Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Clarksville, AR
Posts: 1074

I was on one of my big misadventures tonight, and it occurred to me that the users of this board probably had some excellent stories about similar stuff. Looking forward to reading some of yours...

I was huntinga 600 acre island in the Arkansas River by myself, and my light died shining a tree in the dead center of it. Made my way nearly to the boat with my cell phone light, then it died. The last hundred yards was pretty much by sense of smell.
Then it was a mile boat ride in pitch black, no moon darkness, which was an adventure in itself. I was able to stay in the center of the channel by watching the Garmin screen, but still managed to smash into a floating treetop just before I got to the boat ramp. Thought I was finally home free as I coasted up on the bank, but I guess the front deck of my flat bottom was frozen and I managed to slip and do a nearly perfect flip, landing exactly on top of my head in the mud.
When I got home I noticed that I had unplugged the power strip where I usually charge my equipment to make room for a boot dryer, which explained why my light had died.

Last edited by Cory Highfill on 12-22-2019 at 10:22 PM

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Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

Enjoyed reading. Sure glad you made it home safe.

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"Boss Lights"

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Registered: May 2019
Location: Ohio
Posts: 45

My hunting buddy Bob and I always called a misadventure a wazoo. I could write a book about these nights over the past 60 years. One of my favorite stories happened over 30 years ago. Two of Bob's young blueticks treed in the yard of a farmhouse. When he got there, they had a cat treed in an apple tree beside the house. The elderly farmer's wife was out in the yard with the garden hose, spraying down the dogs. Bob was busy apologizing and getting the dogs on the leads when the door opened and the old farmer yelled out "What is going on out there!" The old woman replied "Just some **** dumb coonhunter!"

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Clarksville, AR
Posts: 1074

We treed a housecat in a backyard one night and the homeowner was shooting out through the woods all around us. I stepped behind a tree and screamed "You killed Johnny you son of a &!#@$!"

Door slammed shut and the porch light went out, lol.

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5630

I was hunting one night by myself, my dog treed a coon pretty quick and I found the coon as soon as I got to the tree. Problem was the coon was behind a big limb and only looked at me 2 times, I burned my light out at that tree trying to get a shot and had to walk back to my truck in the dark. Never got a shot at the coon either. I now carry a small led light with me, don't like walking in the dark without a light. Lol. Dave

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Clarksville, AR
Posts: 1074

I do the vast majority of my hunting by myself and my wife says it's no small miracle I've made it this long without a major mishap. I don't even tell her about half the silly stuff I do...

I stepped off in a stump hole in a flooded bottom one night, and went straight down in the water about a foot over my head. The hole was tight enough that I couldn't even move my arms. A guy that was (thankfully) with me pulled me out by my overall straps. If I'd been by myself, they probably wouldn't have found me until the next summer!

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Registered: Jun 2004
Location: Southwest Missouri
Posts: 1130

I'm just glad we are past the days of walking a straight mile to a treed dog and crossing 2 county roads and a river on the walk in lol

Thank you garmin

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You'd better believe it!

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: va
Posts: 501

Hunted by myself the other night, dog struck and treed quick about 400 yards from the truck. Got to him found the coon with my high beam on my light, then high beam went out. Luckily was able to see enough to shoot with my walk light on. I was carrying an ar style 22 with me loaded with 25 shells. In the process of shooting only 5 of those 25 shells fired. Thank god I hit the coon twice. Never had such weird luck like that. As easy as it was to get that coon treed I was looking forward to making a 2nd drop but with the way things were going I called it a night.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Freeport,TX
Posts: 1907

Way back before Garmin and before I had radio tracking collars I started hunting with this man who was about 6’5” tall...we were driving down the road and he asked me what that I had...I told him it was a compass and I never left home without it...well he starts ranting about that compass...he said, by God I been hog hunting for 25 years and I ain’t needed no compass and I ain’t never got lost...that was Ole Joe (not his real name)...

Like a dummy I said...well that’s one less thing to carry...luckily the nephew of the landowner was with us...

Joe had one bad to the bone strike dog named Nugget...we were roading him and he winded some hogs to our left and he crosses the fence and bays at about 125 yards...he has about a 200 pound sow backed up to a log baying nose to nose...prettiest chop mouth you ever heard...we catch the sow and Nugget rolls over and chops three times on his way after the rest of the herd...again those three chops on his way out were awesome sounding...in a few minutes he was bayed at about a quarter mile...me and Joe’s son go to Nugget...I had a young Airedale on leash for catching and he and Nugget were doing the catching on all the hogs...again same scenario...3 chops on track and quarter mile or so he cut one out of the herd and kept it shutdown and bayed...all sows about 175 to 200 lbs...on the 4th sow I told Joe’s son... I am catching the hog and you catch Nugget...well he missed and Nugget was gone after the hogs again...I think Nuggets plan was to catch every hog in that herd...

I made up my mind we weren’t going to Nugget... I knew we had traveled in a straight line so I knew which way was back so I was thinking...another thought...all blocks of woods and fences looked alike...

About the time we were gutting the last hog we heard Joe hollering...except he and the owners nephew were coming in from a different direction...which was weird I thought...

We decided to leave Nugget baying about 3/8th mile further...we had lots of pork to pack out...I said straight line that way to truck...Joe said nope...this way to truck...I said Joe I am about positive it’s that way...well I gave in to the man with the most hog hunting experience and once I figured out we were lost I abandoned the hog...about an hour later Nugget shows up and we leash him...about that time a bad norther hits with about 20 mph winds with ice cold rain that lasts about 30 minutes of raining...temperatures start dropping pretty quick...we weren’t dressed for the occasion and we were wet and cold...this was before the computer and internet age so that cold front was a surprise...

About 4 more hours and we made it out...Nugget struck about 4 or 5 more times off his leash but we didn’t turn him loose...at that time striking and catching hog was not on the priority list...I was about ready to sit still till daylight but luckily the nephew saw something familiar and we were about 3 hundred yards from the truck...

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