Haunting memories.....

[Rockin'B]

Anyone have some of those memories from hunts gone by that are just plain haunting?

I have a couple.

My brother inlaw and I were hunting in Wyoming in a very prime Whitetail area. We had exclusive use of a ranch that bordered one of the biggest ranches in that part of the state. This ranch measured 24 miles east-west and bigger north to south. All prime hunting ground.
That ranch did not allow any hunting at all, to anyone. One morning near Thanksgiving my BIL and I were near the border to that ranch and were sitting on an overlook that took in quite a view over the other property. The first real snowfall was underway and it triggered the rut in a serious fashion.
We witnessed 3 different fights between true trophy class bucks from that vista and seriously large bucks were running helter skelter all across that flat. I have no doubt in my mind that the larger of them were true book heads. We looked at one through the spotting scope that was a very high and wide 5 X 5 (without brow tines) and if it would not have made book I'd eat his antlers. It was simply an amazing sight. All those deer and no chance at them.
That ranch can now be hunted through an outfitter for trophy hunts only and they start at 5 grand and go up. <sigh>

One more....
On that same ranch we were hunting the rolling hills part of it for mule deer. I was sitting on a slope, hunkered down next to a big rock. There was a well used trail that bellied around the slope and led into a good patch of timber.
The best mulie I've ever had a chance at stepped out of the timber at a lazer ranged 212 yards. I shoot a 7 mag and it's a dead on hold at that range.
I pulled the trigger 3 times and the deer never moved until after the last one. He wheeled around and slipped back into the timber.
I was stunned......a truely huge buck just walked away. I went down to check for blood and make sure I hadn't hit him but found nothing.

Back in camp I took a cardboard box and set it up at about 50 paces. 2 shots never even hit the box.
I finished out the hunt with my backup rifle and back home discovered that the scope must have taken a hit. It shot way wide and up to the right. I ended up having that scope repaired under warranty and sold it.
I still think of that mulie......He was seriously big, Easily into the 170 class and real heavy.

Do you all have some of those memories that just won't leave and kinda haunt the late night hunting thoughts?

[bgak47]

My favourite memories involve hunting with my Grandad & my Dad about 50yrs ago. He died in 1959 & Dad died in 1990. I hope I last long enough to hunt with my Grandkids. The oldest will be 6 in Dec.

[Farmer Willy]

Cottontail hunting 16-17yo with two friends. We took a break, sitting on a fallen tree. I'm on the left, best friend to my right, other friend to his right. After sitting 5-10 minutes, friend on the far rights' 12 ga. goes off, JUST missing my best friends right knee. The boy with the shotgun turned white, not sure how he cut loose. Best friend is checking pants leg for powder or pellet burns. He was fine, just shook up. I still cringe when I think of the potential damage from a 12 ga. 3 in. from his knee.

[bgak47]

I guess that's Haunting Memories?

[big rockpile]

I was Deer Hunting out in the middle of nowhere.My Dad had passed away years before.I hadn't seen my Uncle in years.

Anyway here I am out here in the woods.My Dad comes up starts talking to me Took awhile but I finally realized it was my Uncle

big rockpile

[bargarguy]

My haunting memory is all the ground we had to hunt when I was kid, I remember hunting rabbits all day and never covering the same ground, I miss those days, my friends and my family.
In ohio now days if ya ain't related you better have a whole lot of money to lease or buy.
Hard to believe hunting has become just like anything else in this world, money money money

Most of my haunting memories are of all those big wall hangers that didn't end up on my wall. For some reason I can shoot a doe that's running as fast as it can, a hundred yards away, and I can shoot one time and send it flipping end over end. But a big wall hanger can stand broadside just 10 yards away and I'll unload the gun on him and never come close to hitting it!

For about the last 15 years I have killed anywhere from 2 to 4 deer per year and out of all those deer, only one was big enough to hang on my wall. However, most of my deer are very tenderly delicious.

[RoyalOaksRanch]

This is actually my husbands story from when he was in highschool and a group of his buddies decided to go coyote hunting at night.. THey form a ring all four of them facing out. Sitting in this open field. THey start calling.. Using a wounded rabbit cry. Pretty soon they are having a great time, the coyotes are coming in, they are seeing sets of eyes all around. they are getting ready to start shooting, when all the sudden all the coyotes are gone. Not a peep, just poof every single one disappears.. So they start wondering what the heck caused that, maybe the coyotes saw them or something... Then a mountain lion lets loose with a scream.. Apparently those coyotes knew something bigger than them had come in to the rabbit LOL... They sat there in the silence for the longest time huddled together trying to decide if the cat left or not.. Finally someone had the bright idea to use their flashlights to see where the cat was, so they point them in the direction of the scream and there is a huge set of eyes, then it ran away.. They were so scared to this day he remembers that hunting trip like it was yesterday LOL...
Rae

[Rockin'B]

Yikes, That would certainly get my attention too!

I've had a couple close encounters with Cougars and they make me real nervous.

[AlaOutlaw]

When I was a teenager running wild and doing stupid stuff a couple of buddies and I decided to go spotlighting one night after some heavy drinking. One guy was driving, the other guy was sitting in the back of the truck on the driverside fenderwell with an sks and I was on the other one with a 30-06. Anyway, the guy on the other side had his gun pointed at the cab. I told him to turn it facing the other way but he insisted he knew how to handle his gun. Well we get out in the back of a soybean field driving along and hit a bump and all of a sudden there was a deafing boom as the back window just shattered. The driver got out his eyes big as saucers and said I've been shot. It turned out that the bullet went through the headrest about an inch from the drivers head, through the steering wheel, the speedometer and out through the hood. The driver had some glass and fragments in his back that I had to dig out with tweezers. Never been spotlighting since.

[Big Dave]

Game warden always harrasing kinda like people around here did not take him well. As things go one night, knowing how he operated, there was this goat. Some how this animal got a Q beam taped to his head and was loose in the woods. Now not to be tellin tales out of school but as we all know a goat can go thru some pretty tough terrain and briars. As a devout enforcer of the law it was the duty of said offical to go after these spot lighters as law says never to hunt at night. It was a longnight for one fella and rofl for others.

[Rockin'B]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Game warden always harrasing kinda like people around here did not take him well. As things go one night, knowing how he operated, there was this goat. Some how this animal got a Q beam taped to his head and was loose in the woods. Now not to be tellin tales out of school but as we all know a goat can go thru some pretty tough terrain and briars. As a devout enforcer of the law it was the duty of said offical to go after these spot lighters as law says never to hunt at night. It was a longnight for one fella and rofl for others.

That's funny!

I can just see it. Bet he was ticked off when he finally figured it out!

LMAO!!