Strangest Thing Interrupted While Stalking/Shooting

[Harry mac]

you mean you wouldn't have seen them in the lamp? and your quarry wouldn't have been aware of them either?

Not always as clear cut as that. Last year I shot a roe buck on one of my permissions. Perfect backstop, but the sound effects went something like, "bang...thock..weeeooww". Bullet had rococheted off something in the ground after passing through the deer. It's the only time I've ever had a ricochet from a centrefire, but it just proves that once you let it go, all bets are off.

 

[Targetman]

Sat in a high seat at first light and a chap whizzed past on some kind of wheeled sledge being towed by a team of huskies.

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

a couple of years ago a keeper mate was walking around his pen when he heard so sort of singing/chanting he followed the noise to find a small group of hippie type people stood round a small brook in the woods they were hugging and just generally loved up on life when challenged them as to what they were doing they said they were blessing the spirt of the brook. he let them finish then sent them on there way he did find it hard though to keep a straight face

 

[John Gryphon]

Well I can add that a red stag standing alongside a sambar stag (wild) was a thrill as its basically unheard of and a Fallow buck facing off with a Sambar stag is another "cant happen"

Got them all in photos as well.

 

[Zetter]

Out foxing last year with the night vision when I saw a load of high powered lights sweeping across the farmyard and then heading towards the footpath that runs across the middle of the field. My first thought was it was possibly someone on the rob as the farm is well out of the village. But the lights were all over so they wernt being very stealthly at all.

I unloaded the rifle and mooched up the bank to have a look as the lights were heading in my general direction and came across about 5 people all dressed up a bit like trainspotters/ ramblers. When I asked them what they were doing the response came back that they were the local paranormal society out for a ghost walk! Apparently there had been a fair few sightings of unusual things in the area I was in (now bare in mind this footpath leads from the local pub to one of the other villages I think the "sigtings" was probably drunk people getting scared by Muntjac barking).

So I wished them a good evening (it was about 11.30) and gave them directions to keep on the footpath so off they toddled. About 5 minutes later I had a call from the farmer asking if it was just me up there and was I lamping with someone else as he had clocked loads of lights all over his farmyard. When I told him what it actually was (I don't lamp but use NV) there was a fair bit of harsh language as to the parentage of said ghost botherers as they had disturbed his TV watching though it got me some browny points as I had challenged the people for him.

Havent seen them since and I hope they didn't run across the farmer at a later date as I think words would have been exchanged.

 

[Cootmeurer]

I live near the largest Army base in the US, and being retired military I have permits to hunt. Normal procedure is to electronically sign in each morning, with certain areas being open or closed based on training activity. However, they don't always follow their own rules.

the best two stories are not what I have interrupted but rather, what has interrupted me. First was while fully camouflaged and calling turkeys. Had a very interested gobbler responding and then all went quiet. Soon I saw what spooked the bird off, a platoon walking looking and calling for their lost Lieutenant. While I wanted to be angry, my enlisted natured found that extremely amusing. By the way, no one in the platoon ever saw me, so either my camo was perfect or their searching skills were not.

the second event happened this past fall. I went out to a new area, because of the firebreak trails every 1/2 mile it is easy to stalk while getting the lay of the land. This is also near a remotely piloted aircraft (UAS) strip. About an hour after daybreak, I was overflown by a Predator. For the next 2 hours I apparently was a training target, because I couldn't shake my airborne shadow. I have watched predator feeds on several occasions so I recognized the search pattern, although in reverse.

 

[Fisheruk100]

Out in a nature reserve before daybreak after vermin, walking slowly through a wood alongside a lake I heard some muttering voices. Rifle slung over my shoulder. Two Eastern Europeans poaching carp. Got within 10 yards of them and in my best Sargeant Major voice shouted “What do you think you’r doing” well I’ve never seen two more frightened guys jump up and leg it, leaving their tackle behind. On reflection I think I was very lucky.!

 

[Sylvanius]

Older guy and younger woman doing a "photo shoot" - think "Readers wives" for those old enough to know what that was! . Not quite sure who was most surprised!

 

[Mungo]

Older guy and younger woman doing a "photo shoot" - think "Readers wives" for those old enough to know what that was! . Not quite sure who was most surprised!

Had exactly this when walking the dog on a freezing cold foggy day in December. Right next to Roslin Chapel, on one of the busiest dog walking paths in the area. Came round the corner, and the dog bounded off to say hello to a model draped over a tree trunk wearing some sort of period lingerie, most of which was open or removed. She looked cold to the bone, and rather startled when the dog put his nose where dogs do.

The photographer was initially quite irate - until it became apparent that he’d got turned around in the fog, and hadn’t realised he was right next to the path.

I felt very very sorry for the model!

 

[NickJ]

A couple of Tibetan monks 'at it' when stalking in Eskdalemuir.....and, at 4am in the Surrey hills a vice squad surveillance officer 'borrowing' my portable high seat, evidently the car park not far away was being used to park more than just cars!

