Sorry bigbuckhunter you need to change your handle to big chicken. LOL
I can't help you as I have never had this problem even in areas with grizzleys, cougars or wolves. Or in the south with snakes, gators and all manners of flesh eating bugs.

I used to be that way when I was young...just kinda grew out of it as I learned more about wildlife and how they actually react to human presence. Most of the tooth and claw critters we never see because they catch our scent and get out of the area before we even knew they were there.

Common charlie be nice. I'm sure at one time you were affraid yourself the first time in the woods by yourself. I know I was when I was younger. Just a phase BigBuckHunter, the more you are out there the more comfortable you will feel. Good luck.

yeah though i walk through the valley in the shadow of death , i shall fear now evil because i an the meanest son of a bit-- in the valley

I used to be pretty scared when I was around fourteen, but now that I'm a couple years older I realize that I have a gun and I usually carry alot of bullets. So if I did see the dreaded bear, wolf pack, or Bigfoot I could scare them off or kill them....just pray (if your that kind of person) and start heading back with confidence...and it also helps if you don't watch all these scary movies nowadays....good luck and have fun

Two days ago I was hiking to my spot in Grizzly, Wolf and Cougar country and a huge black object ran across the trail and through the creek crashing through everything. Scared the living crap out of me, to dark to even shoot at whatever it was if it came after me. I suspect it was a moose even though I heard wolves later that morning, but I hear you. I only get freaked out when something is crashing around in the dark. I don't care what these guys say, every one of them would have crapped their pants. Even though most of them would have not forgotten a flashlight. Changed a flat tire while hunting and forgot to put my flashlight back, oh well, I lived.

I know I started feeling more uneasy this past spring when I was out for turkey. I'd arrived at my spot about 0500...well before light. Then not long after sunrise say a mountain lion stalking along in the distance. Made me realize he could have been anywhere he wanted keeping an eye on me while I sat in the dark.

Just because I am a reasonable man and know very well that there aren't any dangerous animals where I hunt doesn't mean that back in the lizard part of my brain I'm not afraid of what I can't see. I really like Rem700-06's post. Even though I am positive that the scratching I hear in the underbrush is an armadillo, there is always the .o1% chance that Bubba has escaped from the facility and is out looking for revenge. I'm not afraid, per se, but if you were to jump out from behind a big tree after dark and yell "Boo!" while I'm walking out, I'll probably leap four feet into the air, empty my bolt action in every direction before I come down and then start thinking about where I'm going to get a clean set of camo---not fearful, just high strung. Ain't life a hoot?

I enjoy a good walk in the woods in the dark. It's amazing how well your eyes adjust and how much you can actually see if you choose not to use your flashlight.

several years ago, my father was walking to his treestand on a bright moonlit morning. he knew that he would be back in the morning the night before so he just left his bow in the tree. while walking to the stand, he saw what looked like a coyote crossing the road in front of him. it stopped and looked at him and he yelled at it, hoping it would run off. instead, it ran straight at him. he retreated, not even having a flashlight in his hand to see what it was. he jumped in the bed of the truck, barely beating the critter. when he finally got the flashlight out of his pocket, he illuminated a big floppy eared coon hound that was lost and just wanted some attention. this would scare just about anyone, he does not leave the bow in the tree anymore.

It is a natural instinct in the human to be afraid of the dark and the unknown. We are hardwired to be in the daylight where we can see.

not going to pretend im a manly man or any thing im afraid of some things dark woods never realy bugged me dark city on the other hand bugs me

Grow a set or quit hunting.

Here's a challenge: lie down on your basement floor at night with no lights on.

Porcupine? That little creature? A little porcupine is the least of my worries.

Poor Porcipines,they got the short end of the stick when it came to smarts.Its a local joke here that if you get lost in the woods follow a porcipine, because its going to go the highway to get run over...
But seriously, their slow behavior is great if you do become lost.They easy to kill, relatively easy to skin(flip em over and work from the belly in.)and one of the few wild meats you can safely consume completely raw.Ive tryed them roasted, its edible, sprucey but edible.

This has been fun reading!! I have been hunting for a long time and spent MANY MANY nights in the woods camping with no rifle. Usually only a pocket knife. I've done night hikes and backpacked in in the middle of the night several times after work. I was never scared one time, until we thought there was a bear on the trail in front of us. Very long story short, some one had put reflecting tacks on a tree very close together, close enough and low enough to appear to be eyes. It scared the hell out of us, but we laugh at it.

I will admit, walking in the woods now, during deer season, with a muzzleloader, I get a little nervous. Makes me mad that I cannot carry a pistol with me on Fort Campbell while hunting. Gives me that extra sense of security. But I will have it in WV.

Takes a man to admit his downfalls and shortcomings. I'm not afraid to admit that I get scared!! But once in the tree, I could care less what is on the ground.

I kind of grew up in the woods so I don't get scared of anything out there except I must say that I am very nervous hunting in public hunting areas around big cities. I am always thinking that some bozo will open up on me doing a little "sound shooting". So far I must say that hunters have been very good and I haven't really had a problem... however I still worry.

Kyle, I'm talking about fear management. We fear the unfamiliar.
I was thinking of my own unfinished basement, not a shag carpet man-cave with leather couch and wet bar. I know there's spiders, centipedes and real crud on my basement floor.
The reality is, none of that can really hurt you, but is does cause a sense of revulsion. Getting a handle on that gives you a place to start with your other fears.

when i hunt in alabama with cougar wolf and other stuff. I have to drive a 4 wheeler or kabota a mile and a half to another hunting house to meet my uncle then we walk into a ridge and sit up against a tree in the dark with 2 turkey load shells and a 12 gauge over and under, and then when i hunt in illinois i walk to my stand through a field and the woods which isn't AS bad but one time i saw a coyote run in front of i drew back on it and almost shot it with my bow. awhile later i was in my stand and i started bleating and 4 coyotes ran out and started barking and going nuts right under my stand

i have 2 acres behind my house and i am twelve do all the work my self and i need tips on how to draw deer to my set ups.... the brush is thick and i found a small clearing where i hung a ladder stand with a small food plot and a tater pile beside a small watering hole that is clearly used alot but ive never seen a deer from it there is a scrape appr. 20 yds from my stand. any ideas.... my other setup is a blind on a DESERTED dirt bike path that hasnt been used in well over two years, so the ground is very mushy perfect for food plots with cornpiles... PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO DRAW DEER TO MY SETUPS....i forgot to mention that i am twelve and each stand is within two hundred yards of my north carolina home