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My General Tag

If misery loves company.. I'm likely eating a WY general tag this year. Had a great archery hunt, probably my best DIY archery elk hunt to date just from a number of encounters standpoint, but no arrow released. Might get back for firearm but not sure I can swing it.
 
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Dude epic story so far. Thanks for sharing your thoughts/emotions through this. Take this as a reference point too and use it as a moment in the future to remind yourself of. Solo hunting is a bit different, and having this experience now can definitely help in the future. Always working on it myself.
 
Great write up so far @TOGIE i understand the mental struggle. Not wanting to be a failure plays rough within our mind, even though the failure is not a tangible thing or necessarily a visible thing but in our mind a real deal of feeling like our decision is a failure to our wife or kids or even to ourselves if this is a wrong decision. Even with a half day hunt I do here I struggle if I would be better spending my time doing something different. Especially since I have few days to hunt I will struggle with which stand or blind to hunt out of, because if I spend time hunting and don't kill anything in my mind it feels like a failure because I could have used that time to do something else "productive".

I know Remi Warren and John Barklow as well as the whole training of MTough is big on mental toughness and mental training, and they are right that if you can't win the mental game it's hard to win the physical.

If I go hunting with the intent of an enjoying being there and not with the intent of killing something then I have a way better time and outcome especially if I don't kill anything.

Get out there again and I know you will do better in rifle season because you will be better mentally prepared.
Can't wait for that part of the story, great motivation for us all.
 
TOGIE said:
So begins the story of my quest to fill a Wyoming General Elk Tag.

I want this to be more a story documenting my emotions during a hunt rather than a story documenting a hunt. But, it will undoubtedly be both. It is inherently both. I find for myself that my hunting is often more a struggle against myself than against the animals and I want to be honest about that. That part of my story is developing in new ways as a brand new father to what is now a 1 year old son.

I went on my first bag game hunt now 6 years ago and filled a doe antelope tag in Wyoming in September, 2017. That same fall at the push of some friends I started buying points in Wyoming. I burned those 6 points to get a General tag this year for my 7th fall of hunting. Why did I do that? It's something I've admittedly started questioning. Such is the prelude to my personal struggles with hunting. Objectively, though, the why can be easily answered by looking at what's going on: the General Tag is undoubtedly creeping up in points cost, the writing is on the wall that it could be creeping up in the cost of dollars, and points continue to add to the cost of the tag; and, not least of all is time.

Now, I'm a father. This was well documented in my hunting last year. I was extraordinarily blessed and lucky to be able to spend some good time hunting last year with a freshly minted infant at home. I shot a cool buck in Colorado and filled a late season Wyoming Cow tag. But as was obvious last year and is something that continues to change in complexity, time means something else now. How and where I spend it is a constant added complexity to life. Knowing we will be looking to have more kids, if there is an opportunity to spend the time a Wyoming General Tag demands, this is likely to be the last chance for years to come. My wife was in full agreement after discussing how this fall might look during application season for 2023 - if there is any last year to "go big" for the foreseeable future, 2023 is it.

I bought a bow last year in anticipation of this. Wyoming allows you to hunt the archery season and the rifle season should the tag remained unfilled after traipsing about with a bow. Why would you waste the opportunity if you can help it?

So, General Tag easily secured at 6 points this spring, it all began...
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I just recently had the privilege of accompany a father and son on a do it ourselves Alaskan Moose Hunt. It was an experience that I never had with my father as he passed when I was 6 years old. I myself did not have sons. I now have a 2 1/2 year old Grandson and I am making plans to share my love of hunting with him. He already know the names of all the animals on my wall and knows the difference in a photo of Moose, Elk, Deer, and caribou. My goal now is to stay healthy enough to go on some adventures with him.
But. my point of this blog is simply to ask others opinions on a subject that has happened to me several times. Outfitter SCREWS YOU OVER! Worst one for me was camp and food was supplied. We did not even get a chair and our food was all expired. Recently we did a float for Moose in Alaska. The Father and Son I was with, I am certain a once in a lifetime hunt for them. We were flown into the river and we chose to hunt the secon half of season hoping for more of a rut hunt. So when we flew in I wasn't upset to se a group half way thru the float that started on opener. However, when the we landed the pilot said she put a group of 4 in same spot the day before we landed. so 9 guys same stretch of river from same outfitter.

