End of deer season for me

[mtnbkr]

I ended my hunt 4-5hrs early today.

I was about a mile in and 10ft up a tree.  I had been hearing gunshots all morning down the ridge from my position.  Not your normal one shot here and there, but bursts of fire from multiple guns, then quiet for 10-20 minutes, then more ruckus.  I was uncomfortable, but not overly bothered because it sounded like it was several hundred yards away.  Maybe they'll even drive something towards me like last year.

At about 10:30am, 6-7 "hunters" come out of the thicket in a tight group (not more than 10ft wide) 100yds to my left, walk right to my stand, stop to chat with me for a moment, then move on past me in the same tight gropu even though I told them I had seen a hunter in that very direction about 10min prior (saw a glimpse of blaze orange about 100yds away through the brush).  They NOISILY move on and out of sight.  5 min later, I see a straggler come out of the thicket at the same point as the previous group.  He stops there and mills about when I hear gunshots above his position (that would be 100-150yds diagonally to my left-rear).  Much cheering ensues.  RIGHT AFTER THAT, there's a flurry of gunshots from the crowd that passed me early.  So, I now have a shooter behind me, shooters to my right, and a hunter to my left.  At least some of them know where I am, but are apparently not concerned.  I start getting my gear together so I can get out of that tree and out of the woods.  I got my climber within a foot of the ground when I see 3-4 deer running towards my position, while guns are blazing.     I start yelling so they'll "remember" that I'm still there.  As soon as my feet hit the ground, I put the tree between me and the large crowd.  I also grab my ham radio, tune it to the NOAA Weather station and turn the volume to max hoping the sound of voices MIGHT help.  Finally the shooting tapers.  I quickly packed my gear and beat a hasty retreat off the mountain.

I have never been scared like that while hunting.  I've never seen a group of hunters so unconcerned of others.

I also wonder how many deer they wounded or maimed considering they hadn't got any when I talked to them.  By that point, at least 20rnds had been fired.  Another 5-10 were fired after they passed me.

Today was the last day of the season, and a gorgeous day at that.  I guess I'll spend the rest of the day doing other things.

Chris

[Polishrifleman]

Sorry to hear about that, I know that we want more hunters and gun enthusiasts to help keep up the good fight with those that don't hunt and don't believe in 2A.  Unless someone has a good mentor and is woodwise we are going to continually see more of this action.

This year was the first year I really had a good chance to kill coyotes on several different occassions during the deer season.  I would report this back to friends and they wanted to know why I hadn't shot.  I wasn't yote hunting therefore the noise, waste of vermin life etc... wasn't high on my priority list, obviously much different thought process for them.  Shooting for the sake of shooting should be done at targets.

Hopefully next year goes better.

[Gewehr98]

Just takes a few bad apples to ruin it for everybody.

I had a hell of a time getting my loud and talkative stepson to whisper and step quietly on our hunt in November.   

I attribute it to the fact that we aren't out there *teaching* new hunters like in days gone by. 

[Monkeyleg]

Sounds like you just barely made it out alive.

I don't hunt, but my older brother still does after some 40+ years.

He only hunts on private land, though, because of the sort of idiots you just described.

[Perd Hapley]

No matter what anyone says, I was nowhere near your part of the country, and I don't hunt up there.

Were you the guy with the Ruger No. 1? 

[mtnbkr]

Nope, no Ruger #1, though I'd like to have one.  Care to send a gift?

That's the first time I've ever been in a situation like that.  I'm not generally bothered by a few gunshots near me, but these guys were just cruising through the woods blasting at any brown they saw.  I think the nice weather brought out the yahoos.  I heard more gunshots in the 3.5hrs I was there than I normally hear in an entire "doe day" at the National Forest (this was at a local WMA, BTW).

Chris 

[cosine]

 

Shall I state the obvious? Stupidity abounds.

[K Frame]

I'm reminded of the Far Side cartoon in which a number of deer are standing around, one with a bullseye on its chest...

"Bummer of a birthmark, Hal."

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Back in my 'teens I was hunting with the men of my family on our old place out from Paris, Texas. I was sitting under a big oak about 15 feet into the treeline alongside a very large cleared pasture. The property line was about a quarter mile north of me, beyond the treeline on the other side opposing me across the pasture.  Two hunters came walking east to west along the opposite treeline and stopped, looked my direction, and one fired a shot in my direction which came within about 20 feet to my west. I hollered and waved my arms, verbalizing that I was over there and not happy with their play. Turns out they 'saw something' and figured me for game. As temped as I was, I didn't return the lead kisses. They thought they were in Oklahoma, although they were on the wrong side of the river, let alone on posted land. My uncle and cousins drove out to see what the shooting was about and escorted them off the farm.

I also had a couple of squirrel hunters across the ridge from me pepper me with #6's or something on our place in East Texas while I was sitting in a tree stand. They, too, had crossed a fence they 'didn't see'.  Odd, I'd walked and checked all the fences the month before. I got their names and they left the way they came in.

Strangely enough, any time I've hunted public (Type II) land in Texas I've never had that problem. In fact, I rarely see anyone else hunting there. Type II regs stipulate hunters have to wear an obscene amount of blaze orange, but I go overboard and wear what amounts to head-to-toe orange just to be extra careful.

When still-hunting I've had others walk within touching distance of me without them seeing me. It always unnerves them for me to say 'hello' as they pass. In the office environment, it spooks folks just as badly when I stealth-mode up on them, too.

Regards,
Rabbit.