Jesus Moment

[Europe]

Or, have you ever thought, wondered, or worried about your time here on earth coming to an end while hunting , fishing, camping.

I recently was asked about this and yes I have, a time or two, been just a little more than nervous. A couple of the fellows I was talking to also had a couple of interesting stories about the times they had a "Jesus moment" , so to speak, while in the field.

I also remember the thread Cav1 started on this forum--why I always carry survival gear, --which was a good and helpful thread.

Have any of you while hunting or fishing gotten turned around ( lost ), or had a brown or white bear surprise you while fishing or perhaps wanted your downed animal, maybe you injured yourself while in the mountains, or had a cougar scare your horse out from under you, the weather suddenly changed unexpectedly, a buffalo, lion, leopard, elephant, rhino or hippo were unhappy with your presence in their space, comeing face to face with a rattlesnake, mamba, cobra, python, cottonmouth or your boat capsized while shooting the rapids or even worse where Crocodiles or Alligators live

Things like that, if so, please tell us about it. Thank you

 

[CiK]

I have a "Jesus Moment" every time I look at my 3 kids. Its not a fear of death moment though, its a blessing moment.

 

[Panda Bear]

I have had several. The weather is the one that brings us to our knees more often than anything else. Also forest fires and mosquitoes are very dangerous . We have several animals that create havoc for us and granted some of these moments are because we have the dogs. Cougars, Bears ( Grizzly and Polar ), wolfs when in packs of 5 or more, even moose can be dangerous to ones health. Let me think about a story or two and I will post them when I have more time.

 

[longbow51]

Outfitted late season caribou hunt in Alaska. Supposedly big name guy advertised in Cabelas. Cheap tent porous to the fine snow, no working stove, no working water filter. Snowed in with very fine (not enough to melt for water) blowing snow for 5 days. Really thought if the storm lasted another 5 we would be in renal failure. Lived on Pop Tarts. My wife didn't worry cause she thought it would be like our elk camp; woodstove, drink red beers, eat stew and steak.

 

[Sytes]

Younger years, 20 y/o friend and I hunting trekking along a game trail faced with crossing a massive scree slope. Trail continued across the slope. Time saver, we thought.

Long story short, I dont recall who began sliding first however the slope went out from under us. The longest stretch we slid was some 100 yards before it lulled. Rocks came down and smacked our backpacks...

Neither of us hurt. We were able to continue our hunt.

Other moments though that was a young buck lesson able to to look back on many times since. I would call that a "Jesus Moment".

 

[LuketheDog]

Not while hunting, but I did almost drown while surfing once, never thought that would happen as I'm an excellent swimmer and grew up in and around the ocean. That was a wakeup for sure, I apply that experience to all things I think I'm "ready for" in the mountains.

 

[Straight Arrow]

It was a hot July late afternoon about halfway down the Wild & Scenic Stretch of the Missouri in north central Montana when we pulled into a nice camp spot and unloaded the canoe. Down the river came a strong wind which caused the tent to start jumping before we could get it staked. The red Coleman canoe began to bounce so I decided to secure it. As I approached the wind gust picked up the canoe and hovered it above my head about ten feet off the river bank. My mouth dropped in awe and disbelief as the boat first fluttered above like a kite, then began careening end-over-end down the bank. Suddenly realizing the importance of boat transportation for the remaining thirty-five miles, I literally ran out of my boat shoes, chasing the canoe. It hit the water and filled, sinking. The bow had a bulge which I pounded out with a log and the gunnels and frame was seriously tweaked, forming a banana shaped canoe which we paddled jerkily down the river for the remainder of the trip.

 

[Randi]

When I saw this I thought there is no way this thread will get any posts. The guys are not going to admit to being lost or afraid

I have had two. The worst lasted the shortest amount of time, but those 10 seconds seemed like an hour. We were fishing in S. E. Alaska and I turned around and a brown bear was ten feet from me and starring right at me. I froze, he starred and then turned and walked away. When we flew inland one summer on my grandparents small float plane we hit some weather that forced us to land and I am told I was as white as a sheet and I dont doubt that. I was definitely sick, afraid and praying.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

Icy roads during hunting season give me the "oh sh*t" moments way too often now. Last hunting season we slid backwards on a steep icy road and I can happily do without that again.

I got "lost" once during the winter in a new hunting area. I knew roughly what direction to get out but it got dark quickly and I had no water and no flashlight (the stupid "oh let's go after those elk" got me).

