Well, here's one that I haven't told because I know it'll be a "Thump post" and didn't think anyone would believe me anyway. Again, I was bear hunting in Ontario (waaaay north, around Horwood Lake). I always hunted from a ground blind built with branches and stuff I'd cut/pick-up. It added a lot more excitement to get up close and personal than sitting in a tree. Well, one year it got REAL close and personal.

I had a bait that was getting hit early every day, so I decided to go in and spend the day in my blind. Early one afternoon, my buddy and I had reset the bait with a bunch of fish guts and trimmings from the Walleye we'd catch and eat at camp. We'd throw the guts in a 5 gal. bucket and pour them onto the bait pile. As my buddy dumped the bucket on the pile, I got situated in my blind. Now, this blind was just a pile of branches I'd sit behind ... but it was open on the sides and back. When my buddy finished dumping the bucket, he stopped to check with me before leaving and we chatted a couple minutes. Just as he was leaving, he dumped the "fish juice", that had accumulated in the bottom of the bucket, all around my blind and half of it spilled on me. No prob, doesn't hurt to block that human scent. He then left and took the boat back to camp.

As I sat there, I realized I'd really f'd up. I was sitting on the ground and my butt was higher than my feet. There was NOTHING I could do to get comfortable and I was constantly moving trying to find a comfortable position. Now when you're bear hunting, the worst thing you can do is move, ESPECIALLY when you're down on their level. They don't have the greatest eyesight, but they'll pick up movement in a heartbeat and they'll be gone in a flash! I decided the only way I'd be able to sit still was to reverse my position in my blind. The problem was, I'd be watching the bait over my RIGHT shoulder and I'd have to shoot left-handed. There was no other way, so I changed position ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited. Dang! Maybe I spooked the dang thing with all the commotion as he should have come in by then. Although it's pretty light on the lake until around midnight or so, it gets dark in the bush around 9:30. I had my rifle across my lap facing the bait and my left hand on the stock. I was watching the bait over my right shoulder, but could just glance down to my left to see my watch without moving anything but my eyes. It was starting to get dark and I remember noticing the time ... about 9:15. I returned my attention to the bait. It was getting darker and I again glanced down at my watch. I not only saw that it was now 9:30 ... but I also noticed there was a BIG BLACK F'ING NOSE in my blind with me. I swear, I'll never figure out how something that big can be so quiet in the woods!

Ok, to say my heart was pounding would be an understatement! A bazillion things rushed through my mind ... number one? FREEZE ... don't panic! There was a sapling between my gun barrel and the bear so I couldn't swing my gun that direction. Even if I could, my Remington was longer than the distance between my face and that bear's face. The next thing that entered my mind was the fact my buddy had spilled all the fish juice on me and I realized "I SMELLED LIKE A FRIGGING BAIT PILE!!! (or better known as a MEAL!) About this time I'm planning how I'm gonna kill my buddy when I get back to camp ... IF I even live long enough to ever get back to camp! (you'd be surprised how much info can race through your mind in a split second!)

For some unexplained reason, that bear didn't eat me, but backed up about three steps, turned to his left and vanished! He wasn't spooked, just slowly walked, but those dang things can become invisible in the dark woods. I couldn't believe it. I knew he was just feet from me but I couldn't see or hear him. I sat, still frozen in position, heart pounding ... and about 5 mins' later, there he was at the bait pile! I knocked him down with a single shot ... and had one HELLUVA story to tell back at camp. THEN I threatened to kill my bestest hunting buddy ever.