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The bigfoot came at me so fast I never saw it break out of the brush.

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One second I was locked in on a decent eight point easing across the edge of a thicket

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and then the next there was something bigger crushing and hard from my left.

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It was coming straight at the sound of my fawn bleat.

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I dropped the call from my mouth and swung that way, just in time to see a large, dark

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and hairy shape running on two legs as it hit the opening between two pines.

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It stopped so suddenly, dirt kicked forward under its feet.

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The buck that I had been trying to stop blew once and left the area as if it had been

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shot out of a cannon.

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That I was looking at something else and that something else was looking back at me.

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And I knew right then I was in a world of heart.

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That was four years ago.

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I was hunting on a private lease in West Virginia.

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I was kneeling against the base of a sweet gum right on the edge of a little hardwood

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drain.

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My cordless hole punch, well let's call it that, my cordless hole punch for hunting was halfway

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up.

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I had one elbow on my knee and I was staring at something that I didn't believe existed.

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But there it was, a bigfoot, big as you please pardon the pun.

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It was standing just inside the brush, possibly 30 yards, maybe a little more from me.

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Now the first thing that hit me was the size.

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And I don't mean just its height, which I put well north of seven feet.

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Since I've had this encounter, I have listened to and heard hundreds of ways of people describing

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it.

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But none hit the spot for me when we talk about the size.

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This thing was wide and thick everywhere, built like a huge Mack truck all over, solid and

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heavy.

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The outline of it was clear to me when I saw the head, which was just as big as everything

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else.

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It was like looking at a hairy refrigerator with long arms.

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You know, there was no way I was wrong about calling it a bigfoot.

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There was nothing in its shape that could ever be mistaken for a deer, a bear, or a man.

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You simply can't mistake that shape.

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It's a big, shaggy human shape walking around on two feet.

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You tell me what else exists on the earth except a bigfoot.

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I was still looking at it, and then it leaned forward.

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It hit me then that the fondly is what drew it in.

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I'd used that little can call for years, mostly to stop deer to get a better shot at them.

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But that morning, that fondly got the attention of something else.

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My cordless hunting single hole punch was up, but my finger was not on the punch button.

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It came forward at a full step.

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It wasn't in any hurry, but that one step seemed like some sort of test because it was

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staring at me while it did it.

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But I was looking at it, too.

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I then got a better look at the fur, which was a flat, medium brown, and it covered the whole

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body.

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The thing that really bothered me was the face.

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It had a very human look to it, even from that distance.

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At the same time, overall, each part looked more animal-like.

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It's difficult to describe.

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I wasn't seeing detail at thirty yards, but I was seeing enough that I was becoming sure

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on some things.

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And here's the thing.

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I knew I was the only hunter out there, or at least the only one that had permission

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and should have been out there.

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I had been hunting that private least near on ten years.

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I knew the owner who lived out of state.

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I followed the same routine.

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I cleared my time on the lease with him, then I gave a courtesy call to the nearest neighbor

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who was about a mile down the road and nearing eighty years old.

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I just always let the old fella know when I would be in the adjacent woods.

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I got there that morning before dawn, unlocked the padlock on the metal gate, drove in, then

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got out and locked the gate back up with the same padlock.

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I was the only one there.

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So I didn't ever go with the thought that what I was looking at was a person.

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Just trust me when I tell you, a person would have been hard pressed to come in any other

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way than the way that I came in, even on foot.

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We'll just say, terrain difficulties.

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But I got there.

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I got set up.

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And a little after seven, here comes a big buck right out of the brush, quartering across

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the hill, right in the sweet open spot that I had for a clean shot.

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I gave the call a quick tip to stop him.

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And just before I got my shot, here came this thing right at me.

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Once I saw it, nothing else mattered anymore.

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Didn't matter anyway, the buck was long gone.

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The big buck came up another step and stopped just behind a cluster of saplings, which

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did nothing to hide it.

