Your plans for this falls hunts

[Bruce Mc]

E.T., In Texas the hunting is much as you've described. There is only a very small amount of government owned land so the land owners control the hunting. You lease the land for hunting or you hunt property you own. Hunting in Texas has gotten to pretty darn expensive. Most of the state owned land is leased to individuals on a perpetual lease and the hunting rights go along with the grazing rights. What little land is set aside in Wildlife Management Areas is regulated by draw hunts. They are very limited and drawing a tag is like winning the lottery.

 

[ElmerThud]

Garg 'nuair dhuisgear - hmmm... Fierce when roused! I like that Bruce.
Just like a smooth 16 year old Lagavulin - gets you in the right spot.
Sero Sed Serio - Late, but in Earnest....that's our family clan motto.

Most places the cost of hunting is rising & the price of venison is on the floor to the game dealers........in the shops though, a different matter entirely.
Obtaining land to shoot on alone is very difficult here in the UK too. As a syndicate you stand a better chance of throwing rather more money at it. Doesn't make it much easier if there are too many people in the syndicate all wanting their share of the shoot. Usually at the peak times of the rut & changeover from one close season of a sex to the next.
Fortunately I'm well established on land with my friends here, but very interested to know how it all works in the USA/Canada.
Many thanks. Cheers.

 

[Bruce Mc]

That Lagavulin stuff must be really good at 90 bucks a bottle.

 

[ElmerThud]

slainte mhath, - good health. Yup it's a tad pricey. Over here it's around $70 a bottle, but I do enjoy it after a day out stalking, as do a couple of my friends. I hasten to add, I certainly can't afford to drink it everyday.
Absolutely worth it at the right time though. Cheers.

 

[Guy Miner]

My son and I have been doing some serious map study. Hiking in on a high country mule deer hunt in September. Wanted to spring for horses, but the wallet isn't fat enough this year to pay a packer, so we'll be walking in again.

Looking at some different options, high or higher, steep or worse... Bear season will be open as well, and we've seen bear up there in the high country while on backpacking & fishing trips. Should be a good one. Have been doing a lot of walking & hiking this year, hope to be fit enough to pack in our camp 4 - 8 miles, then hunt from camp for a few days. Hopefully we'll find a decent mule deer buck - although then there's the hike out with a boned out mule deer in addition to our camping & hunting gear. Yup... Horses would have been a good idea...

High country backpack hunt two years ago:

The guys I want to have haul my camp in someday, instead of my ol' legs & back:

Guy

 

[SJB358]

Man, the backpack hunt is alot of fun Guy. It is nice to at least have the horses hump your gear into camp.. That sounds like an awesome trip for the boy and yourself. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

Best of luck, Guy. That is great to think of spending the time with your son in the high country. Here's pulling for a big mulie.

 

[ElmerThud]

Looks like a fantastic way to go hunting Guy. Just excellent whatever way you look at it. Thanks for the pics to see what the high country is like. Cheers.

 

[atmoshpere]

Awesome looking mountains Guy, they kinda remind me of the eagle caps here in oregon. Have you been able to pack in your camp in years past with horses? It is a lot of fun and can get pretty interesting, even with veteran horses and mules. If you've never done it I hope you get the chance, if you have then you probably know what i'm talking about :mrgreen:

I couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like packing everything you owned on the back of a mule or two and just huntin and trappin 'til you couldn't hold any more before you had to come down out of the mountains to sell or trade some of it off.

...ah the good ole days!

As for me, I'll be hunting mulies in the Blues, general season spike elk in the Elkhorns and probably some fall bear in the blues as well now that i've been reassured you can actually eat the critters :mrgreen:

I'll also be taking the wife on her 3rd deer hunt for a doe on the farm. Guess if I didn't scare her off on the first two and she wants to go a third time i've probably got myself the best looking hunting partner i've ever had :wink: how to get her to gut it though... :? lol

 

[Guy Miner]

I've only horse-packed in once, for elk. It was an awesome trip, up in the Wind River Mtns, Wyoming.

