What made you a great hunter? And other newbie questions.

[hank4elk]

@ 63 I'd never consider myself a great hunter. Met a few.
I've been very successful in all my hunts. Not all ended in filled tags by a long shot,but I've been lucky.
Best ones still run thru my mind years later,and they ended with unfilled tags.
Best 1,last year.Seeing a huge dreams are made of bull and a couple days later taking a small one.
Tenacity.
Curiousity.
Awareness of your surroundings & limits.

 

[noharleyyet]

#2....with my son and son in law

#3....slow down and enjoy the moment/s

 

[JLDemo]

Not a great hunter, but I truly enjoy the experience. But the more you get out in the field the higher chance at success, I feel like the guys who are constantly tagging out are the ones putting in the most time in the field. It's not the success that keeps me going back out, it's the failures with hope I'll get it right the next time. Luck certainly plays a role, but time and experience are going to be your best teachers.

Like everyone, I've had some great hunts and most of them memorable. But the one that sticks out the most it when I tagged my first elk. I had hunted hard all archery season, burned 10 days of vacation, had several opportunities only to be squashed by rookie mistakes and educated elk. Even after my 10 day elk camp I went back over a weekend only to miss a rag horn, shot over him after misjudging the yardage and shaking like a leaf. I was bummed and frustrated. Although elk camp was one for the ages, fun times all round, especially hearing the bulls scream their faces off all night, but I was frustrated with how damn difficult this archery hunting elk was. Nothing like the tree stand hunting whitetails I had grown up with. Well it was the Friday before archery season closed and we had met with a few friends for brews when the conversation was struck about elk season. My buddy had a great season, drew a damn solid tag with his brother in law and both scored on nice bulls. Well that just rubbed salt in my wounds because I was hunting general area and ordered another beer. After a few minutes my wife asked why I just don't go up for tomorrow. (Saturday and last day was Sunday) I said no at first but gave in and went home to pack, a little tent and some grub with a cooler. Well I got up there and struck camp, got everything in line and headed right back to the drainage where I missed the bull earlier in season. As luck would have it I got on some cows and I'm not picky so I was going to try to take one. As I was lightly cow calling I was interrupted by a bugle, I bugled back and he interrupted me again and I could hear the branches and twigs breaking as he came in on a sprint. I got ready and will never forget that moment for as long as I live, came into less than 35 yards and I double lunged him. A short tracking job and I had my first bull elk on the ground next to last to last day. My wife now takes credit for the bull as I would never went if it wasn't for her insisting I go. Moral of the story is don't give up, keep on going out and learn from your mistakes and you'll never be successful in the field if you never leave the house.

As for new hunters, you don't know everything. Be open to learning from those who've been there, learn from their experiences. Take ownership in your mistakes and leave the place cleaner than it was when you arrived. Have fun and remember, it's the hunt not the kill.

 

[Sytes]

I am not a great Hunter... I was maybe a fraction over average before an accident that changed many aspects of life and after 5-6 years... I feel I'm climbing back though still below average.

With that said, I can share the points I find valuable.

1. Location, location, location. The game of choice is dependent on location. Once targeting the specific game, the overall location is paramount. Define and narrow down further mapping and location until you have a good feel for an off season scoutable tract to enjoy hiking around. Look for scat, rubs, bedding ... Resident or migratory herds? Predator sign, etc...

2. Best hunt... Wow too many best hunts to list. The theme of such is sitting around the fire after a long morning hunt, afternoon scouting, evening hunt and meeting up with hunt partners and others, kicking boots up on the fire ring, sipping Wild Turkey or Jameson's or heck, a Good Earth hot tea... Yammering about our day - Intel collection and chuckling over self follies and life in general.

3. Knew or would do... Intel. Collect Intel, such as this thread you began! Biologists are eager to chat on phone though I find even greater, chatting in person during off season time where s/he is not in the redundant speech phase due to soooo many queries. It's more personable and often better personal Intel when speaking in person.

After all that, my own self reflection for my main opportunity would be to stop more. Sit more. Glass more... I tend to March on and on... Trying to get here there and everywhere. I good friend and quality Hunter and I were marching in a focused hunt area. He stopped me and shared to stop every roughly 50 yards and give a few to glass around. I march, love to explore and pass up opportunities. This is probably my greatest challenge.

Best to ya & welome to Hunt Talk! Look forward to reading of your hunts and success, while great with an animal down, is about the outdoors and comraderie. Many hunts we're the greatest and w/o a harvest.

 

[bobbydean]

Average hunter. I just like getting out. The hunt with friends and family make it special. You shoot something and the works starts.

