Shifting hunting priorities?

[Guy Miner]

With mild amusement at myself, I find my hunting priorities shifting. Some of this may be age, some just the result of success in some areas of hunting, and new options becoming more attractive I dunno. Are yours shifting?


Elk - honestly, I have no desire to shoot another big bull. I've only shot one, and probably wouldn't turn down one, but I'm much more enthused about all that wonderful elk meat from a spike bull or a cow... One big ol' set of elk antlers on the wall seems to be plenty, to keep me thinking about elk country & elk hunts and... elk steaks! :grin:   Not that the steaks from the big bull were bad, they were excellent too.

Black bear - A hunt I enjoy tremendously! Spot and stalk black bear is an exciting and challenging hunt here in the steep country of Washington's Cascades. Brutally hard work to get a bear hide, head & meat out of the canyon bottom a thousand feet or more below the road too. But I traded away my last black bear hide & head before taxidermy. No desire for another bear rug in the house. They do make mighty fine sausage though! I think I'll keep hunting them, but won't be so picky about size anymore. Want to try to use the predator call more. That was really exciting, having a bear come in, stalking me! Yee Haw! Washington has at least 30,000 black bear, and the resident tag is inexpensive. Gives me a great option, and a lot of sausage when I manage to get a shot.

Mule Deer & Pronghorn Antelope - two favorites! I've only been hunting antelope for a few years and have only taken three. They're so danged fun to hunt, and the meat can be delicious! Better than any other wild game I've ever had. The mule deer are common near my home, and I just love hunting those big guys. I'll take doe or buck, according to my tag. I enjoy the taste of mule deer, though some do not. Equally happy with either, though I admit, I would be very pleased to take a truly large buck someday. I've been hunting mule deer for decades and hope to continue hunting them as long as I am able.

Whitetail - I dunno - never worked up a real enthusiasm for hunting them, though I do like the taste. They're fun to hunt. I've only taken a few over the years. We have some whoppers here in Washington if a fellow was interested in taking a trophy buck, but mostly I just like to take the occasional small buck, or doe, to add to the freezer. I suspect the reason that I'm not more enthused about whitetail hunting is that in Washington I get only one deer tag a year, and I'd much rather hunt my local mule deer.

Birds! My interest in upland game hunting has rekindled the past few years! My youngest son and I are having a blast going after chukar, quail, grouse and pheasant with the dog!

Ducks? No longer any interest, though I do have a duck-addicted buddy who invites me now and again. Time to time I'll go freeze in the dark duck blind with him... :grin: They can taste great!


Coyotes! This interest comes and goes. It's a lot of fun, and I feel I'm doing some good, taking a few coyotes from my mule deer area. They take a tremendous toll on the fawns. They'll even go after the elk! I don't typically save the hide, just like to hunt them, and whack a few. Great time afield with the 25-06 for sure.


Varmints - like rock chucks & sage rats & prairie dogs. I dunno - at one point I was a pretty enthusiastic varmint shooter, but that interest seems to have waned some. It would be fun to go for a couple of days of sage rat shooting with my son though. We have some good varmint rifles, a 204 Ruger and the 17 HMR. Both are very accurate.

Mountain Lion - ya - it's something I try year after year - but so far with no success. Someday...

I keep applying for the "once in a lifetime" tags for moose, mountain goat & bighorn sheep, but without any confidence that I might actually manage to draw the tag. Ever. Bighorn is the one I want most out of all those.

Caribou - I'd love to go back north for the big barren ground caribou! Saw quite a few of them on my trip to the arctic, and I'd love to return and hunt those big deer of the north!

How 'bout you? Still satisfied with the hunting you do, or have priorities shifted for you as well?

