Okay, whose going to admit it??

[GirlGuide]

So I want to see who else, beside me, and a few others that I KNOW of...

Who is afraid of walking into the woods or out of the woods when it is still dark outside?? 

My husbands laughs at me every single year we go out hunting, he says it looks like I'm running to my stand instead of walking...and he is right!!  I can't get there fast enough!!  I hate walking into the woods when it is still dark out!!! HATE IT, BIG TIME!! You just never know what could be out there, and also my imagination gets the best of me most of the time! My husband actually walks me to my stand the first day, and he would probably do it every day, but he has a much longer hike then me, so I only have him do it the first morning of deer hunting.  I also NEVER ever go into the woods or out of the woods with my gun loaded, I'm way too jumpy and don't trust myself, I'd probably blow away the first thing that gets in my path!!

...anyone else feel my pain??  Or don't you want to fess up to being a chicken S T  ?  lmao! C'mon, the first part of recovery is "admitting" you have a problem...    It's time to be BRAVE (<for once in your life!  ) and fess up about being a coward!! (lol!, well, that last comment just did it, now nobody will reply!)
~except of course for all the BRAVE guys and gals out there who are willing to admit, they are a teensey, tiny bit afraid of the dark!! 

~gg
 

[snow]

I would be afraid too now that we know courgar thrive in Mn,and both the Gray and Timber Wolves are here,BIG black Bears and now they found a cuprachara... with with big teeth,really,its in the news today...I would'nt step foot in the woods until daylight these days~

[thunderpout]

   Hey GG... I wont say Im chicken or afraid of the dark, cause I think if we really were, we'd never make that walk to the stand in the dark... I like to refer to it as "have seen too many horror movies"...  Ive had some stuff happen to me going out to the stand in the dark that has probably taken a few years off my life though, like getting chased by a pretty agressive Fisher into my stand,(that was fun)  what I think was a bear grunt/growled at me... multiple big arse deer jumped right off the trail... I wonder how many people die from heart attacks from that kind off stuff... now I pertty much expect crap like that to happen, then it aint quite so bad...

[thunderpout]

I forgot another good one... walkin to the stand, no moon, pitch black out, looonnng walk skirting a series of clearcuts on a path that follows the edge of the trees, Ive got estrus scent on footpads that I put on the last few hundred yards.... well, a very large sounding buck is following me through the woods downwind of me, I can hear him grunting and breathing, and then he moves towards me, jumps out onto the path, snorts at me, Im freaking out, yelled HEY!  And he took off crashing thru the thick stuff,  I think I barely got out of being a victim of "when animals attack" by the snicn of my teeth...ever since then I dont wear or drag any scent to the stand anymore!

[thunderpout]

(in the dark anyways...  )

[boogityn]

 18 years ago,I was using a friends stand, I had to cut across a coww pasture, about a 400 yd walk across. I made it half way Thats when 2 cows decided i wasn't suppose to be there. I thought it was the end of the line .Chased all the way to the fence. It dosen't pay to worry about carnivours. A dam grass eater took me to the edge. The whole time I stood on the safe side of the fence,I still thought the cows looked very delicious!

[HD]

  GG.....not me......

Done it way to many times to worry about it. I know my woods....can walk it blind folded.

So, hike up your skirt Sally....and get er done! 

[kenhuntin]

Yes I am a scared of being out in the swamps or woods in the dark. I know that moving slow keeps you safe but I am still very leery until the sun rises. In the late Feb. thaw six years ago I was with five other good ole boys cleaning out and repairing woodduuck houses in Pope county when we jumped a lion out of a slough that was surrrounded by corn the previous hunting season which I had trudged through several times going in with decoys and out with birds. Then last August in Deer River where I have spent most of my deer gun three weekends since 1981 I was out walking enjoying the night air when all of a sudden I heard the knee buckling yowl of a female cougar and it made me dash for the door and pin it shut. Four more times this demon bitch screamed within 20 yards of the cabin. come deer season the tracks in the snow with the tail drag were on the north end of the property where I usually do not have to venture unless the deer are hard to come by. I will never take it for granted again that a night stroll is safe.

[brandbll]

So I want to see who else, beside me, and a few others that I KNOW of...

Who is afraid of walking into the woods or out of the woods when it is still dark outside?? 