My best hunts were not mine, but my brothers. An oryx hunt on White Sands. Herds of 100's. Unique and fun. A cow elk hunt in the Vermejo. Bulls everywhere. 50 bulls before we found a cow. I was along as a mule in both, but had a great time!

Just get out and do it. Always be willing to try for a different species. Deer hunter all my life, but it is now my least favorite hunt. Oryx, Barbary, and elk would be my best 3.

This probably one of the best question asked by a newbie! Can only think of a couple that would be in the same class.

 

[Irrelevant]

1. Overcoming the fear of being alone in the woods by myself, turning that initial fear into a drive and passion.
2. Nothing stands above the rest. But none of the good ones have anything to do with killing something.
3. Conservation. Start early, contribute often. Killing something is not required and that end should not be overly elevated. You'll rarely regret a shot not fired, but will never forget the wrong one that was.

 

[deer_shooter]

I am far from being a great hunter. I did not have the benefit of a mentor or father figure to learn from but I have been obsessed with hunting from age 6. Being completely self taught, I almost always hunt solo and I am likely behind the learning curve because of it, but after almost 40 years I've stumbled into some success here and there. For me, there is no substitute for time in the field, and that is year round. Be it hunting, scouting, shed hunting, mushroom picking, hiking, camping, etc. Perseverance is also a big factor, in many cases I'm too stubborn to quit.
I don't know that I could pick just one, there have been many that I hold especially close. My one and only elk was pretty special to me, my first out west experience was too. I had a fun whitetail hunt where called in called in my wife's first archery buck, I remember a couple squirrel hunts form the early 80's that were a ton of fun.
Advice to a new hunter: Enjoy the learning process and just getting out there. As someone else said, there are only a couple hunting shows worth watching, the rest paint an unrealistic picture so have realistic expectations.

 

[ringer]

At 68 I have killed some good animals with a bow. I hunt two units and have done them for the last 40 years here. I will turkey hunt in the same place I will elk hunt this fall. I like to climb the toughest hills then sit quietly in the dark for dawn to come. I know pretty much how the animals will travel and try to get positioned at a good location. Luck is always part of it every time I kill an animal. If it all works out maybe that mountain lion that was 30 yards from me last hunt will eat me and recycle things as they should be. Have fun and don't be afraid of the dark.

 

[bigeasygator]

World's okayest hunter here, so take all that is to follow FWIW.

1. Again, definitely not a great hunter. But I would say the single biggest factor to improvement in my hunting skills has been time in the field. You can read every article out there, watch every show, do everything in the gym, etc but there's really no substitute for experience IMO when it comes to enhancing your skills. Tagging along with someone who is great can also help you climb the learning curve a lot faster.
2. Pretty much every hunt I go on is memorable and it's hard to pick just one. For me, I've realized my favorite hunts have a few characteristics about them (YMMV). One, they are challenging, physically and mentally. This doesn't mean that they involve rugged country -- a 12 hour tree stand sit can be a physical and mental challenge in it's own right. But those times that suck the most are the ones we tend to look back on the most. Another memorable aspect is the folks that I get to share the hunts with. Not that there's anything wrong with a solo hunt, but for me I enjoy the social aspect. Lastly, I like the uniqueness/adventure element. I like hunting for new species, in new landscapes, with new conditions to deal with. The actual harvesting of an animal is down the list somewhere, but it's nowhere near the top.
3. I think the single biggest lesson for a new hunter is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I don't just mean physically (although that's definitely part of that statement). Not seeing animals, for example, can be a very mentally uncomfortable proposition. The biggest arbiter of success IMO when it comes to hunting is perseverance (of which patience is an subset). I would add that it's important to remember that for the vast majority of hunters, not harvesting an animal is a much more common experience than harvesting an animal.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

1, the best hunters I know/knew always had a few things in common. They never gave up, they expected to see something, they were physically able, they had a plan but were not married to it. Trust your intuition, most ladys have a better grasp of that than men.

2, the older I get the more I enjoy the simplicity of small game. With that in mind I just enjoy being out with my wife and kids

3, new hunters should be forced to watch Randys shows if they were never really exposed to hunting before. It is as close to what most hunters experience. It also shows failures, regret, fellowship and the truest meaning of a successful hunt.

Great first post.

 

[onewildsong]

Thanks for your thoughts! I grew up in NM, so hearing the references to familiar places warms my heart!

Average hunter. I just like getting out. The hunt with friends and family make it special. You shoot something and the works starts.

My best hunts were not mine, but my brothers. An oryx hunt on White Sands. Herds of 100's. Unique and fun. A cow elk hunt in the Vermejo. Bulls everywhere. 50 bulls before we found a cow. I was along as a mule in both, but had a great time!

