Wow What’s happening here?

[jryoung]

I wonder if over the years there has been a spike in new members in April and May when most draws are hitting. Hey, I just drew 16D archery in New Mexico, anyone know where I can find a 350+ bull


I've been blessed with advice here from the HT crowd, I just wish some folks would want to come to CA to hunt columbian blacktails or hogs so I could return the favor. We get two buck tags OTC too.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

I have always benefitted from advise from some great people on here. However, I have taken great strides in showing that I had done all I could do on my own in most cases and was seeking confirmation more than guidance. I try to do the same for others that try. I'll occasionally divulge more than I should but usually it's stuff that wasn't really a secret. So to new guys if you want some help, show you deserve it and do some stuff on your own. Heck a simple search on here will answer 99% of newcomers questions. Where to hunt can change but how to is pretty redundant as far as advise goes.

 

[MTGomer]

I wonder if over the years there has been a spike in new members in April and May when most draws are hitting. Hey, I just drew 16D archery in New Mexico, anyone know where I can find a 350+ bull


I've been blessed with advice here from the HT crowd, I just wish some folks would want to come to CA to hunt columbian blacktails or hogs so I could return the favor. We get two buck tags OTC too.

Is the part about drawing 16 D a joke too? If not, congrats!

 

[jryoung]

Is the part about drawing 16 D a joke too? If not, congrats!

NM isn't out until the 24th of this month per their Facebook post yesterday.

 

[MTGunner]

I have been following this thread and it makes me smile that most hunters are truly helpful in regard to offering sage advice to help others on their quest to hunt. There as been lots written that speaks volumes of experience.
To those that will take this sage advice I say you have opened a treasure chest of value that is rare. Heed the advise and make your quests much more adventurous to say that you did most, most mind you, of the work yourself. It is admirable to all that you have done your due diligence and made your way faithfully. That is the true way of a hunter. Plus, in the later years you will have the tools to pass along. MTG

 

[Witherall13]

If your willing to go the place I go, set for hours glassing, make the outrageous amount of failed stalks, drag your body through cactus, stickers rocks and brush and Finally harvest an animal, and then pack it back through all the above you deserve every bit of help I can give you.

 

[JLS]

The people I’ve developed personal relationships with get information freely.

Go to a BHA Rendezvous and develop friendships. Plan a get together. Meet up with folks on your way through their towns.

Share coffee or beer and some conversation. Create community if you want to be part of it.

 

[Gerald Martin]

The people I’ve developed personal relationships with get information freely.

Go to a BHA Rendezvous and develop friendships. Plan a get together. Meet up with folks on your way through their towns.

Share coffee or beer and some conversation. Create community if you want to be part of it.

Yep. I've discovered that sometimes what you think you are hunting for changes along the way. Now, I tend to hunt with my friends. Sometimes animals get in the way and we have to pack them out.

 

[Nameless Range]

Interesting thread.

I joined here 6 years ago. So I think I missed what some consider the good old days. It’s interesting how people come and people go.

I’ve never hunted with anyone here, though I have been invited and could not go due to logistics. I’ve had beers with folks, and even become acquainted with people I’ve never met in real life.

How has it changed? Maybe less political now? Maybe not. Some new people have come who provide value, and there are those who did who have left. Probably less hunting stories.

I don’t believe I’ve ever asked anyone for information to use for hunting, though in the exchange of stories and opinions through private message I suppose information has been given to me that I could use. I plan on living and dying having never asked anyone to hunt on their property or guide me to an animal. Gerald nailed it above , Sometimes animals get in the way of a hunt.

I don’t care where you are. There is an aspect to hunting so virtuous that it exceeds in meaning any actions related to the cutting of a tag. It is the theory, struggle, and love of the land and the critters on it as a whole. To me anyway, and it’s a bummer to hear the ‘gettin burned’ stories above.

The folks who come and ask for information, slipping away like ghosts and leaving nothing of value Nor ever folllowing up, are nothing but a friction on the community. Mosquitoes.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I found this site less than 2 months ago and I absolutely love it. I was completely absent from social media since 2013 because I do not like how the sites work or are administered. However, HT is like a utopia of similar-minded persons I never knew existed.

First and foremost, I am a hunter. That means I seek, search, and look. I'm a killer too, but that's .001% of my hunting experience. I wish no one would ever share a honey hole, since this takes away the enjoyment of anyone who didn't take the work to find it.