Regards, Guy

 

[sask boy]

Guy, I have also changed my idea of a good hunt as this Whitetail season I did not pull the trigger and it did not bother in the least. I have shot many good Bucks over the years and still would if the opportunity arises :wink:.
I really love going out with my Son on our Pheasant hunts but I can only do 2 or 3 pushes and then my legs seem to give out but I am not going to quit going. Mike advised that he would really like to learn how to waterfowl hunt so this coming fall our decoys are coming out of storage and my hunting partner and I will be back spotting field and attempting to knock down some northern green heads :mrgreen:.
I would still like to get 1 bull moose before I hang up my boots but like you Guy I really believe a nice cow or calf tastes some much nicer. I have shot a few good bull Elk over the years and still enjoy but again a cow seems to agree with my taste buds :wink:.
My hunt of a life time would still be for caribou but the cost are getting so high now on a hunt that I don't think that dream is going to be fulfilled but that is alright as I get hunt with the young guys and that is what it is all about in this stage of my life .

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Elkman]

dan :

My hunt of a life time would still be for caribou but the cost are getting so high now on a hunt that I don't think that dream is going to be fulfilled but that is alright as I get hunt with the young guys and that is what it is all about in this stage of my life

Dan a number of years ago my son and I did a drop camp bou hunt and it was quite inexpensive. If you are wanting to shoot a representative of the species, that might be an option for you.

 

[Elkman]

My priorities will stay the same until my days in the field have ended. I have hunted other species but my heart will always been on the big tough, buff colored elk. Nothing gets my heart rate up higher than trying to work my way into a large herd for a shot. I have shot a couple of really nice bulls and may shoot a few more given the opportunity but with me its the hunt. I have to be hunting, to be happy.

 

[6mm Remington]

Guy nice write-up. My dream would be a grizzly bear some day and I'm sure trying to make that happen. I have not given up on a moose or sheep yet, but after applying for 39 years in a row for both you think a guy might draw one of these days. I'd really like to get a nice Bighorn sheep!

 

[cloverleaf]

Probably never get on an elk hunt. However I note that if I could do one I would be thrilled with a spike and glad for a cow if I could take it with Dads rifle... Don't need the horns. Im crazy or getting old or both.

Would be happiest to do one more pronghorn hunt with some friends and family. A doe tag would make me happy if the company was good.

And....squirrels...I would give some money to sit and do that for a morning.... :roll: CL

 

[salmonchaser]

Yep, getting old changes things.
I love a good mule deer hunt but I'll never shoot another fork horn. A good representative 4 point is in danger otherwise it's tag soup.
Elk, not much gets me more excited than an elk hunt. This year I'll hunt Colorado and Oregon. Colorado will be an any bull hunt, Oregon will be spikes, though there is a slim chance I could draw a big bull tag.
Bears, I've shot a few in Oregon and Alaska. I see 100s (really) every summer. Probably could find one on some of the streams I fish but no longer want to kill another Grizz, probably not a blackie either. Just don't care for the meat.
I'd love to do another moose hunt, might do that next year. Buddy of mine wants me to register as an assistant guide this spring and help him with his spring bear hunts on the peninsula. Thinking about it. I'll trade him for a moose hunt.
I've always dreamed of completing my sheep slam, I'm just not that well healed. I'll settle for my Rocky Mt. Ram.
I spend a lot of time bird hunting. Most days and clients I enjoy. I really enjoy rookies who enjoy the hunt and marvel at good dog work. Don't enjoy guys who just walk around and shoot, don't really enjoy body count shoots. I like to make it a hunt, scramble, move shoot, communicate.
Let's have fun not just kill stuff.


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[salmonchaser]

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[Europe]

in the last few years my main hunting goal has been to find the fountain of youth

Seriously, the last few years that I hunted, I found as much or more pleasure hunting with my grandchildren regardless of the animal hunted, than anything I specifically wanted to hunt.

I suppose if I was to choose one more hunt that I was able to go on in North America, it would be a coastal grizzly hunt in Alaska.

 

[salmonchaser]

in the last few years my main hunting goal has been to find the fountain of youth

Seriously, the last few years that I hunted, I found as much or more pleasure hunting with my grandchildren regardless of the animal hunted, than anything I specifically wanted to hunt.

I suppose if I was to choose one more hunt that I was able to go on in North America, it would be a coastal grizzly hunt in Alaska.