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I remember thinking thirty yards or less is not a big distance when something that big

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decides to move in on you.

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So I eased the hunting hole punch up tighter into my shoulder.

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And you know what?

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It saw that.

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And it reacted.

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I know it saw it because suddenly it's head dipped a bit, then it angled its whole body

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over to one side, making sure I didn't have a straight on target anymore.

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That was the only split second I had the faint thought.

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Maybe that was a person, because animals don't react when they see a gun.

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But that big foot did.

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I don't know if it knows about guns because it had been watching us or through other

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experience, but it broke eye contact with me and reduced its target size.

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So it knew what to do when I pulled my whole punch up, like I was going to punch that

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button.

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I didn't lower the cordless hole punch.

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I kept my eyes on where the big foot was or had been.

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I stood up slowly.

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I was of a mind of making sure I was on my feet if I had to leave in a hurry.

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And after every second I thought more sure that's what I needed to do.

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It stayed like that for a few seconds.

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I was standing with my long hole punch tucked in, ready to start punching.

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And it, weaving and bobbing between some trees, trying to cover itself.

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But I still could see it.

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Then something made it turn its head quickly, and it looked up hill.

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It was hearing something I couldn't.

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I thought maybe I would get out now while it was distracted, so I took a step back.

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It heard, and its head snapped right back to me.

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So much for a clean getaway I thought.

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But I took a step back anyway.

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And what did it do?

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It matched me by taking a step forward.

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I took another step back.

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It didn't just a little at the waist, but just a little bit of a turn to it, just enough

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for those long arms to reach something on the ground.

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It happened so fast I wasn't sure what it was doing.

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I barely saw it as it was doing it.

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But it grabbed something off the ground.

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Pulled its arm back like it was throwing a bowling ball.

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Then threw something up that arced high and came down, hitting a tree about ten feet from

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me.

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Close enough that a bit of flying bark hit me.

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That happened, and I jumped sideways, and I almost lost my balance on the wet leaves.

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That was it for me.

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I started backing uphill toward the old logging road that I had come in on.

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I kept looking back and forward to check where I was going and what it was doing.

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I was not far enough that I felt okay turning my back on it.

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One second I saw it.

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Then I looked back to see where I was stepping.

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Then I looked forward for it.

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And I didn't see it.

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It was nowhere to be seen.

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It was gone.

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But then I found it quickly.

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It was coming uphill right along with me, keeping a distance of about thirty yards between

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us.

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I saw it coming up through the trees in the brush.

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It was looking over at me often.

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My skin crawled because its movements and behavior were exactly like the one in the video from

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the 1960s.

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The arm swing, the twist to look at you.

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But I think this one was a male.

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I didn't see those things up top that would have told me it was a female.

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In my head I was thinking I need to use my cordless hole punch and I need to use it now.

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But I didn't.

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I'm not going to wax all poetic and emotional about how human it looked and that's why I couldn't.

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It did have human-like features which I've already mentioned, but that didn't come to mind

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when I was thinking about using that hole punch.

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I guess maybe because I didn't plan to put it on the dinner table.

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And I had been raised to think, "You don't shoot for sport.

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We shoot to fill the freezer, to feed the family."

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I tell you though, if at that point it had started acting like it was coming towards me.

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I'd have used that hole punch then.

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But I did use that cordless hole punch when a large chunk of wood came flying in at me.

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It was about the size of my forearm and landed way too close.

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It hit the ground and half of it burst apart.

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It was so rotten.

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But if it had hit me, I think it would have done some damage.

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I remember everything kind of went white for me inside my head.

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I wasn't exactly thinking and I wasn't scared.

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I do remember a simple thought.

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"Okay then buddy, you want to send me a warning shot?

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I'm going to send you one of my own."

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I stopped.

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Tucked the hole punch-up tight to my shoulder, sited it in my scope.

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And you know what?

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That dang thing went right behind a huge oak.

