Ever Mistake a Hunter for a Deer/Bear/Elk?

[MTLabrador]

And I was surprised to learn I'm not the only guy in the world smart enough to avoid dragging bulky binocs around elk hunting.

Really? I’m genuinely curious, because I don’t even go outside to check the mail without binos.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Really? I’m genuinely curious, because I don’t even go outside to check the mail without binos.

Sounds like an appointment with optometrist is long overdue!

 

[MTLabrador]

Sounds like an appointment with optometrist is long overdue!

Even still hunting in the timber it’s nice to be able to scan ahead for elk parts.

 

[Hammsolo]

No, but I've admittedly scoped a couple guys when I was younger and more foolish. To be fair, the only one I can remember clearly annoyed me bad because the guy wasn't wearing orange. I could see "something" clear as day at the base of a tree and put my scope on it and immediately jerked it back down when I realized. But I would definitely have seen his orange if he'd been wearing it like he should have been.

Thanks for the courage to be honest. It takes a village… wait one without a “village idiot though.”

 

[SaskHunter]

No.

But I get scoped at least once a f'n season. People, buy f'n binos!

 

[OntarioHunter]

No.

But I get scoped at least once a f'n season. People, buy f'n binos!

In Saskatchewan? Really? In eastern Montana I'll scope deer way out there to see what a buck looks like or to see if there is a buck. But they're not wearing orange. In that open country there's zero probability someone orange will suddenly pop up in my line of sight. Back East scoping game is a shocking taboo but in the open country of the West it is fairly common practice. The way I hunted elk in the mountains, binocs were pretty much dead weight. Not needed when tracking in snow. And it's just not worth the hassle digging them out and fiddling with pulling off my eyeglasses to make them work. I made due with the optics of an old 3X Weaver scope and shot a helluva pile of animals. Now I have a decent 3X9 which really makes binoculars redundant.

 

[tjones]

In Saskatchewan? Really? In eastern Montana I'll scope deer way out there to see what a buck looks like or to see if there is a buck. But they're not wearing orange. In that open country there's zero probability someone orange will suddenly pop up in my line of sight. Back East scoping game is a shocking taboo but in the open country of the West it is fairly common practice. The way I hunted elk in the mountains, binocs were pretty much dead weight. Not needed when tracking in snow. And it's just not worth the hassle digging them out and fiddling with pulling off my eyeglasses to make them work. I made due with the optics of an old 3X Weaver scope and shot a helluva pile of animals. Now I have a decent 3X9 which really makes binoculars redundant.

Wins the internet today.

 

[TOGIE]

Wins the internet today.

just wait, he always one ups himself

 

[geetar]

just wait, he always one ups himself

Too many fire fumes will do that to ya.

 

[davinski]

Once, six years ago, and I think about it all the time. Public land sprinkled with pockets of private land and their landowner tag hunters. Western CO, big steep glassing country mainly scrub oak and P-J. Second or third rifle elk season, an OTC bull unit. I had an elk tag and a bear tag in my pocket, we had seen a jet black bear in this drainage a couple days prior. About 3-400 yards out a solitary black blob walked out of the thinning oak brush and I drew up to get a look through my scope. Turns out it was a dude in a jet black jacket. I put the rifle down and just watched through my binos and cussed.

A minute later his companion came out of the same oak slope and they just chilled on the ridge and looked around. Both had rifles. I assume they were also elk hunting and had just stashed their orange for the day. I bugged out of there.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Once, six years ago, and I think about it all the time. Public land sprinkled with pockets of private land and their landowner tag hunters. Western CO, big steep glassing country mainly scrub oak and P-J. Second or third rifle elk season, an OTC bull unit. I had an elk tag and a bear tag in my pocket, we had seen a jet black bear in this drainage a couple days prior. About 3-400 yards out a solitary black blob walked out of the thinning oak brush and I drew up to get a look through my scope. Turns out it was a dude in a jet black jacket. I put the rifle down and just watched through my binos and cussed.

A minute later his companion came out of the same oak slope and they just chilled on the ridge and looked around. Both had rifles. I assume they were also elk hunting and had just stashed their orange for the day. I bugged out of there.

