Odd things you have seen on stand

[MnHuntinKid08]

OK, so im sitting in my deer stand last season, (im not usually a deer hunter, but my dad made me go) and this squirrel is millin' around in the trees all around me. so this thing ends up walking out on this branch, and you know how squirrels do... they make incredible leaps from one skinny branch to the next all the time... well anyway, this thing comes walking out on the brach, scopes out his upcoming jump for about 30 seconds, and goes for it. and OMG! this stupid squirrel came up at least 2 feet SHORT of the branch and fell about 25 feet to the ground. I laughed 'til my sides hurt. To this day it ranks in my top 5 funniest things iv ever seen!!!

[Ferny]

Big Scary owl every year trying to land on my face (or tree) just when it's almost light enough to shoot. Scares the heck out of me every time. Chickadee's hopping on my arm and hat. Mouse running over my boot. Mink trying to catch a red squirrel that jumped to another tree. 2 grouse sitting on a tree branch 20' off the ground diving into a brush pile over and over half a dozen times.... very noisy. I can't believe they didn't break a wing! Sitting on a tree across a creek fishing as a kid and had a coon come running across the other side of the log. I'm not sure who crapped first?

Sister in-law had a loose cow come up and sniff her boots fox pee scent. She konked it on the head with her barrel and it left!

Buddy had a domestic pig come through the woods one year.

Fox, Weasel, Mink, Fisher, grouse, turkeys, pheasant, LOUD MICE...

Every year there's something memorable that's a first.

Ferny

[Mr. B]

This was not in a deer stand but in a duck blind. My brother and I were in his boat me in the front. With the blind up in the bow I could not see all the much as was dependent on him to tell me when to stand up and shoot. He looks at me and says get ready here comes a goose. I can here the wing beats, this goose is going to fly right down the middle of the boat. My brother tells me to take him. I stand and start to take aim but this is not a goose. It is a Great Blue Heron with its legs out getting ready to land on the bow of the boat. From a distance of three feet all I see are huge scaly feet come right for my head. I do not know who was more shocked me or the Heron. As I calm down the heron is flying away and my brother is laughing hysterically. He could see it was a heron the entire time from his seat in the back of the boat.

[tunrevir]

Saw an 8' gator while on stand down south a couple years back, I've seen coyotes, t-wolves and bobcats. I think the most interesting was a mink that followed the trail of a wounded deer and licked up the blood as it went along. No wonder why sometimes those blood trails just disappear!

Tunrevir~

[Deitz Dittrich]

While hunting with a friend on some farm land up by bemidji... I was sitting on the edge of a cow pasture. One of the giant beasts decided to use the tree I was in as a scratching post... that is the closest I have ever been to falling out of a tree!!!!

[Slow Jigger]

I was Bow hunting for Black Bear up in International falls, I heard this noise behind me on my right, I slowly turned and was face to face with a Pine Martin that climbed the tree I was in. Scared the Poo out of me, He got out of the tree real quick and ran behind the bait pile. He then poked up his head like he was saying what the @#$% was that!?

Later that day saw an owl land in a tree, so As I was moving my head slightly to get a better look I could see his head and it was moving like it saw something. I thought this is going to be cool and owl grabbing a rodent off the bait pile or something. He swooped down and was flying in my direction, by the time I realized it he was close enought to see Talons open and heading for my face. I yelled with it about 5 feet away, which was enough time to have him change direction. I think he thought my eyes through the camo netting was dinner for the night.

Did see a huge bear but didn't get a shot oppurtunity.

[analyzer]

Ely Lake Expert, uhh, I don't think you're suppose to leave your stand up on public land... just fyi.

I remember watching a pine martin make his way through the grass, and half an hour later come bouncing back with a mouse. Not all that interesting to a reader. But when you're watching it, it sure is fun.

Had a bear walk right under me. At first I was cussing, wondering who brought their black lab out on deer opener.

My buddy came up from Florida to hunt with me last year in Lanesboro. I put him in a ground blind in a pasture, next to thick woods, where the deer jump over the barb wire, to get to the corn across the street.... He spent all morning surrounded by cattle. They were poking their big heads right into his blind, and pushing it around. He was holding one off with his feet, and the other with his hands. Even after they left, one bleat with the doe can, and they were right back to investigate. So that afternoon, he tells me he's not sitting in that blind again... So I took that blind in the afternoon, one rattle and grunt sequence and 20 minutes later I shot a 140 class 10 pointer... lol.

