Intruiging encounter lastnight

[RadHimself]

Long story short, was out in the west koots hunting

setup camp on the east shore of aarow lake at a provincial campground, took off for the day came back shortly before dark, built a fire, heated up a sandwich and some rice, crawled into my tent, laid in bed and read for awhile, lights out. Hear the odd animal in the brush and out on the sand (i never fully pass out when camping, extremely light sleeper in the bush) nothing crazy.

get up the next morning, relight fire, warm up, get dressed and bail out on the quad, returning shortly after dark (7pm ish)

light a fire, heat and eat a sandwich, crawl into tent, colder night (wensday night) so stoked fire (large rock wall up against a concrete lock block, no chance of it going anywhere) id picked up 3 birch logs on the way down, all 3 were soaking wet, layed them across the coals, by the time id gotten comfortable and laying down, fire was barely visible through my tent wall and audibly popping less. It started to rain, this carried on for approx. half hour or so it started to die off, the odd tap on my tent fly from the drops. I heard a rustle in the brush about 30’ or so away, then the “ping” of something tapping my atv ramps on my tailgate (truck was parked infront of my tent, approx 5’ away from me, above my head) hearing the ping, i decided to roll on my side to make a bit of noise… instantly SNAP! Right above my head… instant adrenalin rush, pulse pounding in my ears… didnt move, heard a slight tap of a sumthing to my front (quad was parked next to picnic table about 3’ away in that direction) another SNAP right infront of me, then a few minutes after that another SNAP below me (fire pit and concrete barricade about 4’ in that direction) this in about a 30 minute time span, i hear the odd twig snap, no animal noises, just the incredible unspoken voice saying “dont f^c&ing move” in my head… my arm is going numb and its been awhile, no noise, so i decide to roll back on my back… instantly SNAP by my feet and this time i hear water hit the tent fly (spit?) then back to the odd twig snap, check my phone its 12:32… i adjust my head, an animal runs from what sounds like behind my quad, rubs against the tent on the way by and off into the brush… i dont think it was the same animal doing the snapping… size wise sounded like a coyote

im assuming this was a close encounter with a bear? Ive had them come in and investigate, but usually hear them sniffing and such

this guy was on me, came in against the wind, had the feelin if i made noise he was gonna jump the tent

scared the hell outta me lol

WHAT A RUSH!!!


thoughts?

[Dannybuoy]

Tracks will answer that question with no doubt

[boilerroom]

get a Packalarm :)

[stugatz]

Sasquatch or mother-in-law

[Whipper Billy]

Half Moon - Could be a late season golfer whacking away in the rough?

Kid with a cap gun?

Not Grizz as I'm told their numbers are so far down they can't be found.

Not Bigfoot as they always screech at me and throw rocks.

So most likely the guys that do crop circles.
Yes - aliens - looking for catalytic converters and heated recliner bucket seats.
Their vessels are what we refer to as the Draconid meteor shower.
Now that their light show is over (Oct. 9) some are working with Dave Paulides to add chapters to his Missing 411 series while the others create the aurora borealis northen lights (Oct.12).

I guess we'll find out in the morning if "RadHimself" fit their profile and has been taken and subjected to disco music for eternity.

[Rayne]

It’s not a nice feeling knowing something is lurking out side your tent. I was on a boat in Roosevelt elk hunt last year and we were in a tent on a logging pullout and had a grizzly come by the tent the one night. Thought it was a deer till we heard it growl. Scariest thing I’ve experienced. Worst part was knowing we had to go out and shoo it away. So grabbed the rifles and out we went. But he has already booked it into the woods. Let off a couple of shotgun rounds and back to sleep. No more bear visits for us.

[fuzzybiscuit]

I had a Porky scare the crap out of us for a couple nights on one trip before we finally figured out what it was. Hard ground so no tracks. Amazing the amount of noise he made.

[browningboy]

Next time turn on you truck alarm possibly, like when the horn goes off and lights go on? Scare the shit out of it possibly?

[RadHimself]

Ground was hard, not much for sign other then a scratch mark about 6” long didnt analyze the whole area just my campsite, got up at daylight lit a fire & walked the beach, all kind of varied sign out there

i DID have my rifle but seeing as how it was just snapping and not pokin around wasnt much point, it was right outside my tent pitch black… start wildly shooting? Hit my truck or quad… no thanks, no paw marks on my truck, quad or table which usually bears are crawlin all over sniffin around

Dead silent too, other then the jaw snaps

Maybe it was angry locals tryin to scare me

[Bustercluck]

That’s spooky.

That’s why I always have a few drinks before bed and throw some ear plugs in. It’s none of my business what’s going on outside my tent while I sleep.

[Redthies]

Half Moon - Could be a late season golfer whacking away in the rough?

Kid with a cap gun?

Not Grizz as I'm told their numbers are so far down they can't be found.

Not Bigfoot as they always screech at me and throw rocks.

