Non-Game Species Encountered in the Field

[glass eye]

Gila Monster in AZ

Lynx in CO , not a bobcat, I know the difference and I watched it for a long time until I decided to move on.

Wolves in AK. Season wasn’t open at that time in that unit otherwise I would have put my black bear tag on it.

 

[tmcdowell]

Another non-game encounter that was pretty cool but a bit more hair-raising was seeing two griz interacting with each other. One was definitely larger than the other and was putting on a show strutting around the other. This was during a spring [black] bear hunt, so I presume it was a boar and sow out romancing.

That bigger boar was having a heyday scratching its back against some wimpy little lone spruce in a clearing. Later my buddy and I ventured up towards where we'd seen them and every limb had been rubbed off that little tree. Also, they were digging for something (roots, rodents?). Half of the hillside was turned over like this. We decided to move on shortly after..

If I've learned anything about my black bear hunts it's that I always see everything but a black bear...

 

[J-Booda]

I was crow hunting on the edge of a bean field a few weeks ago. Saw two big black specks flying toward me from across the other side of the field. Two bald eagles in a loose formation. The one peeled off, but the other one flew right over me and took a look down. I guess I wasn't hidden all that well. It amazes me how big bald eagles actually are.

 

[hank4elk]

Sitting behind a log to get out of the wind in the Pecos, waiting for elk. Snow on the ground. Cold morning.
A grouse flew in out of nowhere and landed next to my leg...out of the wind. That bird sat there for an hour and flew off.
Later that afternoon eating lunch a bluebird landed on my rifle barrel laying across my legs.
Never saw an elk that day.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I was walking in to a stand one morning and I was using a headlamp, which I normally don't do, but this was a new spot for me.

I hear the grass rustling in front of me and I see a skunk pop out on the path about 10 feet in front of me.

I freeze. It freezes. I slowly take a step back and to the left. Then another. Then another. After about 5 minutes of me slowly edging away, he takes off running into the grass away from me.

It was a real stand off and I am glad I didn't have to take a tomato juice bath.

 

[hank4elk]

3 years ago snooping around in the Mimbres country Rio and I saw a ringtail and a coati mundi mid day. Both rare to see ever,and almost never mid day. Rio was barking so loud they ran off too quick to get a pic clearly.

 

[el unit]

This guy couldn't figure out what the heck I was last night. 38 yards for about 5 minutes before he caught my wind and left the area.
I wish I could easily upload the great, short videos I got of him barking and yipping.
Yes, I set down my bow and picked up my camera instead.

 

[44hunter45]

I had a pine squirrel run right up to me this fall that only had three feet. Left front was gone at the wrist

Vermin once, vermin still.

Cracks me up that IDFG decided we needed a season not long after Meateater started highlighting squirrel hunting.

 

[TheTone]

Vermin once, vermin still.

Cracks me up that IDFG decided we needed a season not long after Meateater started highlighting squirrel hunting.

People needed more hunting opportunities…

 

[44hunter45]

In 1992 at a campground on the Selway, we had tame camp chipmunks that were surprising well behaved. They would sit up and beg for treats, but never got into our stuff.

 

[44hunter45]

People needed more hunting opportunities…

Good eating if you like the taste of bad gin.

 

[MNElkNut]

Lots of encounters with nongame. Here are 3:

Walking down a forest two-track in northern MN grouse hunting. Very dry, leaves are really loud. A lynx jumps out on the trail ahead of my wife and I and looks at us for quite awhile. Finally my dog starts toward it and it trots down the trail and jumps into the woods on the other side of the trail into the dry leaves. Took me a minute before I realized it hadn't made a sound. Asked my wife and she got this confused look on her face and said she didnt hear it either!

Fishing in NW Ontario. Comment to my dad, look, there is a hen mallard with 8 ducklings. Not 10 seconds later there is a splash and mama duck now has 7 ducklings. A northern pike had an easy lunch.

Pheasant hunting some thick grass in SD. It was kind of laid over. I step on something kinda weird and look down to see that black and white stripe! I did the 40 yard dash in 2.9 seconds with boots on!

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Wild horses in the red desert! Also probably see porcupines every day, seems like they're everywhere around here, normally climbing up the smallest/flimsiest branch possible.

