Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters The Greatest hunter,

I like that!

The greatest hunter(s) that I have known, are unknown to the vast majority of people. My dad was one of them. There a several common denominators among the ones I have met:


The first thing is they hunt alone, maybe share a camp with someone else, but they ALWAYS hunt alone.

Their equipment is the best they can afford and functional, and perhaps many years old.

None of them wear camo.

They spend nearly as much time in the woods in the dark (early and late), as in the daylight.

Seldom did they hunt the same places year after year. They hunted where the game was, and were not afraid to work to find them.

None of them were out of shape, even in old age (none smoked or drank in excess).

I never heard any of them talk of excitement or buck fever before or after the kill......they expected it to happen, and it came as no surprise.

Their hunting stories were matter of fact, and not full of emotional fluff. There was much to learn, if you would shut up and listen.

They were motivated in filling their tag(s), because they lived on what they killed.



Several things proved how good they were, without being said:

They could nearly always fill a tag, even on hard pressured public land.....and even hunting it for the first time. If hunter success was in the single digits, they were one of them!

The pictures of their success (if they took them), was just a dead animal on the ground...because they were alone.

Spending the night in the woods happened often, especially if they were "close". They weren't considered "lost or late", just hot on the trail.

None were bow hunters, guide/outfitter, writers, or some other "authority" on the subject.

And most importantly.....none of them bragged.



These guys are off the radar, because the only person they have to measure up to, are themselves. They are the ones you see coming out of the woods alone, with heavy packs, a sparkle in their eyes, and maybe a sly grin. I saw that expression, on my dad's face, many times!

I vote for these guys.....the best you never heard of. I've been fortunate to know a couple, and I strive to hunt just like them!

Andy3

Are the best hunters guys who live and hunt in game-rich areas or go to game-rich areas to do their hunting, or those who live and hunt in game-poor areas? Hunting in game-rich areas gives one plenty of opportunity to develop skills fairly quickly, but in game-poor areas you have to be really good to fill your tags consistently. For example, was W.M.D. Bell a better hunter than, say, someone in the northern range of the whitetail deer? Different skill sets, obviously; but also very different mind sets. Clearly there are a lot of ways to be considered a great hunter. As stated above, the majority of them are never heard of beyond their circle of acquaintances.

Larry Benoit has to be on the list if not at the top. When he began hunting the north east woods I doubt there was a buck every 5sq miles but yet he scored on big bucks year after year. Deer density is still low today and many, many hunters eat tag soup lots of years. Larry could not only connect every year his bucks were always 200lbs or more. That is the standard he set for himself and his boys. Believe me...he was a great hunter and most surely one of the best...if not the best during his reign in North America. powdr

One day while in hunting in the RSA the PH was busy and sent me out with just the tracker. Tracker didn't speak any English. I thought I was a good hunter, he made me realize there is another dimension to hunting. He walked deadly quiet, stopping often to look, listen and smell. He knew exactly where to look, which way the breeze was blowing. He heard a faint noise and got me to listening. Then said it was a warthog and moved us forward to a perfect spot. We waited several minutes and out pops a pig.

Stalking through dense bottom land he stops and points. I didn't see the bushbuck until it bolted.

Heading back to camp he stops and points again. His eyes get HUGE and it points more determined. I raise my binoculars and sure enough there is a Impala standing in the forest. I can barely make it out and ask if it is a big one. He gives me an exasperated look and his eyes bulge. Ram was the largest ever killed on the farm, 23 5/8.

Got back to camp and the PH was all excited and said I probably didn't want him to go any more. He was right.

Two on TV actually got my interest up before I started really reading gun rags. A fellow named Jim Thomas had a TV show in the 60s called "The Lone Star Sportsman." I actually learned and cut my teeth watching this. Then there was Bob Brister who wrote in the Houston Chronical and had a TV Show on Channel 13 Houston. I remember seeing for the first time the art of rattling up deer. Also a lot of points on waterfowl hunting. These guys got me going. I loved Warren Page also and later Bob Wooters and of course Elmer and Jack. But the classic of all, and I actually read more of his stuff as an adult was Karamojo Bell himself. That guy had balls bigger than a Cadillac. Another one that got my attention was Peter Hathaway Capstick. He had some great stories of Africa. One was a snake story. He said he went to visit a South African hunter friend one day whom he had visited many times. He noticed a large chunk out of the couch back missing and asked his friend about it. The guy told him one evening he was sitting in his favorite chair across from the couch where his wife and baby were seated. He looked up and saw a rather large Black Mamba crawling along the edge of the back toward his wife and baby. He always had his shotgun close by and he grabbed it and killed the snake before it could bite his wife and baby. The shot took that chunk out of the couch. Capstick had a lot of those stories. And not just about snakes. He shared a lot of hunting stories about elephants and buffalo. He was a great writer.

