We need more channels like this I believe. Just laid back story telling. Nothing too fancy or trying too hard. Just sharing knowledge and experience. Very refreshing.

Being a kid in the 80s and 90s, I grew up listening to stories of tougher times from my grandparents. They lived through the depression, WW2 and everything else. When I got married, I grew very close to my wife’s grandfather and I think he looked at me like his own grandson. They all seemed so different than people now. They were raised in a different time. They are all gone now and I miss the stories. Thank you.

Great story brother! I had a strange experience one night while backpacking with 2 friends in Giles county Va. Something stalked around our camp til sunrise but we never saw it! It would sound like it was laughing at times then talking at times. A few times it charged our tent and threw limbs and small rocks at the tent. We were terrified to say the least. I ran across an old game warden once while hiking and told him about our experience. All he said was and with A straight face, is that there are things in these mountains that if the average person knew what was out here they would never come back! He refused to explain any further. It was clear to me that the old timer had some strange things happen to him as well. Keep up the great work.

Donnie, the part of Appalachia I love the most is what we always referred to as the “woods.” We played in them and explored everything including old forgotten cemeteries.. Once found an old Civil War headstone with the name Rufus McComas on it, with several field stones scattered about. Many years later went back with a friend, and a tree had grown up through the tombstone and busted it. His little cast iron fencing was gone. I never hunted, but most men I knew did. There is no fragrance quite like the fragrance of perhaps hundreds of years of leaves falling and making rich loamy soil, and the trees add a freshness. Yes, there are unexplained that go beyond what our five senses can comprehend. I had a Norwegian Elkhound named Smokey who would trot through the woods with me. Never right at my side, but off several feet to the side. Keep telling your stories, and keep showing us your adventures deep in the forests of Appalachia. I love them.

Such a great story-teller . I almost don’t like to use the term “story” because it may imply that it’s fiction . I believe him 100% .

I believe you. I just wanted to say, you still hunt. You just traded in your shot gun for cameras and we love what you shoot.

I've got an old single shot 16 gauge H&R shotgun my daddy gave me in 1979. I was a female in the Navy living alone in Ocean View, Norfolk, VA. One night somebody came in my backdoor. All I had was a hammer and a cat that couldn't bark. I tore out the front door and ran two blocks to an open store in my flannel nightgown. I called my friend who was on a ship at NOB and he came off that ship carrying his shoes and half dressed. If you've been in the Navy you know that ain't how you leave a ship. He made it to that store in less than 15 minutes. I was so stupid back then. I don't know why I didn't call the police. Anyway I called my daddy and told him what happened and he said as soon as you can get home I've got something for you. That old shotgun has never left my bedside from California to Virginia and home to Georgia and she's never not loaded. I sure miss my daddy.

I have seen and heard things in these mountains of southern WV that deify explanation. It is just part of being mountain born, folks who have not lived and roamed these ridges and hollers cannot understand. I enjoy your channel, keep up the great work.

Eerie tale, Donnie! No telling what it was you saw. Hunting for food is becoming a lost art...one day, it might be necessary again. How many, I wonder, will be ready?💖

"How many people have set here 200 years ago" ... I live in the NE Georgia mountains and wander around the Trackrock area. The Trail of Tears passed thru here. There's the ruins of an old Cherokee (or earlier) settlement here. Many a time I've asked myself that same question - gives one a great respect for the people that were here before us. Thanks, Donnie.

Thank you Mr. Donnie for sharing your life with us. You are a master at storytelling!

I love your stories and your voice when you tell them . It is perfect. I was raised here in. Tennessee. I love these stories. It reminds me of my childhood. But grandma on my mom's side was half Cherokee. I loved listening to her tell stories. We did not live in the smokies. But we were poor. She cooked and heated on wood stove. We lived in a 2 room house that had barn wood on it snow came through the crakers no electricity no running water. It was a hard life. But a great life

I believe it!! I think most of us that come up in the mountains know there are things no man can explain in them. It feels like old magic and souls that never left, in some places . Great story Donnie👍👍

I just wanted to say how much i am enjoying your channel. Its a beautiful place that you live and the stories you share are a joy to listen too as well.

There's a lot of things that we haven't discovered yet, to discount what we don't understand is foolish. I appreciate the way you presented the story, you didn't attempt to explain it you only told what happened. Thank you for sharing your experience.