 

[Too Tall]

We just found out we got cow tags, and doe tags for the same area. Looks like a camp adventure.

Our plans are to take 4 head of horse and set up a camp at the end of the road. Camp at the pickup, then ride up to hunt. There is a place with a big horse shoe bend in the creek, that we can run our solar powered electric around and camp just outside. Plenty of water and wood.

I will set up the 14'x20' wall tent, for my wife and myself, and the cook tent. I will set up a 10'x12', heated for a tack shed. Then I got a 16'x16' squad tent if someone else goes with us.

I will take my portable meat rack and the 'Travis', to retrieve elk to camp. I rack is a tripod out of poles. I will take the harness to drag wood to the fire and to pull the Travis with. Pulling up the tripod I can do from a saddle horse.

Hopping for a week or 10 days, in.

 

[Guy Miner]

Guys - if you haven't done a traditional "western" wall-tent & horse type hunt for mule deer or elk, you really should someday. I came away from my one hunt like that, feeling like I'd just tasted a little bit of the western hunting tradition. Enjoyed the heck out of it, and still do, even though it was ten years ago.

Regards, Guy

 

[Bruce Mc]

Guy, my most vivid memory of a horseback hunt in Colorado. Got up well before daylight, saddled horses, got dressed (it was right around zero so I had a lot of clothes on), and then tried to mount up. Ever tried to get on a horse when you're wearing every stitch of clothes you brung. Thank the lord for uphill slopes and 14 hand horses.

 

[bbearhntr]

We just found out we got cow tags, and doe tags for the same area. Looks like a camp adventure.

Our plans are to take 4 head of horse and set up a camp at the end of the road. Camp at the pickup, then ride up to hunt. There is a place with a big horse shoe bend in the creek, that we can run our solar powered electric around and camp just outside. Plenty of water and wood.

I will set up the 14'x20' wall tent, for my wife and myself, and the cook tent. I will set up a 10'x12', heated for a tack shed. Then I got a 16'x16' squad tent if someone else goes with us.

I will take my portable meat rack and the 'Travis', to retrieve elk to camp. I rack is a tripod out of poles. I will take the harness to drag wood to the fire and to pull the Travis with. Pulling up the tripod I can do from a saddle horse.

Hopping for a week or 10 days, in.

Is this an open invitation for any forum member? I would like to request my name be placed on the top of the list :grin:

 

[YoteSmoker]

I just found out that my wife pulled leftover whitetail doe tags for both of us for the late season 1-14 December in S.E. Colorado. They just went on sale this morning. There is a state trust land there with 1500 acres I hunted coyotes in this past winter. We also have bull and cow tags plus a doe tag for 3rd season 5-13 November in the northwest part of the state. It is going to be a good year for sure!

 

[BP736]

I will be hunting coues whitetail in northern Arizona (near Flagstaff) in October with my a dad and a friend. Another friend has a bull elk tag at the same time in the same unit and we'll probably camp together and help each other. Coues whitetail are very different from their eastern cousins, and a blast to hunt. The 280 AI is starting to shine and will make it's maiden voyage on this hunt. I'm shooting 140 ABs at 3225 fps and around 1/2" at 100 yards. The load that I'm working on right now is 62.5 gr RL 22 in Nosler brass with a Fed. 215 primer. Can't wait.
BP

 

[SJB358]

BP, that sounds like a fun hunt. Coues deer are one of the whitetails I would like to try someday. Sounds like that 280 is hammering with the 140's Scotty

 

[Elkman]

When I was in Arizona this spring I saw a lot of Coues deer. Mostly wandering around near the highways. We have Blacktail deer in our area which are quite small, I found out that the Coues are even smaller than than the blacktail. I know Blacktail are a challenge to hunt I am sure tha Coues are the same.

 

[DrMike]

BP730,

It can't get much better than to anticipate a hunt with family and friends. It sounds as if you have a great fall lined up. We're pulling for you to connect. Be sure to post some pictures for those of us who have never hunted Arizona.