Age and Hunting Dreams

[Lawnboy]

Randy you've made a valiant and impactful effort on the DIY front. I think there is no question that your first desire will always be to try and figure things out on your own. It's in your blood and you've inspired legions to do the same. The reality is some hunts in some states just won't allow a NR to go without a guide. I'm so glad you are not shelving this hunt because of that. The hunts you are considering are just incredible. I really wish everyone could experience a dall sheep hunt. You will be challenged physically and mentally no doubt. After these hunts I suspect you'll be pushing Matthew you become a resident up north. (Matthew marry that girl now! dangit). Just a shameless plug . Anyway. congrats again on re thinking this thing and if you need or want a sherpa tap me. I'm on the bench for 3 more yrs and don't want to get too far out of shape.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Lots of good wisdom in here. I think if somebody is waiting for a certain hunt to make them happy, they'll be disappointed. If they're saving up for a hunt as an extension of what they love and who they are, it will be worth it every time.

 

[Sytes]

Mulecreek, that 'bou is a beaut! A fulfilled "dream" no doubt. Grats to you!

 

[brownbear932008]

I've been lucky enough to be on more than one dream hunt so I'm pretty happy. Never thought growing up as a kid I'd get to experience the wild places I've been blessed to visit with good friends.
I think there are two I'm really itching to do the last several years. #1 is to chase the great white mountain goat high in the Rockies. I came so close twice last year To drawing tags in Two States. Maybe this Year will be the Year. #2 I may never see as most of us have the dream of a bighorn. But maybe one day I can do that.

 

[Southern Elk]

I was diagnosed with cancer (melanoma) at 18. Thanks to my mom, I had it checked out and removed before it metastasized. I'm so grateful that we caught it early. I have an 11 inch scar from surgery that reminds me how fortunate I am. I can't explain the feeling of listening to a doctor talk about percentages of survival when you're only 18. Luckily I was in the upper percentages, others aren't so lucky. I've tried to live my life to the fullest since then. I look back at all of the things that I could have missed, a wife and family, traveling out west to hunt, and eventually moving to Montana and I realize that I am a lucky man. I try to thank God everyday for giving me a second chance. I tell my wife all the time that I don't want to be on my death bed wishing that I had done something and missed my opportunity. If there's something you want to do, do it before it's too late!

Now for a public service announcement...Wear sunscreen every time you are out in the sun and if you see a spot on your skin that needs to be looked at, see a doctor ASAP. Melanoma will spread to your brain and lungs if it's not caught early.

 

[Muleyhunter78]

Have to agree with all said already. Get out there and do it! Don't regret not going when the chance arose. Your advocacy for public lands doesn't mean that hunts like these should never be realized.

 

[Flatrock]

I reluctantly watched a Jim Shockey show the other day where they were hunting mountain caribou. They drove their Argos all over hell and shot one. Real impressive... If a guy did it the right way, I'm sure it would be an incredible hunt.

For me, a dall sheep hunt is a dream hunt. As is a wilderness elk hunt in western Wyoming.

While neither of those are in the cards for me right now, going west a couple times a year for antelope, deer and elk is still a fantastic adventure.

 

[ringer]

Old age is not for sissies. An old man in my goose blind 30 years ago told me "son, the golden years is a bunch of BS. When your health fails and you are in pain all the time you don't enjoy anything. Go out and do all you can while you still have your health." I have done just that. Happiness is always planning the next trip for me. I will be 69 when I bowhunt bull elk this fall. Just figure out a way to do it.

 

[Oak]

Men in my family don't have long lifespans. My dad died when he was 55, and I'm less than 10 years away from there. I spent the time and money to make several trips before I had kids. The down side is that I'm now an "old dad," but I'm so glad I checked some things off the list when I could. My advice to all is, don't wait until you think you can afford it, because you might never make it.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Men in my family don't have long lifespans.

Feel you there, neither my dad or grandfather made it to 60, definitely makes me consider my priorities and take nothing for granted.

 

[3855WIN]

I had circled back around to pick up my 11 year old son at his ground blind one fine Mississippi morning. We were whispering, when he said ,"there's a buck". He eased down a turkey toe ridge to get a clear shot. He made a 125 yard shot down through the hardwoods and killed a fine nine point. When we were riding back to camp that morning with his buck in the truck, I told him, "I'll remember these days as the happiest times of my life". I've hunted what I could over the years and have killed some nice animals. But at 51, I'm just trying to soak it all in. Realistically, the Marco Polo won't happen. Probably not the white sheep, either. But it sure is great to get to go hunting one more time. I've got a public land turkey draw hunt next week. Can't wait to be in the woods again.