No disbelief from this city dweller. After seeing my own eerie event, I would never discount another persons experience. Some parts of the woods just carry an eerie feeling.

i appreciated your story!, back in 1999, i was teaching sunday school adult class in tallapoosa county alabama, i had a fellow member tell about his brother in law and that mans best friend. and this took place about the same time as your experience. this man and his friend had leased some land to hunt in south elmore county..they had spent time and energy establishing food plots and improving the hunting area. one afternoon, one guy, experienced the same thing, except it was walking..he was in a tree stand overlooking a food plot, there were about 5 does feeding in it, the grass and such was about knee high, and he was hoping for a buck. then he heard whatever it was walking in the leaves, but he could see nothing, other than a limb break, here and there. it kept coming toward him, when it reached the food plot, the deer were looking toward the sounds, then whatever it was walked across the food plot, he said the grass was parting as if a man was walking through it and the deer were following all this with their eyes. he said once on the other side of the food plot, you could hear the leaves crunch as it walked away, a limb breaking here n there, once it was gone, the deer resumed eating, till he came down out of the tree., they ran off, he was so shook, by the experience, he got his stuff and headed back to their truck, and when he told his partner, they left..even though, they had money vested, they never went back, it spooked them so bad. guy this happened to, was well known as honest, a straight up type of guy.....so. i guess there is no telling, whats out in the deep woods

I've seen and experienced a lot of strange things in the mountains and woods of east TN. Most I've kept to myself because I know most people wouldn't believe me. I think some people are "gifted" these experiences and encounters.

This brings back memories! About the same time, though I think it's '78 or '79, we had moved to little town in south central PA that was a couple miles from the lower Susquehanna. That summer, my buddy and I would go hiking all along the railroad tracks that led deeper into the woods and fields, splitting off to explore creeks and hollows, and more than once we felt like we weren't alone and that whatever "it" was, it wasn't human. We don't have bears, wolves, or big cats, so we joked that it was Bigfoot. Fast forward a couple months and we're having one of the coldest, snowiest winters in memory. Near the far end of where we'd hike, a family reported that they'd heard strange sounds, their chicken coop had been torn open, and when they finally went out to look (when it was light - they weren't stupid!) there was a lingering stench and large - much larger than human size - footprints. Over the next couple weeks several other places reported similar events and my buddy and I...we knew what had been watching us that summer was likely what did this. Southern York county is a strange place and has a long history of odd events.

Same exact experience here in Texas back in late 90's on our deer lease.. It sounded like an elephant running through trees breaking limbs but didn't see anything. There were 4 of us that witnessed this and we all looked at each other in shock and disbelief.

It’s so good of you Mr.Donnie to tell these stories, I was born ‘88 on the Westbank of New Orleans, and long as I can remember my pops and I hunted and fished. It’s a dying art nowadays and it’s makes me sad. My daddy has an old mint wingmaster 870 just like that, told me he picked it up around ‘84 . ain’t nothing smoother than them older 870 wingmasters Anyways we’ve spent a lot of time in the wilds and bayous of Louisiana and Mississippi, and there is definitely some strange things afoot out there on them back lands. Even heard stories of witches hiding out and practicing witchcraft deep in the swamps. I’m hoping to move my wife and I out to your neck of the woods in Seersville, Tn. ( I think that’s how the township is spelled) in the next 10 years or so, I always loved the peace and serene wilderness out there. I’ve made many a hunting trips out there and fell in love with it. Sorry to run on. Keep up the great work sir, and god bless! 🇺🇸

Now I've seen ya, and you showed me your 870 12 GA with 30" full choke barrel, I subscribed! I'm 68 and grew up huntin in the Missouri woods. Yes we live in a spiritual world. God is a spirit the Bible says. Now we see darkly through a glass, but one day we shall see clear. I'm like you don't really want to hurt animals anymore.

Donnie, I live in the west central highlands of Virginia, about 100 miles west of Charlottesville. I've hunted all my life as well. Here in our mountains, abutting the great Alleghany Front, I've heard strange things just as you have. One night two years ago while returning to my truck after a successful coon hunt, I heard the strangest howling/wailing sound I've ever heard. It was so alarming that my two hounds made a beeline for me and heeled all the way to the truck. In my 50 years as a night hunter, I've heard wildcats, coyotes, birds of prey roosting in nearby trees, bears roaring during mid-summer mating season, and possibly even a panther or two. But what I heard that night was different. The howl resonated from the depths of a creature with tremendous lung capacity, much like the sound of a bellowing bull. These vast Appalachians hold a lot of mysteries yet unsolved.

I love hearing your stories. They remind me so much of my grandmother and her family. Thank you, Sir.

Loved this hunting story. My Dad had the same 870. He used to squirrel hunt and go to shooting matches. He was also a coal miner and a fox hunter.

Great video Donnie! Your story gave me goosebumps 😀I love thinking about who set on those rocks over the years.

I have been watching other channels and I have listened to the people explain exactly what you saw. A being that moves through the forest is seen and then disappears into nothing. I haven't seen what you saw but on 11 October 2003, I saw a Saucer appear in the sky over the City of Auburn, CA hover and discharge "angel hair" then begin flying and disappear north of Auburn into the sky. So, I do believe that you saw a being breaking limbs from trees and it probably looked like a mirage. There is a monsterous evil on this world; may Our Lord Jesus bless you and keep you and your family safe all the days of your lives.