I actually enjoy the masses of new user "not looking for anyone's honey hole..." posts. Some people are simply ignorant of the pleasures of hunting. If you only know killing, bone collecting, and short-cuts, of course you're going to ask the wrong questions. The replies to these posts invite these folks into the world of hunting, or else nudge them away with some good-natured hazing.

 

[beginnerhunter]

Good thoughts. This forum has become my only social media interaction as well (aside from following platforms on Instagram) and I really enjoy the interaction. Some folks can act a little self-righteous at times but those same people will say some really insightful and helpful stuff as well.

As far as people asking for information on units, honey holes, etc., Randy may be unintentionally contributing to that since he talks about hunttalk on his podcast as a place to get useful hunting advice. People may be getting the wrong idea about what advice can be found. But I do get frustrated with the drive-bys. On one Podcast they said you should never hunt a hole someone showed you unless they are with you. So I think people are justified in not sharing spots on the internet (exception being hard to draw tags).

You know what would be helpful to me, an easterner new to western hunting? I'd like help e-scouting a unit from folks who HAVEN'T hunted that unit. The e-scouting videos are good but I can't ask questions to figure out why certain areas are good or how to get in there or what time of day, etc. I look at these locations and I can find burns, roadless, boundaries but I don't know what strategy to employ, what trail to use, when to move in. I also have a bad problem looking at topos and not realizing how unrealistic some of those climbs are. I just find it overwhelming. Maybe we can get a group PM going when the season approaches.

 

[rtraverdavis]

This thread is like, really meta.

It’s really strange to me how much this forum has become a part of my life in the last two and a half years. I’ve learned a great deal here. But perhaps more than learning, I come for the sense of fellowship—good, bad, and ugly.

There are some folks on this forum that, unbeknownst to them, feel like my friends—much in the way that characters in a great novel take on a sort of fraternal feel. I’ve gotten to know the personalities and tendencies of a bunch of people I’ve never actually met, all because I’m really obsessed with hunting. I genuinely value a lot of people here, and all for different reasons.

 

[PAhunter]

That's such a huge part of hunting for me, and something I feel a lot of people cheat themselves on. The hunts that I went in completely blind and succeeded without any outside help are so much more rewarding, and all I've done the last 2-3 years. I hate getting outside information any more because it never feels right.

Knowing you are capable of finding a new location and succeeding is a very powerful tool to have. It makes getting burned on a spot much easier to swallow knowing you can pack up and go elsewhere and do just as well.

My post count belies how long I've been here (yes, my 'join date' is correct). Your description of what Hunttalk was a decade ago lines up with how I remember it.

But to your point I quoted above - Today it is FAR easier/more possible to research and e-scout from afar than it was when I joined this place, so signing up now to post a "where should I go?" seems more obnoxious today than it did 'back when'. Back in the day I spent a bunch of time before I ever signed up just reading those brag posts/hunting shares; they kept the inspiration level high for me, an easterner with basically zero western experience. When I actually joined, the motivator was an Idaho elk hunt I was planning for. A member who lived in Idaho at the time contributed some valuable input via PMs and phone convo, and actually planned to hunt with me, but had to bail at the last minute. The hunt itself was an abject failure so far as finding elk or filling tags was concerned, but it was a great experience that showed me just how much I had to learn. Since then, I don't think I've asked for information about a specific hunt area, though I've been fortunate enough to make a few trips to the west over the years. I haven't asked in part because I enjoy the planning and doing the research myself, but also because I have seen what happens when folks post area-specific info for the whole world to see.

Having said that, I have received helpful input from people via PMs here without asking for it. A simple post, after I have a tag in hand for one of my kids' hunts, has led to PMs, even though I didn't ask for help. Just decent sportsmen offering suggestions and advice that have contributed to better hunting experiences for me.

I spend more time than I care to tally just reading and living vicariously through the stories of the members here. Every now and again a poster with at least two zeros in his/her 'join year' posts a hunting story that takes me back to those early days, when a much greater majority of the members were western folk and we flatlanders generally knew enough to respect and appreciate that we were basically guests in a place flush with generous hosts. The www seems to continually erode that understanding of reality.

To those of you who still make the effort to share your hunts, pictures, and updates on what is happening with game, agencies, and public lands in the West: A sincere THANK YOU!!

Now I'll return to quietly following along, and intermittently using the search function.

