Weirdest thing to happen to you in the tree stand?

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  • bobjones223

    Master
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    55   1   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    1,779
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    Noblesville, IN
    Okay, I will start as this one just blew me away.

    Went hunting with baby girl on Friday morning had a small 6 pointer come through about 7:45am which she passed on but was nice to watch him in the woods. We settled back into the two man ladder stand and were sitting there for about a half an hour when all of a sudden someone grabbed a hold of my shoulder and gave it a good shove!

    So my brain starts trying to process how someone just grabbed me 20' in the air. I think for a second then look at my shoulder. Sitting on my shoulder was a Great Horned owl just looking down at me!!!!!!:faint:

    Needless to say all three of us freaked out once we all had a chance to process what just happened. I was left with three nice puncture wounds on my shoulder from his talons punching through two hunting coats and my thermals and a GREAT story.

    After we all settled down and got over the shock we got the chance to watch a nice little black mink play in the creek right below us.

    We went back out last night and Mr. Owl showed up again and sat on a branch 20' from us just looking at us for 15min. I think he found the tree stand was a nice perch and we were sitting in his spot?

    These are the things that make hunting special. It is not all about the success of the hunt as it is about experiencing nature and all it has to offer!!!

    Oh and just to answer the question on every ones minds..........My shorts stayed clean!:rockwoot:
     
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    T.Lex

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    15   0   0
    Mar 30, 2011
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    Wow.

    I have nothing that cool. :)

    Only thing that comes close is bowhunting on an old wooden stand. Old like, at least 20 years since it was first erected. Maybe closer to 40.

    An hour into sitting there, I could hear it starting to creak. That's strange. Must be the wind.

    Wait. It kinda feels like its leaning forward. That's odd.

    Then it completely pivoted, top forward, and fell to the 15 feet or so to the ground. Because it tilted forward, I kinda launched with it, dropping my bow in the process, and did a little roll upon landing. (Scored at a 9 from most of the judges for degree of difficulty, but the E. German judge only gave me a 7 because I didn't stick the landing.)

    Used the same tree for a couple years for a climbing style stand.
     

    sugarcreekbrass

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    Mar 29, 2015
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    Years ago after getting down and putting climbing stand back together to pack out, I had two fawns come in. They saw me and cautiously continued to me. One started to flank around to my side out of peripheral vision. The one in front came up to me and started licking the stand and my hand.
     

    amboy49

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    5   1   0
    Feb 1, 2013
    2,293
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    central indiana
    Wasn’t exactly in a tree stand, but I had gotten down due to a major s*** pain and while squatted on the ground with my bow beside me a 10 Point buck came up from behind me ( and down wind ) and actually sniffed my bow !
     

    Fargo

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    Mar 11, 2009
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    In a state of acute Pork-i-docis
    Had an owl come in and try to land on me just before first light, but I must have shifted and startled it at the last minute. Scared the hell out of me as it whizzed over my shoulder flapping like hell. Was thanking God for the safety harness as I came close to taking a long drop. That is amazing you actually had one land on you.
     

    patience0830

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    Nov 3, 2008
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    Not far from the tree
    Had an owl come in and try to land on me just before first light, but I must have shifted and startled it at the last minute. Scared the hell out of me as it whizzed over my shoulder flapping like hell. Was thanking God for the safety harness as I came close to taking a long drop. That is amazing you actually had one land on you.

    With a WITNESS, no less. I've had squirrels right over my head, watched fox hunt, seen a redtail hawk take a fox squirrel at 20 yds. Just cool being inn the woods.
     

    Terry4570

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    Nov 18, 2010
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    N.A. IN.
    That sounds almost the same as my owl encounter , saw it coming in the sky line and after it flew off I heard something hit the ground out in front of me , being still dark could not see what it was .When I got down out of the tree and looked around found a big old crow with its head gone , it was going to use me as a picnic table . It just did not land on me.
     

    Fargo

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    Mar 11, 2009
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    In a state of acute Pork-i-docis
    With a WITNESS, no less. I've had squirrels right over my head, watched fox hunt, seen a redtail hawk take a fox squirrel at 20 yds. Just cool being inn the woods.
    One ravine i used to hunt in Michigan many years ago had tons of squirrels in it. There was a young hawk that would drop down to try to slam them, but he very seldom could actually hang on. It was fascinating as hell to watch.
     

    Goodcat

    From a place you cannot see…
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    I’m in woods passing time myself right now. I had an owl close to me, staring at me for about an hour once. Never been landed on though, wow!! Not seeing anything this morning, and a soy field was just harvested yesterday right next to my spot! Anyone have a deer party that needs killin? This property I hunt is dead this year.
     

    42769vette

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    Oct 6, 2008
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    south of richmond in
    Ive had squirrel's get in the stand with me a few times, had a sparrow land on my barrel once.