I guess the one for me, isn't even a deer stand episode. My son was at boy scout camp. They're playing some sort of hide-n-seek game after dark. He crawls into this thicket/bush and is trying to be very quiet as his opponents are walking nearby. He's doing that thing where you try to breath quiet, even though you're (Contact Us Please) near out of breath from running... it suddenly occurs to him, he's not the only one in the bush. He VERY S L O W L Y, turns his head to the right, and not more than a few inches from him is a full grown turkey. He's not sure who was in the bush first, but when that thing startled and took off, my son bout crapped his pants.

If you've ever been spooked by a turkey (I was once, down by the lanesboro golf course, walking through the brush and pine trees), they have enormous wing spans and scare the livin shiiit out of you up close.

I love watching the wildlife from my stand. Sometimes I don't have the heart to shoot after watching for a while. I think it's the most fun to sit on a stool, so the deer are at your level. Some of those first year spikers, come up to you and snort, and stomp and get all fussy. It's so much fun.

[Bassboy1645]

Ive watched Rooster pheasents duke it out in hardcore battles...Ive seen nice bucks duke it out and Ive seen bucks mount does. Ive seen several deer "mourn" over a deer I killed prior or at least thats what I thought they were doing. Squirrels, and birds in stand with me and on my gear. Ive heard some strange sounds that I dont know what they were to this day.. Huge bull mose right under my stand sniffing my pegs and itching himself WAY COOL!!! had a baby fawn come up to me and lick/sniff my boots when I was bowhunting on the ground sitting against a tree. grouse, and pine marten have walked by at spitting distances. Ive seen alot! its funny how spooky the woods seem at night on halloween and then u really see stuff!

[TrophyEyes]

Funny tree stand story. One of the older guys in my old group decided to get a climber stand. He was about 58 at the time. He spent the morning in the tree and of course was wearing his harness. As he began to climb down he did so with his harness still attached to the tree, slidding it down all the way. He was almost to the bottom and he decided he could "jump" from 2 feet, because of a low branch preventing him from going any further. He jumped and did not realize he still had his harness on. I darn near wet myself from my tree stand as I see this 58 year old doctor swinging 6 inches off the ground. He was so embarrassed, that we had to come over and lift him back up onto his tree stand. This was 7 years ago and it is still the first comment out of everyones mouth as we head out, "Remember your harness!"

[ddp]

Hey Ely Lake Expert... My dad grew up on Differding Pt. Spent many-o summers there at my grandma's.

Back on the subject

I was bowhunting in the cities (south subs) back in the day and was in stand. Heard a ruckus coming to me.. Turned out to be a young teenage couple out for a stroll. They proceeded to get a little lovey dovey. He kept doing the peak over the shoulder to make sure nobody was watching. One thing led to the other. Without getting too graphic, they ended up doing the whoopy and then went on their way. I was going to do the polite thing by saying something or at least cough but I just couldn't. I couldn't believe my eyes actually. This was all from about 40 yards. Needless to say, I didn't see any deer that evening but oh well.

One more week and counting... can't wait!

Good luck to all and be safe

[Ely Lake Expert]

cool, right around differding point can be some good fishing. From there I live in the next bay past the airport bay.

[ddp]

yup.. we used to troll with rapalas from my grandmas to the point... the old fashion way.... oaring We would catch 3-4 lb bass all day long. To think my grand parents had an outboard motor the whole time but wanted us to burn some energy.

I remember boy back in maybe '85. I was mybe 10 or 12 at the time. My dad and I were fishing. Witnessed a plane taking off, as the always do on that lake... waved at them as they went by, they waved back. My dad mentioned, they barely made it up before shore. A minute later, we heard this loud bang. We packed up and went around the point and the plane had tried to circle back but hit a house in the way in. I remember it was a plane with the single prop of the backside of the cab so the prop was still rotating and shaking the windows on the house. It was sad. Not sure if you were living on the lake at the time.

