While the main topic area of AR apart from the Political Crater, concerns hunting in Africa. Most hunters have at least one African Safari on their bucket list. I hope this can be kept on a reasonable/civil level as well as being informative.

All of us have varying levels of hunting experience whether it be species hunted, locations hunted, firearms used, arranging hunts and trips to the hunting destination.

This is not about anyone being better than anyone else, it is just an attempt to try and find some common ground among the members that have hunted only in North America.

I got started hunting in the late 1960's. My Dad was not a hunter, but did love to fish. Class mates and school friends got me started.

Started out hunting doves/waterfowl/rabbits. My first guns were a .22 and a bolt action 20 gauge shotgun and my first hunts were in the fall of 1966. By Fall of '68 I had moved up to a single shot break open 12 gauge. Did not buy my first CF rifle until summer of '69, a Winchester Model 670 in .300 Win. Mag. Killed my first deer, a small 8 point buck in 1970.

With the exception of an unsuccessful mule deer hunt in Northern New Mexico in the mid 70's, I only hunted deer/waterfowl and doves up until 1991 when I went to the TP&W Chaparral WMA on a draw hunt and killed my first Javelina. In 1992 I went on my first elk/mule deer hunt in western Colorado. Did not kill anything on that trip but had a great time, saw a lot of really beautiful country and made some good friends.

Since that first trip in '92 I have been fortunate enough to have hunted in Colorado several times and made trips to Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Texas of course, Newfoundland and Nunavut.

Even though she was not hunting on all those trips Lora has been able to accompany me on the majority of them. Luckily, with the exception of the one time I had to fly, the trip from Edmonton ,Alberta to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, we have driven to the various hunting locations and were able to arrange the time so that we could make side trips, both on the trip there and back.

My present goals are a speed goat hunt in Wyoming this fall and hopefully a Late Season Cow Elk hunt in Colorado this winter. After that I would like to kill both a bigger black bear and a larger moose. Might possibly try another hunt in Arizona for Coues deer.

Randall,
this is the type of topic I usually stay away from. In fact I may delete this post before I hit the "Post Now" button.
If I don't well, you'll see it. It is not meant to be an indictment or a criticism of those that go abroad.

At 62, due to a lot of miles and hard knocks I'm not as game as I used to be. Wasn't but a few years ago I thought I'd like to go to Africa, Australia, New Zealand............
Now, not so much. I've mentioned before, being afield is literally called out of me. I quit at 50 years of age in 2000, and have ordered my life so as to be able to own a few rifles, and go to one or two Texas hill country leases on a monthly basis, sometimes more.
Not bragging, just stating a fact,it's not the lack of Benjamins why I don't go out of country. I prolly spend well over $10K a year on lease fees, rifles,reloading, corn for my feeders, diesel, food, cigars and booze for my trips. I could prolly do a fair hunt on what I spend on 15 or 20 trips to my lease each year at $400 to $500 a pop.
I take a half dozen different rifles, a bit of groceries, a couple pistols, ice, beer, whiskey and wine. Stay 3 to 5 days. Lots of times I'm the only one I see (and only in reflections) on that whole 50,000 acres while I'm there. I don't have to fly, or deal with the TSA cocksuckers. Don't have to worry about speaking the language, being ripped off, robbed, food poisoning, customs, immigration, or foreigners or being a foreigner. I don't have to hire a guide to show/take me to where they think I need to be, or tell me what to and what not to shoot. I can do as I damn well please. Stay up late, sit by the campfire, watch shooting stars. Sleep in, or hunt as I please. I can smoke cigars on top of a mountain while still hunting or sweat like a politician telling the truth in a tripod while bow hunting in October. Don't have to wear camo if I don't want to. I get to cook my own food an mix my own drinks. Don't have to worry about how/when/where I hunt, nor whether the game is old enough, big enough, or trophy enough. Don't have to worry about a lease manager/game manager/Texas Trophy Hunter giving me jizz about whether it was 5 years old with no brown tines or not. If it excites me, I can either shoot it with a camera or a firearm or let it walk. Years ago I hunted the Louisiana swamps and east Texas. I've had all the pine-cones I want. Hunted New Mexico, Colorado and Montana, thank you very much. I like the Texas hill country just fine. On any given weekend and depending on season, I can kill (not harvest) coons, ringtail cats, squirrel, porcupine, coyote, crows, mourning dove,white-wing dove, quail, turkey, aoudad sheep, javelina, sika deer, axis deer, fallow deer, white-tail deer and hogs a plenty. Prolly a couple more things I forgot. Even heard a cat or two, although I've never laid eyes on one. I may wonder down to Argentina one day, but as far as the rest, prolly not. And that's OK with me.

