Reports of a Colorado man’s erratic behavior in the backcountry nearly prompted a full-scale search and rescue effort.

DENVER – A Colorado hunter felt relief Sunday evening when he discovered a man exhibiting “erratic” behavior was actually a well-known hunting YouTube celebrity.

Kayden Brayden, of Steamboat Springs, says he first noticed the celebrity while searching for mule deer on the edges of Routt National Forest.

“I was just glassing this section of private [land] to see if any bucks were feeding down to public ground, and I spot this guy doing the same thing over and over,” Brayden explained. “I mean, he’d walk up to the ridge, then walk back down, then back up, then back down – he did that, like, 30 times.”

Brayden says he had a couple of “bars” of cell service, but didn’t think to call 9-1-1 until he saw something he described as “super f**king weird.”

“As I’m watching this guy, he stops hiking up and down and picks up a bow. He just starts firing arrows all over the place when there weren’t animals anywhere,” Brayden said. “I’m thinking, ‘damn, this dude’s either on a bad LSD trip, lost, or both.’ So, I made the decision to call search and rescue and let them deal with him – I wasn’t trying to get arrowed by someone having a bad trip.”

Shortly after making the call, Brayden says he “glassed” a second person, which prompted him to call authorities again to let them know everything was fine.

“So, this second guy had a camera, and that’s when I started to connect the dots,” Brayden explained. “I’m like, ‘this dickhead isn’t lost, he’s trying to make his private-land safari look like a real backcountry hunt.’ God, I felt like an idiot.”

Neither Brayden, or the ranch where the incident occurred, were willing to provide The Angry Bowhunter with the name of the YouTube personality involved.

Brayden says he received some free “swag” for his silence. The outfitters on the ranch provided TAB with this statement:

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