Heck I figured you had already found the fountain [emoji57]


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[DrMike]

I can tell you that advancing age does put a crimp on what might have been routine activity in an earlier era. A torn medial meniscus in either knee does restrict scrambling up rock faces and trekking through the dark woods. More-and-more I discover that going down into the deep valley for that monster elk is not as viable a concept as it was even a couple of years past. That monster moose, should it drop far from the truck, will extract a major toll on my body. Thus, I'm content to glass some of the animals I might have chased in an earlier hunt. Pain has a way of imposing restrictions that once would have been shrugged off. I hope I have many more years of going into the mountains, if only for a "look-see" and the opportunity to breathe fresh air. However, since the mountains of British Columbia have grown steeper in the past several years (and the rivers have grown wider and flow more swiftly in that same time period), I'm more likely to stay near camp. I'll still have my tags, but the shooting is more opportunistic than planned.

 

[truck driver]

First off let me say this isn't a sad sack story but a life well lived and hard work that has taken a toll on my body.
Yeah my body has been rode hard and put away wet , 9 bad disc in my back,a broken ankle torn rotator cuff, knee surgery( right before I went to Montana) talk about well used or abused.
Though I have killed a few trophies my main reason for hunting most of my life was for meat and as I have aged the desire for a trophy has waned but meat is still one of my main interest to hunt.
The desire to hunt is ever prevalent but the need to kill something has waned and just getting out walking till my sore aching body screams no more it's time to go back to the truck I then sit and watch the animals go about their daily routine and I can't seem to get enough of it.
My first Rocky Mountain hunt was incredible, I saw sights I couldn't imagine even existed from wild animals to beautiful landscapes to geothermal warm springs with wild water cress growing in it.
Up close and personal experience with a Gray Wolf, yeah even though I didn't squeeze a trigger while in Montana by choice I consider it a very successful hunt.
Funny thing is I have done this most of my hunting age life, fill my tag limit and then watch mother nature.
I share a lot of the same things with Elkman, DrMike and April, I just don't say it as well.
When it comes my time to pass I would like it to be out in the mountains or along a stream or both would be perfect since that is where I think I belong.

 

[Europe]

Rodger, as Davy Crokett ( John Wayne ) said to Jim Bowie ( Richard Widmark ) in the movie the Alamo. "now that is not a bad way of saying it "

I understand exactly where you are coming from, although my health issues are and have been different, I understand everything your saying. Just as I can relate to Dr Mike's post, as I no longer even try to go certain places, knowing that even if I go there, the return might not be possible, at least not without help.

Living on a cattle ranch, which included a few hogs, and chickens, we had plenty to eat, so we, in our early years, was all about Trophies. We ate the meat we harvested, but our hunt was for trophies .

Seasons of life which is what I believe Guy is referring to in his op. Bird and rabbit hunting with my father and grandfather, trophy hunting with my husband, just being in the mountains/field with my grandchildren while they hunt----I loved every season and every season holds special memories, which brings me to my current "season" The season of memories --and--keeping my back to the camera when Fotis is taking pictures

 

[DrMike]

The season of memories --and--keeping my back to the camera when Fotis is taking pictures

Well, if I had been on that beach, even with my back to the camera, some wiseacre would say, "Obviously didn't use Downy; not with all those wrinkles!"

 

[Guy Miner]

Europe - ya - not just the seasons of life - but that too.

Could be other reasons for shifting the focus or priorities of our hunting. Years ago I spent four years stationed on the east coast, and was able to get to do some hunting that was new to me. I learned and enjoyed.

Moving here, to central Washington, I found myself smack dab in the middle of good elk, mule deer & black bear country - so my focus went to them. As well as started rekindling my interest in upland bird hunting, because we've got a bunch of chukar, quail & grouse here.

So, geography played a role in my shift, and now I think success has played a role. I'm not real keen on going for a big ol' bull elk, I'd really much rather take a cow if possible. I've got a bull on the wall, and somehow that's "enough." Though I will admit I'm slowly building points towards a quality "branch antler bull" tag here in Washington, and yes, if I draw that tag, I will certainly try to notch that tag!

And then yes, getting older, slower... Injuries have piled up. I don't hike and climb as swiftly and surely as I once did. But I get around well enough for the same mountains and canyons so far. So far...

I hope everyone meets with success this season!