I appreciate you, Donnie, and I appreciate your videos on such a wide variety of subjects. I especially like the ones on the unexplained. I, myself have seen or heard some strange things in these mountains of Va. where I grew up. There was a place on my Grandmothers land that every time I went through there, it was like it would get sort of dark, the wind would stop blowing, no animal or bird sounds...it was almost like you were in a vacuum of sorts...it was a very creepy feeling and I would always hurry out of there. I used to make rabbit box traps and set them all over that place...well, on more than one occasion I would have something follow me through those woods, but I would never see so much as a leaf move, but you could hear those footsteps flanking you on one side or the other at about 25 to 30 feet away. Once I'd get back out to the old main road, whatever it was would turn around and walk back down through the woods. I've heard that more than once. I'd catch a few rabbits here and there, but never could the first one where I experienced that strange, dark place with no sound. My Grandma lived back in those hills alone with the closest neighbor about 3 miles away...she always talked about a creature she called "Old Shiney Eyes". She said that whatever it was would come near her house every night just after dark and walk just inside the tree line, watching the house. She said that whatever it was never bothered anything, but just watched. She said that she felt like it knew she was alone and was looking out for her and maybe keeping her safe from other things...she was never afraid of it. She said that she would see those eyes shining like lanterns in the edge of the woods, walking back and forth. I feel like what I experienced was maybe the same thing, or maybe something similar. Whatever it was never tried to harm me, but just gave me a strange feeling...I guess that was because it was something that I couldn't explain. There are many things out there that are unexplainable, but that is just the way it is supposed to be. We as human beings aren't supposed to know everything, God never intended on that...maybe we will never know...maybe after we pass on, God will tell us all about it. Until next time, my friend, thank you for the videos and sharing your life experiences...especially the ones on strange things and ghosts...I've seen a few of those as well.

It was for sure a Sasquatch and they can manage to be unseen. I heard hundreds of stories about Sasquatch and sometimes from dogman. Thoses creatures are able to do things which are above our imaginations. Many greetings! 😎👍🇦🇹⛷🏔🛶🥨🍺💙🐺

Donnie just stumbled on your channel. Man do I appreciate your stories. I could sit by a campfire with you and listen for hours. Thank you

I got a true story for you: September 21, 1986, when leaving to go celebrate a girl's 21st birthday, I looked up at Mt. Sī (pronounced like sigh) in western Washington state. It was a beautiful crystal blue sky day, except for one thing: a ring of white smoke encircled the entire mountain, with a line of smoke going from the circle into the mouth of the Snoqualmie chief's face formed in the outline of the mountain. There were other people there, & I pointed it out to them. As we stood there and watched, the chief/mountain inhaled that entire ring of smoke!! Immediately after that, the evergreen trees within a bare Y about 2/3rds of the way down the mountain started waivering, like something BIG coming down that mountain! One word popped into my mind:: WENDIGO!! It's a Native American legendary spirit, reportedly malevolent in nature. I don't know for certain if that's what it was, but if so, I'm sure glad it wasn't any of us it was after!!!

Much better with seeing you tell the story. Thanks for that.it was so nice to “meet” you!

Hunting is part of tradition in my family. Just got my first squirrel dog!! Mountain cur named tanner. It's on this season!!!

That is unreal and I could just imagine trying to make sense of what you are seeing and not seeing at the same time. I spent a lot of my younger years up north working but would be sent down to Arjay KY to stay with my mamaw & papaw just as soon as school let out. They had 100 acres and a creek to play in and I loved it. I remember sitting on the porch at night and hearing all kinds of noises coming from those mountains.

Once I was deer hunting in a stand an hour or so from my home in N. Florida. I heard something coming directly behind my stand. Coming slow. I didnt want to turn for fear of scaring it off. It got slowly closer and closer . Finally , it was right behind me. I clicked the safety off , and quickly turned and aimed at where I thought it would be… And I saw nothing….. But a dang armadillo!!😡

