In terms of the animals pure instincts and senses, What do you think the most difficult to bag. Please consider all game in high pressure areas. Rule out canned hunts, High fence hunts, and hunts where the game has never seen a human. Not that any of those are wrong, this is just an observation on an animals ability to survive.

Question:
Most difficult to bag?

Choices:
Mature Older Whitetail Buck
Mature Mulie Buck
Mature Bull Elk
Mature Antelope Buck
Mature Black Bear
Mature Boar
Mature Coues Buck
Mature Bull Moose
Mature BigHorn

 

I chose Mature Whitetail simply because it's the most diffcult I've ever pursued in high pressure circumstances. It seems that the big one is no more than a myth or ghost that leaves giant rubs, big prints, huge scrapes, and an occasional trail cam photo behind.

Reloader

I chose mule deer buck because I see fewer of those taken than the others. Here in Ohio, there are many B&C trophy bucks taken every year. Each year, in limited areas, huge elk bulls are taken as well, like in the San Juan unit in southern Utah.

I know big mulies are taken too, but this particular animal is my dream trophy right now.

Bighorn by far. Tough to get to where they are, hard to get in range and hard to find.

I have hunted half of your list and am stumped by bighorns. I doubt I ever go back for one again.

Whitetails and antelope are the easiest, or should I say, have been the easiest for me. Hunting in Texas for whitetails and Wyoming for antelope is basically a gimme every year.

I wanted to vote for the whitetail myself, as it is my favorite, and finding a true whopper, fair chase, no feeders or anything, is a true test. As Doc says many are taken every year, but there are also far more folks hunting them than anything else. Game management for trophy class whitetails is much further along than for any of the other species you list IMO as well.

Having said that, I voted for the Bighorn as well. There are just not that many of them, they are hard to get a liscense for, and they are in tough terrain for any hunter for sure. On top of that, as dogcat mentioned, it is tough after everything else, to get into shooting range.

My heart goes to the whitetail, but my vote to the Bighorn.

I voted for a mature Coues buck. The terrain they inhabit is unforgiving and extremely rugged, population densities are relatively low, and when pressed, these tiny deer simply disappear into the landscape. There's a reason the Coues deer is often referred to as the "grey ghost."

I have hunted Couse for the last 10 years. They by far have been the hardest to hunt. I have not had the opportunity for a big horn yet. Couse have a great nack for disappearing when you finally get into position.

The grey ghost saying is right on the money.

I have a ten different disappearance stories but this thread is not about that.

I picked a Mature Mule Deer Buck. You want a challenge hunt him above Ten Thousand feet. I found Whitetail rather easy, you can set you're clock by one. This is no disrespect to the elusive whitetail.

Steve

This is no disrespect to the Whitetail or the other animals. Hunt a Mature Mule Deer buck above timberline (ten Thousand feet) with millions of Wilderness acres (no roads). Another animal not on the list would be a Mountain Lion with dogs or without. You might what to be in top shape before you set out after a big Tom.

Steve

Sorry did'nt mean to double post.

Steve

A fully mature male of any species bagged on your hind legs solo, in his habitat without the aid of a guide... that's the most difficult.

Add snow, cold and steep mountains and it becomes even more difficult.

quote:

In terms of the animals pure instincts and senses,

Based on the above I had to pick a "mature older whitetail". They are definitely the most wary animal in my book.

In terms of most difficult to bag, all things considered (animal, terrain, etc)....I'd pick a mature, full curl bighorn. But even that depends on when and where you are hunting. On average though, the terrain the live in and the rarity of full curl rams in hunted populations makes them the most difficult in my book.

Cheers,
Canuck

Whitetails in Texas (or anywhere they can be spotted many hundreds of yards away, and/or are present in huge numbers) are much easier to take than whitetails where their numbers are few and the brush is thick enough that they can't be seen past 50 yds or so. Throw in a bunch of hillbillies that poach all year long, and the old bucks have had to become damn near impossible to kill. These whitetails are number one in my opinion.

quote:

Whitetails in Texas (or anywhere they can be spotted many hundreds of yards away, and/or are present in huge numbers) are much easier to take than whitetails where their numbers are few and the brush is thick enough that they can't be seen past 50 yds or so. Throw in a bunch of hillbillies that poach all year long, and the old bucks have had to become damn near impossible to kill. These whitetails are number one in my opinion.

I certainly agree w/ that type of statement.

Sure you can go to Texas and shoot one from the truck as well as see 30 good bucks in a day from a blind but, Try going to a highly hunted public forest in a state where the vegetation is so thick you can only see about 50 yards while walking through the woods. It's almost impossible to bag an old buck in those situations. In speaking of the above animals pure ability to evade hunters and survive, the mature whitetail has to be right close to the top of the heap. I've hunted several of the other animals but most of them where in country that you could see them far away w/ optics and plan a stalk.

Reloader

Fair chase mountain lion.... JMO, Dutch.

I vote for the two legged blonde that wants to go huning and fishing with me and has a big boat and a 4 wheeler.It took me 24 years to bag her.I think I am going to keep this one.She enen loves to wear matching camo.Yep I voted for the old whitetails..I about got sick yesturday.I found the deer I had been hunting dead in the ditch hit by a car at night during the rut.I have been hunting this buck 3 years.I have a a few buck die of old age before I could find them.I have killed 50 8 point or better bucks and still get excited over a big buck.A big moose is about the easiest big game I have ever hunted but the most difficult to judge.Its hard to find a 4 brow tined moose and hard to jude the difference between a nonlegal 49and 3/4" bull and a 50 and 1/8 " bull.Mosse hang around alot longer than deer do.I have seen bucks live right in the middle of houses and no one see anything but their tracks.

One animal I didn't see listed was a mature Blacktail buck. But then they are extremely difficult to see at any time.

quote:

Originally posted by Brad:
A fully mature male of any species bagged on your hind legs solo, in his habitat without the aid of a guide... that's the most difficult.

Add snow, cold and steep mountains and it becomes even more difficult.

A mature blacktail buck under these conditions.


Okie John

Reloader,

The mature Whitetail Buck hunted by stalking is one of the toughest animals to kill because by the time they survive long enough to get trophy age they are nocturnal 99% of the time. In our area there is a lot of poaching and this makes the Bucks even more nocturnal. Sambar are the only other Game that comes close to the Whitetail.

Hawkeye47

I have not hunted Sheep, but I would second what one gent said about the Mature Mulie Buck, I have a ranch in Nebraska and to this day, they are a HUGE challange for me...

Around here the most difficult thing to bag is a place to hunt.

Brain1

Maybe in Texas!!!

Steve

I'm going with the mature Blacktail myself.

I would vote blacktail as well. Where I live older whitetails get whupped by cars on a regular basis. I work with a guy that takes 160s on up every year. There was a 180 killed on the highway in northern Iowa last weekend, such a waste. I can't speak from personal experience o the bighorn, or moose. I voted for the Coues, as far as what's there. Damn hard to get close to those little critters, and judging a trophy is even harder.