These are a sampling of my formative years.

Based on reads, Bell, Selous, Percival, Cottar. Selby, Corbett, and so many others from dark continent. Modern men couldn't compare, maybe Sheldon, Pinnell and Talifson and a fFEW others.

>> yes again you are butthead right, most people call all military personal just >soldiers< go back to your dog dish !

Martin Hanson...A friend and if you don't remember him he hunted with most of the writers in the 40s, 50s and 60s. He killed and donated most of the mounted animals in the Chicago Museum of Natural History. He had a place up in Ashland County Wisconsin and was a key player in the forming of the Apostle Islands National Park and the reintroduction of elk in Wisconsin. He told me he never worked a day in his life and never missed a thing.

A name I haven't seen mentioned here is Ted Trueblood. He might not be the greatest, but I enjoyed his writing as I was growing up and became interested in hunting. He was from my hometown of Nampa, Idaho, and I used to see him at meetings of the Nampa Rod and Gun Club. Nice gentleman, and a good woodsman, hunter and outdoorsman who could write interesting and informative stories.

fortymile,

Trueblood was not only a very good hunter (and angler) but a far better writer than he gets credit for--which may be due to mostly hunting in his native Idaho, instead of traveling the world. He was also primarily a "lifestyle" hunter, rather than a trophy hunter. He hunted primarily for meat (and so did the rest of his family, including his wife) but also took some fine trophies. Perhaps my favorite of his stories is "I Don't Want to Kill A Deer," though of course he does, a big mule deer buck.\

In fact, when I sold my first couple stories to magazines I wrote him, saying what an influence he'd been. Still have his gracious response, more than four decades later.

Yes if they are ignorant.

Larry D Jones, Gene/Barry Wensel, Dwight Schuh, Fred Bear. I read a lot of Capstick growing up along with M.R. James, and Jay Massey. I grew up watching Fred Bear and Ben Pearson videos over and over, along with "Bowhunting October White Tails" and my absolute favorite "Elk Fever." Several writers listed Paul Schafer as the best bow hunter they have known. These were my hunting heroes growing up. I have met Larry Jones, Gene Wensel, M.R. James and Jay Massey of those I listed. The person responsible for meeting all of them and introducing me to the outdoors is my own father. He took me to seminars and out hunting when it was not popular to have kids involved. He tried to get legislation to allow youth small game hunting and mentored deer hunting like we have now in my home state of South Dakota.

I feel like my Dad is probably one of the only people I know who really loves wild places and things the way I do, and I have him to thank for it.

My dad was NOT an avid hunter. If you offered him he'd go hunting with you, but he never paid for a lease and he only initiated a few hunts. He bought us a Savage 340C chambered in 30 WCF in 1959 I believe, maybe 1960. We never scoped it. That was our only deer rifle for 7 or so years. I don't think we ever killed anything with it. In about 1958 we got invited to go hunting on a lease my uncle was on in Llano Texas. Somebody there lent my dad a Remington 721 chambered in .30-06. He had never killed a deer and took a Texas Heart Shot on a five point. It was a DRT. I think the next year he bought that 30-30. He talked about getting a .30-06 but never did. Later in life I bought a Model 70 in .270 and he would use it sometimes. In the late 70s he bought a Model 700 BDL in 7mm Remington Mag. That was his pride and joy until he died in 2007. But to say he mentored me in hunting and taught me the ropes isn't the case. We had some good times together but he was simply a fair weather hunter. My brother in law would take us to Junction on an invite hunt with some people his company contracted to do some work. He killed a few deer there. And he killed a big 8 point with his 7 Mag. That was his best time hunting. I learned from watching TV and reading gun mags and from other people. I was the family hunter. My dad mainly played Golf.

Sorry, MOST people don’t call Marines soldiers. At least not more than once before a Marine corrects them.

Every hunter in the upper Midwest hunted by stalking 60 years ago.The Benoits were not innovators.They hunted the same way everybody did back then.The North Woods harbored some giant white tail in Northern Wi..Mi,NY,Maine.They have some mounted bucks in Eagle River Wi.That were close to 400 pounds live weight.That was possible because of the logging industry was doing massive clear cuts and there was ample young browse available for the deer.That and not a lot of hunters can produce giant deer.