I'm from Kentucky and I've had some strange encounters over the years out in the woods. I heard tales from folks growing up and wasn't so sure about them, but after having a few incidents myself I don't dismiss anything. Years ago, while working for one of my wife's relatives I talked to a fellow that was helping us house tobacco and he asked where I lived. When I told him he shook his head and said, "I don't like that holler you live in". I asked why and he said that while squirrel hunting there he encountered what he called, "a hairy man". I ride a mountain bike for exercise and on every nice day I'm riding up and down the "holler". In April of this year as I reached the head of the hollow and topped a little hill I saw something big and black standing out in a field past a cabin that sets there. The fellow that owns the property keeps things in good shape and the yard mowed and the fields bush hogged. This black shape was standing about 300 yards away from me and about 100 yards past the cabin. I stopped the bike and looked at it for over a minute, it never moved. I could see a big head, square shoulders and daylight from its knees to its feet, but none between the arms and body. It was perfectly still and after thinking things over I figured it was a silhouette target the owner had placed in the field to shoot at. I hopped back on the bike, rode on down to the gate of the property, got a quick drink and started for home. Where the gate is I was unable to see out in the field where the target was setting. When I got back to the top of the little hill I looked back at the field and the "target" was gone. A couple days later I was on another ride and the owner and some friends were mowing and working on the yard, I rode up and asked them if they'd ever seen anything odd while staying there and they insisted they hadn't. One said I'd probably saw his deer feeder which sets another 300 yards past where I saw the "target'. Another one told me I just saw a black bear, I have seen bears in that spot before, but they were down on all fours. When black bears stand up they're wedge shaped with no shoulders visible, on top of that they have a blaze face. What I saw had a big round head, square shoulders and was quite big and all black. I've had other incidents over the years including an unnerving experience where something big and on two feet followed me out of the woods one night. Strange howls, whoops and something that comes around on occasion that makes the dogs go under the house and not come out for days, even to eat.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate you bringing these kind of videos to the World. Just hearing you talk reminds me of some of the best people I've been so lucky to ever met and learned from in my life and of times that have so quickly come and gone. I was born and currently live in the very top of Kentucky but I grew up in East Tennessee wandering thru those beloved Appalachians and that's where my heart stays. So these videos are invaluable to me, as I live in a perpetual state of being homesick. Thank You so much for your time & effort, and your willingness to share!

Love your stories. I have encountered many mountain lions, rattle snakes, and bear. I've been in place the over all feel of it will make the hair stand on end. I believe you.

I am new to the channel I'm irish although I'm in England now, I love the music the nature the stories that you tell your kind voice and respect for the good things in life. Thank you for putting a smile upon me

What a heart you have for the mountains and the history there!! Thank you for sharing their history!!

Donnie, my mom loved squirrel and rabbit, my brother and his friends would go squirrel and rabbit hunting when me and my sister was younger , my brother and his friends would bring back 6 and 7 squirrel and or rabbit and me and my sister would cry lol . but we was raised in city , thank God mom wouldn't make us eat them beautiful animals lol . i love your stories Donnie.

This story vaguely reminds me of several incidents that happened to me in the woods (more like swamps I guess, very thin line between the two down here lol) in southeastern NC. This particular day I had gone out squirrel hunting with my blowgun. It was already late so I took a guess at how much light I had left and I took off. This is important to the story because due to prior experiences with the same "thing" I generally had a rule about not being anywhere near the woods after dark. So anyway, I got sidetracked watching this one squirrel that was just out of range and apparently lost track of time. Eventually it left and I was cutting it kind of close to sundown so I decided I'd walk up the trail one last time before I left. So I started up this trail and the further I walked the more I noticed that it had become unnervingly silent. More silent than it should have been at this time. And that's when I started to feel like I was being watched. I reacted to this by getting very quiet and stopping to check my surroundings a few times but all seemed fine so for some stupid reason I kept going lol. I honestly don't know why I did this. I figure that maybe I'd just shrugged it off as my paranoia acting up on account of how dark the woods had gotten. Makes sense I guess. Whatever the reason I continued on despite the fact that I had red flags going up all over the place. So I make it maybe another 15 or 20 feet up the trail and I stop dead in my tracks when what feels like a bolt of electricity runs up my spine and into the back of my head. I didn't feel safe at all anymore. I'd say I felt more like a hunted animal. So I turned and started walking very casually down the trail. I say "casually" because something told me that if I panicked and ran it would attack. I didn't want it to know that I was aware of it. now I wasn't exactly deep in the woods. Probably less than 100 ft from the treeline. I walked up until I was maybe 40 feet from the entrance and the whole time it felt like something was closing in on me. It literally felt like my head was starting to vibrate and the urge to panic got stronger and stronger until I knew that if I didn't leave that area I was going to die. So I darted the rest of the way down that path like a bat out of hell and jumped clean across the brier patch at the entrance. I ran another 15 feet or so, turned and slung that blowgun up at the trail and waited but nothing ever came out. And before anyone starts making jokes, yes, that's literally all I had to defend my with lol

Found your channel just last week and I love it. I am from Eastern Kentucky and my father was a coon turned Fox hunter. Like you he discovered he wanted to preserve nature, not kill it for the sake of killing. He got into American Fox hunting to chase game, not kill it. I regret that I do not Fox hunt myself because I would very much like for my young son to experience it. It is one of those childhood memories that an adult yearns to relive but never can. By the way, I still have my father's 870 Wingmaster although it is a 20 gauge. It was one of his favorite shotguns as well.

