I'm a newby here, and after reading the posts I know some of you have considerable knowledge about this animal. So I thought I would relate an experience I had last year during the archery elk season and get your opinion. In my mind this is the third time I have been close to one of these animals but maybe not. Let me know what you think. We have been in a severe drought here for several years which has been consentrating the wildlife near the permenant water sources, mostly ranchers stock tanks with windmills. This also consentrates the hunters in the same general areas. I had come off the mountain on a supply run to town and saw that during the last few days a heavy thunderstorm had come through the lower terrain on the north side of the mountain. The mud (dry already)and dead vegitation had been washed out on to the pavement in several places. After restocking on supplies and going back up on the mountain I went back in to an area I had planned on hunting that evening. Apparently several other people had the same idea, were the road dead ended it looked like the parking lot at walmart. I remembered an old stock pond down low on the north side of the mountain that had been dry for years and thought after the storm it may have some water in it. By the time I got to the ridge above the pond the sun was already setting but I verified with binoculars that it was holding water. I decided to stay on the ridge overnight and hike down and sit on the water in the morning. I went another half mile on the FS road and pulled off in a stand of trees. I nuked a can of stew on the one burner for supper and crawled in the sleeping bag in the bed of the truck. Sometime during the night (I didnt have a watch) I was awoken by an animal screaming in pain. After my brain started working I realized it was a deer and the sound was down in the canyon near the water. I assumed a mountain lion had snagged some supper and I went back to sleep. I dont know if that had any bearing on what happened in the morning or not. At sunrise I started working my way down in to the canyon. This canyon is deep and fairly narrow, the south facing slope has a few stands of pine and scattered brush, the north facing slope is thick with tall pines, oak, and lots of brush. I was on the south facing slope. The light wasnt good yet and I stepped on a dead tree branch I didnt see which made a loud crack in the still air. I froze to listen for animals the noise might have disturbed. I was exposed to any thing on the north slope for several hundred yards in either direction. Something on the north facing slope approxametly 200 yard west of me and slightly a above me howled/screamed. The noise sounded similar to recordings I have listened to on the net, but not exactly the same. It started low and then increased steadily in volume and strength to its high point and then dropped off in progressively lower tones. Both stages of the call were about equal in length with the entire call lasting about six seconds. This call was repeated four times. The volume was unbeliveably loud. I dont spook easy but this had my hair standing on end. I was armed only with a long bow and cedar arrows. I decided I wasnt going to tangle with anything that could make a noise like that and got the hell outta there. I am a very expierenced outdoorsman and hunter, I can make a very long list of all the animails this wasnt. I came back the next day with a friend (and a gun) and searched for sign on the north slope. The only sign we could find were a few deer tracks. I did find the deer kill in the bottom of the canyon, but all the scavangers of the mountain had been at it already and I couldnt tell what had killed it. (not enough left). This happened four miles north of a sighting a sheriffs deputy freind of mine had three years ago. (he was on duty at the time) and nine miles northwest of the area a co-worker of mine had a sighting three years ago. Well thats what happened, some of you researchers out there let me know what you think.

I'm not a researcher or an expert, i'm just a newbie like you. But i'll still give some thoughts. This is a very interesting report! If you didn't recognize the sounds you heard as any animal you knew, and it sounded similar to recordings you've heard of what was claimed to be bigfoot, and since there's been other sightings in the area. I'd have to think the chances are good that you had an encounter with the big guy. Unless of course some folks were down there blasting off their recordings. I would expect something other than bigfoot killed the deer though. I don't think bigfoot could run one down....and if they stink like folks say, it'd be hard for anything with a nose to get close enough to be taken by surprise. I'd snoop around those woods some more, and see if i could find, see, hear or smell anything. Take a gun and be prepared for battle and maybe you'll be the one to prove they're really out there! Let me close by once again saying that i'm an inexperienced newbie, so nothing i've said may not be worth the time it took to type it!

Welcome NEWMEX! The thing is there are No experts here or anywhere else. If you didn't see what made the screams theres no way to know what made them for fact. If there have been supposed sightings near there it is possible there is a squatch or two in the area. If you have the interest and don't feel overly intimidated you may consider going back and looking for tracks or luck up on an actual sighting. It is intimidating at first to some. Been there done that. If it's legal take yourself a 30-06 or 44 mag. minimum. I know of no confirmed reports of an actual squatch attack but, your dog may not bite but who's to say mine doesn't. I've had a few encounters and have always been ran from or avoided. The firepower will help alleviate the need for depends as well as give you some protection if you need it. What I have always found in the field was my own imagination would at times be my worst enemy. I would start reading and asking for what other credible folks look and listen for. I don't know your thoughts as of yet but I would avoid the paranormal claims of others. I would also disregard the spetacular claims and start with trying the simpler things like looking for tracks and tings that don't fit. Give yourself time to draw your own conclusions rather than depend on the word of others. All of us could be wrong on what we beleive.

