Hunting Forum

I had one of those encounters that make you chuckle.  I sat down in a grove of cedars about 10 yards from a well used deer trail.  I had been sitting about 15-20 minutes when I saw movement to my right.  It was a pine martin.  He followed the deer trail a ways then stopped and picked something up.  He turned right and crossed in front of me.  I was wondering, "Did he just grab a mouse?"  The more I looked at it, I realized he had pickup a curly piece of birch bark.  He then turned right and come towards me.  He jumped up on a log and kept coming.  He jumped off the log onto my knee at which point I started to think maybe I will need to defend myself.  He immediately kept going behind me..  How many of you can say you been touched by a pine martin?   


For you southerners a pine martin is cousin to the weasel and the size of a small house cat with a  tail as long as the body.

-MD

I glad you explained what it was because I had no idea. Had to google it though.

I had a similar story with an owl. I had gone in one morning to hunt during bow season and when it just got shooting light I head it calling to my right. After about a minute or so it got closer and then I heard its wings. Next thing I know I'm looking its big yellow eyes 2' from my face. I go, "Whooa, what the h*ll?" and he diverts his path and flys right past me. The whole time I could have reached out and touched him. I was in full camo, so I don't know whether he didn't see me and wanted to land on this "branch" or if he was coming after me, but I won't soon forget it.

Mark, your in some different country there on the North Shore than the area I live in so you may have more Martens this year, but I talked to a trapper in my area the other day, he told me that he wasn't trapping Martens or Fisher this year because their numbers are so low.

 Even when their numbers are high most hunters don't get too see them, let alone have one run across their lap, that's a rare encounter indeed

I wonder why it wanted the Birch bark? Start a fire?

Images for Pine Marten

LD,

This one looks like a relative of the one I encountered.

-MD

Cool, I had a fisher walk up to about 15 feet of me this season and just turn away like he didn't care I was there. They can be MEAN!

bambikilla,

I have had song birds real close while hunting but never an owl.  I take it you were in a tree stand at the time.

-MD

Yeah, I like to fell out.

Posted By GLW on 03 Dec 2012 04:06 PM
Cool, I had a fisher walk up to about 15 feet of me this season and just turn away like he didn't care I was there. They can be MEAN!

GLW,

We have fisher in the woods as well.  They normally are a few more miles inland from Lake Superior.  More in LD's neck of the woods.  We have a lot of red squirrels due to the number of cedar and spruce in the area.  Because of the squirrels, we usually see a pine martin in the yard during the winter.

-MD

Never had an incident with a pine artine. I think that'd scare the hell out of me! I did have a grey squirrel come down a tree and perch on my head once. Also had two red squirrels that we chasing each other all over the freeking woods of northern Maine, run right up my right leg, onto the log I was sitting on and merrily continued
on their way.

Also, on the ONLY time I've EVER fallen asleep in the woods; I woke to the sight of big whitetail tracks that proved it'd stepped right over my outstreached legs...

Mark, that looks like a typical Minnesota Marten.

Several years ago I crossed paths with one a couple of times in a Spruce bog North of our house, both times he raced halfway down a Black Spruce to hiss at me. As you mentioned, they are in the Weasel family, and can be quite vicious.

I hunt in CT. In 2010 I was in a small doghouse ground blind hunting whitetail when a wren (Carolina) I think flew and perched on the half open window flap i was looking through. I was all in black at the time, just sat still and watched & listened to it sing away 3 feet from my head. It then fluttered down to the dirt floor between my boots, took a few steps and flew to a second open window flap that was at right angles to the first window. I went on to bag 3 does that day. A similar scenario happened in Sept of this year, though the wren did not fly into the pop up blind and I did not see any deer.
In 2011 I was took my chances to hunt in an archery only part of a state forest I had not scouted. Lugged my steel tree climber to a tree I thought was well located close to a break in an old stone wall and climbed up. Within half an hour a red tailed hawk was swooping in at me making an awful noise. I must have chosen a tree too close to its nest. It was quite a fascinating, though unnerving experience. it would swoop in ona shallow dive and them swerve away with a ten or twelve feet distance between me and it. I say 10 or 12 feet, but that is a vague guess from a guy who cannot even gauge the distance from the stand to a stationary whitetail 21 yards away. Still fun.
I've also had grey herons fight in a pasture 45 yards from my ground blind, majestic birds with such an unusual croak.

Great stories guys.

I talked with a guy tonight who said his son was hunting about a mile and half away from my encounter earlier in the season.  A pine martin approach his son.  The son did not know what to do and was grabbing for his hunting knife.

-MD

Never had an owl or martin stamped me, but when I was in Oklahoma several years ago I had some feral hogs walk right up out of the brush at me. Scared the beejeebus out of me! Luckily I was hunting and had my .270. The shot was close enough the end of the barrel had blood splatter. The same area also had some brave coyotes that walked through our campsite and howled while sitting in between our tents. They did not leave even when we were talking to the other tents campers. It was not until I pumped the shotgun and they heard that noise that the coyotes ran off.

Pittsburg County Oklahoma a few miles west of Quinton if anyone knows the area.

Several years ago I was grouse hunting in northern MN when I noticed a snowshoe hare heading in my gene real direction. A few yards behind it was what at first I thought was a black house cat. I realized it was a pine martin. I didn't witness the kill but did hear the rabbit scream. I waited a few minutes' put the leash on the dog and found the carcass. I don't know how close the martin was to its kill so we just backed out and left it alone. Pretty neat experience.

when a wren (Carolina) I think flew and perched on the half open window flap

That reminds me of when I one perch on the barrel of my 30-06 when I was sitting in an elevated box stand. I had my rifle laying on some sandbags and the bird landed right on it. I should have pulled the trigger to see how he reacted.