Quitters

[mtmuley]

Not really quitting but I have had two Missouri Breaks rifle bull tags. Walked away from bulls any sane man would have killed out there. mtmuley

 

[Irrelevant]

I've quit almost every WA general deer season, either actually or mentally.

 

[rogerthat]

Not really quitting but I have had two Missouri Breaks rifle bull tags. Walked away from bulls any sane man would have killed out there. mtmuley

Yup your just #selective like matstinker not #quitter
Can’t shoot the big ones when you shoot the small ones

 

[Art Vandeley]

I quit on a Colorado deer hunt midway through. Excuses were: burned a hole in my tent first day (I did not shank it to death after words), got two flat tires, couldn’t get where I wanted to go due to muddy roads, couldn’t keep my beer from freezing at night, etc.

A guy I met early on the hunt texted me a picture of a 190 buck he killed when I was halfway home. That still stings

 

[woods89]

I was probably closer to quitting on my first CO trip than I'd like to admit.

I've always hit a bit of a bump on extended hunting trips about 3-4 days in. For some reason I always miss my wife and kids a lot over those few days, but if I can get past that, it gets better. On my first trip I had a lot to figure out food wise, and wasn't sleeping well the first few nights. It was an archery trip in September, and we were packed in aways and not getting into a lot of elk. It all combined to run me pretty low. On the 5th morning I hiked out to my truck (we had moved to an area closer to the road), drove about an hour into town, got a shower, ate some good food, had a fancy coffee, and headed back up for the evening hunt. That was a turning point, and it helped that we were into elk the rest of the trip. I remember, though, that it would have been so easy to just point the truck east and head for home.

Since then I still hit the 3-4 day bump, but when you know what to expect it doesn't bother you nearly as much. Every trip since has been more enjoyable.

I think a lot of guys go elk hunting once, and decide it's not for them. They just aren't going to Instagram their decision up.

I've been thankful many times that I went back up into the mountains. Had I headed home I likely would have never returned.

 

[Pucky Freak]

A kid and I had plans to head out on the big river, I can’t remember if it was fishing or duck hunting. Anyways, a hurricane was moving inland and about to dump an enormous amount of rain that afternoon + very windy. The kid still wanted to go out, and I knew it was a lost cause. I should have just said no, not today. Instead I said ok we’ll sit here in the house and keep an eye on the weather, which we did, and eventually met the inevitable no you can’t/shouldn’t hunt in a dying hurricane. We would have died.

 

[Dinkshooter]

2021, I spent 9 days elk hunting OTC Colorado. I had seen some nice bulls and chose not to go after others. The last day of the season I had planned to hike out.

On the hike out(9 am or so) I looked back over my shoulder for some reason and spotted the kind of bull I had been suffering for, across a major drainage and up.

I made every excuse in the book not to go back, tent was wet and packed, little food, water pump was plenty clogged, legs smoked. And so I didn't. I really regret that.

 

[Brad]

A friend's son drew a sheep and goat permit last year. His wife was due in late September with their first child, and he told me his son was just going to have to just get it over with and shoot the first one he could.
I asked him "why, he could always have another kid." He said, "I know - that's what I told him too."

In August 2022 I ran into the group scouting. They explained the "situation" and my only thought was "poor bastard!"

 

[kansasdad]

The hunting area in Alberta was a two bear unit. On the second night I shot my 7‘2” big boy, the same night my brother got a 7’4” one, and then a self defense “small” 6 footer as it was readying a climb up his tree. I decided to not try for a second bear, but instead went on a long shot wolf hunt that resulted in two being sighted.

Still glad I didn’t attempt for a second bear.

 

[The Hedgehog]

In August 2022 I ran into the group scouting. They explained the "situation" and my only thought was "poor bastard!"

He killed a stud of an old billy on the opener, and a mediocre ram at the end.

Year I had goat in peaks, I met a guy that drew all 3 that year, all in the peaks. What a curse. Day before I killed my goat I called him and told him I’d be all done and out the following day and would head in with him the next evening for a good Billy. Not much more than 24 hours after me shooting mine, we were 9-10 miles in from another trailhead with another 9+ inch goat down. He killed an average ram late, but ate the moose tag which is a very challenging permit. It’s what my friend Jake has, and he knew it going in. It’s his 3rd moose permit so don’t shed any tears if he gets another 30-40 days in hunting and doesn’t notch his tag. It has been and will be an excellent hunt.

And there will be no quitting.

 

[antlerradar]

My best quitting story involves high school sports. I was a hell of an athlete, but I quit everything once I was old enough to drive, so I could focus on hunting and fishing.

Definitely glad I did. I wouldn't still be playing any of those sports, but here I am still hunting and fishing every chance I get!

I regret that I didn't do this. I wasn't that great of an athlete but I still stuck with high school sports because I am too stubborn to quit something I started. Often wonder what kind of mule deer I would have turned up an the sheds I would have found if I had spent my weekends in the hills instead of sports. One thing is for sure, My knees would feel better now.

 

[Brad]

He killed a stud of an old billy on the opener, and a mediocre ram at the end.

Year I had goat in peaks, I met a guy that drew all 3 that year, all in the peaks. What a curse. Day before I killed my goat I called him and told him I’d be all done and out the following day and would head in with him the next evening for a good Billy. Not much more than 24 hours after me shooting mine, we were 9-10 miles in from another trailhead with another 9+ inch goat down. He killed an average ram late, but ate the moose tag which is a very challenging permit. It’s what my friend Jake has, and he knew it going in. It’s his 3rd moose permit so don’t shed any tears if he gets another 30-40 days in hunting and doesn’t notch his tag. It has been and will be an excellent hunt.