 

[PA deer hunter]

Go for it Randy ! After chasing white tails @ turkeys all over Pa , I decided 4 yrs ago at age 51, to fulfill my desire to hunt pronghorn @ mule deer in Wyoming. Haven’t missed a season since. The last thing you wanna be saying to yourself, when you’re stuck in the rocking chair, is , wish I’d have done... By then it’ll be too late !

 

[The Hedgehog]

My dream is to be able to hunt a giant old boar grizzly in the area where I live and frequent, and have learned entirely on my own.

I will die happy and fullfilled, having never once been on a guided hunt for anything, in places I'm completely unfamiliar with.

I would have NO shame or hesitation in a hunt like that - even though other hunters disagree with the thought of it.

http://www.mtoutlaw.com/to-kill-a-grizzly/

 

[The Hedgehog]

More of a "short-term" and possible dream is to be able to hunt black bears by the end of May this year, likely only possible shooting left handed. And then being able to draw and shoot my bow by mid August for archery elk season.

 

[maxx]

When I read the title I could only think of the reoccurring dream I have about being hunting and pulling the trigger as hard as I can and having the gun not go off.

 

[kansasdad]

Shakespeare famously said: "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."

Guided or unguided, video/stills shot for public consumption or not, public land or not, all this is for you to determine if you are being true to yourself. Selfishly I hope that you go and bring the adventure back to HuntTalk so that I can vicariously go on a mountain caribou hunt.

I will just remind you that you self-filmed a fantastic hunt (Montana whitetail) several years ago. I learned a couple of pearls from that show, and am very glad that you took the effort to bring it to the network for airing.

I presume that Randy11's suggestion to dump the filming aspect was to free you from the constraints of finding a storyline and producing compelling footage for another epic episode of FreshTracks. Getting his mountain goat was work enough in itself. Getting it on film to present to the world sure made the hunting more complicated. The move to youtube/Amazon sets you free from the constraints of network and convention. The run of the mill, outfitted-to-the-hilt hunting shows can't hardly stand to present a show without some amazing book creature falling to the supposedly superior hunting skills of our TV host. If you see fit to present to your viewing audience aspects of your bucket list quest/s you may help others crystallize their bucket list ideals.

Perfectly framed "impact" shots don't float my boat when it comes to hunting TV shows. My favorite sequence of any OYOA or FreshTracks episode is when a herky-jerky Tyler is pushing you up the hill through the timber to find the milling herd of elk. The verite' of those moments as you first sprint uphill, then get shoved further uphill, then try to find the right target, and finally the look on your face when you turn back to the camera after putting your bull to sleep up the hill is priceless.

Whatever you decide to do, remember ol' Will and be true to yourself. The rest shall fall into place.

 

[Irrelevant]

The thing about bucket list items is when you check one off you have to add two more to the bottom.

 

[elkduds]

I appreciate this thought provoking thread. My hunting hopes these days are about preserving public lands and access, recruiting new hunters, advocacy w game management agencies, and enjoying great days or weeks in the field. Whether I have 5, 10 or more years to give back to hunting, these are the values that drive me.

 

[Hem]

More of a "short-term" and possible dream is to be able to hunt black bears by the end of May this year, likely only possible shooting left handed. And then being able to draw and shoot my bow by mid August for archery elk season.

Rotator cuff surgery?
Don't push the rehab.

 

[LopeHunter]

I drew a WY mule deer tag a few years back that was migration dependent and was valid into early November. I was on the east side of Yellowstone above Cody and rode horses into the Shoshones. Snow off and on, wind gusts that could rock you, blue skies at time, temps in the teens at sunrise, one fantastic sunrise and got thrown from a horse. Saw a grizzly at under 100 yards even though was past the end of the "bear aware" window, wolves that appeared 100 yards out along a gully as was eating a cold sandwich, bighorn sheep at 50 yards as was cutting back and forth on an icy creek bed, bald eagles above, elk down low and lots of deer everyday. Was even better than I imagined a mountain hunt could be when I was a kid reading hunting magazines on a farm in the bottomlands of the Midwest.

So, you never know until you go. May be better, may not be, but only way to find out is to push the start button on the rocket.