Best,

GWB

Good response Geedubya. I don't view your response or the topic as being an indictment against anyone that does like to travel abroad. I feel that down deep inside practically all of us that enjoy hunting entertain the idea of going on at least one African Safari. Many reach out and grab the brass ring and go. I enjoy reading of their hunts and seeing the pictures they share with us on here.

I talk to many that do the dreaming of such a trip but for whatever the reason never really take the step. This is not meant to be a one-upmanship of who is the better hunter or who is the more knowledgeable hunter or any of the imaginary lines of division that crop up among hunters.

I just feel that it would be interesting to read about how people got started in hunting, the experiences they have had here in North America, what interesting places they have hunted or sights they have seen when on a hunt, what species they would like to hunt but haven't. At one time a few years back I really felt like I wanted to hunt either a bighorn or dall sheep. For various reasons, that just never was going to blossom, so I went musk ox hunting instead.

Geedubya as you well know there are plenty of exotic species here in Texas that can be hunted. So far the only one I have actually hunted has been axis. I continue to kick around the idea of going after Nilgai down on the King Ranch. I figure that I could put together a hunt here in Texas for either Greater Kudu or Eland but I doubt I ever will, simply because it would not be the same as going to Africa and shooting them. What makes it even more convoluted is that to kill either of those animals here is not only would I have the trophy, but I could bring the meat home, my biggest hang up about going to Africa is not being able to bring the meat home.

I just don't think the meat would have the same taste as those that had lived their life in the African Bush. Along those same lines I could go here in Texas and shoot a good Bull Elk cheaper and quicker than killing one in Colorado on Public Land but it just would not be the same thing.

One of the things I forgot list in my OP is that I want to kill a mule deer here in Texas. I have killed them in Colorado and Nebraska but not here at home.

Guys, I started with my father when I was about 12. He would put me in a deer stand with a .22 rifle and tell me to shoot the deer in the head, knowing quite well I wouldn't get the chance to because the deer population was so small back then, at least where we hunted.

After leases got to where they were out of Dad's price range, I started getting to go with a buddy that I duck hunted with. I killed my first whitetail at age 27 (yes, that late) and almost shook the blind apart from nerves when the buck fell.

Subsequently, I have had a deer lease in East Texas. Probably the hardest hunting I will ever do. Lots of deer, but they just don't have to move around to get full, and it is hard to kill them as a result. I have hunted the hill country as well: we used to go up the last week of the season and clean out a man's pasture of does and spikes. Those were the deer the leaseholders wouldn't shoot. I thought they ate just fine.

I have done the WMA hunts in TX for about 12 years now as well. I have taken a lot of hogs off the ones near where I live, and have killed a few whitetails as well.

My employment condition changed significantly in 2004, and in 2007 I found myself working out of state. Since then I have had to travel to stay employed, and that negates a deer lease here in TX. I still want one, it just can't happen currently. To top that off, right now I am off work fighting cancer, so everything is on hold for the time being. I will beat it, but money is becoming an issue I have to address, and I haven't quite decided how to as of yet.

I have been fortunate enough to stomp the Idaho mountains five times. I took a 5 X 5 bull in 1997, have chased muleys (missed one with a muzzleloader in 2008), pronghorns (try hitting one of those at 300 yards with a smokepole!), and missed a spike bull with a muzzleloader the fall of 2011. I also killed a buck in the National Forest of Wisconsin the fall of 2007, and have an invite to go to Wisconsin for whitetails Thanksgiving week of this year if all goes well with the cancer treatments.

Africa? Yes, I want to go, and intend to go. I am currently having a custom rifle built in 400 H&H. It is somewhat on hold at the moment, but the stock blank for the rifle was $1200, if that will give you an idea of what this thing will look like when completed. My intent is to go to Africa with it in the next couple of years, God willing. There is literally nothing in Texas that will challenge that round, and I won't have a rifle I can't shoot. This will be a show piece, but a hunting rifle as well, if that makes sense.