I can remember growing up in Reliance TN. My dad use to hunt alot when the season's were right, and I was one of those little girl s that 5hought if Daddy went somewhere I had to go to.,😊I spent more time looking for buckeye's than being quiet so Daddy could hunt and many times I would wake up and he'd already be gone cause I guess I made too much noise for him to catch anything 😆but I remember those days being the happiest days of my life... He always said if you carried a buckeye I. Your pocket it would bring you good luck, and I was collecting everyone I could find...that's one one of my stories from back I. The day..thanks for sharing your stories with us..🙏☮️💕

I love these stories. There are so many things that can't be explained. My mom and dad are gone but they had a few stories like this. So fascinating. I'm glad whatever it was was in a hurry ti get where it was going! Would have been really really bad if the brush had quit moving right in front of you! Lol

Thank you for your wonderful narrations that you share we us. I could listen all day long. Your stories with all their facts and history of the Appalachian mountains are the perfect way to end a hard day. There are lots of things we don’t know about these mountains and what’s in them. People don’t realize just how vast these mountains are yet today. Looking forward to the next video , take care and my God bless.

Best video yet too many hunters have had experiences like this, love to hear it in your own words

I started squirrel hunting at 9 1/2 years old. My Father had taken me hunting numerous times to teach me woodscraft, hunting ethics and learning to keep a mental map of where you were. This included hill country and swamp areas. He also cautioned me that there 'were places that don't feel right; just back on out of those', and to keep amind to where you are stepping, even unto your very next step, after pausing during a hunt (snakes under logs, old wells openings, abandoned wire fencing, trip hazards, etc.). That 'next step' consideration saved me a number of times. As a matter of course, I started carrying a mid size bowie knife in a covered case, which became a constant companion. Anything that a 22 or shotgun didn't stop, would have to deal with that. I too have heard some strange sounds and commotions over the years in the woods, and chose to set my back against a good piece of cover, checked the wind, and let whatever is was come to me as I waited. Most of the time nothing appeared, though on others feral dogs, a runway cow, foraging racoons, a large black bear and a group of men carying supplies for a stihl came forward.

You high integrity and appreciation for your home gives us all solid leadership. Thanks for your channel and all you share.

Great story!!! I’m so happy that you had a change of heart ❤️ about the wild life. Like you said when people kill to much wild it becomes scarce and possibly extinct. I don’t know exactly what area my daughter I go visit her often moved to the Cumberland gap area she lives in Middlesboro Kentucky I know that’s close by Pineville but I think that’s totally the opposite way I’m not sure. Anyways blessings and I love your stories. I love history as well. My father was born in West Virginia and we had right on the Ohio River and we have a lot of stories because my uncle used to hunt and I remember going there as a child And you would see the game that he had in the backyard hanging on the clothes pin to bleed out deer mostly. Anyways blessings to you all

Hello Mr Donnie! Squirrel hunter here too! I live on the biggest mountain in Arkansas. I was bow hunting once many years ago on Halloween of all days. I was about to climb down as it had gotten dark when I heard "laughing". Sounded exactly like a small child except kind of menacing almost evil and not very loud. I could tell it was coming down the deer trail I was watching. Man I thought it was Chucky the evil doll I was gonna stick an arrow in him lol. When it finally came into view it was a pair of grey foxes! I'll never forget that experience!

One can just hear your love for this place in every word you speak. It's like the land itself is your family. Absolutely beautiful.

Donnie really love hearing your stories. Especially them ones about the things out there that just can’t be explained. Take care God Bless ya. Peace

Thank you Donnie... We really do need more channels like this, such a joy to watch take care of yourself

Who else can set and listen to Mr. Laws all day tell his stories ? I could listen to you from sun up til sun down sir . I've told you before sir , that you remind me so much of my Great Uncle Herley . I would set and talk to him for hours and hours. Thank you sir. God bless . Much love from Alabama

Donnie, another good one! This old world is filled with more things that we don’t see, than the things we do see! So many secrets , that do not want to be found out. I can only imagine what was going through your mind at the time. I also have had things like that happen, and it’s so shocking, that most of the time you don’t have time to be scared, until you mull it around a while, after the fact. Then, is when you really think about what just happened to you, and it can really give you the goosebumps! It’s so puzzling , to know what you just heard or felt, and lived through, to talk about it, but you couldn’t see it at all! Really looking forward to more of these stories!! It’s that spooky time of year!, but I’ll gladly listen to them any time of year!

I just wanted to say this was a lovely video and story. You lived the life I always dreamed of. I grew up in the mountains of Arizona, my papa was never a big hunter, but nature and the woods just always intrigued me so much. I kind of taught myself to hunt small game when we would go camping, it wasn’t until a few years ago I started hunting big game. But I think it’s so amazing how vast this country and terrain is. I went on a trip through Missouri and Tennessee last year for the first time and I was so shocked by how different the forests are over there than in Arizona. Our woods are so dry and dark until you go super high up and find the meadows. My town is half thick forest, and half shrubby desert. It used to make for good coyote hunting but now just about every acre of land within 10 miles is private property. Times have changed, it makes me sad. The woods are definitely a special place with lots of secrets and stories no matter where in the world you are. Thank you for sharing this.

I really enjoy listening to all your videos. It's great that folks still like to share and talk about the history of past generations. So much can be learned from listening to these stories.