Those scary moments really make you think about what's important and what isnt. I get a lot of flack for putting off a career to hunt with my dad before he cant anymore, but in the end I know it was the right decision.

We were fishing in S. E. Alaska and I turned around and a brown bear was ten feet from me and starring right at me. I froze, he starred and then turned and walked away.

This sounds absolutely terrifying. I've been charged by a black bear before but I cant imagine such a big bear as a brown bear 10 feet away.

 

[Wildabeest]

Last hunting season we slid backwards on a steep icy road and I can happily do without that again.

Been there, done that! Not a good feeling when all 4 wheels are locked up, you're about to put your foot through the floor on the brake, there's no response to the steering, and yet the truck is going backwards at an accelerating pace. Only hope is to let off the brake and get into the gas and at a minimum get over into the ditch as opposed to over the cliff on the other side.

 

[noharleyyet]

Headed home from Red River Sunday September 1, 2019, about 8:30 AM...complacently went in to a sharp curve too hot on the motorcycle between Eagles Nest and Cimmarron New Mexico. Milleseconds & every small detail up to the crash are slo mo etched....thought for sure I was about to shake hands with Him.

..but figure He wasn't finished with me.

 

[kenton]

Damn near went over a waterfall in 2008. Had to really scramble to get my footing back, no chance I would have survived that fall.

 

[Brandon270]

I killed my first pig DIY at last light at the end of May, it was eventful to say the least but I learned from many mistakes....

I hunted hard all afternoon hiking about 3 miles in and other than sign I never saw a pig. I had service at the top of the peak I was glassing from so I called my wife and told her I was heading back to the truck and she should hear from me in about an hour and a half. With a little over a mile to go I happened to look in a canyon below me and see a pig 10 minutes til last legal shooting light. I range it real quick...105 yards, take my shot and down it went. Where I shot him I didn't have any service so I went down and took one quick (unfortunately blurry) picture and ran back up hill about 500 yards to catch service to let my wife know it's going to be longer because I killed a pig and would take me time to cut him up and pack it down to the truck. I told her don't expect to hear from me any sooner than 2 hours. She congratulated me and said to send her a picture. As I was sending her the one picture I had, my phone was at 35% it died randomly. I try to turn it back on it won't turn on, I had a battery backup bank and for some reason it's not charging my phone. I knew the general direction I had to go so I wasn't worried about not having my on x maps but I was in a rush to get the pig cut up and head down the hill so I could get enough charge to call my wife when I got back.

Cutting up the pig went well but slow since it was my first large animal. I got dirt on my gloves and decided to change them out while I'm trying to keep the meat clean. The big no no I made was holding my knife in one hand trying to put a new nitrile glove on a sweaty hand... I slip and end up cutting the inside of my forearm. It starts to bleed after a minute and I started to worry. I had water to flush it but for some reason the Neosporin and Band-Aids were left out of my pack. I flush it with water, rubbed in some hand sanitizer and zip tied my spare underwear to my arm.

Once I began hiking down the next issue I ran into is the very steep section down this ridge thats about 800' to the bottom. There are only a section or two that are a bit less steep but without my on x I wasn't able to follow my exact track down in the dark. Even with a headlamp and a small led flashlight it was hard to see the best way to go down, the terrain on this ridge is a dirt base with what looks like 2" deep pea gravel so every step causes a little slide and kicked up a bunch of dust. Needless to say I ended up going too far past where I came up, going down a section that was way too steep and ended up falling/sliding a couple times sliding 50+ feet at a time. Luckily I stopped without hitting a boulder or a tree and eventually worked my way down, those couple times I slid was definitely my come to Jesus moment, not sure if I'd even be able to stop sliding. I finally made it to the bottom a few scratches and bumps but no broken bones. I was a little disoriented and turned around but eventually got myself back to the truck.

I learned a lot of major lessons on that hunt, and I'm thankful I made it out in one piece.

-Don't hunt alone if you can help it.

-Make sure you have a reliable phone/battery back up.

-Dont be in a rush

-Put down/sheath your knife when not in use

-Always have the proper first aid

 

[longbow51]

Not while hunting, but I did almost drown while surfing once, never thought that would happen as I'm an excellent swimmer and grew up in and around the ocean. That was a wakeup for sure, I apply that experience to all things I think I'm "ready for" in the mountains.

