see deer in the area and just figured it would be fun to walk through the snow looking for tracks.
I made a big loop, crossed a deep canal that paralleled the interstate by about 30 yards and was making my way back to the apartment when I came across a very steep and narrow ditch probably 5-6 foot deep and maybe 5 feet wide running from the interstate to the canal. There were at least 4 doe carcasses stacked perfectly on top of each other. The stack was high enough to be almost even with the ground above. A slight dusting of snow on them compared to the 6-7 inches around but no blood. Almost like they were placed there after the snow and then snow was thrown on them. The snow around them had no blood either but all around the ditch it was very disturbed but no clear tracks.
No idea what it was but the hair stood up on the back of my neck and I high tailed it out of there. I still don’t know what it was??
 
CZMark said:
A number of years ago I was muzzleloader hunting in Northern Wisconsin, early December. We were group of traditional shooters from across the state, the hunt was more about getting together than hunting, but we always shot a deer or two.

One day we stumbled across a bear hibernating in a thicket on top of a pile of leaves, like a nest. I thought it unusual to find a bear hibernating above ground, but a couple of guys from the area said boars sometimes do that.

Early spring with warming temperatures and melting snow found a few of us in the area . We hiked out to the bear's location to see if it was still there. As we got close we heard some strange sounds, and were surprised to see our "boar" bear was really a sow...with five cubs crawling around on her bawling.
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My brother-in-law was at a guided bear hunting camp. The guide. had 2 other hunters besides him to drop off at bait stations. One of the other hunters scheduled to hunt came directly to camp from work which was a cheese plant. (Colby Wi). The guide came to pick everyone up after dark. The guy who came from work was all shook up when the guide picked him up. The guide asked the guy what’s wrong? Apparently a cub crawled up his tree and was licking the cheese the guy still had on his work boots. Mamma bear stood looking up growling as cub licked his boots. The guide said you must have been scared!! You p!!ssed yor pants!!
 
KYHunter said:
During grad school in Louisville we had a big snow and school got called off for a couple of days. I got stir crazy and started walking a stretch of woods adjacent to I-71 and a ritzy neighborhood up on a river bluff. I would always see deer in the area and just figured it would be fun to walk through the snow looking for tracks.
I made a big loop, crossed a deep canal that paralleled the interstate by about 30 yards and was making my way back to the apartment when I came across a very steep and narrow ditch probably 5-6 foot deep and maybe 5 feet wide running from the interstate to the canal. There were at least 4 doe carcasses stacked perfectly on top of each other. The stack was high enough to be almost even with the ground above. A slight dusting of snow on them compared to the 6-7 inches around but no blood. Almost like they were placed there after the snow and then snow was thrown on them. The snow around them had no blood either but all around the ditch it was very disturbed but no clear tracks.
No idea what it was but the hair stood up on the back of my neck and I high tailed it out of there. I still don’t know what it was??
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@KYHunter - Years ago I was in Eastern Pennsylvania and stumbled upon a similar finding. Wasn't sure what I'd found at first - why were there so many dead deer piled up in one place? When I spoke with a Conservation Officer about it, I learned that it was a spot where the county or state was dumping road killed deer.
 
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