I'll play on this one. A few years ago I was walking into my deer stand and I stopped because I could hear deer moving in the cornfield. I hunkered tight to a tree right along the edge and out pops a pair of fawns. Got the phone out and snapped this shot when it was about 5 yards away. It then proceeded to walk right to me! It came up to me and licked my bow!
Getting close is what hunting is all about and I love it. To get close to an animal you have to either convince the animal your something you aren't (calling them in) or you recognize animal patterns and movements and position yourself in the right spot at the right time. I have shot over 20 deer and an elk under 20 yards with a few of them being under 5 yards. The rush when they are that close is unreal!
My buddy and I sneaked up on a bedded whitetail buck this weekend. We were probably only 15 yards from him. If we can keep making stalks like that, we should be in for some short ones this year!
I shot a doe antelope last year at about 25 yards with my 270. Off hand. Earlier the same day I shot a buck antelope at about 45 yards with the same rifle.
Whitetail 10 feet horizontally, 15 feet vertical out of a tree stand with a 30-30 with 150gn core lokt. Just one of several reasons I am bored with MN deer hunting.
Large doe at 5 yards with a muzzleloader. I was sitting on a stump. 8-pointer at 15 yards while still hunting. Too many to remember at less than 20 yards while sitting against a tree....rifle and mz. I hunt the thick stuff. None knew I was there.
Upon reflection I'm reminded of an encounter that didn't involve a shot. I was still hunting the mountains and got to a nice looking oak flat. I decided to try rattling before continuing up the mountain. A big old doe was bedded nearby and came running right up to me. She stopped on the other side of a Mountain Laurel bush and started looking around. After a few moments she looked right at me and her eyes got as big as saucers before running off. The look on her face was priceless!
Maybe not really a game animal, but coyote at 15 yards. She came in the sage and it was too tall for a shot until she came out in the open right in front of me. Deer, maybe 40 yards? Ran right to me, didn’t know I was there. There have been several encounters with deer and one with elk within feet, but never anything I wanted to shoot.
I've shot several whitetail with a bow under 5 yards. On one of my very first turkey hunts, and the first chance I'd had at a mature gobbler, dad called one in to me so close that I could have hit it with the gun barrel. I got so nervous I couldn't shoot. The turkey finally figured out we weren't hens and just started walking of. I still couldn't move to get on him and shoot. The whole time dad was like "shoot him, shoot him, SHOOT HIM!" He could have easily got the bird himself, but wouldn't shoot him. It was my turkey. He still teases me about being "locked up" and that's been 30 years ago.
Shot my first elk at 9 feet with a recurve. I set up right along a game trail and that's the one he picked to come into my buddies sweet cow calls. I swear that rag horn looked like a 300''.
I shot a deer on an island in the susquehannah river in Northern PA with my flintlock after Christmas. It that was so close that I burned some of the hair off of its side....literally.
I have shot multiple bucks with my bow that were straight below me sniffing my tree.
When I was a 15 I shot a whitetail doe while sitting on a fence row (30.06), she was on the other side of the fence, approx 12" from the end of the barrel.
About 10 years ago I shoot not so big mulie buck that was bedding and didnt think I could see him from 3 feet with my .54 muzzleloader
Near Jubilee lake when I was 12 had a herd of elk stampede my direction, jumped behind a big white fir as the herd thundered by, reached out with my 06, swear I touched him, killed a rag horn bull. Maybe 7 feet.
My first (and only) bow kill was a whitetail spike that walk pretty much directly under my tree stand. Was 10-15 ft, almost straight down. I was 15 and pretty excited about it!
Had a few close encounters, had a bear in NM literally brush the blind I was in. A friend of mine whitetail hunting in Arkansas had powder burn on a doe he shot with a pistol at less than 5 feet. Ive killed several whitetail under 10 yards.
I shot a doe with my bow that was standing directly underneath me. Arrow wouldn’t stay in the rest until she took one more step away from the tree.
With my shot gun the closest had powder burnt hair. She chose to eat the tips off from the tiny pine tree I was hiding behind. My muzzle was maybe a foot from her chest.