I also want to go to S. Texas and kill a nilgai. I can do that with one of the 35 Whelens I own. Absolutely wonderful table fare!

I have been greatly blessed. Like Randall said, I may kill another elk, but it will be a cow, and I will shoot it from behind a fence here in TX, simply for the meat.

And since this is a hunting forum, we won't talk about fishing, but I live within half an hour of the Gulf of Mexico. So yes, I fish as well...

Good topic. Will be the fourth Texan to post here.

My Dad started me hunting when I was about 8. He was an Air Force pilot from then rural South Carolina and we were stationed at Robins AFB in Georgia. He bought a small farm for that purpose.

My first CF weapon was a single shot .410 shotgun - I needed both thumbs to cock it and -luckily for the rabbits we hunted - they were long gone before I could accomplish that task. That lead to pheasant hunting in Ohio and quail hunting in Brady, Texas, where the hunting bug finally and permanently hit me.

Since then I have hunted ducks in Northern Minnesota; deer in the Carolinas; quail and waterfowl in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas;doves, quail, pheasant, hogs, deer, axis deer and auodad sheep in Texas and my favorite - for turkey in Texas.

There is something about the solitude of sitting along an open field or a creek and calling those bad boys in, that is appealing to me. I have also dove hunted in Mexico a couple of times and that truly is something special.

Tied for second is duck hunting in the salt water flats off Aransas Pass, Texas and West Texas auodad sheep hunting. For the duck hunts, I normally get a guide to take me out to a blind and it was just me and the dog, but I haven't been for a couple of years - since my lab passed away.

I've been after auodads for a couple of years now, but have personally been unsuccessful to date. It is physically demanding and the sheep are wily - really a challenge. The terrain is so different from anything else I've seen as well.

I, too, have signed up for an antelope hunt in Wyoming in late September with a couple of friends. The potential of a long shot on an antelope really appeals to me. I'd sure like to get an antelope in Texas as well. And I will go back out to W Texas for an auodad.

Over the years I've traveled a lot but never been to Africa. I went out and bought a .375 H&H about a year ago, thinking that I'd go in a few years. Would also like to go to Argentina on a dove hunt. One afternoon in Mexico I shot about 150 doves - the most, by far, I'd ever shot. In Argentina that would be categorized as a slow day.

Prayers from me and Lora to you Doubless on your fight.

First and foremost. Doubless, prayers and best wishes.


I don't remember not hunting........

Didn't have a Dad but I had one of the finest Grandads a kid could want. I always had a Daisy Red Rider another thing I don't remember the firsts of, I just alway had one. My 1st "real" gun was a single barrel Steven 410, yes I still have it, I got it for my 7th Birthday, it is treasured. My first deer was an illegal doe when I was about 11 with my Uncles 30/06. Grandad was not outlaw so much as after 6 0r 7 years of deer hunting and not ever seeing a legal buck he didn't want me to lose interest. It must have worked!

Squirel, rabbits......whatever, I was hunting it! I got older and got the wingshooting bug bad. I hunted waterfowl like a maniac for 10 or 12 years. I have hunted Waterfowl in Texas, Idaho, Louisianna and Kansas. One season I had 41 days logged waterfowling, a fantastic year.

Big game came back on the menu and I have successfully hunted Whitetail, Mule deer, Antelope, Aoudad, Axis and Blackbuck here in Texas. Many hogs to boot. A couple of unsuccessful Elk hunts in Colorado and New Mexico, well New Mexico did provide me a Cow Elk.

But I fear this thread is not for me you see because I inadvertantly went to Africa...... four times......and Argentina too. I confess...

I hope this doesn't make me less of a man in your eyes.....I just couldn't resist the temptation I must be a bad person.

All BS aside, I have hunted 7 states in the US, 2 states in old Mayhico, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Argintina. I will be going back to Africa and Argentina, hope to go other places too.

The campfires all outstanding, as where the Whiskey and stogies. Most of the people are more than outstanding. Stars are wonderful in those places too. I have made friends that will be friends for life in those places that I would have never met if I had stayed home.

Does it make hunting in Texas any less incredible??? Not in the least!

I just wish I could string words together like my friend GW, that is one silver tongued devil!


.

Doubless, the best to you sir in your fight. Keep the faith!

