Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What was your best hunt?

Wilderness horseback hunt for elk in WY east of Yellowstone.

Great guide, great hunt. I tagged on on Day 2 and the "real" cook had gotten hurt and had to go back to town. So we had a young kid who was doing his best, but was not up to the job so I volunteered to help out. There were 3 other hunters in camp and a two other guides, a wrangler, plus the "new" cook and he just wasn't up to feeding 9 people. The morning that were we saddling up at the end of the hunt for 9 hour ride back, the Outfitter/my guide says "Can you stay another week and cook for us?" It was great trip.

Great pic!!!

My best hunt....the two decades I spent finding my wife. It was full of adventure, danger, scary schit, huge expense, passing over many inferior specimens, lots of "rough riding", and one communicable disease, easily remedied.

And she is quite a trophy. It was an amazing spot-and-stalk, requiring extreme patience, fortitude, and knowing when to finally pull the trigger. A true "failure leads to learning leads to success" story. My guides sure sucked ass though.

Ha! Awesome.

Skill wise, my best hunt was a mule deer hunt on my own in E. WA. I spotted a spindly antlered buck and couldn’t put enough points on him at that distance (about 600 yards). Normally I prefer to shoot rather than stalk, but I had no choice. I used the folds in the land and some sneaky to get within 35 yards of where he was bedded down. He was barely legal, but terribly thin in the headgear and appeared to be really young. That, and I was 3 miles and 1500 feet in elevation below camp. Went ahead and passed on him. But it was a thrill. Shot a spike blacktail later in the season instead! He was on flat ground, and 1/2 mile from the truck. Also a close shot at 50 yards.

As far as special hunts, my first elk hunt with my Dad takes the cake. I had already had the aforementioned deer hunt that year and decided I wanted to try an elk hunt. Dad dropped me off so I could find a place to take a dump. Told me to take my rifle just in case. I unwittingly walked into a small herd that had gone into the timber. Took a 4x5 out of the herd. Dad was pretty thrilled. I forgot I had to take a crap!

Likely a 4 state 3 week hunting and fishing trip a cousin and I went on in the early 80s. I got married shortly after. He was engaged to be married, but his intended died in an accident. We remained close yet distant.
He was killed while trying to help at an accident scene within a couple of miles from where his fiance died. I was executor for his estate, and made a stab at re-creating the best parts of the trip in 2016.

Beyond that, I'd say most of my best hunts involved calling coyotes...

Or hunting squirrels in farm woodlots...

Or chasing pheasant behind one of the dogs that owned me....

Have had a lot of memorable hunts. I keep a hunt log book with details and am on 4th book at this point. About 20 hunts in each book. This link is to a recap of a muzzleloader elk hunt from last fall: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/bull-down-in-jarbidge-nv.292167/

This one...





Story is here...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11882458/1

Fly in moose hunt in Alaska. 2nd would be a fly in caribou hunt, also in Alaska.

I've had many memorable hunts. In 1979 we went to Junction on an invite hunt. They put me in an outhouse looking ratty blind on a hill above the camp house. It was still dark when they put me at the blind. As it started getting light I could make out animals under the feeder. When it started getting light I could make out one with pretty big antlers. As it got light I could make out a nice buck. When it got to be legal shooting time I took aim with my .270 and shot him in the neck. He hit the ground DRT. It was a nice eight point and one of the nicest deer I ever shot.

As a guide, it was the hunt where we were riding up haystack creek , early. We see a small herd boogeyin to the north of us heading southwest. I had an idea where they were going . We hightailed it back to longdraw and up spring creek to the nob where I think the elk were going to rest. I sent the first hunter on foot up the nob. I took the other hunter back down hill and out of the way. An hour later we hear a shot and an hour after that I was caping out a beautiful 5by5. This dude did an incredible stalk on that nob! We got that elk out of the woods right in front of another outfitter. They were pissed! Then next morning I took my other hunter, a big Nebraska farmer, into a saddle and put him on stand while I birddogged on foot. An hour later he shot the bull I pushed towards him. The ugliest raghorn you ever saw and the elation of this farm kid brought tears to my eyes! Those were good days and those two dudes were a pleasure to guide!

I'm yet to have one I'd consider "bad." Most hunts are highlighted not by harvesting an animal but by who was there to celebrate/commiserate with at the end of the day. I've build (and strengthened) some incredible friendships hunting and around the campfire afterwards. It's become my best (favorite) reason to spend more time with aging family members.

Hands down - one on which I killed nothing.

One foggy morning I followed two barely seen bull moose back into the woods, one of which I thought might be legal. He wasn't, but I found myself in the midst- literally- of at least 7 cows and 4 bulls. Only a glimpse once of the herd bull, the other 3 sub-legal, two of which I had within 10 yards at times, For several hours I moved along within this group of animals , with them all around me, with at least one moose never more than 30 yards away. I joke that they were holding an orgy, but forgot who all they invited.... If anyone looked at me funny, I just held the shoulder blade of the last year's moose up to one side of my head, my walking staff to the other, and gave them a little recognition grunt.

There came a "WherethehellamI?" moment when I realized I was an hour over-due for meeting my partner back at the canoe. I followed my compass out toward the road, but located a known point when still half a mile in, then navigated back to the canoe, on which my partner was sitting, steam coming out of his ears.

Before he could say anything, I jumped him with "Where the hell you been? I've been everywhere looking for you !"

That cracked him up - he knew I'd been "a mite confused" for a time.

Late season Elk hunt in northwestern Wyoming with my late best friend. He took a 6 point bull. Mine was the biggest bull I have ever taken, a very heavy 6x7. Tied for the top spot was my last Moose hunt in Southern Wyoming with my son-in-law. It was a great week of looking over Moose before choosing the right one.

the one with my wife as the hunter/shooter. for moose. where do i shoot it? behind the shoulder! BANG, now what do i do ? shoot it again in the neck! BANG....Flop! took 4 hours to get in the truck and we beat snow storm by 5 minutes.

Over the years, I've killed a lot of deer and my share of elk. However, a trip about 5 or 6 years ago was the only time that I've ever got both on the same trip.

I've already commented on what was my best hunt but I really believe my best hunt is yet to happen.