Don't let it upset you. The guy obviously didn't care if he got scoped ... or shot at ... so why should you care? Okay, I'm just being sarcastic here.

 

[Valley1320]

No.

But I get scoped at least once a f'n season. People, buy f'n binos!

Well said!!! A decent pair of binos doesn't cost that much. If you can afford to hunt you can afford to own a pair of binos.

 

[Valley1320]

I've never scoped anyone but I've caught guys scoping me and I had a guy shoot at a doe between us and him and he could clearly see us over there across the way. I think that was the most ticked I had ever been at a hunter

 

[LopeHunter]

I'm always amazed whenever I hear of a hunter being mistaken for a turkey or deer and shot by a fellow hunter. I've hunted off and on for 10 years on public land and I've never seen a person strongly resemble a game animal, let alone so convinced I was about to pull the trigger. Obviously, it happens and a lot across the country.

I feel like the nature of spring turkey lends itself to this type of incident but wide-open western hunting seems less likely.

Has anyone ever been straight-up fooled?

I do know a few years back, a family-friend was hunting on my in-laws cattle ranch in CO and he was shot while riding an ATV by a shooter from the public access road that cut through the private property. He survived but almost lost his arm. Hunter wearing orange moving on an ATV, not convinced that was an accident

Nope. Nor a turkey, quail, dove or pheasant. I identify my target. I do not glass with my rifle scope. I do not shoot without a backstop. The risk is something beyond the target if there is brush or other vegetation beyond the target or if the bullet deflects.

 

[Exhausted]

I've never scoped anyone but I've caught guys scoping me and I had a guy shoot at a doe between us and him and he could clearly see us over there across the way. I think that was the most ticked I had ever been at a hunter

Did you post about that here before? I seem to remember reading that crazy story.

 

[Valley1320]

Did you post about that here before? I seem to remember reading that crazy story.

Maybe I did. Happened last Januarys doe hunt

 

[Mtnhunter1]

Never a human.

Always was astounded at the horrible "inexcusable" mistakes that people make.

With that, this thread brought back a memory that I will share.

Early October, unnamed basin in NW MT and I had been chasing an old herd bull for weeks. Actually, this was year three of trying to tag this particular bull.
I was sitting at the rim of the basin waiting on daylight and listening to the old bull screaming at several others. Once it was light enough to see, I located the herd below me and slightly up the basin. Then a really nice new bull made an appearance and a massive fight broke out. The old bull had finally met his match and was dethroned by the new arrival.
After being defeated, the old bull limped into a strip of timber between two open slide areas. I slipped down into the timber slightly above where the bull had entered and could hear big feet rolling rocks and branches snapping. I figured that the bull was making his way up hill and would pass just below me in the thick stuff. With the flash of antler tines and the appearance of dark legs at 15 yards, I came to full draw. I concentrated on a very narrow open lane in front of the bull. Shooting a compound at the time, I had the 20 yard pin at the right height as the bull's shoulder entered the small opening. I remember having about 1/2 pressure on my release trigger as the pin hit the crease. But something was off! There was no color transition, no dark to yellow! I brought my tunnel vision from my pin to focus on the whole animal and realized that I had almost arrowed a damn nice bull MOOSE.

Now that would have been hard to explain to Warden and with a bow no less. Can't even imagine sound shooting into the brush or scoping another human with a rifle.

Mistakes can and do happen but hopefully non of us are at either end.

---

 

[338win]

I was in a treestand bowhunting and a guy was bent over slowly creeping through the woods. With the fog and transitional light along with the angle he cast a silhouette that looked just like a deer. After that I always throw on a head lamp now. I even wear orange during archery.

People who lack experience or are surprised will have their mind involuntary fill in the blank space with whatever it defaults to.

 

[T Bone]

Now I have a decent 3X9 which really makes binoculars redundant.

Please use binoculars.

 

[thusby]

I've never scoped anyone but I've caught guys scoping me and I had a guy shoot at a doe between us and him and he could clearly see us over there across the way. I think that was the most ticked I had ever been at a hunter

Likewise, not scoping me but a van full of idiots were trying to paste a doe at 500 yards and I could hear the bullets zinging around the hill while I crouched behind some brush.

The elusive mule deer doe apparently takes a half dozen guys and 40 bullets to down.