 

[garfy]

Being Buzzed by a jet whilst stalking in caithness, which then banked around and came straight back at me using me as some sort of pretend target, at very low altitude.

 

[Essex stalker]

Being Buzzed by a jet whilst stalking in caithness, which then banked around and came straight back at me using me as some sort of pretend target, at very low altitude.

They don't like being pinged with the laser on your range finder bino's!

 

[jimbo123p]

Was picking up on a shoot, during lunch my phone went. Would I conduct a funeral. Trying to explain to the session clerk that I would deal with it after I spoke to the undertaker. He would speak to the family. No, I would deal with it after I spoke to the undertaker, otherwise everything would be out of sync. He wasn’t getting it. I was getting annoyed. I said, leave it alone I will sort out burying the guy on Monday. Suddenly realised the shoot captain and guns were standing behind me. They didn’t know I was a minister. Few funny looks.

 

[Bigboab29]

Found a man dressed as hitler in full war gear trench coat hat the lot, with two men dressed as german soldiers standing in front of him doing the hitler salute out in the middle of a clearfell I was going to stalk.

 

[Monkey Spanker]

They don't like being pinged with the laser on your range finder bino's!

No, and for good reason! Just because you can't see your laser doesn't mean it can't shut down their night vision devices.
Could actually land you in prison for 5 years too!!!!!!!!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ence-seven-year-new-laws-misuse-a8118916.html

 

[Essex stalker]

No, and for good reason! Just because you can't see your laser doesn't mean it can't shut down their night vision devices.
Could actually land you in prison for 5 years too!!!!!!!!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ence-seven-year-new-laws-misuse-a8118916.html

Or make the onboard systems take evasive action as they think something is trying to get a lock on them

 

[Woodsmoke]

Can't happen. They operate at completely different frequencies and wavelengths that civilian kit can't get anywhere near to. The lasers in the article are those laser pointers that emit at the harmful end of the visible spectrum, rather than that emitted by rangefinders, etc.

Having said that, my mate and I were once interrupted during a peaceful days stalking by a call from the local police who'd heard reports of a couple of dodgy characters in the area surrounding Durris telecoms mast. We'd innocently wondered how high it was, and I ranged it with my finder. The CCTV operator sh*t a brick at the sight of two blokes with rifles rangefinding the top of the biggest telecoms mast in the NE of Scotland and called it in. Luckily, they saw the funny side. We hadn't given it a second thought at the time

 

[victormeldrew]

Several years ago we were stalking in snow & spied a hind & calf on the other side of the glen. My companion began to stalk in & I decided to stay put to minimise the risk of being seen (I was more exposed than he was).
I watched as he stalked through the snow until into position behind a bank, where he paused to "draw his breath".

Suddenly the deer sprang up & headed off at the gallop.
I couldn't figure out what the problem was as my pal looked to be well hidden. Then a cross-country skier appeared heading downhill from behind me. He got quite a fright when two guys with rifles popped up out of the snow.
To give the guy his due he was very apologetic about ruining the stalk.

We were nowhere near any recognised skiing area.

victor

 

[RhyceLP]

Well I can add that a red stag standing alongside a sambar stag (wild) was a thrill as its basically unheard of and a Fallow buck facing off with a Sambar stag is another "cant happen"

Got them all in photos as well.

Would love to have a look at those photos, mate.

 

[Harry mac]

Well, long dead thread or not, I had to revive it for what happened to me this morning.
Over the last few weeks I've done a couple of sessions of brush clearance in a particularly nasty bit of woodland on one of my permissions. It's choked with nettles, it's boggy and it's littered with windfall trees and branches, but it's one of the few places on the farm that actually holds any muntjac. I've not done much, just cleared a couple of "lanes" in it, I've not used any power tools, and left it long enough between sessions that disturbance has been minimal.
Anyway, I finally went in with a rifle this morning......and there was bugger all to be seen. Typical!
As I left the wood, though, I saw a lovely, large bodied munty buck on the far side of a field that is, unfortunately part of the neighbouring farm. He was stood against a hedgeline, in a patch of bright sunlight and he looked magnificent.
I slowly crept down the wood line to a point that put a bush between me and him and decided "nothing ventured, nothing gained", so I gave a couple of fieps on the Cherrywood call. The effect was immediate, he came bounding down the hedgerow about 50m and then stopped and stood listening; so I gave it another go. Again he dashed towards me and stopped in a little clump of trees just still over the boundary. "once more should do it" I thought.
Just as the thought formed in my head, there was an almighty roar and clatter from behind me, accompanied by people laughing and shouting; "WTF????" I turned round and there was a huge hot air balloon coming VERY low over the wood, so low, in fact, that the basket, which contained at least half a dozen people, was smashing its way through the topmost branches and the pilot had the throttle fully open on the burners, trying to gain some altitude.
I know munjac can be quick, but I've never in my life seen one move as fast as that buck when he scarpered, it was like the Devil himself was chasing it.
I swore. Quite a lot.