Good Ol’ Days vs. Today?

[mtmuley]

Y

Yup...she's a keeper.

For sure. Luckily my wife new my hunting habits pre marriage. mtmuley

 

[Happy Myles]

I will be 83 next month. Of course i will take the good old days. However, if i may brag, since i turned 80 have taken 7 Cape Buffalo and 10 head of plains game. All out of tented camps in wild country. No ranch lodges

 

[diamond hitch]

The 60s and 70s had bigger bulls but they were few and far apart. The deer were good until 94 then they died and haven't returned.

I enjoyed hunting with my kids as they grew up but I will take what I have and ride it to the end.

 

[MarvB]

Hunting forums were the local lumberyard or hardware store. The language was more colorful but name calling was dealt with on the spot.

And elbows up on a bar top or two... language and disagreements also with a bit more intensity.... fewer pics though.

 

[Cootmeurer]

Good old days were when I was teenager running a trap line in the late 70s/early 80s. Fur was high and it seemed like every season was full of “firsts”.

Bad old days were late 80s when duck seasons were short, steel shot was mandated but not yet effective.

Nowadays are starting to be good old days again. Have enough money to make a yearly trip to hunt somewhere, internet lets you gather info quickly, and phone apps work better than the GPS of old

 

[shootbrownelk]

If your talking Mule deer,30 yrs ago or more. Elk. Now.

I shot my biggest mule deer and elk back in the late 70's. There were a hell of a lot of big mule deer around and a hell of a lot fewer hunters to contend with. The good old days are now as far as Elk are concerned though. There were also fewer outfitters and more ranchers who allowed free access to their ranches as long as you followed their rules some 40 years ago....those days are LONG gone.

 

[noharleyyet]

And elbows up on a bar top or two... language and disagreements also with a bit more intensity.... fewer pics though.

Misdemeanors were much cheaper Marv...

 

[hank4elk]

I shot my biggest mule deer and elk back in the late 70's. There were a hell of a lot of big mule deer around and a hell of a lot fewer hunters to contend with. The good old days are now as far as Elk are concerned though. There were also fewer outfitters and more ranchers who allowed free access to their ranches as long as you followed their rules some 40 years ago....those days are LONG gone.

I left heads on rancher buddies barns & in trees that dissappeared from critters that would drop jaws now. Any hike in the Sierras, the Ruby's or where I live now and you could see bucks that are all over the internet now. You could be in a UT diner and see huge bucks in towns.Bedded under someones fruit trees.

 

[hank4elk]

And elk in the 70's...well that was one reason that RMEF started. There were few. Compared to present.
It was a big deal to fill a bull tag in MT. There were some dandies around my area,but no where near the numbers and consistancy of quality.

 

[Akcabin]

For me. I really don't see a lot of difference. I read that hunters success rates were better or more game. And folks long for that.
For me it's about the hunt. Harvesting an animal is icing on the cake. But the cake is great without frosting also.
The couple hundred year old trees that are around where I hunt probably looked the same. I enjoy hunting on my own n get into my zone n get lost probably more than ever.
The one issue I have about today's technology is that some folks have to be that guy who can cross any swamp or marsh with their tracked up argo no matter the damage to the earth. That part of hunting today is not cool man

 

[RobertD]

I am a whitetail guy first, so I would be a fool not to pick now. There are more deer in my area today than at any point in the life of anyone living around here. Even looking back to when I was a kid, the difference is astounding.

For the west, I would choose the good old days. I want to go back to when hardly anyone thought hunting pronghorn was a thing.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Good old days for opportunity and "wildness" but damnation I sure enjoy being warm and dry.

 

[Hem]

Late eighties, early nineties in Montana for everything.