Donnie, I really enjoyed this video! My dad grew up in South Louisiana near Thibodaux (Labadieville, LA) and hunted all of his life. He spoke fluent Cajun French. He was born in May of 1936 and passed away in June of 2011 at the age of 75. We had his single shot H&R 12 gauge shotgun, which his dad had given him, standing up next to his fishing poles, paddle, crawfish trap, fishing vest and rubber boots at the foot of his casket for his funeral. He loved the outdoors. I called him the original Swamp King (well before Troy Landry claimed that title on Swamp People). His dad would give him just so many .22 bullets to go hunting with as a kid growing up in the 40's, the youngest child of 11 total. Daddy said PaPere (as we called my grandfather) would whoop him if he didn't come back with as many squirrels and/or rabbits as he had spent shells! I have so many fond memories of hunting with him and so many memories of his tales of hunting the swamps and sugar cane fields of South Louisiana. I used that single shot on more than one occasion, but my favorite was the time he put me in the back of his pick up truck (yes, in the bed, and yes, illegal as all get out!) and drove on the "headlands" (dirt and gravel roads that criss cross the sugar cane fields). We were looking for dove. We were driving along one big block of cane that had already been harvested and huge covey of dove took off. I raised up and let that old H&R bark, firing it's one shot from about 50 yards across the field. When the dust and feathers cleared, I jumped out of the bed of the truck, ran over across the field and starting picking up birds. I had shot 9 in one shot! I think I was shooting 7-1/2 high power 2-3/4 shells. My dad couldn't believe his eyes! He was so proud. I also remember our squirrel hunts very well. He would drop me off at his favorite spot in the swamp on a ridge just off the main road and he would leave to go to another spot. He taught me what to look for and how to spot the squirrels coming in. He set me up on an old tree (hackberry, I think) with my back to the hundreds of acres of swamps behind me, but facing a huge live oak that the squirrels would come to every morning to feast on its plentiful acorns. Without fail, you'd hear them coming in from behind you and all you had to do was wait for the shot, like a sniper with a shotgun! I was using his old single shot .410 then. He had a nice Remington 1100 20 gauge with modified choke (back when you did't have choke tubes) that he liked to use in those days. We always came back with our limit. I had to laugh and rewind the video when you mentioned a plug in your gun and only having 3 shots. I scrolled back to the beginning of the video and watched you shuck 4 shots out of that beautiful 870. I think the old 1100 went without its plug more often than with it! My momma gave it to me after he passed and I cherish it, although now I use it mostly for trap shooting now. I'm 49 now and I wish I had spent more time with him after I moved away from home to South Alabama. There's so many things I want to talk to him about and would love to have filmed some of our hunts, had we had the money to buy a camera back then! He even had his share of mysterious encounters. I loved hearing him talk about the time he heard what he called a panther hollering while he was out in the swamp running crawfish cages. It kept getting closer and closer from the sound of it, so daddy left it some catfish heads on a log and high-tailed it out there. He didn't go back in to check his cages for about 3 days and didn't hear again. Them catfish heads were all gone though! There's another story he never told me, relayed to me by my retired Air Force major brother in law about them two seeing an upright walking swamp ape of some type when they were fishing along a canal one day. Daddy never did tell me about it, but my brother in law is not the type to just make stuff up, so I'm inclined to believe him. Plus, someone else fishing in the same area said they saw the same critter one day, too. But that's all a story for another day. Thanks for the video! Liked and Subscribed!

I think the Remington 870 Wingmaster 12 gauge pump is the best shotgun ever made. My daddy traded for me a Wingmaster when I was 12 or 13 years old and I am 70 years old now and this shotgun has put a lot of game on the table. Thank you Donnie.

I enjoyed your story, I can relate to it, I grew up in south east Ky, it's true about it being hunted out but during the 70's a lot of game was released there, I can also relate to enjoy the woods and watching the animals, I feel the most alive in the woods and on the water

I enjoyed your story Donnie getting to see you tell it not just hearing you tell it. I don't get to hunt like I use to but like you when I was old enough I would be following my dad through the woods squirrel hunting. That's what he started me out with then it went on to other game like deer. It brings back great memories of the times I spent with him I miss those days as I miss him. He was a great outdoorsman and l learned a lot from him. 🐿🦌🎣🐟

Thanks for sharing an intimate story telling.I totally believe this situation you had.Too many folks over the years have experienced this very same scenario.KEEP THEM STORIES ACOMIN.WE LOVE EM🌟

Two great subjects and story Donnie. Looking forward to future encounters that you have had. 👍👍👍

Thanks for telling us about this interesting encounter. I'd love to hear more of your experiences in the woods.

I really appreciate you sharing your experiences, I've had some unexplained experience myself in the woods. I only wish I was still physically able to get around like I used to, I really love the woods and I really love your storys. Thank you for bringing back memories for me

Thanks for the story and the video. You are correct. We think we have all the answers, but there are many things that we cannot explain. You and Tipper are certainly keeping me entertained!