I started hunting at an age I really can't remember. Shot my first squirrel off my parents property in East Texas. I used to terrorize birds every day with my BB gun. No one ever had to push me into becoming a hunter. I've been obsessed with it for longer than I can remember. I first sat in a deer stand with my father at the age of 7 with a borrowed Winchester 30/30. It wasn't needed. I killed my first deer, an 8 pointer 7 years later on Nov. 14, 1976. I actually killed my first big animal about 6 weeks earlier on October 1, 1976. A non-typical Pronghorn antelope. If killing an animal was all I cared about, I would have stopped long ago as it took 7 years to kill my first deer, and 7 more before I killed my second! Meanwhile, I was pretty consumed by squirrels, ducks, doves, and the like.

After college, I spent 7 years in the Navy. A period during which much of my hunting took a back seat to flying. But I was stationed for just under 3 years in Beeville Texas. Leases were too expensive for a young Naval officer at the time but I did take advantage of some off season archery day leases for $35/day at the time (1986-1989), hunting Javelina and wild hogs. To this day, I love to hog hunt about a much as anything.

I've done a fair amount of overseas hunting as well as quite a bit of North American hunting. Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and quite a few more. Been to New Zealand, Russia, and Africa several times. I've been lucky to do this. Many guys have done much, much more of it than I. In all honesty, I'm obsessed with Africa. It's never far from the top subject in my thoughts. However, I love going out to the local deer lease with my sons about as much as anything else in the hunting world. Yes, I enjoy adventure hunts, but I love just going to the lease, cooking on an open fire or grill, drinking a beer or two, telling stories around the fire if someone else is there, or just enjoying being in the outdoors if by myself. I truly enjoy sitting in a deer stand, watching a feeder for what may come in. I don't care that some consider that type of hunting to be less sporting than spot and stalk activities on the side of a mountain. I really don't. I enjoy it all.

There are some activities that I don't care to participate in. But as long as they are legal, I don't look down on them. I just don't participate if I have an issue with it. I try not to be the type that labels something as "hunting" or "not hunting".

In short, I started hunting early, still love it today as much as I ever did, and hope to be able to continue for a long time. In enjoy going with my boys, now 22 and 18 years old. I don't see one type of hunting as being superior to another. Guided, do it yourself, physically demanding, sedentary, spot and stalk, baited, etc., doesn't matter. I like it all. The only caveat being I enjoy fur more than feathers. I'm not much of a hunter for things that require a shotgun. I still like bird hunting, including turkeys, but I'd prefer pigs, deer, and the like.

Doubless, kick cancer in the balls and we'll go hunt mule deer here in CO. My thoughts and prayers are with you

My hunting experience began with the the BEST school teacher EVER!! I was in the eighth grade (1958). I had some problems with reading (dyslexia) I suppose. My eighth grade teacher Mr. C. Eugene Lind took me aside and gave me hope and inspiration, along with many copies of The American Rifleman magazine which I read with devotion. Soon he had me interested in Ham radio. By the time I was in the tenth grade, had passed code and radio tests. We would "talk" all around the world. Mr Lind was an amazing man!! He was a REAL WW2 U.D.T. "frogman". he was admired by all, especially me. During the school breaks, he would take and some of my friends to the "woods", where we would learn REAL survival skills. A real treat, was to go to San Juan Island, hunt rabbit, spearfish and "talk' on the Ham radio on top of Mt Constitution. Our rabbit hunting was done mostly by slingshot, the fish hunting with Hawaiian sling, with success. Later, in between my junior and senior years, Mr Lind took us boys on a six week "live-off-the-land trip. It was AMAZING to be taught by a REAL EXPERT!! These things are really treasured. Yes, a TEACHER!! Over the years all my hunting has been in North America, I have had success with Blacktail, Whitetail and Mule Deer, Mtn Goat,Blackbear, Elk and Pronghorn Antelope both rifle and longbow. I have trapped mostly Beaver and mink, and a few wayward muskrats that skipped my mink traps. I have been lucky!!! REAL LUCKY to have had a REAL,FIRST CLASS, ABOVE and BEYOND teacher. Yes, Mr. C. Eugene Lind. My life is FULL!!

Good luck Doubless.....keep fighting the good fight 'til you win. Here's to your Africa trip.

I beat it two years ago, and you can too.

Prayers sent.