So most likely the guys that do crop circles.
Yes - aliens - looking for catalytic converters and heated recliner bucket seats.
Their vessels are what we refer to as the Draconid meteor shower.
Now that their light show is over (Oct. 9) some are working with Dave Paulides to add chapters to his Missing 411 series while the others create the aurora borealis northen lights (Oct.12).

I guess we'll find out in the morning if "RadHimself" fit their profile and has been taken and subjected to disco music for eternity.

Jelvis?????

[Haydenmk]

Sounds like something was in a tree by your tent, maybe a bird or bear? I would have hopped out the tent with the 12GA just to check on things.

[BRvalley]

my guess is porcupine, i've scared them off middle of night and they are back 20 mins later, an entire family of them, repeat this cycle several times.....and then in the morning my E locker doesn't work and have a small coolant leak lol

[ACE]

Flathead early elk hunt. Noise outside the zippered door flaps of our wall tent. Rolled onto the floor, rifle close by, gently lifted the bottom of the still zippered door and was nose to nose with Mr. Porcupine . . .

[northof49]

scared the hell outta me lol

WHAT A RUSH!!!


thoughts?

Lucky you survived!! I would have just barged out with the peacemaker to see what was going on. Have done so quite a few times in ginch, unlaced boots, headlamp with rifle ready to do battle. Can’t stand lying there in suspense and rather be on the offensive if stuffs gonna go sideways.

Funny story…..first date with my now wife was camping and tenting it.…and one of the rare times I didn’t have a firearm with. We had pulled in pretty late in the dark at a lake in the boonies, pitched tent and heated up some pre-cooked elk ribs on a fire. Tasty and off to sleep it is. Middle of night I get poked and she whispers hey something is out there….half groggy I figure yaya just mice. Sure enuf I hear huffing and snuffling noises right close by. Darn it says I…yup def something out there rummaging around and sounding very bear like. Now she is clinging to me like last weeks underwear saying what now??

So this is one of those times that defines you. You can wither and lose the girl or man-up and go out and go get chewed but still look like a hero. Well hero it was gonna be then….so ginch and boots it is and armed with one of those 2ft maglites that were all the rage back in the day. Time to get it on!! Blew outta that tent to do battle and sure enuf theres a great big black bear…..no wait a second….it was a great big black dog….a newfie to be exact…big bastid to. Looked just like a black bear in the flashlight beam until he came over and started slobbering all over me. LoL….relief….way better than battling a bear with that maglight. Girly was so impressed she became my wife. Yup…defining moments :)

[bcsteve]

Should have set up a trail cam.

[Phila]

3 years ago, up on the Muskwa. Get up in the dark, have something to eat and start climbing up the mountainside. My partner is up higher and I’m bringing up the rear. Pause to catch my breath part way up and I hear heavy breathing, and it’s right behind me, almost on my heels. Uhoh, better deal with this, so I turn around slowly and it’s one of the dogs, got away from camp and came up after us.

[hawk-i]

Had an encounter with a Lynx last week, it swam across the pine river came on shore about 50 yards from me...it walks into 25 yards I stand to let it know I'm there. It squats down, I try to scare it away and it take a few steps towards me. I threw a hunk on wood at it and it slowly passes me to the side to get down wind.

About an hour later I give a Elk Bugle and the Lynx jumps up on a log about 15 yards down wind of me, we stare at each other for about 2 minutes and it jumps back off the log and disappears into the bush on the small Island.

All the time the wife is saying kill it, kill it, she's thinking it's going to eat her...lol

Strangest reaction I've ever got from a wild cat to date...after thinking this over the only thing that would make sense is someone has been feeding this animal and it was hoping for a free meal.

All's well that ends well :)

[RadHimself]

Porcupines snap their jaws?

[wildcatter]

Lucky you survived!! I would have just barged out with the peacemaker to see what was going on. Have done so quite a few times in ginch, unlaced boots, headlamp with rifle ready to do battle. Can’t stand lying there in suspense and rather be on the offensive if stuffs gonna go sideways.

Funny story…..first date with my now wife was camping and tenting it.…and one of the rare times I didn’t have a firearm with. We had pulled in pretty late in the dark at a lake in the boonies, pitched tent and heated up some pre-cooked elk ribs on a fire. Tasty and off to sleep it is. Middle of night I get poked and she whispers hey something is out there….half groggy I figure yaya just mice. Sure enuf I hear huffing and snuffling noises right close by. Darn it says I…yup def something out there rummaging around and sounding very bear like. Now she is clinging to me like last weeks underwear saying what now??

