A Reddit user said one of the scariest things that ever happened to him while hunting came when he was around 13 years old and walking to his deer stand before first light. According to his comment in the thread, it was still dark enough that he was making his way in without really being able to see far ahead, and that was when a hog suddenly charged him. He did not describe hearing it from a long way off or getting some nice early warning. From the way he told it, the whole thing came together all at once in the dark.
He wrote that he was screaming, running, and trying to throw a round into his gun at the same time. That detail pretty much told the whole story by itself. He was still young, it was before daylight, and instead of calmly getting into position for a deer hunt, he was suddenly in a full panic trying to get his rifle ready while a hog came at him. It was not one of those polished hunting stories where the hunter sees the animal first and makes a clean plan. It sounded like pure chaos.
According to his comment, the hog kept coming until it got to around 15 feet from him. Then, just as suddenly, it turned and ran off. He made it clear he never forgot that distance. Fifteen feet is close enough that there is not much room left for figuring things out, especially when you are young, in the dark, and still trying to get a round into the gun. He added one final detail that made the story feel even more real: unsurprisingly, he did not see any deer that morning.
The whole story was short, but it had everything it needed. He was a kid heading to his deer stand before sunrise, a hog charged him in the dark, and he was running and fumbling to load his gun while yelling. The hog finally peeled off when it got to about 15 feet, and that was the end of the encounter. No shot fired, no clean heroic finish, just one terrifying walk-in to the stand that he clearly never forgot.
What do you think — if a hog charged you in the dark while you were still trying to load your gun, would you trust yourself to stand your ground, or would your first instinct be to run too?
Original Reddit post: What’s the scariest or strangest thing you’ve experienced while hunting?
