Unique things you remember

[MT STEVE]

Well that snapper should have had some nice marbling in his prime cuts ! 

[Archie]

My first ever deer bowhunting trip... Back in the mid-90's, someone told me I could hunt on their land, and that no one else was allowed to hunt there.  I had zip-zero experience deer hunting.  They loaned me a hang-on stand and a handful of screw-in tree steps.  I went out long before dark, had never been on the property before, and fumbled around until I found a tree near an obvious deer trail.  I'm a bit afraid of heights, but figured that for a tree stand, the higher the better, so I screwed in all the steps and put the stand as high as I could.  It was pretty high.  Sweating, clumsy, and very awkward... and holding onto that tree for dear life, I climbed up and got situated in the stand and tied a rope from my waist to the tree.  Got my bow ready and put an arrow on the string.  After about 10 minutes I realized I had to pee really, really bad but hadn't noticed it in all the commotion of getting into the stand.  I figured I'd better do it quick, before it got too light out, so I went through the whole awkward exercise again and climbed down out of the tree.  I walked about 30 yards away to the base of another tree, took a leak, and went back to my tree.  I climbed up again, hugging that tree, terrified that I would fall, and got all situated.  I'm sure I looked pretty silly doing all that.  So... anyway... I decided to look over and see just how far away I had gone to relieve myself, and I saw a guy sitting in the tree I had relieved myself on.  He had been watching me silently all that time.  Disgusted, embarrassed, and mad about being so close to another hunter, I immediately took down the stand and the steps and went home.  I'm sure that guy still tells the story about watching me that day.

[TooManyHobbies]

About 20 years ago,  I watched a gray fox climb an oak tree. He went up approximately 12-15'. No limbs for another 20' and barely any lean to the tree. Climbed up just like a cat, then backed down. I didn't see a bird or squirrel,  so no idea why he chose to climb that tree. I thought it was a cat, until it came my way and stopped at 10 yards from the tree I was in.

[mj seratt]

Yeah, too many hobbies.  My best friend as a teenager once shot a gray fox out of a tree.  Neither of us had ever heard they could climb.

Murray

[rvrbtm]

September 2020 a buddy and myself were doing an archery elk hunt in the Moffat/Routt areas of arid Northwest Colorado. We were doing a trespass fee unguided hunt on a private sheep ranch. The temperatures that week were in the upper seventies to lower eighties. We focused on small stock ponds that still held water. The ranch manager had placed blinds constructed of steel posts and burlap at the ponds. On the fourth day I hiked about three miles into a pond we had not hunted.when I arrived in early afternoon the so d was 180 degrees wrong to use the blind. I setup in some tall sage brush on the opposite side from the blind. I settled in on my three leg stool and watched the trail coming down the mountain through the scrub oaks. Mid afternoon a large black bear ambled down the trail and drank from the pond. After drinking he promptly walked straight to the blind and stuck his face into the shooting opening. Walked around to the side and the left back up the trail. Later a striped skunk came down the trail and drank while being harassed by a flock of magpies. They were relentless and after he drank the skunk ran under the side of the blind to escape the tormentors. And no I don't know how I would have reacted had i been in the blind when those critters showed up. Mike

[Vroomvroom]

I've guided all my adult life.   Though I have very few bowhunting memories. There just weren't many bowhunters.   I do remember one time however, a group of guys came bowhunting.  The truest bow hunter of them all, who , in his 40s 30 years ago, had never shot a gun.  Would only use a bow or nothing.   We were hunting for a moose but they had a bear tag as well.  We suddenly ran into a bear about 40 yards away.  He had an old compound at that time .  The bear was broad side.  He drew his bow, and missed the bear by 37 yards.  ...........the arrow dropping only a few feet away when his limb broke.    We came across two moose an hour later and he had to use his friends gun. He didn't know how to use the bolt on it.    He did get the moose. But not with the bow.