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If I hadn't seen it slide behind that tree, I would never have known where it was.

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So again, that thing knows what a gun can do.

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It's learned from watching us I was sure.

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Or maybe it had been shot, or one of its family had been.

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I had exhaled and had been ready for a shot, when probably 30 or 40 seconds went by, and

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it still didn't come back out for a shot.

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So I took a chance and I hit that hole punch and the tree behind it is what I got.

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I was just sending it a message too.

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Listen buddy, I got good aim too.

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All of a sudden that big that came out from behind that oak tree like a brown streak

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of lightning.

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It was moving faster than a deer at full run.

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I kept trying to get my sight in front of it so that I could maybe take another punch.

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But every time it would bob and weave between the trees or dip down behind the brush, I

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tell you.

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That big foot, it knows evasion tactics.

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I turned and started booking it up the hill.

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The logging road I knew was maybe 70 yards above me.

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My truck was another 200 past that give or take, and it was parked where the road was still

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clear near the front gate, and the gate was probably another 200 yards from the truck.

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So I fixated on that, kept my feet moving.

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The whole time I was keeping my eye on where that big foot was.

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After about ten seconds I had no idea where it went.

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I couldn't see it, but I kept heading uphill.

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Twice I almost bit the dust slipping on wet leaves going uphill, but thankfully I didn't

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fall.

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I didn't see the big foot for maybe another 30-40 seconds, and I had almost convinced myself

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it had left.

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It was going to leave me alone.

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But then I heard large brush breaking, not far away.

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I looked over, and it was coming right for me on an arc of an angle.

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It wasn't completely in the open, but it was coming in fast enough that it didn't matter.

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We were going to intersect.

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I saw bobbing and weaving through the trees.

200
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How something that size can cover uphill rough ground like that as fast as it did, I still

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don't understand.

202
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It was really fast.

203
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So I used the whole punch and tried to punch a hole in it as we were running, and I almost

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got it.

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But it bobbed right behind a tree the second it saw that whole punch come up and get

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tucked up tight on my shoulder.

207
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I punched the tree behind where it was.

208
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I saw the bark fly.

209
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I stepped out on the old logging road, and I thought a small bit of relief, but I knew it

210
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was far from over.

211
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:26,800
That part of the old road hasn't been maintained for probably decades, not since it was all sold

212
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off as private leased land.

213
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Only near the gate could you still drive on it.

214
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That also meant that it was real fun to run through there.

215
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There are old ruts in the road that you can't see, and if you aren't careful, you will

216
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go down and snap an ankle or worse.

217
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I bolted through green briars, feeling but not feeling the thorns raking me.

218
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I could hear the big foot, but I couldn't see it, but I knew it was staying right in step

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with me.

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I came out of the brush and I kept booking it.

221
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Where the brush started getting thinner, I was beginning to see flashes of my red truck

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far in the distance.

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I was winded and on rubbery legs, but seeing that red gave me a second wind.

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I could hear the big foot off to the side of the road.

225
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It must have been part mountain goat to hang on the side of that slope, with all the unevenness

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and still keep up the speed.

227
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I was on semi-flat terrain, and I was worried about the ruts and rocks tripping me.

228
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I glanced over a couple times.

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I could see the brush moving, but I didn't see the big foot.

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Didn't matter.

231
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That was enough for me.

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I moved over to the center of where I thought the road was, and I pushed on harder, keeping

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the whole punch up and held to my chest.

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Once it sounded like it was coming closer, I turned and shouldered my whole punch again,

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and it sounded as if it backed off.

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I rounded a light bend of the road, and the brush was clearing more and more, and the road

237
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was more and more visible.

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Dead ahead was my truck.

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00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,680
And let me tell you something that I know about hunting.

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It's flushing your game to where you want them to go.

241
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:26,000
My truck, my beautiful truck, was only about twenty yards from me.

242
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That's maybe the length of the main floor of my house.

243
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And bam!

244
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I got cut off.

