That Feeling when.......

[GOSHENGRUNTER]

Let's hear some stories about when you got "That Feeling"- when something wasn't right, when you felt like something or someone was watching you- you guys know what I'm talking about! I'll start it off

I've had more than my fair share of "that feeling" -

One that stands out: October 2004, Kwazulunatal, South Africa:

At this point, I'm well into my apprentice PH program. I've spent the last 12 days or so with one particular client and PH tracking a giant African Lion. My job varied from glorified gopher to bush shaker to rifle rest to safety gunner. Another Job thrust upon my young shoulders was helping the trackers hang lion baits.

Lion baits are basically a young antelope, usually an impala due to their prevalence, hung by the horns from a tree about 20 feet up. While one unlucky person got to strap a 100# animal on their back and climb a tree, the others would cut "justwait thorn" and place it around the base of the tree. Justwait is a nasty thorn with a backbiting tooth. Once it hooks you, you JUST WAIT to be freed or else you risk serious physical harm. The reason for placing the thorn around the tree is that it catches a lion's mane so you can see how long the mane hair is and decide if you want to hunt/track this lion. An African Trail Cam if you will.

For this bait set, it was my turn to climb a baobab tree with a bait tied to my back. Timba and Vincent (the trackers) tied the young impala ram to my back and I began to climb. We (mostly them) played a little game where the thorn cutters try to cut enough thorns before the bait guy ties the animal up and gets down. This game led to many comical nights around the camp fire pouring whiskey on surgically removed thorn holes in skin.

I was on a roll and almost done hanging the bait when something didn't feel right. I looked down and saw 1 or 2 paltry sprigs of thorn bush under the baobab, but no trackers. I tied my last knot and looked around. The hair stood up on my arms and neck. Something was very wrong. The trackers would never leave me...

"Scccreeeeeeeecccchhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Ey umuntu ngiphuthume ! pubis uyeza . Thola phansi! - My Zulu still wasn't great but I gathered something about "Hey a lion, get down now!"

I looked from my perch about 15 feet up the baobab and saw the white safari truck screaming towards me. Another PH was pointing his rifle at me while my two tracker buddies were waving me towards the truck. Sensing the gravity of the situation, I jumped from the tree, yes from 15 feet. With nothing broken I darted towards the truck. "BOOM! BOOM!" The PH screamed a few profanities in Afrikaanse while he fired his .375 magnum directly over my head and I dove into the back of the moving truck. Timba made sure I was secured in the bed of the truck and pointed towards the tree I was just in. Standing on the limb I jumped from was a huge lioness. Under the tree were 2 more.

Narrowly escaping I remember that "feeling" well. On a warm September day I still get goose bumps on occasion perched in my deer stand. That wasn't the first and certainly wasn't the last "feeling" during my APH stay in Africa. I may write another one up tonight...a few more are sworn to secrecy. ;-)

 

[RICMIC]

GOSEN , short of going toe to toe with a Griz, it'll be hard to match that story on this continent. Although, I did have a Chickadee land on my nose and scared the crap out of me once.

 

[go_deep]

One time when I was a kid on my parents dairy farm back in Wisconsin I was cleaning calf pens and a mouse ran up the inside of my pant leg and bit my sack as I proceeded to punch myself in the junk to kill it, I know pretty crazy I've never had to go to a therapist either. Sir if I ever meet you in person I'd love to just sit around and hear stories like that all day. I agree you set the bar so high that there isn't many stories that will come close to comparing to a pride of lions breathing down your neck.

 

[Work2hunt]

No lion story, but back when I lived in MN growing up I was tending a bear bait and was in the middle of a honey burn when I felt something was right. I stood up slowly and looked above the brush and there no more than 10 feet was a 200 lb bear.......I know this by the distinctive white crest on his chest that I saw 5 days later when I shot him with my bow. In the time it took me to unholster the 44 I was carrying he turned and ran as fast away from me as he could. I think he was just as startled as I was.

