Insane Hunting Tactics

[Swede]

Over the years while bow hunting I have seem some pretty crazy hunting tactics. Here are three of the best.

Six hunters spread about 100 yards apart each making a drive from a ridge to the valley floor. As they descended they were each cow calling and or bugling every few yards.

Two hunters traveling together in an older Chevy pickup. The driver would stop every couple hundred yards so the hunter in back could bugle. The stops were approximately two minutes long. Maybe this was their version of run and gun.

Three hunters together in a pickup. One drove while two others in the back, in lawn chairs, were prepared to make a drive by shooting. I have seen variations of this numerous times.

Has anyone seen anything they would like to add to the list?

[twinkieman]

Three guys on horseback traveling a trail in a wilderness area, with the lead horseman bugling every 100 yds or so. Just for kicks, from a distance of about 75 yds from them, I threw back an answering bugle. Because they were riding so close together, no one heard "their answer". They did this for about 3 days, when my partner asked them , on the trail, why they were riding and bugling. They said its public ground, and they would hunt anyway they wanted.

[otcWill]

One guy, myself, stays with herd all day only to run out of light just before getting a shot opp; stays with them all night 5 miles from camp at 11,500 in order to be there at first light. Yes, I am completely out of my mind

[Bullnuts]

Three, yes, THREE grown men riding on an ATV up a close road, middle guy is holding all three bows. Not sure what the plan was there, but maybe the third guy was carrying the 1st aid kit.

[hike2hunt]

LOL, I saw a guy blowing a bugle out of Toyota Tacoma last year driving really slow down the road.

[JohnFitzgerald]

Back in the day when I rifle hunted for elk, I saw and heard 6 kids banging pots and pans through a canyon as their parents held post all around the head of it.

[WapitiTalk1]

OK, I've tried to forget this one. Two years ago in MT, I ran across a young guy who was cruising around on the upper ridge roads. His wife and two or three crumb snatchers were in the tiny car with him. All he would do is drive, stop, and bugle draws, hillsides, etc. until he got an answer and then literally "run" at the bull he heard. He "claims" to have wounded two in the thick alder due to deflections at ranges as close as 10 yards... neither were recovered. Class act right there.

[easeup]

there is probably a common theme amongst all of these.......could it involve beverages?

[JohnFitzgerald]

there is probably a common theme amongst all of these.......could it involve beverages?

Amen brother!

[Bullnuts]

Don't know about beverages but the failure of natural selection may be a major contributor.

[twinkieman]

True, cold beverages do allow people to make some weird decisions. People must use some of these, I can't call these hunting tactics, because they have gotten lucky, or know some one who took an animal in this manner.

[Bullnuts]

All you have to do is read "Colorado Bucks and Bulls" and see all the huge animals that were taken by guys who just happened to step out of the tent to take a leak after a long night of drinking, and they find a massive animal outside the door. Makes me a little sick.

[LarryBud]

I know a guy who twisted his ankle early in a week long hunt. While the rest of the party went out to hunt, he had to sit in camp. He was in the truck listening to the radio. A huge 6X6 walks by the camp. He shoots it.

He still laughs as the look of the others when they retuned from a day in the field.

[ctdad]

Don't know about beverages but the failure of natural selection may be a major contributor.

This is funny because it's true

[MT_Nate]

A few years back I was nearing the top of a mountain in Northwest Montana after hunting up from the bottom during rifle season opener - about an hour after first shooting light. I came upon a clearing and saw 6 guys sitting in the middle of the clearing about 50 yards away...all facing a different side of the clearing with their rifles ready, with one of them blowing a Primos Hyper Lip super loud...about a call every 30 seconds. One of the guys was looking/pointing straight towards me - I waved some hunter orange with my arms and made some bird sounds so they would recognize that I was there, but I couldn't get any confirmation they had seen me, so I left and skirted the area wide (didn't feel like getting shot that particular day).

