How close

[lokidog]

I flew over a duck hunting area during season years ago.  Those hunters with face masks and camo paint seemed to just disappear in the grass while the white faces almost seemed to come up off the ground and scream, "Here I am!"  Really changed my attitude toward face camo. 

Larry D. Jones face camo is the stuff!!  Easy to apply, lasts a long time without drying up, easy to remove, but stays in place well.  I'm a big fan of Dead Downwind but their face camo is probably the worst I've used!  Let your face get scruffy and the camo holds much better too

I like using a netting face mask rather than paint because it helps keep the bugs out of my ears.  I never, ever, ever, can figure out how these guys with no masks/paint or gloves get near ducks or other animals.

Weathergirl snuck up on a doe out here once in the middle of the road.  The deer was so focused on something it payed her no attention.  It wasn't until she was less than three feet away from the doe that she had second thoughts about getting that close, then backed away.   

[RadSav]

I found a sick/blind/high/Orr dumb whitetail in idaho once...started off seeking up on it to see how close I could get...made a few mistakes and noticed it never noticed me...I ended up walk up to it an touching it..gave it a few scratches behind the ear an went on my way...it never once looked at me an was shivering pretty bad
Felt bad for it really

So many lost photo opportunities

Reminds me of the "Not so Angry Spike" clip from Angry Spike Productions. 

Unfortunately those sick and/or old animals will likely have a slow horrifying death at the hands of some predator.  Mother nature can be a cruel beach some times!  In the past 35 years I have sacrificed about a half dozen tags on animals where I felt it more humane to use my tag on a less than goal animal than to let nature take it's course.  Probably another half dozen I would have liked to, but no season was open or I did not have the appropriate tag in my pocket.

Just this past weekend I had a cow elk that was horribly effected by hoof rot.  She was on her feet, but holy smokes was she hurting badly    If it hadn't been for it being past legal shooting light I could have easily just walked up to her and put her down.  I saw the coyotes that were following before I saw her.  They were just waiting and bird dogging her.  What a terrible way to go!  We tried to find her the next day, but were unable to.  I'm thinking with the snow that night the dogs probably took her down after she entered the thick brush.

[pianoman9701]

I've been sniffed by calves and deer. Bull running straight into me and stopping at about 3 yards. The only animals I haven't let get too close are moose.

[kentrek]

The not so angry spike looked to be drugged, but yeap pretty similar...my whitetail experience was just as the wolves werected getting bad as welll....can't imagine going like that

Back to the topic another very spooky experience was walking up to a cougar I shot....it was sliding down a pretty steep hill, went to grab it...still alive..that was a pretty scary moment on a critter I'd rather not be next to while it's alive

[RadSav]

Back to the topic another very spooky experience was walking up to a cougar I shot....it was sliding down a pretty steep hill, went to grab it...still alive..that was a pretty scary moment on a critter I'd rather not be next to while it's alive

    

Cats make me nervous!  I get ripped to shreds by a house cat at 10 pounds.  Can't imagine getting pounced on by a cat 10 to 15 times that size!

[kentrek]

http://youtu.be/o-oVhu2fu20

 

[RadSav]

http://youtu.be/o-oVhu2fu20

Nasty ball of fur there. Would have been real funny if the Pinocchio PJ's were Hello Kitty PJ's

[_TONY_]

I reached out and poked a doe that wouldn't get out of my way while hunting mule deer about a week ago... She didn't give two rats a..'s that I was there and just kept munching on buck brush...

[xXLojackXx]

The cow I stuck this year was at 8 feet. I called her away from the herd with some sort of a distressed urgent calf call and she came RUNNING. I heard her well before I saw her, so I drew back and waited. She came into sight running as fast as an elk could down through tall timber. She didn't stop running directly, and I mean directly, at me until I stuck her at 8 feet. I figured that was close enough.

[biggfish]

I had a doe walk into me in the fog and spooked. I got kicked in the jaw and still have half a broken tooth in my mouth.

[Elkrunner]

4 years ago I was following a herd of elk.  The went through some thick brush to a meadow and were hanging out.  I had to crawl through the brush and didn't realize that the 6x6 bull was in it until I damn near crawled into his feet.  He was about 3 feet from me when he started bashing the brush almost right above my head.  I froze in that position for about 5 minutes until he turn and walked away.

[JJB11B]

I have a picture on my cell of a fawn that walked up to me last year while I was getting ready to lock my truck and crawl into my tree stand. I'll dig it up later

[pd]

I had a close encounter with 2 stupid spikes less than a month ago, the last day of rifle elk season.  I was up on a washed out roadbed, perhaps 10 yards above the creek.  I spotted a spike walking downriver in the shallow water.  3-point or better area, so I had no shot.  I looked hard at him anyway through my scope, just to be sure (old eyes).  While I was watching him (he never saw me, even though I was not in brush, and only 10 yards up and 10 yards away), his buddy Even Dumberer walked right up to me, on the road bed.  This 2nd spike was less than 1 yard away when I finally turned my head to shoo him away.  He still never bolted, but slowly walked past.  Had I had a machete I could have stabbed him, he was that close.

No special clothing (hunter orange, very bright), no scent control.  Just be still, don't make any noise and don't move.

[Bullkllr]

Several years ago when I had an Olympic archery permit I had a pretty cool experience.

I had seen a herd of at least 50 animals from a distance. Followed their sign down into a deep dark timbered draw. It was afternoon, so I backed out and let them rest. Went back toward evening to see if I could get on them. Took a newly-built road that went down the draw. Near the end of the road I saw elk coming toward me in the timber. I knew pretty quickly it was the herd from earlier.

They came pretty fast, but were calm/feeding. There was a line of stumps pushed to the side of the road, so I hunkered down next to one near the opening I figured they'd walk out of. Wind was mild and perfect. They got closer and I started seeing elk. Soon they were coming out of the opening 10-15 yards away- as well as right next to the stump I was crouched against, one after another at a range of 1-2 feet.
 
Most were feeding in the new grass along the road, milling all around me. Many were close enough to touch. A few looked right at me and even stopped and looked concerned, but went right back to milling/feeding. I could see individual grass blades getting ripped out of the ground. It crossed my mind (I was basically surrounded at close range) that if they spooked I could actually be trampled.

At least half the herd passed right next to me. They milled around as I remained frozen next to the stump for many minutes, waiting for a bull to appear. None did. I could hear more elk on the edge of the timber behind my stump, so when I had an opening I stood and drew- figuring a bull would be standing there- nope. The herd spooked and trotted off down the road...the ground shook pretty good IIRC.

[bur04024]

All of your stories make me jealous! It gives me hope that I will one day figure out where the animals like to hide, and be able to blend right into their surroundings. I admit I started looking at rifles today because I was lamenting the fact that I have not been able to get close enough to shoot with my bow. But these encounters give me hope.