 

[ivorytip]

that makes me want to read death in the long grass again! good crap! I was on a scouting trip/solo a few years back, on Idaho side close to Utah border in diamond creek zone. i was in middle of nowhere in to territory to me, sun had just started to set on a late summer evening and a thunderstorm settled in for the night. i found safe cover and set up bivy and crashed down for a long long scary night. its true what they say.... boogy man only comes out when you are alone and after the sun goes down....

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Once when I was in the army and out on bivouac, my buddy and I were sharing a two man pup tent. In the middle of the night, a skunk entered the floorless tent under one of the side panels. Me being the brave person that I am, immediately pulled the sleeping bag over my head and left my buddy to fight off the skunk. Needless to say, we stunk up the camp for days afterwards.

 

[missjordan]

We we're in southwest mt for opening rifle season for antelope. We set our wall tent up that weekend to sleep in. That night we were in the middle of cooking dinner when a awful storm rolled in and started ripping the stakes up. We spent an hour running around the inside hammering and rehammering down all the stakes and holding the door from blowing in.Eventually one of our group members took the vehicles and atvs and drove them over the stakes so we didn't loose the tent and as a windbreaker. The tent floor came loose on the side the wind wasn't directly blowing and starting flopping around but we didn't manage to blow away that night! I was nervous the tent was going to come apart and all we'd be left with was the floor and all our camping gear In the dark. That was a fairly interesting experience


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[Againstthewind]

Cool stories! We were hiking in Glacier when I got that funny feeling. The trail turned into some pretty thick willows. Something snorted and we turned tail pretty quickly. We never saw what it was so not terribly exciting story, but it was one of those instances where we kindof felt something there before we heard the snort.

I have also made the mistake of feeding a grayjay/camp robber a piece of my orange while hunting. He tried to take the next bite right out of my mouth. So I know how scary those birds can be RICMIC.

 

[coloradoshedhead]

Was bowhunting elk once when I hiked up from the truck about 300 yards and sat for the evening to sit and check out the elk activity. Just about dark I spotted a mountain lion perched on a rock outcropping on the top of the ridge above me about 600 yards.

I was younger and decided hey that's cool let's see what happens when I send out a cow call. So I did and that cat perked up, looked dead at me, jumped off that rock, and started down the hill straight in my direction. Realizing how dumb of a move that was I don't think I have ended a hunt that quick. If you saw me moving down the hill at that speed you'd think I was being chased by 1000# grizzly.

Anyhow, it wasn't an african lioness on my trail but the puma looking for it's next meal heading in my direction was as close to a sketchy situation that I've ever been a part of.

 

[alaska2go]

Living in alaska i have several stories with encounters with the great bears of the north. When i first moved up here I really never gave it much thought of running into grizzly bears because I figured 98% of the time they would turn tail & run like hell away from me. I have been in alaska for 12 years now and my mind set has drastically changed from I first moved here. I'll give 1 encounter of several I have had.

It was the moose season of 2005 and we had 4 guys in camp including myself. We agreed that we would harvest 2 moose and split the meat among the 4 of us. We had killed our 2 moose and them hanging about 30 yards from camp thinking nothing would be brave enough to try to take them. Boy were we wrong.

The morning of day 6 I roll out of my tent first and started to make coffee and look over to the meat pole and noticed some quarters of our moose missing. I got the guys up and we went over to the meat and seen a big grizz tracks under the meat and where he carried off 2 of the quarters. We instantly got our guns and started to track the grizz into the alders. I told the guy behind me to put one in the chamber and look around like a linbacker with his head on a swivel while I keep tracking the bear. If any of you guys been to alaska you know how dense the alders can be. Creeping along tracking the bear I came upon one of the front quarters half eaten. I immediately went on high alert. We soon come upon the 2nd hind quarter with the proof of sex eaten off of it. We gathered the 2 quarters and hauled them back to camp. A hair raising experience for me but, not the end of the bear.