NewMex,
I am new to post on this board, although I have been reading the posts for a long
time. Anyway, I was just wondering if you might reveal the location of your incident?
There are several reports on the BFRO around the Ruidoso area, and I was wondering
if that is where you had your encounter? As for myself, I deer hunt in the Lincoln N.F.
and two years ago stumbled across the most enormous "scat" I have ever seen,
and was several miles from the nearest Forest Road. It was VERY humanlike, and
much too large, in my opinion, for Bear "scat". Then again, it may have very well
have been made by a large bear, I don't know. It was "Fresh" and I didn't hang around too
long! Just wondering if you could shed some light on the location of your "vocal" encounter.

TXBucky
My vocals happened in the Zuni Mountains. Its a long aways from your scat. Thanks for asking though, I know a lot of you Texas guys hunt out in my area (western New Mexico/Eastern Arizona), I would sure appreciate it if you would forward any recent sign to my attention. I'm not a one way kinda guy. I will give elk hunting tips in return.

I have heard that cry, and it does indeed raise the hair on the back of your neck.

We have heard the cry of a deer dying several times on our place here. There is no (known) predator around here that I am aware of that could kill a deer, but I have caught fleeting glimpses of BF moving through openings in the trees; he is unbelievably fast. There is no doubt in my mind that this critter could catch a deer.

IMHO, you had an encounter with BF.

With the size of those big turds......no wonder Sasquatch is screaming so loud and for so long!!!!!!

Where my Mom was raised in Alabama there has been sightings and vocalizations. She had been staying up there one weekend about two years ago and as she was going to bed one night she heard what she refers to as mumbling going on outside in the area where her car was parked. This went on for a good while (maybe ten minutes off and on) but she didn't have the courage to get up and look. (Her words not mine and she was by herself at the time) She eventually fell asleep but when she got up the next morning and went outside about three feet behind her car was the biggest pile of black scat. The way she described it, it was about three times the size of human feces.
Had it happened now she would have tried to save it to get it to someone to look at. But at the time she wasn't real interested in bagging any poo!

Sorry, forgot to mention this house is basically in the middle of nowhere. There have been bear reported in the area but not in many years.

Wow - a lot of new guys here in this thread - welcome !

Some great observations - get posting in other areas of the board !

i'm new too but i've been reading. did the vocalizing/screaming come from the area where you found the deer kill? from my reading, they do seem to run down and kill deer, especially when conditions aren't favorable for the vegetation they eat, like winter and drought? it seems that they run them down, break their legs to disable them and/or break their backs to kill them, usually only eat the liver although i've read of sightings where hunter have found several haunches cached...

Hi doglady, welcome to the BFF. The spot the howls originated from was not over 1/8th of a mile from where I found the deer remains. When spring gets here I am planning on spending a lot more time in that area. I will post anything I find that is worth mentioning on this forum.

NewMex,

I'm originally from New Mexico and was wondering where are the Zuni Mts? Just the closest city would be appreciated.

We used to go horseback riding and camping in the alot of the mountains between Silver City and Datil (highway 12) and never had anything unusual happen.

Justin

SgtWarren, the Zuni Mountains start south of Gallup and run southeast almost to I25. The BFRO and other sights dont show much for this part of New Mexico, but the Chuska Mountain Expedition, and all the Apache County, AZ sightings on the BFRO sight occur in the Chuska's. The Chuska's and Zuni's are connected by sparsley inhabited mesa and canyon country, the only man made barrier between the two is I40. I'm just learning the country you are talking about, I find myself spending more and more time in the Reserve area. Spent last years late Jan. bowhunt in the Mogollons. FYI an outfitter friend of mine that lives in Reserve had a sighting two years ago in the Gila.

NewMex,

To keep things short my stepmother, Katherine "Kitty" Clark she's married to Ike, lives in Cliff just west of Gila. Ask your friend in Reserve if he ever a met a chiropractor named Raymond Warren or if he knows the Clarks? Ray was my father and was pretty well known before he died '87.
Thanks for the info it's really appreciated. As for your friends sighting it wouldn't suprise me since the Gila river runs through the area and it leads right up to a string of Mtn ranges.

Be safe on those mountains,
Justin Warren

I'll be in that area for 2 weeks starting Feb. 1st hunting javelina, I'll be sure and ask him.

Take Care,
Roger