[Sutty]

I sat on a log turkey hunting one year and a while later had a possum crawl out of it and sit next to me for a while. He ambled off after a while and I spoke up and said let me know if you see any birds. He looked at me like what the bleep are you and scampered.... I also had what I think was a rabbit get smoked by a hawk and started screeching. Scared the [PoorWordUsage] out of me. Loudest thing I have ever heard.

[Ely Lake Expert]

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yup.. we used to troll with rapalas from my grandmas to the point... the old fashion way.... oaring

We would catch 3-4 lb bass all day long. To think my grand parents had an outboard motor the whole time but wanted us to burn some energy.

I remember boy back in maybe '85. I was mybe 10 or 12 at the time. My dad and I were fishing. Witnessed a plane taking off, as the always do on that lake... waved at them as they went by, they waved back. My dad mentioned, they barely made it up before shore. A minute later, we heard this loud bang. We packed up and went around the point and the plane had tried to circle back but hit a house in the way in. I remember it was a plane with the single prop of the backside of the cab so the prop was still rotating and shaking the windows on the house. It was sad. Not sure if you were living on the lake at the time.

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That area can produce alot of big bass. As to the plane crash, I lived on the lake but I was 2 years old at the time. I've seen a few crashes out on the lake, seems like one goes down every couple of summers. I actually saw one crash and sink once while fishing. Kinda scary.

[analyzer]

I think if someone were doing the "whoopy" under my stand, I'd have to throw in a "mind if I join you"...

[spivak]

Just this morning on my stand North of Duluth I watched a coyote chase and catch a snowshoe hare. I heard them crashing through the woods coming my way and I didn't know what to expect. They circled under my stand three times before disappearing just out of sight and then I heard the hare scream as the coyote caught it.

[UMDSportsman]

Yesterday I was in the woods from sun up to sun down. i was walking around slowly around mid day. 5-15 mph wind, perfect for covering your sound if you go slow enough. Walked up on a doe and a fawn, doe within 20 yards. A rabbit comes running by me, less than a foot away from me. less than 20 seconds later what i think was a pine martin comes along trailling the rabbit. With those two making that much noise my be, the doe outlines me and takes off.

[LoonASea]

Several years ago while bow hunting along a ridge near the Mn./Wi border ,,I heard a lot of racket coming over the ridge , My first thought was do I have enought arrows???? Then a big sow and 3 cubs come a rambling over the ridge and down near the deer trail where I had my stand set ,,,I had traversed the ridge to get to my stand while trying to play the wind right and when that sow picked up my scent about 20 yards away she stopped on a dime ,,,but her cubs didnt and each one plowed right into her,,,seeing this was comical but the noise they made was even better ,,,it wasnt long and moma wheeled around at took off back where she came from with the cubs still dazed and confused right behind her.

Years before that while walking to my morning stand (in the dark) I had something run over my boot ,,,that only made me pass gas ,,looking up I see an owl about 3 feet away in hot persuit of what ever ran over my boot (I got a close look at some really sharp talons) well this time it wasnt gas,,, I had partly sharted ,,,,needless to say I want up in stand by shooting light .

Randoid

[Bandit]

The coolest

I was on my way to the stand one nice afternoon a few years ago and saw something in a tree ahead,I figured it was a porcupine and never gave it another thought. The next time I looked at it I was maybe 10 yards away and it turns out it's a bear cub! Talk about getting nervouse in a hurry. After a few frantic seconds looking for mom I finally spotted her on the other side of a blow down. She was staring hard at me, so I backed away slowly, but she never moved. When I made it back 25 yards or so I just stopped and watched. It was so cool. The cub was whining and wanted to come down and when he would start to she would woof at him and back up he would go. After about an half hour she finally let him come down, but then they both laid at the base of the tree, paying no attention to me no matter what I did. [Which did not include trying to get closer.] I would snap branches and throw sticks, no reaction at all. But everytime she heard something else her head would pop up and she would look around and sniff. I have seen lots of neet stuff in the woods including 2 wolves and 2 bobcats, but this took the cake. I spent a good 2 hours sitting there taking it all in. Never once did they attempt to move until I started walking away. When I got about 50 yards away they both got up and ambled off in the other direction and never looked back.

The funniest.

