Thread came up on another site I visit.. I'm sure you guys have had some harrowing experiences. Here are a couple of mine:

Couple experiences come to mind.. I was fishing with a friend of mine who is a well-known catfish guide. We were planning to pull an all-nighter and, though he lives close to a bigger city, we launched the boat from a pretty remote landing. As we were unloading, buddy pulls a ball bat out of the truck and throws it on the deck of the boat. I knew he never killed a fish over a ten pounds so I had to ask. "Oh, there's been a couple guys mugged at this landing so I carry that when I'm going to get the truck in the dark." Okay...

We caught a couple fish in the mid-20s and ended up fishing until about three. It looked like some weather was moving in so we decided to call it a night. When we get to the landing I said, "Throw me your keys and I'll back the truck in." So he did and said, "Here, take the bat." Okay...


I had a little AA flashlight that you about had to light a match to see if it was on. I'm not particularly easily spooked, but it was about 100 yards from the landing to the parking lot and kind of a narrow little road I had to walk down. There was timber on both sides, and it was blacker than the inside of a cow. I'll admit I was looking around me pretty hard and maybe gripping the bat harder than necessary. About half-way, there's a little dip in the road where a culvert ran under and just as I got there - a dad-blamed Great Blue Heron went flapping out, squawking at the top of his lungs - right under my freaking feet.. Good thing I peed right after I got out of the boat.


Other time I was in Texas hog hunting with my longbow. Guys we were hunting with insisted everyone carry a handgun because a couple people had been chased and one guy hooked. I borrowed a .45 and carried it the first couple times to the stand. It wasn't a real comfortable gun to carry so after the first couple times out I just stuck in under my pillow and "forgot" it. They mentioned a time or two but I just kind of sluffed it off. So, one night they drop me in a stand, at the edge of a swamp, and told me, "This is where we've had trouble with some "bad" hogs, so stay in the stand until we pull up tonight." I was only about 50-60 yards off the road so I didn't figure I could get in much trouble.

Well, dark comes, and comes some more, and some more and pretty soon the moon starts to come up. Finally, close to an hour later, I see headlights so I start down out of the stand. I had a little headlamp but with the moon I really didn't need it and I could about hit the truck with a rock so I started out.

All of a sudden there was thrashing all about my feet and something crashed into my legs. My vertical leap would have done Michael Jordan proud (if it would have been a couple feet higher). When I came down I landed right on something the size of a Volkswagen and as I took a couple running steps I crashed into another one. All this probably took an hour (or three seconds) and the whole time I'm trying to get my headlight turned on.

Finally, with both feet again on the ground and holding my longbow like a club - the light, mercifully, came on. There at my feet, running in circles and looking fully as confused as I was, were two armadillos.

I wasn't going to tell anyone. But, back at camp and after a couple drinks I decided it was too good not to share. After, the telling - and when everyone had gotten back up off the floor.. someone said, "I'll bet you wish you'd have had that pistol then." I said, "Boys, if I'da had that pistol - I'd shot both my feet off."