So this is one of those times that defines you. You can wither and lose the girl or man-up and go out and go get chewed but still look like a hero. Well hero it was gonna be then….so ginch and boots it is and armed with one of those 2ft maglites that were all the rage back in the day. Time to get it on!! Blew outta that tent to do battle and sure enuf theres a great big black bear…..no wait a second….it was a great big black dog….a newfie to be exact…big bastid to. Looked just like a black bear in the flashlight beam until he came over and started slobbering all over me. LoL….relief….way better than battling a bear with that maglight. Girly was so impressed she became my wife. Yup…defining moments :)

Haha the hero with a maglight, I got one of those.
Once on a solo hunt up in the Yalakom, sleeping in a dinky tent with a drizzle and the tent leaking.
Middle of the night some rustling and something walking around sniffing.
I got the rifle next to me ready for action, but after a few minutes it went away.
Pretty sure it was a bear.

[whitlers]

Sounds like it could have been a bear.

I had a similar encounter this past August while camping up N/W of Williams Lake. First night in the tent I heard heavy footsteps outside around 2AM. Next night it was heavy footsteps and breathing around 130AM. The final night it was heavy footsteps, breathing and whatever it was put its nose into my tent right by my head. I stayed still and it casually walked off. I never did get out to see what it was and there weren't any visible tracks in the thick dead grass. I suspect it may have been a moose.

I think next time I will be setting up a trail camera just so I can see who is visiting during the night. I too am a light sleeper when in the bush, for some reason I am always listening.

[Squamch]

During bow season I was sleeping under my tarp in a band of scrubby trees in the sub alpine. Woke up in the middle of the night to huffing and puffing and crashing noises. Figure momma and the cubs were cutting through the trees and she was yelling at them to get the hell away. I sat up all groggy and said "go away pleaae" and fell back asleep. Next morning I gave it a little thought and realized that may not have been the best possible course of action.

[whitlers]

During bow season I was sleeping under my tarp in a band of scrubby trees in the sub alpine. Woke up in the middle of the night to huffing and puffing and crashing noises. Figure momma and the cubs were cutting through the trees and she was yelling at them to get the hell away. I sat up all groggy and said "go away pleaae" and fell back asleep. Next morning I gave it a little thought and realized that may not have been the best possible course of action.

Atleast you were polite

[Jagermeister]

Sounds like it could have been a bear.

I had a similar encounter this past August while camping up N/W of Williams Lake. First night in the tent I heard heavy footsteps outside around 2AM. Next night it was heavy footsteps and breathing around 130AM. The final night it was heavy footsteps, breathing and whatever it was put its nose into my tent right by my head. I stayed still and it casually walked off. I never did get out to see what it was and there weren't any visible tracks in the thick dead grass. I suspect it may have been a moose.

I think next time I will be setting up a trail camera just so I can see who is visiting during the night. I too am a light sleeper when in the bush, for some reason I am always listening.
I think you had an encounter with a "Protector".

[Bustercluck]

I have a couple of questions for the guys who have had encounters. I’ve probably had similar things happen, but just slept through it without even knowing. Now that I’m thinking about it, I was camped next to a solo girl last month and she woke up to something eating the shrubs around her tent. She figured it was an elk, but there was definitely a bear nearby. I was camped about 30 yards away and didn’t hear a thing. Lol

Do you guys camp in the same spot for several nights in a row? If so, do you keep a really clean camp? Like cooking somewhere else and storing your food in a tree away from your tent?

I have a strict policy of no food in the tent unless t he situation is dire. I tend to pay attention when I’m walking near where I plan on camping for bear scat or tracks. If I see either I usually try and hike somewhere else if I have time. I also hang my food in a tree a ways away. I figure if an animal eats my food it isn’t the end of the world.

[RadHimself]

Food was in truck, had sandwichs, a bag of oatmeal and a bag of red beans and rice, sealed ziploc bags, cooking was done on a grill on the fire (heated up my bunwichs before consumption) i didnt eat any oatmeal, and i cooked a small potbof rice on my mini burner in a mini pot that i clean immediately after and returned to my pack, which is simply a cabelas external frame, meatshelf hauler which i strap a camelbac 1.5L bladder and a 30L roll top stuff sack full of my rain gear, puffy vest, toque, spare socks/gloves and kill kit onto…


i left out my pack, whicg was laid on my quadseat incase it snowed and a magnetic base snap-on mechanics flashlight as well as a snap-on butane torch, whicg i bring everywhere i go because that thing makes even wet cedar burn when i need it to

[Brez]

Oh, was that you at Syringa last week?? Sorry, lol. Maybe it was turkeys?


Ground was hard, not much for sign other then a scratch mark about 6” long didnt analyze the whole area just my campsite, got up at daylight lit a fire & walked the beach, all kind of varied sign out there

i DID have my rifle but seeing as how it was just snapping and not pokin around wasnt much point, it was right outside my tent pitch black… start wildly shooting? Hit my truck or quad… no thanks, no paw marks on my truck, quad or table which usually bears are crawlin all over sniffin around

Dead silent too, other then the jaw snaps

Maybe it was angry locals tryin to scare me

[RadHimself]

Not that far south

[whitlers]

I think you had an encounter with a "Protector".

Hahahaha could be could be