What's your ideal hunt?

[Mr VJP]

Am I the only one who believes spending a ton of cash to hunt has no impact on your ability to actually hunt?  Seems to me you're paying to have someone else do everything for you, right up to the point they show you a game animal and tell you to shoot it.

 

To me, that's not hunting.  I'd call it a guided shoot.  Is taking a nice game animal all you want to do, or do you want to test your ability as a hunter to do it?

 

Edited July 11, 2015 by Mr VJP

[Dinsdale]

Am I the only one who believes spending a ton of cash to hunt has no impact on your ability to actually hunt?  Seems to me you're paying to have someone else do everything for you, right up to the point they show you a game animal and tell you to shoot it.

 

To me, that's not hunting.  I'd call it a guided shoot.  Is taking a nice game animal all you want to do, or do you want to test your ability as a hunter to do it?

 

 

FWIW having done a few hunts here and there....

 

The advice I give anyone who asks me is to book the "experience" you want out of a trip.

 

It can take some research to find the hunt that fits the experience level and skills of the hunter and a good relationship with an outfitter and/or guide to get what one is after. Its also why I very seldom recommend specific outfitters as what my expectations are maybe significantly different to someone else. That could be financial, fitness, style of hunting, skill level......

 

Most who feel that all they did was pull the trigger asked the wrong questions in general IMO.

 

I use a guides skills to keep me out of trouble, but more importantly get a better judgement on an animals trophy quality. That does not always mean better score for inches, but age and breeding status come into play.

 

More often than not I have spotted my target first and can almost always make a rough call as to weather or not it needs further evaluation, the tactics required to get a shooting position, when to take a shot or not.....

 

I'm careful to look for folks who are very picky about selectively targeting mature trophies as that goes directly to keeping the health of the area overall. The side benefit to that is they also tend to have exceptional animal quality and a better chance at a shot opportunity during the duration of a hunt due to their standards and care of the land/eco system.......its a win/win. Don't shoot dinks and prime breeders......end up with more older trophy class animals.

 

 

All the guides I have met/used/talked too,except one(and he only lasted 2 days before I fired him), love to hunt. They get pumped when they have a hunter who is willing to do anything required to get an animal and contribute to all aspects. I have been into areas where they seldom tread with clients and it has paid off enormously both in success rate and satisfaction for both of us.

 

The one bad apple? Know what I did?

 

I listened to somebody else and didn't do enough research.......they thought the guy was awesome, and I was lucky that my lesson came very early on when looking for a  hunt.

 

 

Like everything its not for everyone.......

 

I love to fly and have never had an issue with bags/security/delays, batting average is damn good for a main species taken on every hunt, I like goofy takedown rifles and high end optics, spend way too much on taxidermy(but I am trying to trim back, LOL), love everything from the tundra of the Artic(hunted at -40) to the red sands of the Kalahari (somewhere north of 115, thermometer broke).

 

Give me my Blaser and an airplane ticket and they are ALL my ideal hunt. YMMV

Edited July 11, 2015 by Dinsdale

[Borngeechee]

Am I the only one who believes spending a ton of cash to hunt has no impact on your ability to actually hunt? Seems to me you're paying to have someone else do everything for you, right up to the point they show you a game animal and tell you to shoot it.

To me, that's not hunting. I'd call it a guided shoot. Is taking a nice game animal all you want to do, or do you want to test your ability as a hunter to do it?

Some trips have to be guided. The animals I dream of hunting are in Africa and I don't think I'll go there unguided lol. From those hunts I've seen are still quite a bit of work.

[Pygmy]

Am I the only one who believes spending a ton of cash to hunt has no impact on your ability to actually hunt?  Seems to me you're paying to have someone else do everything for you, right up to the point they show you a game animal and tell you to shoot it.

 

To me, that's not hunting.  I'd call it a guided shoot.  Is taking a nice game animal all you want to do, or do you want to test your ability as a hunter to do it?

 

You sound like someone who's never done it...

 

I have done it BOTH ways... Most of my hunts have been DIY self guided...I did 5 Alaska trips and my partners and I purchased NOTHING except hunting licenses and air transportation to and from our destination...We did the planning, research, picked the spots and when we were hunting we did EVERYTHING on our own, including butchering and packing the meat back to where an airplane could get to it..Most of my western hunts for elk, mulies and pronghorns have been DIY also.

 

Some hunts ( such as MOST Canadian big game hunts) require hiring a guide and/or an outfitter if you are a nonresident.

 

I did a few of these because if I wanted to in NWT, for instance, it was my only choice...

 

A couples of theses hunts were VERY physical...I always made my OWN decision what animal to shoot, and never once felt pressured by a guide to shoot any specific animal..I also helped with the butchering and the meat packing.

One advantage of a guided hunt is being able to interface with some folks from different lifestyles...

 

Newfies are a hoot...  Want a treat ?  Spend a week with a full blooded traditional Inuit named George Konana, who flew hundreds of miles SOUTH from his home to our hunting camp 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle..

 

Now that I am older and am not physically capable of  doing some DIY hunts, I would NEED the help of a guide for some hunts requiring packing heavy loads over rough country..

[Pygmy]

Oh yeah, one more thing, VJP....

 

Testing my ability as a hunter to successfully hunt ANYTHING is not one of my priorities...

 

I hunt because I ENJOY hunting..Trying to meet a CHALLENGE or testing my abilities is of no concern to me..

[Lawdwaz]

Take what Pygmy and Dinsdale said to the bank. NOT just because I consider them friends but because they have been there and really done that.

I feel like I've had a bunch of experience but it pales compared to those two fellows.

[Dinsdale]

I feel like I've had a bunch of experience but it pales compared to those two fellows.

