Whats the best hunt you have been on in your life ?

[Rosebud]

There has been so many great hunts but there are a few individual moments that stand out from a couple hunts and 1 hunt in particular that was an adventure.

2022 moose hunt;

We drew 2 Cow tags so my brother, 2 best friends and myself start putting the plans together. We own a hunt camp 14 hours north of us that we hunt at every year and where our tag was valid for. We got a call saying our cabin had fallen down from a storm so we scrambled to find a new spot to stay. We ended up purchasing an older outfitters tent, wood stove and decided we would go deeper into the bush and try our hand at camping.

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We drove up 2 days before opener and were planning on going down river to a spot we've seen a few times, but with the rain and terrible weather we decided to hunt the back roads and stay off the river seeing as it was our first year using a tent. Opening morning we woke up with the plans of finish setting up camp, getting wood, prepping meals and scouting. While making breakfast and prepping dinner a bull moose had walked into camp 11 yards from us. I'll never forget looking up over my buddies shoulder cleaning fish to see a bull just staring us down.

On day 4 of the hunt a group we've met a few times over the years of hunting this area showed up to worn us about a little storm rolling in and asked if we wanted to come back to down, bunk with them and get a hot shower. Graciously we accepted and that shower never felt better. After a night of cards, a great meal and great hospitality we woke up to over a foot of snow with 100 km/hr winds that rolled through, a lot worse then they had anticipated. We packed up and head back out to hunt and make sure camp was okay.
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We rolled up on what we didn't expect! Our main camp was destroyed, wood stove ripped in 2, our trailer flipped over, clothes, bedding, gear spread out everywhere. We were broken, and trying to figure out what to do. The group we stayed with the night before had a couple guys come by to see how it was and they offered for us to spend the remainder of the time with them. We spent the next couple hours cleaning up, packing the trucks and we're going to head to the dump to dispose off all the damaged goods and we weren't sure if we just make the 14 hour trek home or stay with the other group.
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As we were rolling out, tails between our legs we came across a clear cut with a bull and 2 cows! We locked up the brakes, put a stalk on. We managed to get within 140 yards and the cows stood there in front of one another for 10 mins. Finally the lead cow decided to break away and on the count of three myself and best friend managed to shoot our first moose each after 15 years of hunting together.
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We spent the remainder of the day getting the garbage to the dump, the moose gutted and hung and stayed the remainder of the week with the other group celebrating our success and failures.

The moose gods smiled on you guys after dumping on you earlier. Persistent pays off at times.

 

[bballard]

Hands down for me was a caribou drop hunt in the Brooks Range of Alaska. I did the hunt with two of my brothers and another friend. We had bachelor groups of bulls coming by for 3 days! Hardly saw a cow. We all filled easily and it was truly a great adventure. We had grizz on the gut piles and wolves serenading us at night. All this within 800 yards of our camp!

 

[coop2564]

Elk hunt in Colorado. Early bow season. Had a group of 3 bulls together all large two still had a little velvet. One real wide 6x6 and the other big one very tall but narrow 6x8. they were in bottom of draw with a small creek and they were feeding along the creek. The draw had stair step like flat ledges that ran along creek that were about 50 to 70 ft above the creek bottom. I was following along the flat ledge above the bulls waiting for a shot. Once I got within 40yds but the bulls were lined up and I was scared of pass thru and wound of 2nd bull. Then they turned and only butt shot until they were out of range again. slipped back up on them but just before I drew, they caught wind and bolted up creek. Heartbroken, I tried to circle up ahead of them and hoped they stayed in creek bottom. Walked about 1/2 mile down the ledge and then stopped to glass and saw the wide one on my side coming my way by himself. He walked up to a pine and started rubbing it. Attacking it better description. Broke it in half and let out bugle. Then started walking, he got as close as 72 yds I drew cow called, he stopped and let it fly. It buried almost to fletch, he ran about 225yds through a meadow stopped on far side and tipped.

 

[littlebighorn]

It's impossible for me to choose the best hunt of my long life. I'm now 75 years old and I've experienced many incredible hunting adventures.
Certainly my four successful sheep hunts stand out but really, any hunt that my son has been by my side makes them the best!

 

[Monteria]

The best are always with family and I'll always remember little bits of every hunt, but my best 2 were a state draw hunt for audad and my sons first pig.

My brother is 10 years younger than me and, the way life went, I don't think we ever got to hunt big game together until 3 or 4 years ago. My dad, brother and I put in for a state draw hunt together, as we had done for years in the exotic category. That year, with an average of 26 or 27 preference points, we got drawn for a 3 day audad depredation hunt. Within the first hour of the hunt, we had all 3 shot our first animal. In the end, we had shot 25 audad and Spanish goats, a pig and an axis deer. All 3 of us made our longest shots on game on that hunt too. The first picture is our first 3 animals.

