About 5 years ago, a friend invited me to hunt his farm, and he put me in a large burr oak tree in between two pastures overlooking a dry stream bed.
As I was watching the squirrels run about, something flashed by and I saw a red tailed hawk take a shot on the squirrel, and miss. I felt a bit better about my (lack of) hunting skills, when somebody who hunts for a living doesnt succeed...
Anyway, the squirrel runs and dives into the exposed, washed out rootball of a big sycamore on the stream bank. It runs under there, then a moment later pops its head out the top for a look around, like a guy in a tank turret, the hid again.
Some time later, from behind me, comes a very small bobcat walking down the streambed. It was the size of a small housecat, and had its head on a swivel. It never stopped looking around as it went past me, up the dry streambed and out of sight around the corner 50 yds away. It had walked right by where that squirrel was hidden, and never even knew it, apparently. I was thinking, "yeah, your hunting skills SUCK, cat!" Walked right past it, less than 2 feet away, went around the corner...
And five minutes later came walking right back... with a huge red squirrel in its mouth! Dum-de-dum. Looked just like a guy going out & down the sidewalk for a loaf of bread & a bottle of milk... OK, now THAT sure changed my attitude about that cat's hunting skills! Walked right past where the first squirrel was still hiding. It eventually came out & went about its business. Life & death in the big city. Business as usual.
Then, as it was getting toward dark, a turkey came out into the pasture to my left, so I took a shot (recurve bow) & missed. Later measured at 32 yards. It was starting to get dark, and down the path from my right comes a big coon, waddles right to the tree I am in and starts munching on an acorn. A burr oak acorn is huge, about the size of a golf ball. I had no idea coons will eat acorns... But then something distracts the coon and it climbs up the backside of my tree! Its my buddy coming off his tree stand. That coon flattened itself onto the backside of that tree and tried to act invisible, but we had it coming & going. It couldnt decide whether to go up or down, so it went up, almost right in my lap. I had to poke it with an arrow to get it to move sideways enough for me to climb down. I didnt want to kill it, neither the bobcat.
Coolest hunting experience in the woods I've ever had.
