most memorable hunt
Whitetail Deer
After reading and participating in the discussion I started reflecting on my most memorable hunts. Number was the day after Thanksgiving 1973. My hunting partner , Doug and I went to the edge of our normal range. At about 11:00 we were moving slowly through some thick brush at one point only about 15 yards apart. We saw each other every few seconds because the brush was so thick. We went along like this and I sensed deer. I got within a few feet of the deer when they jumped.I found four big beds then I said DEER and raced to the edge of the hardwoods below. I told Doug to get a couple hundred yards below the tracks and I followed above. The deer followed the contour of the land and Doug and I each saw a glimpse of the deer several times. After covering over a mile chasing these deer we heard rifle shots. An older hunter had taken a huge( by Vermont standards of the time) 14 point buck. As we stepped out of the brush The hunter put his rifle at ready. I saw his reaction and unloaded my rifle. He was more than a mile from camp. I asked Doug to carry all three rifles while John and I dragged his buck. By the time we arrived at camp we were friends for life. He invited us in to camp for a beer but it was only 3:00 and we wanted to hunt until dark. It got dark at about 4:45. Doug and I found our way to our night stands about 2 miles from camp and joined up after dark for the last half mile to our cars. We made it a point to visit John at camp every year well after dark and take him up on the beer. I expect I will call Doug after sending this to see if he saw any deer today. We WILL hunt out of our camp in rifle season and hunt hard , eat well and talk about the events of the day. We don't go as far as we once did but we still take deer. I feel the fire coming back. Thank you for listening, Bob
The memories are special! I think about past hunts all the time. Go get that buck!
The memories never fade. I can still recall my very first bowhunt for whitetails...1957...I was 12...Necedah Wildlife Refuge in WI...shot at a 6 point that morning...that miss was the seminal opiate for what became a lifelong addiction...recall my first bow kill buck...9-30-64 in Jackson Co. WI...small 8 point but a trophy for me back then...will be 75 soon, still out bowhunting with recurve & compound...I'll never be old enough to shoot a crossbow!
I was 15 and hunting with my dad on top of the mountain behind our house, it's 6,000 ft elevation. It was the first weekend of November and the temps were in the 20s and had strong north wind all morning. Finally around noon we'd froze out and decided to start walking out. It takes about an hour and a half to walk into this spot. We always walk the ridge out and just kinda sneak along in hopes of seeing deer. I was in front of my dad when we got to the top of a knoll and I looked down in the gap below which was 50 yds away and I saw the most majestic looking buck I'd ever laid eyes on. Talk about buck fever, instead of shouldering my rifle and shooting I turned around and starting trying to describe to my dad what I saw. He kept saying shoot it, finally I came to my senses and took the shot. As soon as the gun cracked I heard my dad say " you blew his nose off". The buck whirled and took off around the ridge out of sight. I was perplexed, apparently I was looking at his antlers when I shot. My dad just had a sick look on his face. Then I heard something coming towards the gap, and to our surprise it was the buck I'd shot. He stopped in the same spot with his head literally spinning in circles. That time I shot and broke his spine and he took off dragging himself with his front legs, and I was right behind him throwing lead. After it was all said and done I'd shot 8 times and hit him in the body 7 times and blew one eyeguard off. He was the biggest buck I'd ever saw at the time and I was shook up horribly, but luckily I was rewarded with a second chance. Since that day over 20 year ago I have made myself not look at their antlers once I decide to shoot
I have hunted all over the country but still cherish my younget days with my father and band of friends at our Catskill Mountain (NY) deer camp. I started tagging along around the age of 8 or so and those guys gave me some education let me tell you. They are all gone now including dad. Memories never fade I would give anything to have just one more weekend with those guys. I still have access to the property but just cant bring myself to go, maybe one day, who knows. Everyone always told me to enjoy it, it wont last forever...and that was the sad truth.
First deer. Started with the bow and finished with a knife at 9 years old. Intense would be a ridiculous understatement. I seriously doubt I'll create a more indelible memory in my life.
While blood trailing a young buck one evening I ran into an older gemtleman who was not too happy that I was now hunting the property next door to where he was hunting. We became great friends over the last 10 years of his life and he recently passed on but the memories and laughs we made in those 10 years will never be forgotten!