Gentlemen, I am at a loss for words. "Thank you" just doesn't do it, but it is all there is. You guys mean a lot to me, and so do the wishes.

Didn't mean to de-rail the thread and wasn't looking for sympathy, but the kind words, prayers, and wishes are so very much appreciated. Like I said, I am going to beat this!

My absolute best to all of you, and to all of yours...

Scot

Doubless: You will beat this! I was told 6 years ago that I had a 50/50 chace of surviving my surgery to remove cancerous tumors. The scariest fight in my life (and I have been in a few) but we beat it. You will too. You are in our prayers.

Geedubya: You are living the retirement dream that Clara and I hope to enjoy some day. We spoke on the phone when you were thinking about buying your Merkel and I hope to meet you some day.

I grew up hunting anything that moved on our farm in East Texas. I chased small game with coon dogs, bird dogs, beagles and squirrel dogs; worked varmit calls and ran a trap line. I killed my first deer when I was 10 and I lived to pursue game with handgun, rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader. I entered the Army the day after graduation from high school and things changed.

Hunting was on and off during my military career. However, I was able to hunt in many areas of the world during deployments. Upon retirement, I became obsessed with making money working as a contractor in order to buy all the things a "poor redneck from East Texas" had dreamed about. It took the news that I had cancer to refocus my priorities in life.

I started an entirely different career path about 5 years ago. Also, my wife (who had never hunted) started hunting with me. I am blessed to be able to travel and do hunts that I read and dreamed of as a boy. We are trying to do as much as we can outside the US while we have the opportunity.

Clara and I love our hunts together and those moments are priceless. We love seeing new places and meeting new people. With my work schedule, pay hunts are the best option for us. We don't have the time or the land for DIY. If you do not have your own land, a lot of free time or a helping hand, hunting in the US has become extremely expensive. More often than not, hunting outside the US is the much better bargain despite all of the inconveniences of travel. We hope to retire to the hunting dream that Geedubya is living. But right now, we are enjoying another dream.

Doubless
With the right attitude and sounds like you have it, you will beat it.
Keep your chin up and be thankful every day.

quote:

Didn't mean to de-rail the thread

You did not derail the thread at all Doubless.

In fact, you showed ALL of us that there are a lot more important things in each of our lives than the petty little squabbles and hatreds that occur on these forums.

It is sad that it takes something like what you are going thru to remind us that we all share a love of hunting/firearms and the outdoors.

It also reminds me that life can cruelly take those things along with the people we love and care for away from us, in an instant.

Doubless whatever you do, Do Not Give Up, trust in God and hang on with all your might.

quote:

Originally posted by SFRanger7GP:

Geedubya: You are living the retirement dream that Clara and I hope to enjoy some day. We spoke on the phone when you were thinking about buying your Merkel and I hope to meet you some day.

SFRanger7GP,

I appreciate the recommendation in regards to the Merkels. It went a long way to help me make my decision.

Would also enjoy making your acquaintence. Would you believe, I'm in the process of purchasing my third K1.



I have the 7-08 Jagd Stutzen. A friend snagged a K1 stalker in 9.3 x 74R for me, and I just put money down on a K1 stalker in 300 Win Mag. I love these rifles, and they shooooooot. Here are a couple targets for the 9.3 x 74R @ 100 yds.



Oh well, I guess an Africa or Argentina trip will have to wait........... LOL

Here is wishing you and your bride continued success and opportunites on your hunts.

Best

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:


But I fear this thread is not for me you see because I inadvertantly went to Africa...... four times......and Argentina too. I confess...

I hope this doesn't make me less of a man in your eyes.....I just couldn't resist the temptation I must be a bad person.

All BS aside, I have hunted 7 states in the US, 2 states in old Mayhico, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Argintina. I will be going back to Africa and Argentina, hope to go other places too.

The campfires all outstanding, as where the Whiskey and stogies. Most of the people are more than outstanding. Stars are wonderful in those places too. I have made friends that will be friends for life in those places that I would have never met if I had stayed home.

Jim,

and others that read this thread.

Hopefully I did not come across as denigrating the interests and desires of hunters that choose to hunt out of state/country and go on guided hunts. That was not my intention.