I have been watching your videos for a while now and enjoy them so much. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of Tennessee and beyond, I love this kind of stuff!

I had a similar event happen to me when I was a young teenager. Footsteps in the grass coming toward me, yet as I backed away, so did the footsteps! The grass was literally bending like someone's weight was walking straight at me. Truth.

Love the story Donnie! I know this is going to sound crazy but I've heard sasquatch can cloak there selves, make there selves invisible. I don't know just a thought!

Thank you for sharing this beautiful day with me!!! 🙏😃👍👍🇺🇸

Donnie we appreciate you too. I’m closing in on 67 and I’m a 6th generation Texan. At 10yo I was given my first shotgun. A .410 3 round bolt action. I hunted game to put food on the table. My dad was a Korean War vet who had undiagnosed PTSD who passed away in ‘83 at 55. Just like you I loved being in the woods by myself and you are so right when you say that there are things that we and other people have heard but didn’t see. But my claim to fame regarding you and I hunting squirrels high up in the trees was I did drop two in one shot because they were deep in the process of making little squirrels. My mom made squirrel dumplings for dinner. Best meal I ever had at that time. Please keep telling us your experiences. It makes me feel so content and brings a smile since, like others, I’ve lost both of them. Take care brother and I hope you and your family have a blessed new year!

Something cloaked itself while running past you, probably a wood booger 👣 my friend Heather still loves squirrel 🍽️🐿️ even though she lives in a city now. When I was a little girl, I cried watching a sheep get harvested and dressed, it made me sad watching my Uncles. And when they'd hunt, they'd divide the meat with their sister's and we'd have a freezer full of game, and I just didn't like eating it! One time my daddy made me stay at the table until I ate and I wouldn't and it got late and he saved it for my plate the next day. Ahhh, fond memories ☺️ Thank you for sharing your stories, your channel is so interesting and fun for me, I like hearing the spooky things in the hollars & woods! ❤️

Thank you for sharing this account with us in a video. Many people choose to tell their stories through text on sites like Reddit and it makes it so much harder to distinguish what is real and fake. But I believe your story without a doubt in my mind.

I just love listening to all of the stories on this channel. It never gets old .thanks for all of your hard work. Killbuck Ohio

Awsome story again they say them thing's can appear and disappear. Amazing world we live in and like you said not everything can be explained.

I hope you are reading your posts, because I wanted to let you know I really enjoy your videos. I was also raised in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains and have many interesting stories. I’d be happy to share them with you if you’re ever interested. Meanwhile, keep up the great work. God bless you, always.

Just listened to your channel and I really enjoyed it. I'm 70 years old and have experienced some of what you have. My health won't allow me to anymore. I've owned the same guns you have so that made this time with you special because of the memories it brought back for me. I love reading and hearing hunting stories and for that matter any dealing with the outdoors. Keep up the good work and God bless.

Thanks for sharing your stories and your beautiful country and woods you are truly blessed to live where you do . Jim

Hey Donnie , caught this video late but it sure was great gotta love the old hunting stories. It's much appreciated to hear about our mountains and the traditions of our home . Again thank you for your time and effort you put out for us . 👍

Thank you Donnie! That same thing happened to me in Virginia about the same time 80 or 81 along the Blue Ridge Mt. Something came barreling though the woods from right to left in front of me shaking bushes and small tree limbs and I never saw it. Not even when it went by me less than 20 feet in front. When I left my stand I walked over to where the bush and rustling moved .....no tracks but overturned leaves.

Thanks for the hunting story Mr. Laws. I greatly appreciate you and the lore you're passing on to the world. Down here in the Canebreak of Alabama, we had groves and groves of pecan, oak, and fig trees that the squirrels grew fat on. I was raised up on the farm to hunt squirrels with a lever action Marlin .22 and a break back .410... both with iron sights. I'd grab one of the guns and a pocket full of shells every morning when I went out to bring the cows up to the barn for milking and come back with a brace of plump Greys. Grampa used to fry them up in bacon grease in a big old cast iron skillet and make gravy with the drippings to pour over our hominy grits. Those were the best breakfasts of my youth.

Thanks for sharing your story and other videos Mr. Laws. May God always bless you!!!