Just get out and do it. Always be willing to try for a different species. Deer hunter all my life, but it is now my least favorite hunt. Oryx, Barbary, and elk would be my best 3.

This probably one of the best question asked by a newbie! Can only think of a couple that would be in the same class.

 

[onewildsong]

Thank you for all the informative and thought-provoking response. I am gleaning so much from this to think on as I go along my way. You’re quite the humble lot who won’t claim greatness—I like that.

 

[TheJason]

1). Don’t know, I’m still working on it.

2) Cow elk hunt last year in Wyoming, watched my middle daughter shoot her first elk.

3). Slow the hell down and smell the roses, cow pies , stinky socks. Whatever. Hunting isn’t about making yourself famous on Instagram. Enjoy time with family, friends, or yourself. Explore new places without worrying about not succeeding. Take lots of pictures. Enjoy each hunt for what it is. Prepare yourself based in on your plans and expectations.

 

[Highground]

The greatest hunters Ive known were always curious. Whats over that next hill? Whats in the next drainage over? Next unit? Curiosity helps with perseverence when times get mentally tough. Successful hunters are cometely fine with "hiking with a gun" and those guys in my book are the great ones. Favorite hunt was two years ago, witnessed my daughter take her first deer after a really nice spot and stalk. Hard to beat the experience and excitement of a youngsters first harvest. Advice to a new hunter would consist of knowing your limits, be safe, but always look over the next hill. You just never know....till you know...

Exceptional first post by the way!

 

[Schaaf]

I like to think of my abilities as lower middle class. I will say the one thing that helped my hunting abilities and overall appreciation for public lands was moving to an area that I had no hunting buddies. It forced me to go out on my own and is what opened up the idea of backpack hunting to me. Spending a few days and nights with just you and your thoughts with no outside noise is something I think less than 1% of the population gets to feel. I believe that is something a lot of people are afraid of.

I still take a buddy with whenever possible but I don't think it's a coincidence that my most "successful" hunts are when I'm by myself.

I have a few hunts I could choose from but they all involve brutal pack outs.

Like others have said, the most enjoyable part of hunting is the how to part and I like to see new hunters diving into that part just as much their time spent hunting.

 

[bobbydean]

onewildsong,

I will have a green chili enchilada in your honor tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will. What city in New Mexico did you live?

 

[onewildsong]

No one understands the magic of green chile & all its wonders like a New Mexican! Yum. I grew up in the middle of no where between Tucumcari & Clayton—mule deer & antelope country!

onewildsong,

I will have a green chili enchilada in your honor tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will. What city in New Mexico did you live?

 

[bobbydean]

You must be the rancher's daughter. Your guy found a gem.

I think you home area is Big Fin's antelope country, he may hunt closer to Roy.

Welcome to a former New Mexican. We need more.

 

[Idahoarcheryhunter]

I grew up in a family that hunted some but my dad had pretty much stopped by the time I was old enough, so I got my first deer this year (as a 35-year old mom of 4 kids, one a two-month old at the time...because I’m crazy and need one more thing to keep me busy!). I loved getting to get close to the animals, enjoying physical activity outdoors, & bringing home great meat. I would like to start hunting some public lands in other states mostly because we love the mountains, stand hunting isn’t as appealing to me, and I want to learn about more kinds of game and see more wild places.

I’m hungry to learn from anyone who doesn’t mind helping a newbie on the path. I have a few questions that I’d love to hear from you on:

(1) What’s the most valuable thing you did to to become a great hunter?

(2) Best hunt you ever went on? What made it so memorable?

(3) What do you wish new hunters knew or would do?

1. nowhere near a great hunter, and good would be stretching the truth lol I think one thing that has lead me to success was failure I failed so many times before finally connecting on an animal.

2. I think the best hunt I ever went on was every hunt with my dad regardless if we harvested, saw an animal just spending the time with him was priceless. I carry an old 25-06 round with his ashes in it with me on every hunt so he's still there with me in a way.

3. I wish newer hunters realized that hunting is not about killing the biggest buck or bull on the mountain so they can pose for likes on the internet.

 

[onewildsong]

You must be the rancher's daughter. Your guy found a gem.

I think you home area is Big Fin's antelope country, he may hunt closer to Roy.

Welcome to a former New Mexican. We need more.

I saw an antelope hunt he did & thought it looked like somewhere a little north of us-like up by Roy or between Clayton and Springer maybe. Very similar country but with a few mountains in the background. I wish I was a current Mew Mexican & my chances of hunting elk there someday would increase dramatically! And, yes, sir, I did grow up on a ranch—great way of life!