I tell stories by way of example to get a point across. Let me see if I can illustrate another point. I ride Harleys with a group of guys from Pasadena Texas. Every other year since 2001 they do a "big" ride. Usually 8 to 10 days in length. This September the plan is to truck the bikes to a certain destination up north, then ride and cross over into Canada and mosey up to Nova Scotia. We usually ride 200 to 250 miles a day, have a sag wagon, decent digs and planned scenic and iron butt routes. Usually 20 to 25 guys. Everything is planned in advance to the inth degree. Get up a 6 in the AM, take off at 8 AM, ride for a couple hours, take a break, ride, eat lunch, ride, take a break, ride and go to the hotel. Usually a dip in the hot tub, a toddy and a cigar, dinner then lights out. So eight days of riding through beautiful country seeing unbelievable sights and photo opportunities, and having fun with buds. Sounds wonderful, and it can be if you are in the right frame of mind.

I may not go this year. Perhaps I've just gotten old and ornery. I've been self-employed all my life. A big fish in a little pond. I've been able to pretty much order my life where I'm in control of my time. I abhor structure (if not self imposed) and not being in control. I like being able to do what I damn well please, whenever and where-ever. When you're with a group, it's not long before small group dynamics start exhibiting themselves and a pecking order is established. I tend to rebel against stuff like that. Team sports has never been my strong suit.
That is prolly why I don't do many out of state or out of the USA trips. I have to eat off other folks menu and follow their time schedule.

Most likely, I will end up going with my son and his brother-in-laws on a bear hunt with hounds in New Mexico. Can drive, don't have to fly, NM has open carry, and don't have to exercise my passport. I won't hunt, just be the camp bitch and make sure everybody has 3 squares a day of stick-to-your ribs grub, sufficient liquid refreshment, and campfire tunes.





So yes I'm limiting myself and probably missing out on a lot of neat experiences and memory making. Nice thing about AR. I can come here and live vicariously through ya'll experiences that you post. So keep those pix and posts coming.

Best

GWB

Doubless,
Prayers and well wishes from the Black Hills of South Dakota.

I believe the common ground lies in the love of the hunt and all that it entails. I have been a hunter for as long as I can remember.
I have only hunted North America, but dream of Africa. I would also like to hunt Europe to experience the deep time honored customs of their hunting culture.

As far as North America, Nilgai is on the list, as is the Texas Hill Country. I would love to hunt north of the arctic circle, and Newfoundland.

I have many great memories from far north float trips in Alaska to the nasty south Texas brush country. The western Rockies to the heat and humidity of Florida.

I love hunting new places, seeing the sun rise and set over new country, experiencing the people and the local culture be it good or bad.

With that being said, I could hunt the rest of my time in my home state of South Dakota with good friends, family and be perfectly content.

quote:

But I fear this thread is not for me you see because I inadvertantly went to Africa...... four times......and Argentina too. I confess...I hope this doesn't make me less of a man in your eyes.....I just couldn't resist the temptation I must be a bad person.All BS aside, I have hunted 7 states in the US, 2 states in old Mayhico, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Argintina. I will be going back to Africa and Argentina, hope to go other places too. The campfires all outstanding, as where the Whiskey and stogies. Most of the people are more than outstanding. Stars are wonderful in those places too. I have made friends that will be friends for life in those places that I would have never met if I had stayed home.

This thread is just as much for you as it is for those of us that have only hunted North America. The fact that you enjoy going other places does not negate the fact that you have experienced and evidently still enjoy the hunts you do here, you just prefer the excitement of going to far away places and experiencing what they have to offer. That is why I went to Canada and hope to go again. I love Texas, but I enjoy going to other states to experience things I cannot experience here.

There is nothing wrong with anyone going wherever they dream of to hunt or fish, especially if they willingly share the photos and experiences with others. By that same token, there is nothing wrong with those that don't have that same level of wanderlust and have plenty of enjoyable experiences and memories of hunts closer to home.

It is sometimes nice to hear people talk about the hunts they have made, that those of us without the desire to go to Africa or other foreign designation, because the hunts were here in North America and are more within some folks grasp. I am sure plenty will disagree, but with me it is not really a case of where or what a person has hunted but that they have hunted and enjoyed it.

quote:

just be the camp bitch

While I still enjoy dropping the hammer on critters or getting someone, especially a kid or a newbie, into a situation where they can, as I get older I find being camp bitch is a role that has its own amount of good points.

