Fred Bear was asked about the difficulties of hunting sheep and mountain goats. He stated that they are hard to kill because of where they live and went on to say that if a whitetail could ever learn to climb like that, that you'd never kill one. I've only hunted whitetails so can't really comment, but Fred went around the block a few times so I respect his opinion. I think that some people don't consider whitetails as being as difficult as some other animals due to the fact there are relatively more of them than any other game animal in the US.
An old boar can be amazingly sneaky and wary. But I'd say one of the most challanging hunts you can do is the simple red fox with a bow or rimfire rifle....wait a minute. I mean without using any kind of calls, lures, long range shot, dogs. Nothing. Just tracking and stalking them. I have had some memorable hunts anyway. I'd imagine wolf would be even trickier.
Posts: 2283 | Location: Aussie in Italy | Registered: 20 March 2002
Mature coyotes can be mighty trying adversaries. I don't live where people track fox or much of anything else, but I can tell you a fox is the biggest sucker for a call that ever took a breath. I've called MANY of them up close enough to shake hands...and in fact did that one night...except my hand had a .45 automatic in it and I pulled the trigger. So I guess that makes me a pretty tricky bastard too.
People who call coyotes had best get them the first time because coyotes don't often make the same mistake twice like fox do.
Posts: 19677 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: 23 May 2002
I know that it's not really a game animal but those damn magpies get my goat. They will fly around and land close to a person but if you come out of the house with a gun they are GONE!!!! Generally just out of range!
Whitetails are easy! I would say wolves and mature bears. But no baiting. We can't bait elk and white tail so you cannot bait the wolf or bears. Same goes for using dogs.
I think that you would find the wolf and/or mature bear to be very difficult indeed if there was no baiting or dogs! Imagine how easy deer would be with dogs or salt licks.
A coyote is a pretty smart animal... though when it comes to dinner, his stomach does the thinking. I would have to say without a doubt the smartest is the mountain lion. A mountain lion has more knowledge of the land and hunting experiance then any of us will ever have. just my two cents.
Posts: 2045 | Location: West most midwestern town. | Registered: 13 June 2001
wolf..for sure Next would be a mature bull elk,at least where i hunt.They're not very abundant and are pressured hard in the area i hunt. IMHO whitetails are creatures of habit and are too easy to pattern to be considered hard to get.Especially during the rut.
A mature, nocturnal, farmland whitetail buck is a very people-wise creature indeed. Any animal that can live in such close proximity to man, never be seen, and be so adept at avoiding concerted hunting efforts has got to rank highly. A case in point, I know the hangout of a mature whitetail down to about a 100 yard radius. The only way to get to see this animal is to put about 6 to 12 dogs in this thicket. We ran him out of the same thicket on 7 different occasions, up to 2 miles at a time, and got a total of 3 shots at a distant, hard running buck. This buck knows exactly where to run to avoid being seen. Several times we ran him out and then jumped him again in the same thicket in 24 hours. You will not see this animal in legal hunting hours without a pack of good dogs, even during the rut. He is wide and heavy, and I hope he is never taken. I'd be willing to bet money he is laying up in that thicket at this very moment, listening and testing the breeze.
Without a doubt a big,old,mature Blacktail buck!! They seem to have made a fool of me more than all other game combined. One that has been heavily hunted is one tough animal to collect.
my mother-in-law, damn, I have been trying to kill her for years. mountain lion, If people didn't use dogs do you think it would be obtainable to hunt these animals. I'm not talking about getting lucky. I haven't even hunted them, but I called a few guides in Idaho, and said it is impossible without dogs.
------------------ it's not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of fight in the dog.
For my money it's either coyotes or turkey. Not sure "smartest" is the right word, but wariest and hardest to make do what YOU want... Scariest is the mountain lion that sneaks up behind you while you're trying to bring the 'yote into your call...
I live in Washington state. I've hunted mulies, whitetails, and blacktails. Without a doubt, a mature blacktail buck (7 yrs and up) will give you the absolute fits trying to get a projectile of any kind into his vitals. At least here in the western side of the Cascades of either Washington or Oregon.
Since this was entitled the smartest game animal and not which game animal is hardest to hunt I will have to go with squirrels, or maybe raccoons. These animals can figure out how to get into more stuff they're not supposed to be able to and then eat it or destroy it. I once saw a squirrel that had figure out how to get into a candy machine and make off with candy bars. That seems pretty damn smart to me.
Wild Boars, Crows, foxes, coyotes, and the deer family are all "smart" but in Europe, we know how to hunt them all. The wolf is known as being more a ghost than an real animal. Several people I know have been in east europe to get one, and very few came back with a trophy. They are plentiful in Romania, but two guys I know, who go there once a month during hunting season as part of a five hunters group, have seen 6 killed in 8 years, and these were "opportunity" kills. Another friend went in Russia last January during two weeks just for wolf. He came back empty handed. Locals say they can kill wolves only with shotguns and buckshot, while roving with a car... olivier
Posts: 8346 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
I'm with CARR4570. The smartest has to be the squirrel. They just also happen to be my favorite to hunt. They are tough to put down cleanly, tough to hunt during any part of the season and are as wary as any game animal in the woods.
------------------ Handgun Hunter LOVE THOSE .41s'
I've observed the big coastal brown bears and they are very smart. Just watching them move around you can tell that they are thinking. I respect them the most.
Blacktail deer are also very smart, as are coyotes.
Of the critters I've hunted I'd say the hogs are most intelligent. Turkeys are wary but fairly dumb. Whitetail deer are a little bit smarter than a turkey but most are not as wary as turkeys.
They are tough to put down cleanly, tough to hunt during any part of the season and are as wary as any game animal in the woods. 