You know, Dan Crenshaw, the Texas Congressman, also a former SEAL, tells the story of how he almost drowned while boogie boarding on vacation with his wife. And this from a guy that regularly did 5 mile ocean swims, sometimes twice a day. So, yeah, nature doesn't fool around.

 

[Jape]

About 10 years ago this September I was chasing elk in a new area. Didn't have a GPS because I figured I wouldn't go very far. We all know how that goes. Five miles and 3 ridges later I found myself on top and still had not found elk. Figured I would follow a different path back to the horses. Along the way it started raining, I lost my bearings, and ran into a bear den. Your mind starts messing with you in those situations and I had to have a stern chat with myself, and a prayer, to start thinking about the situation logically. I knew if I headed downhill I had to run into the adjacent river at some point and then I could retrace to the horses. Found a raspberry patch along the way; nothing has ever tasted better since I was out of food and nothing has looked better than when I spotted my horses. Be prepared.

 

[Wildabeest]

This wasn't hunting, but @noharleyyet 's post reminded me of a similar "super-slow-mo" moment. I was running in a 10k road race when I was in college. They supposedly had the course all blocked off from traffic, but somehow an elderly gentleman pulled out of a grocery store parking lot onto the course and hit me from behind at about 20-25mph (my gf said I wasn't running fast enough ;-). I rolled up onto the hood of his car, then up the windshield and onto the roof, then off the passenger side and hit the pavement. I tumbled a few times on the road and somehow ended up rolling back onto my feet and then just kept running (but holding my but cheeks together since the impact with the road had ripped me open pretty good). A bystander finally grabbed me and pulled me aside since I was obviously in shock. As was the gentleman who hit me. Ambulance came and took him to the ER because he was having heart issues after all of it. The bystander who grabbed me drove me to the hospital after the EMT's did some initial triage. Got some stitches in some less than comfortable places, but was otherwise OK. However, the thing that has always stuck with me about that incident is that the whole thing replays in my mind in slow motion. I can recall all of the thoughts I had as it was happening - consciously thinking about what to do to minimize the damage, how to roll, how to land. The whole thing was probably less than 2 seconds, but seems like 2 minutes in my memory. I've theorized that the reason for that is that the brain goes into hyper mode and processes some much information in that short period of traumatic overload that it feels like it lasted far longer than it did.

 

[kentuckybow]

almost died a few times hunting and fishing, driving etc. when your number is up, its up. i just try not to jump to the front of the line.

 

[NoWiser]

After college graduation I spent a few weeks ice fishing Leech Lake in northern MN. I went through the ice one night about 2 miles out while on an atv. I made it out of the water, went through again, got out, and went through another time. I was so sapped of energy that I resigned myself to dying then and there. Luckily it was very cold, so my gloves froze to the ice sheet I was clinging to, after a few minutes, and they stuck enough to pull myself up one last time. I was very hypothermic by the time I got to shore and found an occupied home. 9 times out of 10 I don’t survive that situation. I’m sure glad it wasn’t my time.

 

[MLaird]

Not while hunting, but I did almost drown while surfing once, never thought that would happen as I'm an excellent swimmer and grew up in and around the ocean. That was a wakeup for sure, I apply that experience to all things I think I'm "ready for" in the mountains.

I was learning to body board and got caught in the “washing machine” of a big wave that broke on me, then an undertow sucked me to the bottom. I started to panic when my pro surfer friend’s instructions popped in my head. I grabbed my board, hugged it then relaxed and held my breath. I remember praying, “Jesus, I guess I’ll be seeing you in a minute.” All of a sudden I was on the surface and when I realized it I made a beeline for the shore. I don’t know how long I was under, probably only a few seconds, but it seemed like forever. I didn’t get back in the ocean for several months.

 

[NR_Hunter]

After college graduation I spent a few weeks ice fishing Leech Lake in northern MN. I went through the ice one night about 2 miles out while on an atv. I made it out of the water, went through again, got out, and went through another time. I was so sapped of energy that I resigned myself to dying then and there. Luckily it was very cold, so my gloves froze to the ice sheet I was clinging to, after a few minutes, and they stuck enough to pull myself up one last time. I was very hypothermic by the time I got to shore and found an occupied home. 9 times out of 10 I don’t survive that situation. I’m sure glad it wasn’t my time.

Man Leech is one lake not to mess around on. Glad u made it out.