Close Encounters of the Killing Kind

[MikeT49]

I'm starting this thread for posting your "up close and personal" hunts. Better yet if a good story is involved. I'll start with the story of "Double Beam".
. Double Beam got unlucky on 9/20/04. I was sitting about 25' up a lodgepole pine in a small bunch of trees on the SE corner of a big alfalfa field. The field is located in the foothills of Mt Spokane. My hunting partner is in a tree on the NE corner of the field.
. About on hour before dark, I catch movement out of the corner of my right eye. It's so frickin hard not to just snap your head around to look. Slowly I turned my head to the right just in time to see a buck hop the 4 strand. His left side was to me. I took a look and thought "holy chit" that's a P&Y! Once I decide to kill a buck I quit looking at the horns. He walks right in front me and stops at ~25 yards broadside, for a nano second. He starts walking straight away from me and I don't have a shot. A "Texas heart" shot with an arrow don't work worth a flying rat's ass. He gets out on the field about 60 yards, suddenly to my left I hear a muffled "thwack". The buck looks up, runs back to my tree and stops broadside at about five steps. I really don't like steep angle shots like this but, I quietly drew my Mathews Switchback XT. I figured I could get both lungs if I slipped the arrow in real close to the spine. I touch the release and let the bow eat. I hear a very loud THWACK and he drops like a sack of hammers. I really don't like spine shots because they don't kill the deer immediately. You have to shoot them again to alleviate their suffering. So I draw another arrow. Just as I touch the release, he surges his upper body toward me and I stick him right square in the shoulder blade. No penetration, didn't kill him. We'll chit, I think, "this is a beeatch". So I grab another arrow and stuck one in his heart. Done deal.
. Seeing as how there was no tracking to be done, I headed back to where I parked the ATV. I'm almost back to my stand and I run into my bud. He says "nice pin cushion job". Turns out the muffled thwack I heard was him sticking a sharp stick in nice buck. As I said, Double Beam got real unlucky.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

Shot a Kudu a couple years ago in thick bush, shot ran and the boy dropped ass first into some thick stuff after a couple jumps and kicks. I light up a smoke to give him some time and start walking towards him rifle ready just incase he decides to take another stab at life. Probably 10y from him I can see he gave up so I make save and sling the rifle over my shoulder. Within another 2 steps that Kudu decides that his ambush worked and out of no where lunges at me, at this point im on a small game path in front of him and his backed up in a bush so there is only one way to go. Luckily I had my EDC 9mm on me and as he tried to jump up he got 2 127gr Ranger Ts in the head and one below the jaw that finished him.

 

[L1986]

I’ll bite
About 10 years ago I was renting a house from an old rancher. It was his parents old place and he ran a couple hundred cows there on the 900 acres. In my yard was his working pens. I came home early from work one day to find him trying to load a cow into his trailer. She was PISSED and giving him a hard time. She was also loosing control of her back legs periodically. We figured a bull had pinched a nerve while breeding her. Long story short turns out after he took her to the vet it was rabies. About an hour later he he knocks on my door asking if I had a gun he could borrow to shoot her. He was going to burry her in the acreage behind my house. So I grab my kimber 9mm and jump in the truck. We get her back to the spot and get out. Now this old man loved his cows and I figure I’ll just hand him the gun, he will shoot her in the trailer and we will drag her out. As we are walking to the back of the trailer he just opens the gate with no warning and this 1200lb pissed off cow comes barreling out and rounds the corner and looks stait at me. I’m taken back a bit kuss I know what she’s gona do next and I’m still not wanting to be the one that pulls the trigger on one of his “pets”. Old man calmly said “any time now” to me so I put one shot between her eyes and she drops cold dead. Looking back I got extremely lucky!! I was a good 15-20 feet from her and I suck with a pistol!! But I sure impressed the hell outa that old man haha. He thought he had a middle gate in the trailer shut so he wasn’t expecting her to run out and neither of us were expecting her to turn to us to fight!

 

[Bc'z]

2 bucks and 2 second shots..