And there will be no quitting.

Eating a Peaks moose tag would be hard.

 

[Khunter]

Had a Montana Moose tag when I was 21. Hunted somewhere in the relm of 35 to 40 days with lots of dink bull opportunities. Had tons of private to hunt, no kids, literally the entire season to drag it out.

Well on my chance for the "dream bull" I #@)(*%* it up and pissed down both legs and never did get a shot on him. I called him in through some thick timber I didn't take the shot because it wasn't ideal at 15 yards. That night I got whiskey drunk and said piss on it I was over the whole hunt I'm shooting the first bull I see. I did and it was a decision I've regretted my entire hunting life. I quit on myself and shot a bull that was nothing close to what I had set out to harvest. Another hunter killed the big bull within a week of my episode in the exact same drainage and it was everything you could've wanted. View attachment 296574

We know you have a photo of the biug bull, let’s see it,

 

[antlerradar]

A long time ago I quite on an archery Mule Deer hunt before it even started. I had found several antlers from a great buck and I was confident I would find him on opening day. The plan was to hike up to the top of the hills the day before the opener, spend the night and find him in the morning. I was totally unprepared. The only thing I packed in was some extra water. At dark I found a tree to sleep under with nothing but branches between me and the stars. Life was good. Soon however there was clouds and by 10:00 it was raining. By midnight I was soaking wet and freezing. I could see the lights of my grandmothers in the valley a thousand feet below me. Those lights were looking very inviting so I bailed. It was lucky I didn't break a leg walking the mile of steep stuff in the mud and pitch black. I spent what was left of the night on the porch as I didn't want to wake grandma at two in the morning and at day light I went whitetail hunting on the river bottom. I was 14 at the time.

 

[Nick87]

A long time ago I quite on an archery Mule Deer hunt before it even started. I had found several antlers from a great buck and I was confident I would find him on opening day. The plan was to hike up to the top of the hills the day before the opener, spend the night and find him in the morning. I was totally unprepared. The only thing I packed in was some extra water. At dark I found a tree to sleep under with nothing but branched between me and the stars. Soon however there was clouds and by 10:00 it was raining. By midnight I was soaking wet and freezing. I could see the lights of my grandmothers in the valley and it was looking very inviting so I bailed. It was lucky I didn't break a leg walking the mile of steep stuff in the mud and pitch black. I spent the night on the porch as I didn't want to wake grandma at two in the morning and at day light I went whitetail hunting on the river bottom. I was 14 at the time.

That's an awesome story. 1 of many I'm sure. Not everyone could handle that as a kid but sure makes for some memories.

 

[ismith]

Drew a Coues tag for the Burro mountains in New Mexico years ago. Ended up not going due to newlywed money problems. Should have been more patient with my moose and mtn goat hunts, if I ever draw my sheep tag it will be a book ram or nothing.

 

[DFS]

I regret that I didn't do this. I wasn't that great of an athlete but I still stuck with high school sports become I am too stubborn to quit something I started. Often wonder what kind of mule deer I would have turned up a the sheds I would have found if I had spent my weekends in the hill instead of sports. One thing is for sure, My knees would feel better now.

Your knees probably would feel the same as they do now from all the hiking. I quit football as a 7th grader, and I hunted every night after school if I didn’t have to shovel pig shit, fix fence or work. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and was extremely unsuccessful, I appreciate what I got to see back then though. I sucked at football.

 

[np307]

Not a special tag or anything, but a situation I still laugh about today. The first time I went to Wyoming to hunt was with two friends for antelope. The one friend I still hunt with out west, we are leaving tomorrow morning for a trip in fact. The other friend was pushing 65 for this trip and had an antelope doe tag. He quickly decided he wasn't going to try to keep up with us and kept talking about wanting to see a group from the road and make a quick stalk that way. So we are getting lunch the day before we are supposed to leave and he is the only tag holder left. He says "I think we should go pack up camp and head home". We said if that's what you want to do, that's what we will do.

So we're driving out after packing up camp and lo and behold, what do we see? A group of antelope on public literally just off the road, could've been a total chip shot. We said "the guns are on top, do you want to stop and shoot one?" He didn't even look up and said "just keep driving". He slept about 24 out of the 30 hours home.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Grizzly Bears seem to be a big one. Just last weekend my hunting partner of 13 years bailed on me at 9:30pm the night before our hunt because his new wife decided she doesn't want him hunting bear country anymore. It takes a lot of self-control on my part to not tell him to grow a set and lay out some ground rules. I can't think of a time he's bailed on a hunt, and we've spent plenty of night out in griz country together, so I know it's coming from his wife.

I have the set. I just need reminded of it. Would you do it solo? I know your pain….

 

[Flatbrimmer]

It doesn't look like much but it was well below zero for a lot of the 2020 season. Stuck it out in my tipi. HOWEVER, that was one of the last times I stuck it out in a tent. Never being able to truly get dry or thaw food. That year I spent my birthday drinking a frozen Coors. I do have a better setup now but being frozen and wet will cut most trips short now.


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You have great power of will, despite the circumstances. Congratulations on both. You’re a Beast.

FWIW, I spent a Xmas drinking some slushy Carlos Rossi in similar weather. You’re take-home is better than mine