 

[dcopas78]

My experiences with western game hunting are limited, so I don't have a lot of information to give. I've had a few people PM me and I've tried to share my experiences with the units I've hunted in a truthful way. I haven't gone as far as sharing some of the few hot spots I've stumbled into, but I feel I've given them enough info to know what to expect when they get there. I've also tried to be helpful when someone asks about gear I've used. I've never personally met anyone from the forum.

My biggest disadvantage is not necessarily having enough information to prepare for a hunt out west....I do all the calls to game wardens, rangers, biologists...but that I really don't have a whole lot to offer back for personalized information from a forum member. And I don't blame members for being reluctant, especially when it is in their own backyard. I'm grateful for the forum and the people from it that have gave me advice. There isn't a lot that I can offer from my home state. Little public land, lots of leased land and tons of hunting pressure on the parcels I can hunt. Twenty five years ago, I could have gotten anyone permission to hunt hundreds of prime whitetail land. But hunting went and became big business. I've always told my wife that when I buy my land in a few years, I'd love to invite a hunt talker in for a big deer or turkey hunt. I feel it's the least I could do for information I've gleaned from the forum. Plus I'm pretty free hearted lol.

 

[Hem]

Not much for pontificating. I personally am losing interest in Hunttalk. I still appreciate the site and all the efforts made by BigFin, but I cant put my finger on how things have changed. Hunting has become a social media platform which I have mixed feelings about. Hunting has also become high tech which I partake in but also question. I am beginning to wonder if I have anything in common with the new generation of hunters fueled by YouTube. I check Hunttalk daily but open less and less,preferring to follow the Montana members mostly.

 

[hank4elk]

I have been around here a few years & notice changes. Most good.
Mostly good people here.
I have not been on the other sites I was on years ago in a while. Have not even looked at them in a while. They are a waste of my time anymore.
Have met dozens of HT folks & become friends with some too.
I'm sure my box will fill up when NM draw is up with newbies. Some might even be here a few weeks after...lol
I might even get a thanks for help later. Cool

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I am beginning to wonder if I have anything in common with the new generation of hunters fueled by YouTube.

Do you have kids/ do you get to spend much time hunting with younger hunters? I think the generational gap is some what over emphasized by the internet, seems like it fades a bit when you are actually hanging out in the field with people.

 

[deer_shooter]

I have noticed there are less hunting stories and more folks joining to ask about specific areas, gear questions and the age old debate......what is the best caliber for (elk, deer, antelope, etc). I have helped a number of folks who reached out via PM and only about half said thanks and only a couple stuck around long enough to post a hunt recap. I have planned several hunts just from doing research on this site. A pot of coffee, spiral notebook and hours of reading old posts and threads will provide pretty much all the information you need. That said, I still help those who ask. I too have had the good fortune of meeting several folks from this site and look forward to meeting other and perhaps sharing a hunt some day. I do miss some of the longtime members who used to post more and the perennial threads like the 'Raghorn Express' which seem to have fallen by the wayside.

 

[crock239]

My experiences with western game hunting are limited, so I don't have a lot of information to give. I've had a few people PM me and I've tried to share my experiences with the units I've hunted in a truthful way. I haven't gone as far as sharing some of the few hot spots I've stumbled into, but I feel I've given them enough info to know what to expect when they get there. I've also tried to be helpful when someone asks about gear I've used. I've never personally met anyone from the forum.

My biggest disadvantage is not necessarily having enough information to prepare for a hunt out west....I do all the calls to game wardens, rangers, biologists...but that I really don't have a whole lot to offer back for personalized information from a forum member. And I don't blame members for being reluctant, especially when it is in their own backyard. I'm grateful for the forum and the people from it that have gave me advice. There isn't a lot that I can offer from my home state.

+1 as a easterner with only a few experiences hunting the West but daily (hourly?) daydreams. I've shared my experiences hunting the few units I have with those that have asked b/c the chances of me being back in those areas anytime soon are fairly low - wish I had more to contribute. I totally understand how those of you who hunt in your own backyard are reluctant to share information....I also get it how if you're an out of state hunter it can be daunting to go into a state / unit / area chasing a species you've rarely if ever hunted blind, and the expense of time and money can be daunting.

No complaints here - the more time I do spend on HT the more I do come to appreciate HT as a community.

 

[MThuntr]

Yep. I've discovered that sometimes what you think you are hunting for changes along the way. Now, I tend to hunt with my friends. Sometimes animals get in the way and we have to pack them out.

Someone really needs to pull another moose tag. Though a certain white mountain fluff would be alright too