My husbands laughs at me every single year we go out hunting, he says it looks like I'm running to my stand instead of walking...and he is right!!  I can't get there fast enough!!  I hate walking into the woods when it is still dark out!!! HATE IT, BIG TIME!! You just never know what could be out there, and also my imagination gets the best of me most of the time! My husband actually walks me to my stand the first day, and he would probably do it every day, but he has a much longer hike then me, so I only have him do it the first morning of deer hunting.  I also NEVER ever go into the woods or out of the woods with my gun loaded, I'm way too jumpy and don't trust myself, I'd probably blow away the first thing that gets in my path!!

...anyone else feel my pain??  Or don't you want to fess up to being a chicken S T  ?  lmao! C'mon, the first part of recovery is "admitting" you have a problem...    It's time to be BRAVE (<for once in your life!  ) and fess up about being a coward!! (lol!, well, that last comment just did it, now nobody will reply!)
~except of course for all the BRAVE guys and gals out there who are willing to admit, they are a teensey, tiny bit afraid of the dark!! 

~gg
 

Usually when you're walking out super early or when it gets dark you have a light on.  That gives me enough comfort.  I think most animals get scared off from something like that.  No one i know has seen bears where i hunt but it is in Wolve territory.  Wolves are too skiddish and too smart though to be stupid enough to mess with you, so they don't really scare me.  Bears scare me and the possibility of running into a Cougar gives me even more worries, but for the most part i think you're gonna be fine especially with a light on.  And, unlike you i keep my gun loaded til i get back to the cabin.  I've let it get in my head before but the way i look at it being scared is the worst thing you can do.  Just always think to yourself, your out there to be the hunter not to be hunted...

[GirlGuide]

Oh my God, some of these stories are hillarious...especially Thunderpouts "when animals attack" story!  Oh I laughed my butt off at that one.    And then Boogytyn being chased down by a couple of cows, also had me rollin'! I mean what is funnier then that??    And Kenhuntin, "a lion" REALLY? What the heck??? lmao! And that cougar would have scared the hell out of me for sure!!    And Brandbll, I ALWAYS have a headlamp on AND carry a flashlight when going in and out of the woods...but sometimes I feel like the big bear or wolf that is about to get me can just see me better that way! 

Lastly, Hunterdown, not afraid of nothin' huh?    Boy, I'd sure like pounce out at you just once while you are walking to your stand in pure darkness, just to see you sh*t  your pants, like every other NORMAL hunter! I don't care how "manly" you may think you are, everyone's a little afraid in the dark woods, so c'mon Hunter, fess up and tell me one of your "I sh*t my pants" stories, ...cuz you KNOW you have one in ya!! 

Keep the stories coming guys, they are all very entertaining!! 

~gg

[GirlGuide]

Kenhuntin,

Ohhhhhhhh, you meant that you jumped a "Lionhead" bunny rabbit out of the slough!! NOW I GET IT!! (We just got a couple of those for our 7 year old for his birthday, they are viscous!!)  And YEAH, they can be really SCARY too!!  I would just DIE if I ever ran into one of those in the woods!! Thanks for the heads up Ken!!! 

~gg 

For those of you who have never ran into one yet, here are a couple of pictures of those FEROCIOUS Lion's!!
...Just so you can all be on the lookout for them this coming up hunting season! 

[GirlGuide]

Good God, they must have scared everybody out of here! ...those damn ferocious lions, always scarin' all the big bad-ass hunters away!! 

~gg

[HD]

Lastly, Hunterdown, not afraid of nothin' huh?    Boy, I'd sure like pounce out at you just once while you are walking to your stand in pure darkness, just to see you sh*t  your pants, like every other NORMAL hunter! I don't care how "manly" you may think you are, everyone's a little afraid in the dark woods, so c'mon Hunter, fess up and tell me one of your "I sh*t my pants" stories, ...cuz you KNOW you have one in ya!! 
~gg

Funny you should mention it.....well....it wasn't funny at the time....and it's still not funny to this day....

You want a story....

Well, here it is....

