If you could go back to age 25

[Pucky Freak]

Rewind the clock 10 years, I am single, no obligations, no assets. The world was my oyster.

Today I have a family, enjoy where I live, 10-year career doing what I love, and get to hunt often. I invested in real estate and the stock market. I wouldn't change anything.

Except...I'd buy a lifetime MN hunting license. I wish I had known what they were back then.

 

[Mica Man]

Wouldn't change a thing. Married and had my first of five kids by age 25. Yup that's right five. Been married to the right woman for nearly 22 years and she still let's me hunt and fish more than anyone else I know. Living the dream in the best part of North Idaho. Heck I might even go chase Chuckars next Monday in celebration of MLK day.

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

Outside of Bozeman

Better act quick!

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

I'm 28 now and set to inherit 1200 acres in NE Montana. We plan to take over the cattle operation, but lately I've been thinking about managing it for pheasants, grouse, mules and whiteys. Maybe put in a private pond and stock northerns. Just not sure if the demand exists.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Probably avoid Meth

Meth, we're on it. At least in SD that is...

 

[rwc101]

There's a woman I'd advise myself to avoid.

 

[rtraverdavis]

There was a stretch that I spent way too much time looking in the rear view, stroking my regrets. What a waste of time that is. Everything I’ve done and gone through has led me to this point, and I’d be a miserable, delusional prick if I wasn’t grateful for it all—great wife of nearly 15 years, two healthy, happy young kids, a job that I actually enjoy (most of the time) and I get to hunt and fish a little. Only thing I’d really change at 25 is to just admit defeat and quit drinking then, instead of slithering around hung over for another four years.

 

[Sask hunter]

I am only 26 so I’m not sure what I could change. I have a decent job and no kids so I hunt and trap a lot. I’m in the stage of buying all my toys and hunting stuff still. Hope it’s a good decision lol.

 

[LuketheDog]

25 was a great year, wish I could go back and re-live it. Wouldn’t change a thing.

No kidding...I had a great job for a young single guy and low rent in a house with two great roommates, I had a new truck, I owned a boat with my buddy, I was surfing my brains out and spearfishing when the conditions were good, plus skiing, fly fishing, and camping on weekends. Wouldn't change one thing!

 

[Bigjay73]

Probably wish I could go back in time 7 more years, dodge the cost of the student loans from getting that holy bachelor's degree, and start a career in a high paying trade. Oh, wait, I did that. Hard to believe an uneducated person can make a great income huh?

 

[hank4elk]

Lemme see,40 yrs ago I had already lived 4 lives,had 2 jobs,sitting in on classes, surfed almost every day when possible,had a home & was turning down work..was started drinking and should have quit & married that gal....& 1980 was life in the fast lane.
20yrs later I was not drinking and was in best shape of my life.

 

[Mule man]

Been pretty lucky, still with my first wife of 50 years and she never once stopped me from hunting or fishing (or working Hard) I really think she would like me gone more now ....lol

 

[noharleyyet]

I would have definitely researched the nuances of community property.

#youkeepusingthatword.gif

 

[Wildabeest]

If you could go back to your mid 20's and be single, no kids, no debt, and have a bachelors degree, what would you do?

I call this being in my mid-50’s. It’s never too late! If you can divorce yourself from the societal expectation that making more money so you can accumulate more stuff is how the game is scored, then it frees you up to make very different decisions. I don’t have any regrets, but if I had a do-over, I’d have moved west into the mountains earlier in life.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I lived the dream. Managed to get a PhD but still worked a variety of jobs all over the continent. Forest surveyor, wildfire fighter, animal packer, crane operator, janitor, school teacher, coach, law clerk, cartographer, truck driver, ranch hand, editor, park ranger, historian, writer, and now taxidermist. We also had the perfect family: a girl and a boy. Until he and my wife died. She in a car accident ten years ago today and Wesley we lost to seizure the previous Christmas. That is the only chapter of my life's story I would like to rewrite. No pain no gain I guess. I have hunted and fished from Africa to Alaska and gathered a few nice trophies. The memories are indescribable ... more than a few are hair-raising. And somehow in spite of my best efforts to avoid it, I'll end my life a multimillionaire. No bucket list.

 

[MTGomer]

I’d take up sheep hunting so I know that I wouldn’t have to worry about how to spend my extra time or money for the next 5 years.
And that’s exactly what I did.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I'm 28 now and set to inherit 1200 acres in NE Montana. We plan to take over the cattle operation, but lately I've been thinking about managing it for pheasants, grouse, mules and whiteys. Maybe put in a private pond and stock northerns. Just not sure if the demand exists.

Be a real Montanan. Enroll in the block management program and get paid to let the public hunt what belongs to them. Work the ranch the way it was supposed to be ... as a cattle operation. It breaks my heart to see my "home" Easterized. More and more of it every year. The Last Best Place is fast becoming a myth.

I might suggest leasing the pasture/farm land to neighbours. That way you can write off your hunting trip out to the farm every year as a tax deductable business expense. It can also give you time to learn something about the ranching business. I think you will find that would be a much smoother transition.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

I'm that age now so its interesting to see what everyone else did or would do. No relationship so I have all my time to myself and taking a break from school. I taught myself how to fly fish (am I cool yet?) and inherited some of my great grandfather's gear. Lots of elk hunting memories that I'll keep for the rest of my life. Learned a lot about conservation and to participate. Being able to take care of my old golden retriever has been the best time spent. Not much I would change. I wish Covid didnt happen, can I change that?

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

Be a real Montanan. Enroll in the block management program and get paid to let the public hunt what belongs to them. Work the ranch the way it was supposed to be ... as a cattle operation. It breaks my heart to see my "home" Easterized. More and more of it every year. The Last Best Place is fast becoming a myth.

This is and has always been private land since it was homesteaded by my wife's family. The state land that surrounds it is open to the public. I understand your viewpoint, trust me, I do, but the realities are a bit different up there. Gates left open, fence lines driven over, meth pipes in the pasture, beer cans everywhere...I understand my father-in-law's hesitancy to enroll in block management. My life has changed considerably since that idealistic sentiment was posted. We've purchased a home here and have no plans of taking over the operation. We've met some real ranchers that want to lease eventually, so it will continue to be a cattle ranch. I hope to open it up to charity hunts for the disabled someday, and I'll continue to take friends and family up to fill their tags. Other than that, I'm happy the deer have a place to get away from the pressure.

As for easternization, I'm from Kalispell, grew up in Helena. Ariel is from PWood. We are Montanans, through and through. If Montanans don't create new economic opportunities in these small, dying towns, we are going to lose the small town lifestyle. The days of ranches and farms that requires families of 12 are no longer a reality. One man can now farm thousands of acres or tend to hundreds of head himself. I've seen the monopolization of farmland in that area; small outfits running huge operations and the death of the small farm. So, if flying in (and flying OUT) city boys that want to shoot a MT buck will ensure that the Sherwood Inn, and Fergies, and Ruebs can keep their doors open, it doesn't seem that evil to me.

 

[MTLabrador]

I didn’t spend enough time bird hunting when I was 25. Fortunately I’m only 26 now and my dog should forgive me if I take him grouse hunting tonight.