 

LOL.....I don't know about that!

 

 

Poked holes in a bunch of game now in what some may consider far off places ;

 

Still looking for a decent NY buck!

Edited July 11, 2015 by Dinsdale

[DirtTime]

Hunting deer or spring turkey from my camp on my own land. Nothing fancy for me anymore.

[Mr VJP]

Well, I'm glad you guys like it.  However, I have heard too many tales, from too many hunters with very little hunting skill, about their guided "trophy" big game hunt.  

 

Most were American hunts for Bear, Elk, Moose or Deer and the kills were very nice.  But when the tale of the hunt is told, I'm seldom impressed with the hunt, the skill of the hunter, or the knowledge of the quarry.  Too often the only thing that makes a impact on me, is the price paid for the hunt.

 

BTW, I just have no desire to hunt in Africa, or even Canada.  There are too many hunts in America I'd rather enjoy first.

 

I'm not saying people shouldn't do it.  I've done it to a limited extent.  Guides need to make a living too.  It's just not for me.  I do not judge, and am not impressed by, a hunter with many stuffed heads on his wall.  I judge him on his hunting acumen and the effort needed to attain his goal.

 

If the biggest effort put forth was saving the cash to go on the hunt, I'll be polite and congratulate the man, but that's about all.

 

Edited July 11, 2015 by Mr VJP

[wolc123]

I have not spring turkey hunted in a long time but I do regret not buying tags for the first time in a long time thanks to the changes and elimination of the "super-sportsman" licence.   Naturally, I saw or heard/heard about toms everywhere this spring for the first time in many years.  As I was planting corn at my place in WNY, 15 minutes after I talked to a couple neighbor hunters who were packing it in after hearing nothing but seeing a couple hens, a big old tom came strutting across the field I was in and I could have shot him from the seat of the tractor.

 

Over at my folks farm, about 20 mi to the east, they talked about seeing toms out in the clover field behind the house almost every day throughout the spring.   To top it all off, every morning over this past Memorial day weekend, at the in-laws new Adirondack camp, as I paddled the rowboat out alone on the lake to fish at daybreak, there were at least 6 different toms gobbling on the surrounding hilltops.   I will get tags this late-summer for sure, when the Walmart employee asks as I purchase my new licence.  

 

Next spring I will carry the unloaded shotgun and a couple shells on the tractor as I plant.  If that old bird pulls that trick again I will hop of, load and let him have it.   I will also spend a little more time at the folks place who are always looking to get me over there to do "odd jobs" anyhow.   And I will definitely pack the shotgun and a little extra bug spray (they were bad in the woods up there this year, but no problem out on the water - another reason I prefer fishing then) on the Memorial day trip.  Even though I cant stand eating turkey, my wife and kids love it.   The bugs would make that a "less than ideal hunt" however. 

[Five Seasons]

I think there's not a North American game I'm not interested in. I have zero interest in Africa.

I suppose if I had to pick it'd be archery elk followed by moose.

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[eagle rider]

Top three:

1) Bow Hunt Pike or Adams County for Whitetails

2) Muzzle Loader Hunt Antipasti Island Whitetails

3) Rifle Southern Hunt Oklahoma Whitetails

 

(notice a theme....)

Then,

South Dakota Pheasants, Wyoming Elk, Scotland Red Stag

[wolc123]

They are all good eating, is that the theme?    Not so sure about the stags, never had any, but they look similar to elk so I suppose they would be tastey.   It certainly don't get much better than whitetail so your top three picks look good anyhow.  I find elk to be close to top-notch on the table also.  As for the birds, the only one I really like eating is ruffed grouse, but pheasants are not bad, at least compared to turkey and chicken. 

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Saskatchewan, my kids are with me, on the last day a 200+ pounder walks by...

[BizCT]

Saskatchewan, my kids are with me, on the last day a 200+ pounder walks by...

Might be closer to 300

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[Doc]

Another massively satisfying hunt would be to build from scratch a long bow from some native tree (hickory?) and build some arrows with knapped stone broadheads and turkey feather fletching, and take a deer (any deer) with that rig. All equipment as carefully faithful to the details of historical Indian archery equipment as possible.

[Uncle Nicky]

I've hunted all over the US & Canada, never made it to Alaska or Africa, and probably never will. Money's tighter these days, and I'd need to add an addition to the house if I wanted to put any more animal heads on the wall. Having said that, my favorite hunts so far have been whitetail hunting in Texas, and turkey hunting anywhere in the south (usually get in a hog hunt with dogs while I'm there).

[Merlot]

Lear jet to and from Montana and all expenses paid. My perfect start to my perfect hunt. 

[Five Seasons]

There is something about doing it all yourself from start to finish. I spent the first 15 years hunting well scouted private land and stands that had been "handed" to me. The most satisfying deer I've ever harvested may be the doe I shot on public land in MS last year. It was all me from start to finish. The 9 point s few weeks later was just the cherry on top.

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[Doc]

There is something about doing it all yourself from start to finish. I spent the first 15 years hunting well scouted private land and stands that had been "handed" to me. The most satisfying deer I've ever harvested may be the doe I shot on public land in MS last year. It was all me from start to finish. The 9 point s few weeks later was just the cherry on top.

I'm a do-it-yourselfer too. Even our moose trips were done mostly by studying topo maps and planning out our own meals and camping gear. Yes, at the time, Ontario Canada required by law, that you hire an outfitter. And actually that was handy for guaranteeing all the tags that we wanted. But after the first night of arrival at their camp, we headed off on our own with  tents and canoes and never saw the outfitter again until we got back, lugging our moose quarters into his walk-in cooler.

[Jeremy K]

My ideal hunt would be one where my dad and I both took a deer on the same day during archery season.