I absolutely love you!!! Always looking forward to your next video Hope you realize how much you are loved. So thankful to have found you.😍

This may sound crazy to some people, but that’s not something I’m worried about. I would say that what you encountered may have been a cloaked Sasquatch. They have been seen disappearing right in front of people and also to tear through a forest like that. Many mountain people will tell of seeing “boogers” if they think you can be trusted not to laugh at them. Of course, that’s not the only thing it could have been…🐝🤗❤️

I have an old H&R from late 40's maybe early 50's iirc that was grandad's groundhog/garden favorite ,it's in 410 full choke (choked barrel,they didn't have interchange choke tubes then that I know of) and I kid you not because of the length of the barrel and the way it tapers down it keeps a pattern further down range better than any modern choke tube 410 (my wife has alot of 410's ) and that ol H&R has been a phenomenal single shot since grandad ordered it from I think he said a JCPenney's catalog to today, I don't use it much but when I take notion to it still does the job. It looks identical to the picture you showed but in 410

Thank you for this Donnie, love your channel, genuine and real. Something like this happened to me and some friends once back in 1986 in Alabama. We were camping next to a lake when out of the blue something came running out of the woods towards us. It ran around our campsite, breaking limbs kicking up leaves etc. We got our flashlights and shined them towards the noise but it always remained just out of sight. I could barely see the leaves on the ground being kicked up just in the peripherie of my light but never could see it.. Everytime we moved towards it it would move away. What surprised us was how much of a noisy ruckus it was making. After a few minutes some of my friends became so terrified that they started packing up and leaving..we soon followed suit and high tailed it outta there. To this day we have no idea what that was. One of my friends father's told us later he had a strange encounter in that same area when he was a kid. I haven't experienced anything like that since..yup there is some strange stuff out there in those woods...

I don't even know how I found your channel but I'm so glad I did! I've grown up in the Appalachian mountains, I grew up and have kin in TN and VA. I feel like I'm listening to my grandpa when I listen to your videos. I look forward to more ole strange stories from Appalachia 💚⛰🏕🌄

I live in Harlan Ky in the Appalachia’s and I have hunted these mountains here for forty three years. I’ve had strange things happen. I live right up against Blanton Forest one of the oldest growth forest in Ky!

I’ve lived in eastern Kentucky my whole life and spent a big part of it in the woods. There have been a few times I’ve seen or heard things that most people wouldn’t believe.

Another great story Donnie. I could sit and listen to you telling stories all day! You have so muck knowledge of “these ole mountains.’

I’ve been a Hunter in these steep rugged hills of southern WV ever since I could walk with my dad or granddad. Seems like every holler over every point was a different place. We will always be hunters in these hills. We will always be part of these mountains. When I was in my teens we only had squirrel and rabbits to hunt, with and occasional groundhog. The deer were gone, poached out in the 79 s, no bear, no turkey. By the grace of God someone noticed. The wild turkey federation stocked turkey in the late 70 s or early 80 s. Today we have a good population of turkey although coyotes and other predators have moved in over the years. Another miracle happened when black bear were reintroduced, today here in these steep hills, we hunt the bear, the turkey, the white tailed deer, the rabbit, and yes, the ever present squirrel. Glad I found your channel.

Great story Donnie. I believe you, and I'll tell you why: Be sure ( if ya haven't already ) to watch the 2 movie/documentaries by David Paulides here on youtube entitled: "Missing 411" and "Missing 411 - the Hunted". The 2nd one is about hunters gone missing. I can't remember which of the 2 near the end interviews a couple, and how she loved hunting on their property, and she explains as they do a re-enactment of what she saw that was absolutely shocking. IT WAS NEAR INVISIBLE, JUST AS YOU DESCRIBED. She took a picture of it with her cell phone. But the image is very strange, and can't be explained by anyone, even the experts on cell phones, cameras, and electronics. BOTH of the Missing 411 movies are free right now!!!

That was a interesting story indeed, these days I'm a bit nervous about the woods especially hiking by myself which is a no, no. What I believe you encountered in them woods was what many researchers call "A Cloaked Bigfoot" There are a number of KZfaq video's that actually show these creatures cloaked.

Great story Donnie. I’m so glad I found your channel! I love history. I love your voice and the beautiful mountains in this part of our country. ✌️❤️

Donnie I'm 10/years your senior and really enjoy your channel. I could smell that Squirrel gravy. Thanks for the memories. I feed squirrels in my yard now.

Donnie I know you're telling the truth about reloading your shotgun so quickly. I have a whole house full of H&R shotguns, at least one in every gauge they make. My son had a 12 gauge that he was determined to use to take out a den full of foxes that lived on our property. He came in from school one day and set off with his 12 ga shotgun and some shells. It wasn't long before I heard bang, bang, bang in close order. I got up from where I was reading only to greet him running down the driveway. He had killed 3 kits that were playing around the mouth of their den. I was just glad he got them before they bot any more of our chickens. I couldn't believe he could shoot a single shot shotgun that fast but he did. Thank you for your stories.

Had a friend who had an 870 like that, used to win a lot of x target Turkey shoots. He traded at a shoot for a Revolutionary War era rifle. Wonder if he ever regretted that? My best friend Dennis, when he showed you a gun, would always say “don’t touch the metal”!

Thank you Donnie for sharing N keep your eyes along the ridgeline . Blessings to you

Loved that story Donnie thank you for sharing I believe every word you said take care of yourself out there yes my dad brought a many squirrel home for our supper I'll never forget god bless