My dad was a great hunter and inspired me the most. He provided plenty of opportunities for me to get into the woods, the fields and the corn for pheasants. When I developed an insatiable desire to learn everything rifle related Jim Carmichael was my go to authority. Later on John Barsness became the best outdoor writer on the planet, his in depth understanding of all things rifle related and his unassuming style of writing appealing to anyone with an interest in hunting and the outdoors.

Mike

My Dad. He taught me to do everything outdoors. I wish I could shoot as good as him. He could shoot anything well. Knew how to hunt everything with or without dogs. Knew how to fish from fly rod to hoopnet. Taught me to trap fur.
Took me to do it all that he could afford to do.

Ever heard of Ben Lily?

I just read through this whole thread and did not see the name of Finn Aagaard. That surprises me. Among those that share their experiences and research with us through writing, he, along with Bob Hagle and John Barsness, are the rifleman hunters I most respect. None of them repeat the same old thing they have read from others, they experiment, learn, and teach, and If I read something any of them wrote about rifles or hunting, I have confidence that it's tested and true.

But I want to tell the story of another man, one you probably don't know, and the greatest hunter I have had the pleasure of knowing and hunting with:
From 1985 to 1989, I was stationed at Homestead Air Force Base, south of Miami, FL. I spent 3 of those 4 years being a dummy and not taking advantage of the environment. In the final year I was hit with the epiphany that people travel from all over the world to fish the areas right out my back door! And I hit it hard for that final year and had a ball. Then, I got reassigned to Nellis AFB, NV, where I was lucky to spend the next 7 years. I had dreamed of western big game hunting since I was a little boy and made a vow not to miss out. I arrived in January 1990 and had soon booked a guided, fall Colorado deer and elk hunt for my father and me. We arrived at the outfitter's in Delores, CO and were introduced to our guides. The oldest of the bunch luckily took a liking to me and after our first day hunting together, said he'd like to stay paired up, if that was OK with me. His name was Bill Bullock. I noticed the other guides really treated him with respect but I had no idea how much it was deserved. Well, we were on public land and it was tough hunting. Two of our party of five hunters (another father and son from Alabama) killed elk on that trip. My dad and I both got mule deer, and that was my first big game animal. I was hooked.

Bill lived in Cottonwood, AZ with his wife Bev, and he told me if I ever drew any AZ tags around there he'd be happy to take me out and help. Well, two years later I got crazy lucky and drew a non-resident December AZ Coues Whitetail tag for the unit just south of Bill's place in Cottonwood. I called him up and he said to come on out and stay with him and Bev and he'd take me hunting! I arrived at Bill's modest A-Frame house in Cottonwood and when I walked in, my jaw just dropped. Every inch of wall, floor to ceiling was covered with mounts. Full body, shoulders, euro, everything. Bill had been a working man his whole life and must have spent every penny he could save on hunting and taxidermy. He started showing me around and telling the stories. Bill had started out rifle hunting. He had one rifle, a sporterized 1903-A3 Springfield with the original two-groove barrel, that he hunted with exclusively for his first few decades. With it, he had taken a grand slam of sheep, B&C elk, mule deer, whitetails, caribou, moose, and pronghorn, a huge Alaskan Brown Bear, and just about everything else. Then, he got into archery. He was one of the early pioneers of archery in Africa, and worked with a few PH's, in different African countries, to get bows legalized for taking game over there, then proceeded to do so himself, and how. He had all the major African soft-skinned game hanging on his walls, along with a Cape Buffalo - no small task with a bow!
In addition, Bill had some other pretty amazing archery "slams", if you will. In full body mounts all around his living room, were every species of North American canine, and every species of North American feline, all take with his bow. Over a dozen bull elk that had fallen to his bow, but only the "Booners" we up on the wall. Needless to say we had a great evening while this incredibly humble man shared the stories of these hunts with me. The next morning we drove a little ways in the dark, then hiked in about three miles, and at sunrise were on a ridge south of town looking down into some pretty thick canyons and the Verde River bellow. Bill showed me how to look and glass, and I found a few does, and shortly later, a nice buck! He sat up on the ridge while I put on a stalk, and pretty soon, I had my first Whitetail! Bill helped my bone, quarter. and pack that buck out, and Bev was kind enough to let me use her kitchen to get it ready for the drive back to Las Vegas. When we stopped for a sandwich while packing out that buck, I had noticed Bill's hands a little shaky. I didn't bug him about it but was saddened to here that he passed away from Parkinson's (I think it was) just a couple years later.
It was an honor and a privilege to be lucky enough to know and hunt with Bill Bullock, The Greatest Hunter I have ever known.
Cheers,
Rex