48 Years of Memories...

[The Hedgehog]

This is a great thread to check out. Some serious hunting over a lot of years and especially interesting to me being from the same town. I hope to see that collection in person someday.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I’m especially happy to know that it’s absolutely been said “Kurt hunts too much” and they weren’t talking about me.

 

[Maverick1]

Very nice! Your generation had it easier when it came to drawing tags over those years (point creep, tag allotments, number of hunters have changed quite a bit), but definitely had it harder when it came to gear (clothing, GPS/navigation, mapping, etc.) and transportation. Thanks for sharing!

 

[rjthehunter]

Never gets old seeing a trophy room like this! Given the opportunity someday, I hope to have a trophy house that looks like this!

I didn't see in any of the pics, but have you done a Marco polo or a Ibex hunt? My grandpa really enjoyed his. Half the adventure is just getting to the area you're hunting!

Also, please write a book. Otherwise your stories go with you someday. I convinced my grandpa to write one. I'm glad he did. Memoir of his life, hunts, adventures, and it is great to have now that he's not here to share the stories anymore.

 

[buffybr]

This is a great thread to check out. Some serious hunting over a lot of years and especially interesting to me being from the same town. I hope to see that collection in person someday.

I'd be happy to show it to you and swap stories over a couple of beers sometime. Maybe when global warming kicks in and we get rid of much of this white stuff.

 

[buffybr]

Very nice! Your generation had it easier when it came to drawing tags over those years (point creep, tag allotments, number of hunters have changed quite a bit), but definitely had it harder when it came to gear (clothing, GPS/navigation, mapping, etc.) and transportation. Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, I'm definately old school when it comes to clothing, but I do now have a lightweight Sitka suit and a $150 Kuiu gift certificate. I've never held a GPS, but I do know how to read a topo map, but I rarely carry one with me in the field. My best form of transportation was the 20 some years that I had horses.

I was also very lucky with tags and the number of hunters. I drew 2 mountain goat tags in the first 3 years that I applied, to be followed by 43 unsuccessful years of applying. Many of the years that I bought Montana Unlimited sheep tags, I didn't see any other hunters when I was hunting.

 

[buffybr]

Never gets old seeing a trophy room like this! Given the opportunity someday, I hope to have a trophy house that looks like this!

I didn't see in any of the pics, but have you done a Marco polo or a Ibex hunt? My grandpa really enjoyed his. Half the adventure is just getting to the area you're hunting!

Also, please write a book. Otherwise your stories go with you someday. I convinced my grandpa to write one. I'm glad he did. Memoir of his life, hunts, adventures, and it is great to have now that he's not here to share the stories anymore.

@rjthehunter Thanks for your kind comments. My trophy room amazes me every day when I go in it. When I built it in 1988 I only had about a dozen mounts, and I never thought that I would have the number of mounts that I have now. I have a great view of the Gallatin Valley from my house and I put too many windows in my trophy room and didn't make the side walls high enough.

For many years I've dreamed of doing a Marco Polo and Ibex hunt and now I'm wondering if I can physically do one. I was 71 when I did my Dagestan Tur hunt in 2017, and that had to have been my most physically challeging hunt. On that hunt I spent several nights on the ground, one without a sleeping bag, and without a tent just to save an hour or more walk everyday above our spike camp.

I've had others tell me that I should write a book. Looking back, I've had some problems and setbacks, but overall I think that I've had a good life. My Great Grandfather was a Western book writer (Google Robert Ames Bennet) so I do have a family history of writing.

 

[rjthehunter]

@rjthehunter Thanks for your kind comments. My trophy room amazes me every day when I go in it. When I built it in 1988 I only had about a dozen mounts, and I never thought that I would have the number of mounts that I have now. I have a great view of the Gallatin Valley from my house and I put too many windows in my trophy room and didn't make the side walls high enough.

For many years I've dreamed of doing a Marco Polo and Ibex hunt and now I'm wondering if I can physically do one. I was 71 when I did my Dagestan Tur hunt in 2017, and that had to have been my most physically challeging hunt. On that hunt I spent several nights on the ground, one without a sleeping bag, and without a tent just to save an hour or more walk everyday above our spike camp.

I've had others tell me that I should write a book. Looking back, I've had some problems and setbacks, but overall I think that I've had a good life. My Great Grandfather was a Western book writer (Google Robert Ames Bennet) so I do have a family history of writing.

Damn spike camp should've been moved to where you were sleeping! One of the hardest parts about the Marco polo and Ibex is the altitude. My grandpa's was done around 20k feet. That's pretty freaking high up.

The book is worth it. I'm sure your family would appreciate it also!

 

[BAKPAKR]

Wow! Just “Wow!”

And to think you could do that mostly in jeans.