What has been your favorite hunt of all

[elkhuntinfool78]

Thought it might be fun to see pics and hear what all of your favorite hunts have been. I know if you're like me it's hard to pick just one but just for fun post some pics and a brief description of what your favorite has been.

I guess for me it would be the AK moose hunt I went on this past September. It had been a lifelong dream for me and was almost surreal to have it all unfold as it did. I went out of bethel and ended up doing it solo as I had no one that could or wanted to go. It was the adventure and trip of a lifetime, everything I had ever dreamed of

 

[Bambistew]

That is a hell of a nice moose!

I've had some amazing trips over the years, to the point that finding a new "high" is getting harder to come by. I often joke that hunting is like a herion addiction. We are always chasing that first high but it will never be as good.

These are in my top 5.

My first flyout, super remote hunt. We were 90 miles from the nearest town. It was nuts, not a single plane or other person seen in 14 days of hunting. Western Brooks Range. All closed to sheep and caribou unless you're a "local."



First muzzle loader elk. Solo hunt, amazing morning called him in to 11 steps.




First double whammy. Second rams for both my wife and it. Lots of packing on this trip. A thieving wolverine, dislocated shoulder, and charged by a sow griz, lots of miles on foot packing meat.



Solo sheep hunt, 14 days hunting the Chugach (most with a friend, but I went back after my first failed hunt). Countless miles on foot, twice the average sheep hunt.



First trip to Africa (can't wait to go back). Everyday was a new experience. Sounds, smells, sights. Truly amazing trip. 2 weeks isn't enough, I went for 3 the second time, and may go for a month next.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

That is a hell of a nice moose!

I've had some amazing trips over the years, to the point that finding a new "high" is getting harder to come by. I often joke that hunting is like a herion addiction. We are always chasing that first high but it will never be as good.

These are in my top 5.

My first flyout, super remote hunt. We were 90 miles from the nearest town. It was nuts, not a single plane or other person seen in 14 days of hunting. Western Brooks Range. All closed to sheep and caribou unless you're a "local."

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First muzzle loader elk. Solo hunt, amazing morning called him in to 11 steps.

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First double whammy. Second rams for both my wife and it. Lots of packing on this trip. A thieving wolverine, dislocated shoulder, and charged by a sow griz, lots of miles on foot packing meat.
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Solo sheep hunt, 14 days hunting the Chugach (most with a friend, but I went back after my first failed hunt). Countless miles on foot, twice the average sheep hunt.

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First trip to Africa (can't wait to go back). Everyday was a new experience. Sounds, smells, sights. Truly amazing trip. 2 weeks isn't enough, I went for 3 the second time, and may go for a month next.
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Awesome pics and stories! Dall sheep is next on my bucket list, trying to figure out how to manage becoming an Alaskan resident...lol. love the pic of you and your wife with two rams! Yes the older we get it's harder to top past experiences.
Thanks for sharing

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

My favorite was my honeymoon. It was my first western hunt and we went after mule deer. Never saw much more than a forky, but was a great experience. Came home with some very expensive trout, our first.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

Looks like you had a great trip, I've got many fond memories of hunts that didn't end with a filled tag.

 

[sneakypete]

BC moose hunt with my son, and Montana bull.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

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BC moose hunt with my son, and Montana bull.

Awesome! Just curious who did you go through in BC?

 

[BearFoot]

All Hunts are GREAT, but this next one!

 

[BAKPAKR]

Thought it might be fun to see pics and hear what all of your favorite hunts have been. I know if you're like me it's hard to pick just one but just for fun post some pics and a brief description of what your favorite has been.

I guess for me it would be the AK moose hunt I went on this past September. It had been a lifelong dream for me and was almost surreal to have it all unfold as it did. I went out of bethel and ended up doing it solo as I had no one that could or wanted to go. It was the adventure and trip of a lifetime, everything I had ever dreamed of

That is a heck of a bull. Congrats!

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I'll be honest. I don't think I can pick one hunt. Hopefully this year I'll go on my favorite, lol. There's a handful of hunts that standout, but they're all special.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Pretty tough to beat the day I killed my moose. It wasn't a glamorous 1 shot bow kill, but it's a tale to be told.

I wish I could re-live that day over and over again.

 

[sneakypete]

Awesome! Just curious who did you go through in BC?

Stone Mountain Safaris, that hunt took place in 2017. They have since sold and now it’s called Stone & Folding Mountain outfitters. Blair Miller and his wife with Rob Mullins bought SMS. Two great outfits along side each other. They are located in Toad River BC.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

Pretty tough to beat the day I killed my moose. It wasn't a glamorous 1 shot bow kill, but it's a tale to be told.

I wish I could re-live that day over and over again.