I have an uncle that likes to take a nap in the afternoon sun. One day I saw him leaning up againt a tree with his rifle across his lap and decided to see how close I could get. The woods were really quiet and I made it all the way to his tree and sat down beside him. After a few minutes to make sure he was fast asleep I said in a pretty loud tone. "seeing anything" He jumped up, dropping his rifle in the process and was looking for whoever snuck up on him. I started laughing and he looked down to see I had been sitting right next to him. I thought he was going to shoot me!

[Jim916]

The funniest thing I have seen while deer hunting was a few years ago while I was bowhunting. I heard something coming my way that was making a lot of noise. It was a doe and two fawns and they ran past my stand and stopped about 20 yds away. The momma came up to one of the fawns and took her hoof and hit him on top of the head. Just like a mother would do to a kid misbehaving.

[ddp]

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I think if someone were doing the "whoopy" under my stand, I'd have to throw in a "mind if I join you"...

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I was going to give them a 20 spot for the entertainment

[B@ssmaster]

I've had a couple of interesting things happen, but probably the most improbable thing I actually witnessed TWICE. Last year bow hunting and again this year. Both times I was sitting in the tree quietly, does with fawns wander up taking their time browsing, bedding down, milling about, etc, just doing the normal stuff they do. At some point during this process, each doe was stung on the nose by a wasp/hornet/bee of some sort. Both times that was followed by lots of jumping around, snorting, sneezing, scratching with both the front and rear hooves. Pretty comical. And each time the fawns just stand there watching mom go into these weird gyrations, looking pretty confused. Two years in a row! What are the odds?

P.S. I make it a point to stay away from that tree stump area they were both checking out.....must be a recurring ground nest of something there....

[B@ssmaster]

I have also played peek-a-boo with a family of flying squirrels that lived in a tree cavity about 20 feet in front of one of my stands. They would try to sneak in or out of the cavity without being seen. They'd sit back in the cavity and purposly wait until we looked away before making thier move. Once we figured that out, we'd start turning our heads to trigger thier move, but keep our eyes locked on the cavity. Smart little buggers. We did this ritual every morning and evening just at first light/last of the fading light for several years until the dead tree came down.

Also managed to feed many chickadees and nuthatches by hand (I bring a baggie of bird seed on occasion just for the entertainment value on slow days.) Taught my son how to do that too when he was only 5 or so, he'd come out and sit in the stand with me on nice days. Kept him entertained when the birds would land on him, me, the rifle, railings, boots, heads, etc. We had one bird one year with a feather out of place on it's back that we were able to re-arrange for it because it got so comfortable landing in our hands. Was weird......but fun....

[MnHuntinKid08]

ok, iv got another one...

What is the highest you've ever seen a whitetail deer jump? i mean, we all know they can jump pretty high, but whats the highest? well i think iv seen it...

last year i was doing a deer drive to my cousin. about 10 deer were running down this fence line that belonged to a local power company, which was about 8 feet tall with barbed wire on top of it. the deer got to within 100 yards of my cousin when they saw him. they turned back and started running towards me. when they saw me, they started to panic... there were deer running all over the place until the only place they could escape was running right past me or right past my cousin.

so the 9 does went running right past my cousin within about 5 feet of him... but we werent trying to shoot does, wwe wanted this nice 8 pointer that we had seen earlier that week. so just when i thought all the deer were gone, i see him. the nice 8 pointer was standing directly between me and my cousin, deciding which way to run. All of a sudden he takes off charging right at the fence-line. for a second i thought he couldnt see the fence and that he was gonna run right into it. but just before he hit it, he leaped! i swear to god he cleared that fence by six inches!!! and ran off into the woods...

IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING IV EVER SEEN!!!

[frummybear]

I was hunting up north last year and could hear something either Timberwolves or Coyotes. The brush is really thick and you can't see more than 100yards any direction you look from the stand. It was starting to get a little dark and could hear the howling and fighting over the food. I could even hear the growling and this is all coming from the direction I needed to walk out of the woods. It is almost pitch black and the growling has stopped for about 10 minutes so I am about to get down. As soon as I go to grab the gun and get down I hear noise again and look and there is a pack of 6 T- Wolves heading right down the logging trail I am suppose to walk on. I waited and they walked right by and didn't pick up my scent. I was getting pretty worried since it was pretty dark when they finally finished up dinner, just glad they weren't looking for desert!!