That night we built a big fire and came up with a game plan if the grizz was to return. While we coming up with the plan one of the guys had a bottle of jack daniels and we commenced to drink it. It was midnight when 2 of the guys decided to turn in with me and another guy stayed up shotin the sh*@ and still drinking the jack. The fire was burning down and we stood up to go to bed when I heard a branch break. I instantly sh*@ the bear is here. I told the guy i was with to get the flash light & I would get my rifle. We got together wispering to one another & told him on the count of 3 he would shine the flash light over to the area of the meat & I would shoudler my rifle to get ready to shot. What happen next was a completely sobering moment I mean literally! The flash light went on and he scanning the area when we seen this grizz with a hind leg in his mouth like a pit bull with a bone. He was staring right at us . I really didn't have much of a shot but staight into his chest. I squeezed the trigger but it went " CLICK" sh*@ I forgot to put a round into the chamber. So I loaded a round in and sent it. The bear collapsed right there. Holly sh*@ I said did you just see that ? The 2 other guys woke to the gun shot and came out of the tent in a freenzy. We were talking and the guy with the flash shined over to the bear to show the other 2 and the grizz started to get his feet under him and they all started to yell shot him again. I shot again this time to put him down for good.

Now this feeling is one from feeling good and no pain to pure adrenaline & sober in a matter of minutes. I had the shakes so bad I couldn't controll myself. It was like having hyperthermia. It is amazing to me how that big grizz could be sooo quiet while he was trying to steal our meat.

 

[coloradoshedhead]

Living in alaska i have several stories with encounters with the great bears of the north. When i first moved up here I really never gave it much thought of running into grizzly bears because I figured 98% of the time they would turn tail & run like hell away from me. I have been in alaska for 12 years now and my mind set has drastically changed from I first moved here. I'll give 1 encounter of several I have had.

It was the moose season of 2005 and we had 4 guys in camp including myself. We agreed that we would harvest 2 moose and split the meat among the 4 of us. We had killed our 2 moose and them hanging about 30 yards from camp thinking nothing would be brave enough to try to take them. Boy were we wrong.

The morning of day 6 I roll out of my tent first and started to make coffee and look over to the meat pole and noticed some quarters of our moose missing. I got the guys up and we went over to the meat and seen a big grizz tracks under the meat and where he carried off 2 of the quarters. We instantly got our guns and started to track the grizz into the alders. I told the guy behind me to put one in the chamber and look around like a linbacker with his head on a swivel while I keep tracking the bear. If any of you guys been to alaska you know how dense the alders can be. Creeping along tracking the bear I came upon one of the front quarters half eaten. I immediately went on high alert. We soon come upon the 2nd hind quarter with the proof of sex eaten off of it. We gathered the 2 quarters and hauled them back to camp. A hair raising experience for me but, not the end of the bear.


That night we built a big fire and came up with a game plan if the grizz was to return. While we coming up with the plan one of the guys had a bottle of jack daniels and we commenced to drink it. It was midnight when 2 of the guys decided to turn in with me and another guy stayed up shotin the sh*@ and still drinking the jack. The fire was burning down and we stood up to go to bed when I heard a branch break. I instantly sh*@ the bear is here. I told the guy i was with to get the flash light & I would get my rifle. We got together wispering to one another & told him on the count of 3 he would shine the flash light over to the area of the meat & I would shoudler my rifle to get ready to shot. What happen next was a completely sobering moment I mean literally! The flash light went on and he scanning the area when we seen this grizz with a hind leg in his mouth like a pit bull with a bone. He was staring right at us . I really didn't have much of a shot but staight into his chest. I squeezed the trigger but it went " CLICK" sh*@ I forgot to put a round into the chamber. So I loaded a round in and sent it. The bear collapsed right there. Holly sh*@ I said did you just see that ? The 2 other guys woke to the gun shot and came out of the tent in a freenzy. We were talking and the guy with the flash shined over to the bear to show the other 2 and the grizz started to get his feet under him and they all started to yell shot him again. I shot again this time to put him down for good.

Now this feeling is one from feeling good and no pain to pure adrenaline & sober in a matter of minutes. I had the shakes so bad I couldn't controll myself. It was like having hyperthermia. It is amazing to me how that big grizz could be sooo quiet while he was trying to steal our meat.

That is what is wrong with society today moose theiving grizzly bears!
Na, thats a great story something not many people will fatham ever being a part of.