Hi,
I am not too sure if this message will get posted on the wall as I am not used to post messages. This message is address to the gentleman from east Texas who shared with us his story about fighting cancer: Sir,your story really touched me and I would like to invite you and your wife Clara to come Rusa deer hunting for free with me in Mauritius. If you are interested and I really hope that you are, as I would like to meet you, contact me on vacancesaventures.ilemaurice@gmail.com

I grew up in Colorado and come from a family of hunters. As long as I can remember my father, grandfather, uncles, etc... all hunted deer and elk every season. So, it really wasn't a question if my brother and I would be hunters. It was a natural thing in my family.

I had a Colorado hunter safety card before I was 7 years old and shot my first game animal, an American Goldeneye drake that same year. My father broke us in on rabbits and ducks. At the age of 9 I shot my first mule deer, a 3 point buck, with a 30-30. Because Colorado didn't allow big game hunting before the age of 14 back then, that deer was taken on my grandfather's license. It is the only game law I have ever broken, but to quote my father "The state shouldn't determine when someone can start hunting, that is for a father to determine". I still have the antlers off that buck and the mount of the goldeneye is still on the wall as well.

I shot my first bull elk at the age of 14. He was a nice fat spike and this was long before they went to the 4 point or better rule. I made a necklace out of his ivories and the antlers are still hanging. I shot my first pronghorn, a doe, at 15, and my first bear at 17.

I decided on a military career and in the course of the more than 2 decades I spent on active duty, I hunted wherever they stationed me. I also took trips with friends when I could. I have held hunting licenses in Hawaii, California, Washington, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia and North Carolina. I have never hired a guide in the USA for native game but have done a little exotic game hunting in TX that was guided.

I have been fortunate to take Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Blacktail Deer, Elk, Pronghorn Antelope, Black Bear, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Bison, Alligator, Wild Boar, Turkey, Ducks, Geese etc... all on do it yourself hunts. I have also made several trips to Canada for Black Bear which were guided due to Canadian Law.

There are still a few things I would like to hunt. I would love to have a good Mountain Lion, but that is a tough nut to crack without hiring a guide. I will get to Alaska in the next few years for a do it yourself moose and caribou. I have been trying to draw a Shiras Moose and Desert Bighorn tag in Colorado but have been unsuccessful to date.

I have "hunted" since I was given my first BB gun when I was 2 or 3 years old and then a 22 when I was about 6 years old. I usually hunt close to home but I have a long list of hunts in the US I would like to do someday. I am really serious about only one hunt outside the US and that is elephant. When I am being honest with myself and look at where the money goes, I know that I am more interested in the guns than I am in the hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by Ivan Charoux:
Hi,
I am not too sure if this message will get posted on the wall as I am not used to post messages. This message is address to the gentleman from east Texas who shared with us his story about fighting cancer: Sir,your story really touched me and I would like to invite you and your wife Clara to come Rusa deer hunting for free with me in Mauritius. If you are interested and I really hope that you are, as I would like to meet you, contact me on vacancesaventures.ilemaurice@gmail.com

Thats awesome Ivan!

Hunting is hunting is hunting.It does not matter where or what you hunt or even how you hunt.What matters is that you enjoy it and share it with friends or family.I just don`t know how it can get better than that!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:
Hunting is hunting is hunting.It does not matter where or what you hunt or even how you hunt.What matters is that you enjoy it and share it with friends or family.I just don`t know how it can get better than that!!!!!

Exactly...who cares where a person hunts or has hunted or intends to hunt just as long as they hunt. Way too much trying to divide hunters up these days. I've been fortunate to hunt much of the world but feel blessed to call North America and it's incredible hunting opportunities home.

Ivan Charoux- very nice gesture.

Geedubya- Like your posts as well.

Growing up hunting and fishing in my home state of Utah, with family and friends, my father never looked for far-away hunting adventures. He always went with his family or he didn't go. We'd have deer camp with 20-30 hunters and 20-40 campers. Those deer camp days are gone now, as the deer population has dwindled and the trophy hunters have reduced opportunity.

I remember in the late 1980s, my Dad took me and my scout troop camping to the Greys River in Wyoming. We saw mature, giant mule deer bucks the whole time we were in the area. Down low, up high. It never never crossed our minds HOW we could hunt them. So I was never raised with the thoughts of traveling to hunt.

