I got back from Montana a few Days ago . . . empty handed. Very sad for me as I won't be putting a head on the wall. Also very hard as I've been hunting for two years and have been skunked twice. I did see 30 or so does, 3 bull moose, 20 or so pronghorn, 8-10 bighorn sheep (One very nice full curl ram), and a coyote. I had an elk and a buck tag. Weather was terrible, in the 50's and no snow. It didn't get any better today when I got a call from one of the persons I was hunting with saying it was snowing today and he shot a nice 5x5 buck five minutes into his hunt today.

Now upon arriving home, I see everyones successful hunts, so I need to ask, has anyone else here ended their season empty handed?

Sevens

Well certainly don't give up. Some years are just better than others. You did not do worse than last year. Next year is bound to be better.

I wouldn't call that unsuccessful seeing that much game even if you didn't see what you were after.

I only got to hunt one day this year. too busy working.

I saw one cow moose and some wolf and bear tracks. I am glad I got to go.

my advice only, this and a 50 cents will get you a cup of coffe.. shoot the coyote next time and put it on the wall.as good as most heads in my book.. they have fleas and etc and dont taste good but its a good hunt.. next year or when you come back out put in for the last week of the season.. the bucks are in the rut, one killed a dog in a ladys back yard here in town a couple days ago, they atribbueted it to the rut.. on thanksgiving weekend alot of familys are out and moving the elk and hunters are on the tracks in hopefully more snow, the later in the season the more chance of snow, as in the hills and late november it tends to stick arround.. ive been skunked many times as ive taken the flintlock 16 gauge smoothbore , and a black pwder cartrige gun hunting. if you go youll get your chance.. remember icy roads in monatana mountains can be the last hunting trip if your in too big of hurry to chain up in the morning with bad roads.. you dont know where the bad spots are until its too late.. also hunt white tail with a bow where you live, it will give you the data and many of the skills you need to hunt any big game any where.. dave...

Sevens,

Publicized success ratios from the various states with deer harvests prove that many come home without bagging their quarry. Empty game bags are not usually bragging material, so not much is said. However, success on a hunt is about more than bagging the quarry. For me is about the experiences gained each day out in nature, seeing, hearing, and living the activity outside of the usual routine of my local community and workaday life. Some of my best hunts have been without bagging the quarry. Likewise, other of them have involved bagging the game but have been less memorable. Success in bagging game comes from careful planning, time spent in the field, skillful techniques, and dumb luck. Then there is the reality of probability. The flipped coin doesn't land alternatively on heads and then tails. It lands randomly. Bagging game seems to happen in unexpected ways and frequencies. Over the years, I took 8 coastal blacktails in a row, then it went to 9 in 11 years. Then there were some 6 years without venison in the freezer. This was followed by a spell of 4 mulies and whitetails in 5 years.
Don't get discouraged, stay with it. Your time will come.
My calendar didn't fit hunting season as well as desired this year for a variety of reasons. My time in the field was limited and selectivity reduced. Last weekend was our rutting season whitetail hunt. I drove all night, entered the forest at 9:00 am, walking with purpose and speed to reach my favorite area about 1.5 miles in from the camp and road. At 9:10 I jumped a cow moose and just kept walking for my destination. She began to run and was soon gone. Then behind me I heard snapping brush. I turned, expecting to see another moose arising from her bed and departing. Instead it was a fork horn buck who had been nearly overrun by the cow and was nervously departing. His focus was on her and he walked right to me. I shot him at 15 yards. He dove over the edge and down a ravine for that death run. I listened and it became immediately silent so had reason to believe he was down. After setting the GPS I headed down, following prints and blood. When I came upon him, he was bled out and dead. The next point of interest is that he had dove down into an area with many tree rubs and fell within 10 feet of a ground scrape. As I came upon him, a deer just ahead wheeled and disappeared. My hunch is that it was a buck tending his scrapes. Through all of the commotion, he had stayed to see what was happening. The hunt was over within 10 minutes, certainly not memorable in that regard and, in fact, so short to be anti-climatic. Thank goodness for the interplay and ideosyncracies of events between the animals that were accessories to the kill.
What is a successful hunt? It is like beauty, as it is in the eye of the beholder.

I didn't kill an antelope or a muley this year..will probably hunt TX whitetails at some point. But both of my hunts were successful because I had a great time being out and about!

Fooey, not even successful at getting out of the house, so far. One of my clients' projects was late and I thought I'd better keep working on it, so did not go to northern California as planned. Not one of my better decisions, as the project is still nowhere near done. Oh well.

Any Unsuccessful Hunters????



OOH OOOH Pick Me Pick ME!!!!!

seafire

No luck, then Seafire? That's too bad. I was wondering how the 338-06 was going to behave for you. I saw nothing here at all. My daughter did see a nice buck, but missed. It was her first shot at a deer, so she was excited about it regardless It was a great day for her to see one walk by. maxman