So a few year ago i was standing in the kitchen eating some tacos staring out the back window and I noticed a group of deer move into the back of our property. I quickly grabbed my bow and scurried out back in my flip flops and shorts, I dropped to a knee and drew back on a nice fork x 3, I loosed the arrow and noticed a spark behind the deer, thinking he didn’t know he was hit i waited and watched him looking for blood as he circled and went back to feeding. I missed him clean!! That's when I noticed movement to my left at 50 yards.
I knocked another arrow and took the shot, the buck was quartering toward me so I held tight to his right shoulder.
This last season I was out back fortifying the chicken pen from coyotes late in the evening just as I was getting things buttoned up and the chickens put away I noticed a BIG deer move into the back from across the creek, I scurried to the house in my flip flops and shorts and grabbed my bow. I was on the high bank roughly the same spot I was when I got the other buck a few years prior.
He was standing broad side, but I was under a canopy of branches and couldn't make out my pins in the low light. I raised my anchor point on my cheek and sighted down the shaft loosing the arrow, DAMN right over his back, the buck belines toward the neighbors place, I eased down the high bank to go retrieve my arrow when I noticed the deer had circled back around a clump of madrone and was still on my place walking up the fence row heading towards the creek.
Standing in the open I could now see my pins, holding tight to his left shoulder I let it fly watching the buck donkey kick I knew I had pinned him good!
A heavy 4x3 dressing out at 165# hanging. I'd heard stories about this deer from the neighbors but had never laid eyes on him until that evening.
I'm expecting a call from the taxidermist any day now to come pick up my mount.

 

[snert]

I too will bite:

I was a young cop with two kids working a crap city detail. I was only 15 years out from the last time I shot competitive archery and a friend had an unused bow just sitting sitting. How hard can it be, I mused?

So I borrowed the bow. I made a total of five shots with it, and discovered that even in my unpracticed condition I shot better with the modern release, peep and carbon arrows than I did some time ago with a finger tab and aluminum over a Bear Whitetail. (I am dating my self here). A friend had a small farm and about a hundred yards from his house a "tree stand" that consisted of a lazyboy on a platform in a tree line. With no time to scout, no time to practice, I scooted over and climbed the tree.

About an hour in to my very comfortable sit, I heard a blue jay making a ruckus behind me in the woods. It kept coming closer. Meanwhile, out in front about 200 yards down the fence line, a doe was feeding in the alfalfa. The jay would squawk and she would look. I kept twisting around to see what the jay was yelling at. The doe kept moving my way, curious.

Eventually a housecat came out of the woods and meandered under my "stand" which was a sit, really. The jay was going beserk. Meanwhile the doe closed in. When she was 8 feet from the bottom of my tree, I was standing and drew. I was looking thru the peep (a new thing to me) and thought..."hey, better look at the arrow dummy". I did and was glad I didn't shoot, cause a limb was about three feet in front of the arrow. I stooped down and the deer stopped broadside. I tripped the release and just as I did she swung her head hard to the left, and the arrow hit her right in the head. (It would have lunged her). She stood up on her back legs, arrow sticking up out of her head, and she flopped over DRT, tail spinning like a groundhog shot with a 22-250.

The cat ran, the jay flew away, and I climbed down, drove my car 100 yards and tossed her in the trunk. I gutted and cleaned her at home, and that's the last deer I shot with a bow. Too easy, sez I.

 

[carbon]

Ok this is pretty stupid in a hunting thread, but here goes.

The luckiest shot I’ve even had is with a crappy single pump Daisy BB gun. Iron sights. I was about 19 and standing on the dock on a good sized lake. I was bored and just plinking at whatever. Fish, bugs, floating stuff, etc.

I saw a dragonfly. He was lazily tooling around about 6 ft away, facing me. Close encounter, right? I took aim. Thought, “This is impossible.”

I shot him out if the sky, took one side of his wings off. He just fell down plop in the water.

I just stared at him. Couldn’t believe it. Still feel a little guilty. I like dragonflies.

Nonetheless, wasted another 400 more BBs trying to do it again. Failed. Lol.

 

[snert]

Ok this is pretty stupid in a hunting thread, but here goes.

The luckiest shot I’ve even had is with a crappy single pump Daisy BB gun. Iron sights. I was about 19 and standing on the dock on a good sized lake. I was bored and just plinking at whatever. Fish, bugs, floating stuff, etc.

I saw a dragonfly. He was lazily tooling around about 6 ft away, facing me. Close encounter, right? I took aim. Thought, “This is impossible.”

I shot him out if the sky, took one side of his wings off. He just fell down plop in the water.

I just stared at him. Couldn’t believe it. Still feel a little guilty. I like dragonflies.

Nonetheless, wasted another 400 more BBs trying to do it again. Failed. Lol.

This is called the MAgic BB curse.

It begins with the "hip shot" that drops an acorn at 80 paces, or the 100 yard high mourning dove that drops to a single shot from a 410, or the one handed fling shot made with the thutty thutty in heavy brush at Ol' Mossy Horns and it drops him with a spine shot, wasting no meat.