Regards, Guy

 

[Blkram]

Whether I care to admit it or not, it seems life has a way of apparently shifting priorities for us, rather than us shifting our priorities...

Body aches and strains sure have significant impacts that impose shifts in abilities to hunt as we would otherwise desire to do so...I may not yet have the length of tooth of some of the members here (please note that I refrained from using the terms mammoth or mastadon as someone referred to themselves in another thread! LOL), but as I get ever closer to the half century mark myself, I sure am feeling its inconvenience!

Work, careers, time and money all have their share of impacts on our hunting goals and also impose shifts in our abilities to hunt as we would like to...just not enough hours in the day or enough pesos in our pockets somedays!

Other commitments, such as married life and families, also have their share of impacts on our abilities to hunt when, where and how we want to.

Not complaining about any of this, just recognizing realities...and planning on how to balance all of the above as we move forward in future hunting endeavours.

In the end, we make the compromises that we must in order to live the lives we want to, or adjust to the circumstances that life has dealt us, regardless of who we are, where we live or the station in life that we were either born into or have built for ourselves. If nothing else, those of strong character and mindset, will adjust the best to their particular circumstances and will be happy for the gifts that they have received, or are about to receive, and will embrace the opportunities still before them, and fondly remember those that they have been blessed to share with their friends and families in nature, and all of the wonder of the species in its wide open spaces and dark timbered valleys and streams.

And even where I cannot, or may never get the chance to experience certain hunting adventures, it is good to see that others are able to do so, and as I read about their adventures, and can see it in their pictures, or watch it in their videos, I get to enjoy a level of satisfaction that they were generous enough to share the experience and show/tell us what those places and animals are like, and at least I got to see it and experience it vicariously.

Extremely grateful for the gifts in this life and will continue to cherish what I have received, and am looking forward to the new adventures as they unfold!

Sincerely wish that you all manage to achieve your goals!

 

[Europe]

The season of memories --and--keeping my back to the camera when Fotis is taking pictures

Well, if I had been on that beach, even with my back to the camera, some wiseacre would say, "Obviously didn't use Downy; not with all those wrinkles!"

Let me respond to Dr Mike first Guy

Dr Mike, I had some cosmetic surgery through the years, have spent a small fortune on make up, starting wearing slacks and turtlenecks,---the last time I looked like that girl on the beach was around 50 years ago--I said all that to say this--I understand your point and then some lol

Guy, without a doubt you are correct. Geography makes a huge difference in what one hunts. i.e. Rodgers post. As to your ability to move around, hunt, snow shoe, hunt the mountains in Alaska, and Washington is enviable. I am very impressed with what you are still doing, and kudus to you for staying in shape so that you can still do all that. Same with Elkman. From what Scotty tells me, Bill, like dr Mike and I is no spring chicken, but he still chases those Elk around the mountains like a teenager. My hats off to you gentleman

Gil posted an excellent response while I was typing. So many things dictate how, when and what we hunt. Gil spelled it out very nicely and he is correct

 

[Anonymous]

While I hunt plenty for my freezer, my priorities have shifted more to seeing other folks get game. I find the role of ad-hoc "guide/sherpa" as gratifying as dropping one myself, maybe more so. If there's any change to my personal big game hunting, it's that the "how" matters as much as anything else. I consider the climb up the mountain as much of an achievement as whatever I might shoot there and the number of days in the field is a more meaningful metric than the inches of antler some critter is carrying around.

I still consider myself primarily a big game hunter, but I'm spending more time hunting birds- waterfowl and upland both. A ramble through the yellow aspens looking for ruffed grouse can be about as good as any hunting gets on the misery/enjoyment spectrum. I can understand how a lot of the big game writers of yesteryear ended their careers as bird hunters in their later years.

 

[Guy Miner]

Yuppers! Both of those things have become very important to me.

Helping others get game, and hunting birds!

 

[sask boy]

Excellent post ! It seems that we all have so many things in common when it comes to hunting and I believe it influences how we live our lives as well.
Hunting does not mean killing it is more about relationship with people, the game we harvest and of course the great outdoors :wink:.
Thanks each one of you for what you bring to this forum it is what makes the Nosler Forum the very best .

Blessings,
Dan