My question to all of you, WHAT DO I DO? I have let him know that is unacceptable. He says wasn't his fault. Pilot error. Well This is what we paid him to handle.
SO DO I BLOW UP SOCIAL MEDIA AND LET OTHERS KNOW NOT TO BOOK HERE?
DO I JUST ROLL OVER AND TAKE IT?
We reported the expired food guy and the Guide ASSOC. didn't care. They think we all complain becauese we expect a guided hunt for the outfitted hunt price and that was not the case at all.
I know these issues are very common and I am just wonddering what have others DONE?

Lutherlunker
 
Lutherlunker said:
I just recently had the privilege of accompany a father and son on a do it ourselves Alaskan Moose Hunt. It was an experience that I never had with my father as he passed when I was 6 years old. I myself did not have sons. I now have a 2 1/2 year old Grandson and I am making plans to share my love of hunting with him. He already know the names of all the animals on my wall and knows the difference in a photo of Moose, Elk, Deer, and caribou. My goal now is to stay healthy enough to go on some adventures with him.
But. my point of this blog is simply to ask others opinions on a subject that has happened to me several times. Outfitter SCREWS YOU OVER! Worst one for me was camp and food was supplied. We did not even get a chair and our food was all expired. Recently we did a float for Moose in Alaska. The Father and Son I was with, I am certain a once in a lifetime hunt for them. We were flown into the river and we chose to hunt the secon half of season hoping for more of a rut hunt. So when we flew in I wasn't upset to se a group half way thru the float that started on opener. However, when the we landed the pilot said she put a group of 4 in same spot the day before we landed. so 9 guys same stretch of river from same outfitter.

My question to all of you, WHAT DO I DO? I have let him know that is unacceptable. He says wasn't his fault. Pilot error. Well This is what we paid him to handle.
SO DO I BLOW UP SOCIAL MEDIA AND LET OTHERS KNOW NOT TO BOOK HERE?
DO I JUST ROLL OVER AND TAKE IT?
We reported the expired food guy and the Guide ASSOC. didn't care. They think we all complain becauese we expect a guided hunt for the outfitted hunt price and that was not the case at all.
I know these issues are very common and I am just wonddering what have others DONE?

Lutherlunker
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Best to start your own thread, zero reason to derail this one.
 
When I solo hunt the most dangerous part to me is the drive to and from. 20+ hours on the road there is a lot that can go South in a blink of an eye. Once I am at my destination I am good. I do find myself taking less risks while solo hunting because there is nobody there to help me if I screw up.
 
SAJ-99 said:
I’m not sure about this comment. It isn’t an issue of weakness. We all have self doubt, it just depends on the situation. It seems more an issue that we tend to go toward what is comfortable.
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This.

Put me in the woods by myself, and yes I’ll miss my kids and wife and comfortable home, but I’m good.

Put me at my kids t-ball game where I have to interact with the other parents and I get the heebie-jeebies.
 
Definitely one of the best threads of the year. Enjoying the heck out of it @TOGIE .

I don’t know how I missed seeing this earlier. I started it this morning before heading to my deer stand and finished it there. No telling how many walked right by me. Good stuff, man! ‘twould be legen … dary if you get one. Make it happen!
 
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Bluffgruff said:
Why doesn't that seat have more gear and junk in it? Seems like anyone serious about hunting would have at least 15 jumbled things in the front seat....
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I agree with you @Bluffgruff I was by myself and still had the entire bed of truck full of coolers, and the back seat and front seat full of crap. Crap that I needed, like water, oreo cookies, etc, but not near as organized as @TOGIE
 
BenP said:
If I go hunting with the intent of an enjoying being there and not with the intent of killing something then I have a way better time and outcome especially if I don't kill anything.
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That is it in a nutshell. Even though I didn't fill my WY gen tag this year, we had a good time exploring new beautiful country. Found the unit that we will not go back to, but glad we explored it to the best of our abilities.

Keep at it @TOGIE
 
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