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I don't envy you with that moose in the water...lol. nice bull!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Not the biggest trophy I've shot but certainly the most memorable stalk. 2022 my PH took me to a property he had never hunted before. Very thick stuff on the coastal side of the mountains with one small abandoned field next to a river. The hills were alive with game but very hard to see them: kudu, zebra, impala, warthogs, baboons, and nyala which were the objective. Normaly they have a forbidding price tag but somehow my outfitter got me a deal I couldn't turn down. Prospects weren't great that we would even find anything to shoot but I'd already filled my list and seeing new country appealed to both of us. Something to do. The property was very steep and thick. At daybreak animals started filtering into the meadow below us but nothing shootable. Once it started to heat up, PH decided we should work our way through cover along the side of the mountain upriver and watch for animals coming down for a drink. After about an hour we sat down next to a clear spot and glassed the opposite mountain. Suddenly Bertus spotted movement at 500 yards. He put his spotting scope on it. "Four nyala cows are working their way down. They keep looking back uphill. Let's just watch them for a while." After ten minutes: "Oh my! Pat, you are shooting a nyala today!" It was too late in the day to expect anything would to come to the meadow. We'd have to intercept them at the river. The plan was to hike along the side of the mountain until we were upwind, then drop to the river and carefully work our way downstream. The first problem with this scheme was the sheer density of game in the area. Most African antelope are quite vociferous. We were constantly stopping to let animals walk by without sounding the alarm. At one point I watched a pair of impala grooming each other not forty yards away. That was very cool. Two nyala bulls popped up behind me but neither were shooters. A kudu cow with calf huffed at us once but not very excited. We froze and let her wander off. We were hurrying as fast as possible, dodging animals and trying to be quiet on steep rocky terrain, when suddenly a four foot boundary fence blocked our way. Plan now was to follow the fence to the river. There was a maintenance/game trail alongside that we could follow. Then the trail vered off to the left. Odd. At this point the slope was so steep I was compelled to hang onto the sheep wire netting as we decended. Fifty yards later Bertus stopped and motioned for me to approach carefully. At his feet was a two hundred foot cliff! That's why the trail disappeared off to the left. God only knows how the farm hands managed to string a fence down there but we didn't bring parachutes so Bertus had to make a change of plans. Back at the top of the ridge, we returned about half way to our vehicle and then dropped down to find the river. On top we spotted a massive kudu bull about two hundred yards but no permission to hunt them and no cell coverage so he walked. Dropping to the river we were again dodging game left and right. A hundred yards above the river Bertus spotted the four cow nyala two hundred yards upstream in the bottom. "Let's stop. He's here, I know it." So we sat down and put our binoculars to work. After fifteen minutes: "Ah! There he is laying in the thick stuff next to the river." He pointed me to the location but I couldn't see it. "Just watch. He'll move, then you'll see him." Finally I saw a horn move. Bertus had picked out the white polka dot on the side of the bull's face. Amazing. I got on the shooting sticks. "He'll get up soon to drink or stretch his legs." An hour and twenty minutes later the bull finally did get up. By then I was almost crippled up hunkered over my gun constantly. Though it was up and moving, there was no clear shot in that crap. "Pat, I don't think you can take a shot." "There's a small five foot window downstream about ten yards. If he walks into it, I'll shoot him." The bull grazed uphill, then upstream, then back down to the river, then downstream. When he walked into the window I touched off my Springfield. The hit was audible. The bull ran to the river, collapsed, then stumbled to his feet. "I think he's done for." Bertus agreed. It staggered upstream heading for thick stuff. "Better shoot him again, Pat." I got off the sticks and put a bullet in the bull on the run at a hundred yards. It went into the thicket but Bertus could see a tail flashing on the ground. "He's down." First shot hit low in the boiler room probably only damaging one lung. Second shot took out the heart. Fortunately, there was an old bush track on the edge of the river bottom next to the mountain. Our tracker drove Bertus's truck across a ford and almost to the downed nyala. The entire stalk lasted more than three hours.

 

[BigHornRam]

Stone Mountain Safaris, that hunt took place in 2017. They have since sold and now it’s called Stone & Folding Mountain outfitters. Blair Miller and his wife with Rob Mullins bought SMS. Two great outfits along side each other. They are located in Toad River BC.

I met Blair and his wife at the sheep show about 5 years ago and talked to him quite a bit. Nice young couple. As it turns out, Blair's older brother Chad, was a 17 year old apprentice guide when I did a Stone Sheep/goat hunt in BC in 2002. Blair's area is one of the best to do a Stone Sheep hunt in these days, but is well out of my price range right now. Who knows, maybe someday the stars will align!

 

[Irrelevant]

Hands down, my first chukar over a point. I had a crappy shorthair that didn't listen, didn't point, and always preferred the next county over, to the point where I actually stopped taking her for many years. I just walked alone, on foot and hoped to bump into some. I did and I got some birds. Then i gave her another chance, and as she was a bit older (10) she listened and hunted better. I'd lost track of her in the fog, but pressed forward, came over a slight rise and saw her locked up. I eased in front of her, she held, a single got up at my feet and I sandbagged it. I can't describe my elation, way more joy than any deer or elk. Just the amount of effort, time, and frustration that preceded that singular magical moment... it was just such an intensely happy moment.

Like @Bambistew said, it's like a drug, I've been constantly chasing that feeling since, and while I get tastes of it more and more now that I have a good bird dog and know a bit more what I'm doing, I still can't satiate my appetite for more.

 

[barefoothick69]

Cast & blast charter for morning duck hunting & afternoon Redfish in Venice, LA hands down!

 

[BigHornRam]

Middle Fork sheep hunt. Amazing place, and finally connected on the 2nd to last day of the season. Don't think I can ever top that adventure.

 

[sneakypete]

I met Blair and his wife at the sheep show about 5 years ago and talked to him quite a bit. Nice young couple. As it turns out, Blair's older brother Chad, was a 17 year old apprentice guide when I did a Stone Sheep/goat hunt in BC in 2002. Blair's area is one of the best to do a Stone Sheep hunt in these days, but is well out of my price range right now. Who knows, maybe someday the stars will align!

Both areas he has now are some of the very best. Prices have gone thru the roof!

 

[F250]

I can’t pick just one. So : all my late season cow elk hunts, all my self guided Saskatchewan waterfowl hunts, all my caribou hunts, self guided eider hunts off the coast of Maine , every single hunt my wife joined me on !!