I always carry a side arm with me, in and out of the woods. (ussually have one close by anyways) On this particular occassion, my son and I were working on a deer stand out in the woods during the day. We had just decided that it was time to go back to the house for lunch after pounding nails all morning. My trail that passes through my woods is very windy, it traverses back and forth around the swamps, over knolls and up and down ravines. My son, at the time was quite small, I think he was around 4 at the time. But, being the inquisitive little bugger he is, noticed that I was still carrying my side arm in the holster...he kept pestering me and pestering me that he wanted to see it. And kept telling him that it was not a toy and nothing to be fooled with. What I didn't know, as we walked down the trail, my best friend at the time, and his girlfriend decided to stop by and see the progress of the stand. They walked back on the trail going towards the stand as we were coming from the oppisite direction. (keep in mind, my son is still pestering me) Well, my friend and his girlfriend, thought it would be a good idea to hide behind a downed tree and surprise us as we walked home. They could hear our conversations as me and my son chatted, so they hid behind the log. When we got close enough, my friend jumped out, growling like a bear. Well, my son was screaming cause he scared him, and the girlfriend was screaming cause....I had my pistol drawn before he hit the trail....

So, the long and the short of it....He is still alive, but, are no longer friends...and my son learned a valuable lesson on why it is not a toy....

So, it's good that I had formal training, and knew what and what not to do.
Fear had nothing to do with it...but, instant survival adrenaline did.

But, it was un-nerving

Happy?

[Fawkinnae]

The "Death Bunny" photos got me thinking about my encounter with a real life death bunny. My daughter had a rabbit - big floppy eared sucker. And the rabbit didn't really care much for anyone but my daughter. One day it ran back behind a book case (big deal) so my wife starts telling be I need to get that rabbit out of there. Got down on my hands and knees a peered in behind the books.

That rabbit came flying out of there at about 1000 miles an hour and bit me right between the eyes. It chills me to this day. The bite made an "X" shape and I went around for the next two weeks looking like Charles Manson.

Probably a good thing I didn't have Hunterdown's gun.

[Woody]

I wasn't afraid of much in the woods until I ran across this bunny. 

[kenhuntin]

Killer rabbits are for real dang it! Have you people not seen Monty Pythons Holy Grail? I don't have any worries about the grey ones in the photos. But I bet any man would fear to be on the wrong side of the one in the middle.

[Cody Gruchow]

in a sense i agree with hunter, im not to afraid of the dark, plus i always have a head lamp and a flash light so i can see, i know everything in the woods is more afraid of me anyways so it never bothers me none. plus when your in the dark woods your instincts tend to take over.

[thunderpout]

Dont get me wrong, Im pretty much "Mr headlamp" but I hate to use one much going to a stand in the morning unless there is no moon, or if its really cloudy out, or you are really going thru some thick stuff... and even then I use lights just momentarilly if I reall need it... ( or if I hear those killer rabbits ) I may be a bit paranoid, but I imagine deer see you from a mile away when they see that light beam bouncing thru the woods over hills and valleys etc.... I see other hunters leaving them on from across clear cuts, other sides of valleys etc, and I always think boy if Im a deer, I aint going to head that way... I know some hunters that put those red lenses on their lights, but when I want a light on the subject, I want a light on it... just not like paul revere riding with his lamp across the country side! what do you guys think? do deer think a light in the woods is a negative, or am I giving them too much credit... I just picture Mr big ole smart buck layin low or heading the opposite direction and maybe changing his patterns after seeing that bouncing ball of light going thru the woods....

[GirlGuide]

I agree with you "Mr. Headlamp", I believe that some deer (probably the SMART one's) see us and our flashlights from a mile away and head the other direction.  It still won't stop me from using my headlamp and flashlight on the way in AND on the way out of my stand.  ...Plus, I don't mind shooting all the stupid deer, I'm not prejudice! 
~Mrs. Headlamp 

Woody, that is the freakiest lookin' bunny I have ever seen!!! Where in the heck do you come up with these things???  That is just plain SCARY!!

Fawkinnae, I'm still laughing at your bunny encounter (and how it still "chills" you to this day, even makes it funnier!!!!)    OMG, too funny!! I would have peed my pants for sure!!!

...And hey, ah, I um... lost one of my little teeny, tiny, sweet, baby bunnies under our deck yesterday...Do you think maybe you can come over and have a little peek-a-poo under my deck for me?      ...She's as sweet as can be, I PROMISE!! 

Kenhuntin, No, I've never seen the monty python thing...nor do I think I want to now!! Thanks for the warning!!


Oh and Hunter I read your very "un-nerving" story, and that it was!!  Remind me NEVER to play a prank on your ass in the woods!  Good God!!  Besides, I asked you for a story about when YOU sh*t your pants in the woods, not when you made your friend do it! LOL!!

...so your STILL not really fessing up though, ....your honestly going to say that you have NEVER had a little scare out in the woods, besides your former friend pranking you? 