 

[gouch]

We used to duck hunt on this one lake. I had a GSP named Buck who retrieved our ducks for us. Then old Buck passed away and I was left without a dog for a season. So I took my canoe to use to retrieve the ducks. There was this bald eagle sitting in his favorite tree across the lake and as it was getting late in the morning the ducks had pretty much stopped flying. Then two wigeons came in. I shot one but he flew out aways into the lake before dropping. We decided to pack up to go home and pick that duck up as we were leaving. Before we were done packing up however, that eagle swept down and stole my duck. I chewed him out, but he didn't seem to care, he just sat there eating my duck.

A year later I was back but this time I had my new Lab Zeke. Zeke was young and inexperienced but did a pretty good job of retrieving. That old eagle was up in that same tree watching us the whole day. I yelled at him and told him that he was S.O.L. this year because I had a dog. After the ducks stopped flying, I decided to walk the shoreline because there were little hidden coves where mallards like to sit. I could do a little jump shooting. The first cove we hit we jumped two wigeons and I dropped the drake as they flew away. Zeke hit the water like a seasoned pro and just as he was about to grab the duck that stinkin' eagle came out of nowhere and snatched the duck, practically right out of Zeke's mouth. I almost shot that bird but then the humor of the situation hit me. Poor old Zeke was out there swimming around in a tight circle trying to figure out what had just happened.

I never have talked smack to an eagle again since that day.

 

[turbobrick]

One time I was hunting coyotes at night with a thermal weapon mounted sight. I had my caller down hill, and I was basically scanning the open flats over the caller. All the sudden a huge owl flashed through the screen, it circled around, and I just missed him with the built in camera on the thermal. It buzzed the caller a few times then went in search of other prey.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Blue Racer that Greta stepped on once or twice looking for birds. Super cool critter.

 

[kansasdad]

This fall kansasson and I had multiple visits from hummingbirds seemingly attracted by the hunters orange. I’ve also had these little hoverers buzzing inches away from my orange colored fletching in the quiver.

 

[atlas]

Grizzly at 150 yds

Two different Grizzlies roaring at each other over a gut pile at 250 yds


In the blackfoot

 

[Caseknife]

Great Grey owls are cool critters, have seen them a few times.

Many years ago while mule deer hunting looked up the hill and saw a Bighorn ram about 50 yards away, probably 30 miles as the crow flies from his normal hang out. Later that same day I had shot a little buck. As I was gutting him the grey jays collected and were very vocal calling in all their buddies. All of a sudden there was quite the commotion in the spruce tree beside me and a Sharp-shinned hawk practically fell out of the tree with one of said grey jays in his talons, barely clearing the ground with a bird more than half his size he flew off. The rest of the jays squawking loudly chased him off in the distance. Eerily quiet from then on, no jays came back for the duration of my work.

The highlight of rare was the wolverine my buddy and I saw on the Utah/Idaho border 4 years ago. We were learning the country the day before the hunt started and saw that a Red-tailed Hawk was pestering some critter out in the sage flat a few hundred yards from the road. Figured out it was a wolverine, went to get a closer look while it was loping from bush to bush looking for lunch oblivious to us. Finally at about 30 yards he noticed us behind him, he turned, arched his back and growled. Close enough, he stared us down and then turned and loped off.

The next year in Idaho while packing out my cow, which was relatively close to the road and I was busy packing out my other partners cow that was a longer pack, he got to the quarters and noticed that one of the bags had been torn open and meat was consumed. On his return trip he found the perpetrator, a Pine Marten, chewing on another quarter. He ended up feeding the Marten a piece of meat on the end of a stick and the Marten stayed while he loaded up another quarter. Those were his Caribou meat sacks that the Marten had torn open. Pretty cool encounter and he didn't have his phone with him.

 

[IDFireLass]

This spring while fishing. The other half was across this small lake. The dog and I on the other side. Other half asks what the dog was staring at? I said I don't know? So I turned around to look right at a cougar! When I turned around and it seen me looking at it it slowly turned around and took off. I walked up to where is had been later and couldn't find a track. But found fresh deer tracks. It was tracking the deer then seeing our dog thought it was a deer too. Our dog is a Black Mouth Cur. It was exciting and scary at the same time.
I've spent my whole life outdoors and have seen a lot plus 40 years on a fire lookout. It's been one heck of a ride so far. I'm still amazed and in awe when I see critters out there.
Yes we had a good morning of fishing.