What's the coolest thing you've ever found, that you weren't looking for, while hunting?

[2rocky]

Found a couple memorial sites on public land.

One we found on the Valle Vidal when we lost the key to the Rental car.

And this one on a ridge in Eastern Wyoming

 

[MaddH]

Found a nice arrowhead while tracking a buck my buddy shot in the Kaibab. Lost the blood trail and then found a big drop right on the arrowhead. 50 yards later found the buck

 

[Brian in Montana]

No pictures, but once while hunting in the LBJ National Forest (North Texas), I came across an ancient headstone made of looked like local sedimentary rock. It had obviously been placed there intentionally with the top edges rounded off. It seemed to have had other writing etched into down low, but the only thing still legible we're what I assumed to the the initials of the interred - D L G. I thought the local Forrest Rangers would know about it, but they had no idea. Took some notes about where I'd found it and said they might want me to try and lead them to it at some point. They never called, so either they found it or weren't actually that interested. That was probably 20 years ago.

 

[Matt Dworak]

Found this cool fossil while elk hunting. Super thick dark timber (think bedding area) about 9,000 ft. Makes you think twice about what our world use to look like.

 

[LuketheDog]

I found a geode while elk hunting a few years ago, I can't tell you how many rocks I smashed when I was a kid trying to find one! I picked up an oval-shaped rock to chuck off a cliff and it felt strangely light, so I lugged it home and cut it in half with my grinder, I'll dig it out to take a pic...

 

[LopeHunter]

Found this in Eastern WY down in a gulley. At first glance though was rubber boot tread so, mid-stalk, reached for it to carry the trash out. Is stone. Likely a tooth from an immature mammoth. Razor shown for perspective.

 

[LopeHunter]

I was over 11,000' on a mountainside in Jarbidge Wilderness on a mule deer hunt when we stopped at a small stand of pines for a quick bite to wait out an approaching early-November snow squall. I spotted a fence post but wasn't that at all. A few minutes later the squall hit. There are only a few months a year you can reach this spot by foot or horse after clear deadfall from the trails for a few days so getting a deceased loved one up here to bury and then dealing with the rocky soil would likely be a team effort and involve some dynamite. RIP. You got a great view and lots of solitude.

 

[elkduds]

Posted this before, found during scouting a few weeks before hunting.

 

[antlerradar]

Saw this yesterday on a shed hunt. View attachment 134978

Clearly that is pointing to shed heaven.

 

[Elkdog]

I have found several rock blinds that early Native Americans used to hunt sheep. From what I can find they are 2000+ years old. Most are just piles of rock but this one was U shaped and you could walk into it.

 

[Irrelevant]

No pics but found a 4" black obsidian spear point in the Beaverheads while chasing a bulging bull.

 

[Dsnow9]

I have found several rock blinds that early Native Americans used to hunt sheep. From what I can find they are 2000+ years old. Most are just pikes if rock but this one was U shaped and you could walk into it. View attachment 135143

I have sheltered from the weather and shot animals in one almost exactly like this one, I did a double take till I saw the surroundings. I always figured someone built it 30-40 years ago.

 

[NEW PA MT MN]

I found a neat looking piece of wood fishing out if my kayak last summer in Alaska. Thought it was a dead otter. Brought it back to the cabin and showed it to my wife and she said " I am Groot."

 

[huronmtns]

Two man crosscut saw.

 

[Bigjay73]

What a cool thread. Always say even if I dont fill a tag, I'm bound to see something cool while out on a hunt. Y'all have seen some neat stuff

 

[Oak]

Not necessarily the coolest I've found, but the mining history in SW CO provides many relics for discovery. Here are just a couple of examples, both found in amazing places.

 

[Pagosa]

I found this today while working. Old growth petrified tree with hollow center. I’m a creationist, so save your liberal comments that it’s millions of years old bs, and go study the other side.

 

[Khunter]

it is a million years old, at least

 

[D_Walt]

We find lots of arrowheads on our place, my son found this one a couple weeks ago

 

[willy]

Hunting elk in WY in 2018 I found a spent 40-60 black powder rifle cartridge at the base of an old, falling down pine that overlooked a fine ambush site for elk. I still wonder what the path of that bullet brought and how the hunter did. This was the only casing found there.

I have found other spots where there were several different spent calibers present on the ground at a fine ambush spot for rifle. I never did add to the pile. One of the spots had at least 5 different calibers and over 15 brass were found. Again I didn't add to the spot's collection but I'm sure if I go back there and spend some time I would. My buddy sat there one time and chose not to pull the trigger on a 5x6 elk otherwise a .308 would've been added to the 270, 300 win mag, 300 short mag, 300 weatherby, and 30.06 found there. I picked a spent casing from each and they along with the 40-60 sit on display with my elk ivories and Native American artifacts I've found.