Some great memories in this thread ! I have quite a few memorable hunts....but this is one of my favs, and this topic came up in the whitetail section. The link is to my webpage where I jot down some hunts to remember. I hope its ok to post that link.
Easy for me. My wife, Lana, killing her first deer back in December of 2005. She 10 ringed a mature doe and it fell 60 yards away. The topper... she was wearing my deceased Fathers coveralls. I'll never forget this day.
This is when I walked up after receiving a message that read, "I shot one". :)
Late 90's. I was crossing the Milwaukee River in big ass snow shoes and broke through the ice. I was so thankful the water wasn't over my head.
Oh man, so many good ones. My first branch bull with my best friend over my shoulder, and my first moose hunt adventure with my brother are two tops for sure. A lot of what makes memories awesome is the people.
Mine is probably a deer hunt of my daughters(rifle hunt). It was not her first deer. But we covered a lot of ground that day. Spotted two mulies bed several hundred yards away. Climbed down a steep bluff that was almost a cliff. It was cold and very winding. We snuck inside of 50 yards and waited over a hour for the bigger of the two to stand up. Once it did she drilled him. It was the first hunt I felt like she really got it with out me telling telling her every step. It was a great day. Better than any of my hunts and I have had some great ones with some great animals. Next two would be a 150'' class and right at my biggest whitetail. Wife and Daughter at time was in blind with me when I shot him. Sheep hunt this year was also a very special hunt.
Was able to take the family hunting on my friends Deer Lease for Thanksgiving break a few years ago. The only reason my wife agreed was because my birthday is that week. Took my youngest son hunting big game his first time with a tag, and my older son sat in a stand by himself for the first time. On my actual birthday my older son got his first whitetail buck, and I was able to help my other son shoot his first deer! A great birthday double with family and friends. Kids grow fast, time goes faster. Important to make good lasting memories
Picture won't post above???
Mine is actually two related hunts. I moved to Montana in 1987 and became good friends and hunting partners with Bill. I was a flat-lander from eastern South Dakota who had archery hunted whitetails but no other big game. Bill taught me how to hunt elk and was with me when I got my first archery bull. We hunted together alot.
In 1991, Bill drew a Mountain Goat tag for 517, SW of Red Lodge. We had a great time on the hunt glassing goats below Mt. Rearguard and eventually Bill took a very nice nanny with his 7mm Rem Mag. After we had the goat caped and the meat boned out, Bill looked at me with his shit-eating grin and said "I get the cape, you get the meat." so yep, I packed all the meat while he packed the cape. Fortunately it was only a couple miles.
Then in 1996, I was the lucky one and drew a 517 goat tag. Bill had since moved to Denver but when I told him I drew, he was all in. In October we met in Billings and then headed to our camp at the bottom of the Beartooth Highway switchbacks. That afternoon we drove up to the wilderness boundary and hiked in to glass. We found a lone billy below Mt Rearguard and watched him until dark.
The next morning we got up to our glassing spot just after shooting time and within 15-20 minutes we spotted the billy again. He was alone and bedded in a very accessible spot.
I crossed the canyon and when I was above the goat, Bill gave me hand signals and put me right above the goat about 15 yards away on the other side of a huge boulder. I was just sitting at the ready, waiting for him to get up to feed. But the wind swirled, the goat got up and moved off straight away and then turned up the slope. He wasn't running but he was moving with a purpose. As he came around another big boulder, I made a lucky 35-yard shot that spined him. I quickly finished him and I had my billy with a bow. I was totally amazed at how quickly it all happened, a grand total between the previous afternoon and that morning of about 8 hours of hunting.
Bill finally got across the canyon and we completed the job of caping and boning the meat. That's when I got to tell him, "payback's a bitch, I get the cape and you get the meat!" We both got a great laugh out of it.
That was the last time Bill and I hunted together. About a month after the hunt he was severely injured in a whitewater kayaking accident in Costa Rica. He passed away about 3 months later. His 7mm is now in my safe and our two goats hang on my family room wall.
Billy, I sure miss ya buddy!!
This elk hunt with my Dad is one of the top hunts. To many to pick just one . Worked this bull all day. Had 4 encounters with him under 40 yards. Then just before dark. I said the right thing and my Dad killed him at 5 yards . What a rush!! Hunt