If you have a good friend nearby, he will promptly take the gun from your hand, offer a cigar and tell everyone how awesome you are. (and never let you touch that gun again)

A hunting partner will promptly say, "wow, I would sure like to see that again".

And you will find yourself up to your hips in empty brass, bb cartons, or hulls and never do it again.

 

[Intheshop]

Around 1980? I was in the cabinet biz pretty deep,part owner and we were slam rockin on work. #4 son hadn't been born yet but we had 3 very young sons. Wifey is working full time..... child development guru.

So sounds like a great time to scratch build our new house,haha. Dad helped a lot but it was a HUGE undertaking to say the least. 14-18 hour days for a few years.

Opening day of firearms is a cpl days away and I need a break. Had a new 6" DW744 that's a laser with the Lyman 429421 and a full load of 2400. Get up early'er that Saturday and go down in the woods. Find a big ole Oak to lean up against and within 5 minutes am SOUND asleep.

Who knows? 20 minutes later am awakened by some serious leaf rustling. Blessed with the ability to not startle at much..... I slowly opened the eyelids. There's a doe about 40 yards out doing the love stumble...... "she just got jumped" is running through my mind. It's all good,I'm here,even if it's just taking a nap....am enjoying God's creations,communing with nature.

Still motionless with 'ole Dan on my lap..... who pops up? Yup,Mr. Big is lighting up a *Marlboro and "sheet,....he's gonna walk right over me". Slooowly easing back the hammer..... he gets to about 15 FEET, and I plug him,while he's taking a long drag off his cig*. He ran a qrt mile with a perfect center hit,blood trail looked like you were pouring it out of a 5g bucket.

*no cigarettes were harmed in this story,just a visualization.

 

[hogpatrol]

Crazy but true. I'm in a tree stand leaning up against a huge Norway maple tree on the edge of a cut cornfield. Out in front of me is "Bucky" my full size six point decoy complete with battery operated flicking tail. I could see him clearly but with leaves still on the tree, not much more than that. Around fifteen minutes or so before quitting time, I hear a "whoosh" like an arrow sailing through the air. Dismissing it as maybe a bird, I hear another, only this time there's a thump. I look out between the branches and here's a guy sneaking up with a crossbow. Now he's sent two bolts and the deke is still standing there flicking it's tail. I yell to the guy but he's so engrossed in this "buck", it doesn't register. Finally he sends another and it sticks in the deke's gut. I come out of the tree like a madman and yell at this guy, "are you freakin' nuts"? He takes off, I guess figuring he's going to get more than a tongue lashing. I chased him about half way back to his truck and left him to ponder his stupidity. From what I heard, he wasn't allowed back on the property.

 

[rebel]

Not a killing story, but a 1 in a 1000 shot. A buddy and I were trout fishing way back in Pisgah Nat'l forest. We had worked our way back downstream to have lunch. He was a fidgety kind of fellar and had tied some mono filament on a small rock and was spinning around in his hand while we finished a cold beer. I told him " Would you stop spinning that damn thing before it flies off and hits me? " He let it go on the spin and it landed in a Mtn. Laurel, wrapped around a limb and swung there about 20 feet away. He said, "Bet ya can't hit it." In which I drew my single six and popped a shot from holster level, no aiming. The rock shattered. He told that story for years educating NC state troopers that there are folks you will stop on the highway that are deadly, have deadly skills, and to treat everyone with respect. Hell, I thought it was just a lucky shot.

 

[snert]

Not a killing story, but a 1 in a 1000 shot. A buddy and I were trout fishing way back in Pisgah Nat'l forest. We had worked our way back downstream to have lunch. He was a fidgety kind of fellar and had tied some mono filament on a small rock and was spinning around in his hand while we finished a cold beer. I told him " Would you stop spinning that damn thing before it flies off and hits me? " He let it go on the spin and it landed in a Mtn. Laurel, wrapped around a limb and swung there about 20 feet away. He said, "Bet ya can't hit it." In which I drew my single six and popped a shot from holster level, no aiming. The rock shattered. He told that story for years educating NC state troopers that there are folks you will stop on the highway that are deadly, have deadly skills, and to treat everyone with respect. Hell, I thought it was just a lucky shot.

Did he immediatley take that revolver from your hand?

 

[rebel]

Did he immediatley take that revolver from your hand?

After a shot like that, would you have? : )

 

[snert]

After a shot like that, would you have? : )

If I were a true friend, yes. But the hunting partner in me says "Boy, I'd sure like to see that again! I bet you can..."