245
00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,680
Not by the one that had been running along with me.

246
00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:38,000
Oh no.

247
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:44,600
His job was to flush me, to push me, to run me in a particular direction.

248
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:50,280
Another one had come out from the other side, and cut off my route to the truck.

249
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This one was smaller, and it was more compact than the one that had been running me.

250
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I'm pretty sure it was a male, too, but nowhere near as large.

251
00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:05,360
But that didn't mean it wasn't likely to be able to rip me from limb to limb.

252
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I pulled up my cordless hole punch and fired.

253
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,720
I hit that one right on the left shoulder.

254
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:17,400
I was aiming for where the heart was, or where I assumed it was, but I was running, and

255
00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,760
I was just a tad bit off.

256
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,120
It let out a screaming sound that liked to have burst my eardrums.

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I had never heard anything like that before, and I hope I never do again.

258
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,160
But it went down.

259
00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:36,320
My cordless hunting single hole punch that day is a favorite of mine, not only because it

260
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:42,360
was a gift from my father the year before he passed, but it's a really good single hole

261
00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:43,360
punch.

262
00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,360
It's a Browning 30.06.

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00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:53,960
That's a hole punch with some really good punch power, and it sure did its job that day.

264
00:17:53,960 --> 00:18:00,120
I swirved around with the other big foot lay, and I kept my eyes on my truck.

265
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I had a complete moment of panic when I dug into my pocket for the key fob.

266
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Right then was the first time I realized I had left my pack and supplies far behind.

267
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:18,920
So I really did have a second of panic thinking my keys and key fob might be in the zipper

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00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:24,120
pouch on the outside of my pack, which is where I often put them.

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But thank God I had it in my pocket.

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00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:32,000
I was shaking, but I got it out just as I reached the truck.

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I got it unlocked and got inside.

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My truck was about 40 feet, maybe, from where the big foot lay on the ground.

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He was still alive, and the bigger one had now come out and was looking at him, kneeling

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near him.

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I sweared to you.

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I couldn't hear them, but I think they were talking.

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I was backing up to make the turn back down to the gate when I realized two more things

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00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,080
it wants.

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00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,160
That big foot was really pissed now.

280
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:09,360
It was looking at me in the truck, and he was coming up for me in the truck.

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I also realized I would have to get out and deal with that padlock on the gate.

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And I had about 200 yards from the truck where it was parked to the gate.

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00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:26,720
So I did some mapping in my head, and I figured if I laid on the pedal to the gate, I might

284
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:32,080
get ahead enough that I might be able to get that padlock undone.

285
00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,440
Before the big foot got me that is.

286
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:40,600
I didn't recognize B-stain around a locket up after I left, but so what?

287
00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:41,960
I floored my truck.

288
00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:47,480
Do you know what happens on old roads with fruts and potholes when you go fast and you're

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00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,880
not wearing a seatbelt?

290
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:56,200
Your head will hard kiss the top of your truck, not to mention all the damage you're going

291
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:58,840
to inflict on your truck.

292
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,800
I didn't have a seatbelt on, and I did hit the top of the truck.

293
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:04,080
I hit it so hard.

294
00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,560
I saw stars, and I bit my tongue so hard by accident.

295
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,760
I thought I might have bit right through part of it.

296
00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:16,040
And just a second, my whole mouth was full of blood.

297
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,520
But I didn't stop, and I didn't slow down.

298
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:24,480
I kept looking in the rear mirror, and the big one was coming after me for about the first

299
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:26,120
thirty seconds.

300
00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:29,240
And then I didn't see it anymore.

301
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,920
I kept checking the mirror all the way anyway.

302
00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:38,000
I thought maybe he had left the road and was off to the side, trying to be stealthy.

303
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:39,400
I tell you true.

304
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,640
I was so scared when I got to the gate.

305
00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,880
I didn't realize I was at the gate.

306
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:49,400
I was looking in the mirror, and I plowed right through that big metal gate.