Then in the mid 1990s, a friend invited me on a Wyoming deer hunt, which happened to be in the Greys River. We had a ball. I have always put in for out of state hunts since.

Do I dream of a true, large concession African hunt? Not as much as I did 10 years ago. Today I'd rather hunt with my kids, who are old enough to hunt with me. I shot my biggest muley this year, but my kids weren't there and it holds no real meaning for me. My 13 year old shot a nice buck, which means much more. I guess if money were no issue I'd be more inclined to look out of country, but it is and that is a "me" problem.

I do enjoy drawing tags in surrounding states and seeing new places. I enjoy hunting the traditional areas my family always hunted. I love the hunt. I kind-of like the kill. I love the hunt.

I'd like to head to TX with my sons and let them hunt whitetails. I hope some day we can hit Kansas to hunt pheasants and deer. A dream would be Canada or stag in the UK. Problem is it takes 3x the funds for me to go, so our adventures are closer to home. And we have had them. And we will continue to have them. And we don't need to kill to have had a great experience.

GW- You have never not even once offended me in the least. Hell when ( if ) I grow up I wanna be like you! I read every thing you post, man you got a way with words that just amazes me. You are a grown man, paying your own way and takin' care of bidness, you do what's important to you........pretty simple.

CHC- I really don't know if prefer is quite the right word......I pretty much like all hunting. The experience, the comraderie......just seeing what's over the next hill.

I do enjoy sharing the experience:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/9291007781

http://forums.accuratereloadin...=361104177#361104177


and I really enjoy when others share theirs.

We agree on much more than we disagree on Ran'l.


It don't matter where ya' hunt, or really what you hunt, but hunt some of us must!
Birds
Squirrels
Rabbits
Predators
Deer
Elk
Sheep
Buffalo
Elephants

Hunting is what we have in common, it's just figuring out what you are hunting for.


Most of that goofy stuff was tongue in cheek an East Texas Squirrel hunter is just as much a hunter as a hunter of the African Elephant.

It's about fires, stars, stogies, friends, sunrises and sunsets and seeing what's over the next hill.


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While I've never posted on this forum, usually just read everyone elses hunting reports and dream that one day I'll be fortunate enough partake in some of my own, I figured I'd make this one my first.

Like the majority of the folks on this thread, I started hunting in my home state of Texas at or around 5 years of age. Started out shooting birds out of a giant pear tree in our backyard with my trusty BB gun. Any chance I was given; I would try to tag along with my dad to his deer lease in Kerrville Tx where I shot my first shotgun and started hunting squirrels. I remember the first time out, my dad had shot about 6 or 7 squirrels while I had a big fat goose egg. Knowing that I was disappointed, my dad told everybody back at camp that I had shot them all...It was an awesome feeling!

From the age of I would say 8 until I was in High School; I didn't get to do that much hunting. Living in Pasadena, which is right outside of Houston, didn't offer any hunting. But my dad and I would still shoot doves and squirrels out of the oak tree in our backyard. It was illegal as all hell, but we ate every one that we shot. I took my first deer in High School on an FFA trip down in Port Aransas which was sponsored by the Dallas Safari Club. A couple of us were able to kill a doe while the rest could kill either a hog or javelina. That same year, my buddies’ parents took me to their lease in Junction where I was able to take my first buck. It was the greatest feeling in the world! While only a 6 point cull buck, you would have thought that I shot a 200" whitetail!

Hunting for me came to another halt, due in part to joining the Air Force and heading to Italy for my first duty assignment. After leaving there, I made it back to Texas where I mainly hunted deer and hogs. We still try every year to make the drive down to Crockett during hunting season to mainly hunt, but to see family as well. Thanks to the Air Force, I've also been stationed in Alaska where I was able to harvest a moose and a black bear which I thought would never happen. I now reside in South Dakota at Ellsworth AFB which is where I've been for the past couple of years. This last year was the first time I was really able to hunt here due to deployments, but was able to take a small speed goat and a Mulie buck and doe. Depending on whether I draw a tag or not, I have hopes of going on an Elk hunt this year and will most definitely be out after them speed goats.

I've never been hunting outside North America; I hope to be in a position to after I retire. While Africa would be awesome, New Zealand is at the top of my bucket list. There’s just something about those monster stags, the Tahr, and Chamois! But if I never make it out of North America, there will always be something within driving distance here to hunt, and just having that ability is truly a blessing!