Just a month or 3 ago, my son got his first pig. With drought the last couple years, our pig population has taken a hit, so it took him some effort to close the deal. He'd previously had 3 whiffs. The first a bear of a white pig that I know he killed, but I couldn't find. The second was a small pig that he shot under with the wrong crosshair on a crossbow. The third was a small pig that he shot in the front leg and again, I couldn't find. At this point, he was pretty down on hunting, so I decided to go to a different ranch for a change of scenery and hopefully a mental reset. We were really just on a scouting trip, but happened to see a nice boar who gave us time to get out of the truck, into the bed, and set up on the bipod over the cab. The look on that boys face was absolutely priceless.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

My best hunt ever was in Alaska for two weeks for moose and I didn't even get one but saw 300 moose in two weeks .I called in 6 pairs of bulls that ended up fighting right in front of us but none were 4 brow tined or 50 inches .It was awesome those and we had three grizzlies come at us at dark and had to go back another way .We also saw wolves and the grizzlies hunting moose together and they had the moose in a circle. WE tried to get the bears but they were too far away .We also saw giant caribou that had to me bc but not in season of course .I am telling you their is nothing like two moose coming in to fight you and fighting ten yards from you. I GOT really good calling them with moose antlers rubbing the trees. I called about a 45 inch bull right to the other side of my bronco one foggy moving thsy was awesome .He was like ten feet away .I never forger those hunts ever. I hope to go back again next year. If you ever get a chance go to Alaska it's totally wild abs awesome. I Lived there 12 years and loved it .It makes deer hunting seem silly for what you get .

I think that I was 8 years old.
In PA, at the time, you had to be 12 years old to hunt. I remember my dad getting his hunting clothes on (Woolrich Red & Black Squares) at 5:00 AM and me crying to go with him. Well several days he broke down, my mom made me a hunting jacket out of material from a Navy Survival Raft in HOT PINK color so I would not get shot. Dad took me deer hunting behind our home. I missed an 8 point when I was shouldering a Marlin 336 in 32 Win Spcl and the stock plate rubbed against the Raft material and made a scraping noise. The Buck that was only about 40 yds away took off I was very disappointed, but my dad cheered me up when he started a fire (it was like ZERO out) and we drank some hot coco from a thermos together. He told me some stories about him missing deer and that this would be my first but not my last miss.
My best hunts and times were with my dad!

 

[matt_3479]

The moose gods smiled on you guys after dumping on you earlier. Persistent pays off at times.

It was a little bit of ups and downs for sure but looking back it will be a trip we will never forgot.

 

[TxHeartShot]

My best hunt ever was in Alaska for two weeks for moose and I didn't even get one but saw 300 moose in two weeks .I called in 6 pairs of bulls that ended up fighting right in front of us but none were 4 brow tined or 50 inches .It was awesome those and we had three grizzlies come at us at dark and had to go back another way .We also saw wolves and the grizzlies hunting moose together and they had the moose in a circle. WE tried to get the bears but they were too far away .We also saw giant caribou that had to me bc but not in season of course .I am telling you their is nothing like two moose coming in to fight you and fighting ten yards from you. I GOT really good calling them with moose antlers rubbing the trees. I called about a 45 inch bull right to the other side of my bronco one foggy moving thsy was awesome .He was like ten feet away .I never forger those hunts ever. I hope to go back again next year. If you ever get a chance go to Alaska it's totally wild abs awesome. I Lived there 12 years and loved it .It makes deer hunting seem silly for what you get .

My dad wasn't a hunter, wasn't opposed to it just didn't make the time for it. He worked too many hours a week and fished in his spare time. Fortunately I had an uncle who was a big bird and deer hunter I got to hang around with. I was home for Christmas a few years after college and decided to go run my dogs a little and brought my dad out with me. Gave him my 20 ga. to carry I while messed with the pups.

Well...we found 5 coveys of bobwhites, my dad shot exactly 5 times and killed 5 birds, one from each covey. It was a great day just walking, shooting the breeze, healing old bruises so often incurred between hard headed boys and wise fathers. A great day that had hunting as a perfect venue and everything to do with finding common ground and mutual respect. There will not be another day like it.

 

[popeye]

So many good memories while spending time in God's amazing outdoors.
I was fortunate enough to have taken my oldest son when he killed his first deer at 13 years old with a Remington .243. It was only a doe, broadside shot at about 120 yards, it ran less than 30 yards and collapsed.
When my oldest son began his own family and his son, at the ripe age of 8 years old, decided that he wanted to put meat on the table. My son was not able to take my grandson that year so I quickly volunteered. Out came the trusty .243 and after my grandson could routinely hit an 8 inch plate at 100 yards we set out on his first hunt. With one well placed shot he was able to kill his own deer and I was able to catch it on my cell phone. Great memories for sure!
Other hunts that were memorable but not on the same level would be a Colorado drop camp Elk hunt and a hunt of a lifetime in South Africa. Those were for me I guess, but the ones with my son and grandson are a couple of my favorites because I got to be a part of handing down a family tradition.