And finally, dear sweet Cody, I really liked your quote, " i know everything in the woods is more afraid of me" ...Please go tell that to the last person that got mauled in the woods by Mamma Bear, or that has been chased down by ANY wild animal!! ...I mean for Gods sake, even poor Boogityn was almost destroyed by a couple of sweet, innocent, COWS!!! 

I hear sooo many people saying the same things as you, "that everything in the woods is more afraid of us".  And that could be true that maybe MOST animals are afraid of us, but ah...I'm pretty sure there are still a few animals out there that are not even a teeny, tiny bit afraid me or anyone else....INLCUDING a couple bad asses, like yourself and Hunter!! (who aren't afraid of nothin'!!  ) 

~gg 

[HD]

Yes, GG....I can honestly say I have not had a scare in the woods.
Will it ever happen.....maybe....

And, I never said I was a bad ass.....

My middle name starts with and "A" and ends with a "hole".....but....bad ass....nope, never said it......   


Hunter

[GirlGuide]

Yes, GG....I can honestly say I have not had a scare in the woods.
Will it ever happen.....maybe....

And, I never said I was a bad ass.....

My middle name starts with and "A" and ends with a "hole".....but....bad ass....nope, never said it......   


Hunter

Well, I'd never refer to use as an A-hole, I'm not that cruel and I KNOW your not one of those!!
I just really like the term bad-ass a whole lot better!  ...just seems to suit you some how!

~gg

[snow]

Actually on a serious note,I can see how wondering thru the woods in the dark with your flashlight on would get your imagination going,like walking around with tunnel vision,every shadow looks like movement.If the dark woods really is a problem,turn off the light,let your eyes adjust to the darkness,takes about 5minutes w/o lights on to adjust.

[thunderpout]

Yep... its amazing how well our eyes adjust to darkness if ya give em a chance, but then if ya turn on even a pretty dim led and your vision is screwed up for ten more minutes....

[Randy Kaar]

Dont want to scare ya GG, But i would think that running to your stand would make you look like
prey to the boogyman and the big animals out there...

randy

[HD]

Yep... its amazing how well our eyes adjust to darkness if ya give em a chance, but then if ya turn on even a pretty dim led and your vision is screwed up for ten more minutes....

Yea,.....I let my eyes adjust and then walk out. I carry a large flash light just in case, but very seldom ever turn it on.

[Cody Gruchow]

well GG let mama bear come at me ill take care of her

[Go Big Red!]

Headlamps?  I bring a Mickey Mouse nightlight and a loooooooong extension cord to get into the woods...

No headlamp, no flashlight, but I do load a round in the chamber since we have run into wolf issues were we hunt.  I have built in night vision.... I see dead people......

[GRIZ]

Am I afraid of the dark - No

I was when younger but got out of that when in my early teens. I've spent too much time out there in the dark trapping. Flashlights went dead and I just got used to it. Now it's no different than walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night except that once in awhile an animal will startle you. Being spooked by something and being scared are different. As far as being afraid of animals that could kill you, that's only if your afraid of dieing. Now I'm not saying I don't want to live but that I ain't afraid of dieing. Way I look at it is if a couugar were to kill me at least I'd die doing something I love. One instinct prevalent in all animals is self preservation and humans are no different. As for being afraid of smaller animals that could do nothing more than give you a few good bites, That's only if your afraid of being hurt. Jeez if I was afraid of being hurt how the heck would I ever make it to work.

As long as I have a rough idea of where I'm at I think it's kindda peaceful. Now if I had no clue where I was at then maybe btu why? What's there to be afraid of? Getting hurt - wounds mend. Dieing - I'm at peace with my maker. Getting lost - heck I already am as I have no clue where I'm at.

Really what can happen other than getting your heart rate kicked up a couple notches.

[atcher]

Stupid but honest.  Gets dark out in the stand.  Do I want to shoot at this point?  Will it go down right away?  How long do I want to be out here?  Always seems brighter at the four wheeler, 2 miles to camp, but I have my machine.  I'm 6'8", 250, doesn't matter, still remember the gorilla in the closet as a kid.  My hunting partner, 6'4", 270, (we're not married) is happy when he hears me coming through the swamp, time to get down and head to camp to tell stories.  Anybody that is comfortable out there when it is dark is full of bull, or has balls hanging on the ground.

[deadeye]

atcher,
I'll admit I am releaved to see/hear a member of my hunting party arriving after dark.