    I was turkey hunting in Kentucky, and a buddy was calling for me. Had a nice bird come in, and the guy calling couldn't figure why I waited 5 minutes to shoot the bird. When walking up to the bird he ask what took so long, and I explained a bumble bee landed between my front, and rear sights. I was trying to blow at the bee to get him moved without spooking the turkey, but he wasn't budging.
     

    midget

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    Apr 2, 2010
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    Leo
    I once saw one squirrel toss another squirrel out of a tree from at least 40' in the air... Little guy didn't survive the fall.
     

    Fargo

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    Mar 11, 2009
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    In a state of acute Pork-i-docis
    Ive had squirrel's get in the stand with me a few times, had a sparrow land on my barrel once.

    I was turkey hunting in Kentucky, and a buddy was calling for me. Had a nice bird come in, and the guy calling couldn't figure why I waited 5 minutes to shoot the bird. When walking up to the bird he ask what took so long, and I explained a bumble bee landed between my front, and rear sights. I was trying to blow at the bee to get him moved without spooking the turkey, but he wasn't budging.
    Focus on the front bee, squeeze the trigger!

    Driving home from deer hunting last week I felt something on my ear. Slapped it and look down to see a very angry shiny black wasp now sitting on the zipper of my pants. Wasps are one of those things that brings out every irrational fear in me, so things immediately went to DEFCON five, by which I mean a very dignified flailing and cursing episode, before I remembered to look at the road and get the hell back in my lane before oncoming traffic tagged me.

    I did manage to kill the little demon though.
     

    Winamac

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    Once while deer hunting right at twilight I had a raccoon climb the tree I had my stand in and set about a foot from me at head level and just sat there and stared me down. I didn't move and after about 10 minutes he just turned and calmly climbed back down the tree to the ground. I do not know who was more nervous him or me for those 10 minutes.
     

    Nojoy621

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    Aug 10, 2016
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    Crown point
    I've had a small chickadee land on my arrow while sitting in the stand, hung out for a minute or two, it was kinda cool. I've also had an opposum come climbing down the tree I was in, god those things are ugly up close, I think I was 13 at the time, scared the crap out of me.

    about 4 years ago I set up a stand next to a pond on some property in Michigan. A doe came walking in from my 1 o'clock, and starting drinking out of the pond. Then she just dove right in, swam about half way out(maybe 20 yards) turned around and got out, then she jumped in and did it again. She did it a third and final time, got out and bedded down about 5 feet from the edge and about 50 yards from. I was seriously laughing out loud in my stand at what I just saw.
     

    BiscuitsandGravy

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    At the Ranch.
    Focus on the front bee, squeeze the trigger!

    Driving home from deer hunting last week I felt something on my ear. Slapped it and look down to see a very angry shiny black wasp now sitting on the zipper of my pants. Wasps are one of those things that brings out every irrational fear in me, so things immediately went to DEFCON five, by which I mean a very dignified flailing and cursing episode, before I remembered to look at the road and get the hell back in my lane before oncoming traffic tagged me.

    I did manage to kill the little demon though.

    Here is a funny wasp story... Had to help my Mother with some insurance issues... Grabbed a jacket that had been hanging in the garage. I'm sitting in the insurance agents office and notice something hard-stone like in the upper part of the jacket. I calmly reach in and feel a mud-dobbers nest. Hoping that is was just an old nest... As soon as we got out to the car- the jacket was OFF. Talk about trying to keep your cool. Yikes!
     

    mom45

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    Nov 10, 2013
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    My husband has had owls fly right past his face when he was in full camo with the makeup. He described the one as a flying stump...was huge bodied. Another time, he got in his stand before first light. As the sun came up, he realized he had lots of dark "blobs" above him in the tree....his stand was in the tree the turkeys were roosting in. They were all trying to figure out what he was sitting in THEIR tree.

    He tells me stories of what he sees from the tree stand, and I tell him of the antics I see in the back yard where I feed my critters. He is now only allowed to hunt coyotes since i started feeding the deer a few years ago. Our herd was getting quite sparse and the few deer we were seeing were very small due to too many does being killed off before the fawns were weaned. There were several farmers in our area with depredation tags killing everything they could. I started feeding them and putting out water for them, and they now know this is a safe zone. I am finally seeing some nice, healthy looking deer again. The turkey flock is also bouncing back nicely.

    My trail cameras have become an addiction. I gather the cards every morning and see who visited while I wasn't watching out the window or from the porch.
     

    ghuns

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    Nov 22, 2011
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    I had 2x4 nailed up in the crotch of a short white oak tree that I would sit on and bowhunt. One day a raccoon decided he wanted to come up and play. I busted off a nearby branch and knocked him down when he got too close. This pissed him off. He came up again, and again. I finally nailed him to the ground with an arrow in self defense.

    I was buzzed by a great horned owl while sitting at the base of a tree. I never really appreciated just how big they were until he almost took my head off.
     
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