Later heard that my father-in-law had run into them and talked for awhile. They said that elk were coming into the them from below, right at about an hour after first light, but couldn't get a shot because the elk didn't show itself. They said that birds started chirping a bunch when it came in, and then they heard the elk move away.

Holy cow...that hunter was either a fantastic liar or so dang blind that he shouldn't have the privelege to hunt any longer. I felt lucky to not have a gunshot in me. That was a combo of insane hunting tactics and insane hunters...not sure what I would have done different though, had I yelled out they probably would have shot me for either scaring the elk away, or thinking the elk learned to talk since last year and filled me full of lead.

[tdiesel]

Talked to a guy one time hunting deer(rifle) hadn't seen any think but got off a couple good sound shots! I said a few asterisk words and told him basically what an idiot he was and never to shoot till you could identify what you were shooting at had a sickfeeling for the rest of the day knowing people like that were out there with a loaded gun. Dang some people's ideas.

[the weasel]

and THIS REASON ALONE is why i do not rifle hunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cnelk]

All you have to do is read "Colorado Bucks and Bulls" and see all the huge animals that were taken by guys who just happened to step out of the tent to take a leak after a long night of drinking, and they find a massive animal outside the door. Makes me a little sick.

I will be featured in the 3rd Edition of that book when it's released this fall
I am happy to tell you that I did not just happen to step out of my tent and shoot my Colorado bull moose
Nor did I drink all night ....

[Elkaddict]

Years ago on an archery elk hunt came across a guy slowly driving the back roads with a loudspeaker mounted on the top of his truck blasting a variety of taped elk bugles. Just sat and watched, pretty funny!

[Bullnuts]

All you have to do is read "Colorado Bucks and Bulls" and see all the huge animals that were taken by guys who just happened to step out of the tent to take a leak after a long night of drinking, and they find a massive animal outside the door. Makes me a little sick.

I will be featured in the 3rd Edition of that book when it's released this fall
I am happy to tell you that I did not just happen to step out of my tent and shoot my Colorado bull moose
Nor did I drink all night ....

No offense meant to you Cnelk but the last copy I read was full of stories like that!

[twinkieman]

Completely forgot this one, a guy had a huge raised platform on the back of his truck. He had a female driver, driving him around on the logging roads. He sat on top of the raised platform, on a Lazy Boy recliner.

[pointysticks]

my stepdad went hunting with his buds. two college basketball coaches.

they made my stepdad drive the entire way. when they got there, he was exhausted and had to sleep. he crawled into the back of his yukon and fell asleep. the two coaches saddled up and hunted away. my stepdad said, when he woke up he was surrounded by birds. he did what had to do..he snuck a window opened and blasted away. clearly violating a bunch of game laws, not to mention any ethical gray areas..he blasted 3 birds. the two coaches came back tired..both are very fat..empty handed..no birds. he was tickled. the two coaches laughed..

those three geezers, were so funny. i couldnt hunt with them, but they were funny. i miss all of them, and their stories.

[elkmtngear]

Archery Season, Eastern Oregon, circa 1995.

My buddy and I had hiked our way up a decent sized ridge to a large scabrock Mesa (Umatilla National Forest)

We split up, and started slowly stalking the edge of the big flat. After just a few steps, I saw a decent forky (muley) with a single doe. They were feeding ahead of me, unaware. My wind was perfect, so I started creeping in on them. I was just under 60 yards, when all of a sudden, I heard an engine cranking up across the flat, and a pickup with 2 guys in the back came busting across, dirt flying.

The buck and doe turned tail and ran right past me at 30 yds. Then I heard gunfire (a 22). One of the goofballs in the truck was emptying his semi-auto at the buck and doe. I was in a crouch in the wide open, but apparently they hadn't spotted me.

Well, I stood up, and the non-gunner tapped his buddy on the shoulder (they were very close to me at this point). Their eyes got real big, and they pounded on the cab and yelled at the driver. That truck threw up so much dust tearing out of there, that I couldn't even get the license plate number.

Apparently, this is not an uncommon tactic during bow Season in Eastern Oregon.