307
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:53,280
Talk about some real damage, both my truck and the gate.

308
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:58,680
The gate was ripped off on one side, and it rode on the front of my truck till I got out

309
00:20:58,680 --> 00:20:59,680
on the road.

310
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:05,560
Now luckily, there was no one out there on that road when I came barreling out, because

311
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:07,200
I didn't slow down.

312
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,240
I would have hit somebody.

313
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:14,520
I tore through that gate, and I went straight across and almost went into the trees on the other

314
00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:16,120
side of the road.

315
00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:18,000
That's how much I overshot.

316
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,760
That's how fast I was going.

317
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:23,720
But I came to a screeching stop just in time.

318
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:29,120
Put the truck in reverse to turn onto the road, and that's when I heard the metal clatter.

319
00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:32,560
That's when the gate fell off my front end.

320
00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:37,800
I was still looking back down the logging road as I hit the pedal and went speeding down

321
00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,080
away from there.

322
00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,680
I got home, and my wife totally freaked out.

323
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:49,200
Not only was I home much earlier than normal, but I got out of my truck with blood running

324
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,400
down my chin.

325
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:57,080
Turns out I did sort of bite a little bit of a piece of the side of my tongue right off

326
00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,600
to this day I can feel where it was missing.

327
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:05,360
No idea where that little chunk went, and I probably swallowed it.

328
00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:08,280
I was shaking so bad when I got home.

329
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:14,000
I kept telling her I was okay, and it took a long time to get the whole story out.

330
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,000
But I told her.

331
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:21,160
She took one look at my truck, my mouth, and she never questioned me about it.

332
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:28,320
I'm not saying she fully believed me, but she knew something bad happened out there.

333
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,600
That truck wasn't even a year old, and I babyed the dickens out of it.

334
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:40,120
And it looked a pretty bad mess, plus here I came home with nothing but my rifle.

335
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:44,920
Once I stopped shaking, I got on the phone, and I called that landowner.

336
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:51,320
I told him there had been a mishap that gate was broken, but if he got someone to fix it,

337
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,160
I'd happily pay for it.

338
00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,800
He was a little puzzled.

339
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,760
He asked what in the world happened.

340
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:04,040
He was thinking maybe I'd ran into some bad people out there, and maybe we had tangled.

341
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,360
Maybe someone took a shot at me.

342
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:07,640
I said no.

343
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:13,760
I only would say that I had seen something out there, and experienced something that I don't

344
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,200
ever want to talk about.

345
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,840
I refused all of his probing questions.

346
00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:24,720
I told him also I wouldn't be going back out there to hunt either.

347
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,480
I knew he was confused.

348
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:31,720
He's a nice guy, but dang it, we knew all the same people.

349
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:36,240
I wasn't going to start blabbing about seeing a big fit or saying that I shot one.

350
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,360
My name would forever be mud in that town.

351
00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,880
I really don't know if the one I shot ended up dying.

352
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:49,880
I have seen much bigger animals go down from one punch from my cordless hole punch, and

353
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:51,640
they never got back up.

354
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,560
So I really can't say.

355
00:23:54,560 --> 00:24:01,000
In a way I have regrets over punching it, but at the same time I don't.

356
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,960
I know that if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here typing up this email.

357
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,880
I still hunt, but never there, no never there.

358
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,920
I don't even hunt that county or that string of mountains anymore.

359
00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,080
No force that I know connects there.

360
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,080
I refuse.

361
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:20,080
Never again.

362
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:24,320
I also don't use a fond belief anymore.

363
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:33,680
I don't have a loan, but I cannot flush and drive game toward another hunter either, because

364
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:39,920
I remember what that felt like, because that day the old cliche was true.

365
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:44,320
I suddenly went from being the hunter to the hunted.

366
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:51,280
I was flushed and driven like game, and I believe I am lucky I survived.

367
00:24:51,280 --> 00:25:01,280
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