Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Head Hunter vs. Meat Hunter…

Mark, I meant elk as a species are easier imo. Not so much our locale. I’ve been lucky enough to kill some damn nice Roosevelt bulls, the biggest came with musket, which is early October, they’re still pretty rutty. After rut, it gets quite a bit harder on the big bulls as they’re pretty solitary, raghorns not so much, as they’re hangin with cows still. Do like me some elk meat, but damn, those horns sure look good hung up and conjure up some great memories.👊🏻

I like hunting and nothing gets me more exciting than killing bucks in the old growth timber. Killing nice bucks is fun to show off but I'm equal opportunity.

MedRiver;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope your part of Montana is getting weather you can live with and you and your fine family are well.

Before I inevitably wander into the rhubarb as I'm wont to, I'd like to thank you both for sharing your family hunts with us here as I believe they're important on a lot of levels.

Way, way back in the day there were a few of us who would do similar posts and while I can't speak for anyone else, while it was nice to share the successes afield our girls were having, I was hoping that it might inspire other fathers or mentors to do likewise.

For sure then sir, from a semi-geezer with now adult children, a sincere tip of the battered Bailey for making the time and taking the energy needed to get the next shift out hunting.

As to Beaver's question, I'd say it's changed for me over the years but I think that's likely not entirely uncommon as hunters age either.

I'll agree with MedRiver that mature mulies are a treasure.

We had a pretty decent buck frequenting our yard for two seasons and while I could have legally shot him during season last fall, I didn't for reasons that I find difficult to articulate other than to say it wouldn't have been right for me to do that. I hear he got shot illegally in someone's yard in town this season, so that's how that ended, which is too bad.

When Judman says none of us are strictly meat hunters anymore because we don't need to hunt for the meat and it's so costly to obtain, I personally think about the thankyou card I get every Christmas from the local fuel station.....

This year it'll be special as it's costing us north of $0.50/mile to run the diesel pickup just for fuel and that doesn't include the little $1700 misc. maintenance appointment last week either - but here's the thing, I spend that money knowing it is part of a means to an end that fills a need within me. Nothing else I've done in life has filled that need in the same way either and at this stage it appears nothing will.

Unlike Judman, I am less and less fond of actually killing the game animal, but am still feel joy or fulfillment when I've done so - there's a puzzle for some shrink out there, you know?

There was a time when I didn't feel that way, but so help me now it just feels like the mountain is a bit smaller with me having taken the animal off of it. That's the best explanation I can articulate at this time, but that doesn't stop me from wandering around in snow up to my knees like I was for 3 hours this morning either.

That all said, I actually prefer eating a lot of cuts of deer rather than beef. We were getting really nice beef off of a rancher buddy too - "remember that black and white steer you branded last spring Dwayne" - so again the beef was good but I do like to eat both local whitetails and mulies.

I'm not certain I've answered the question Beaver10 posed or not, but I can say I have very much enjoyed the back and forth of where some of the folks around the 'Fire are at on it.

Thanks all who've responded honestly, thanks again to MedRiver for taking the next generation out and good hunting to you all.

Dwayne

Thanks Dwayne. I appreciate it. My oldest is out of the house and doing her own thing down in Mexico for the next 1.5 years so my time with the next generation is going fast for me it seams

The monster whitetails you and your crew kill during rifle season completely befuddles me. In my experience the only way that happens is if you control a large contiguous tract of land, out here that'd be 1,500+ acres with a 50/50 mix of timber to crop land, and have almost no hunting pressure prior to the rifle season.

Don't get me wrong, I always look forward to your deer season tales, so whatever you're doing, keep up the great work!

Don't know if that is good or bad....
But I am what I am!

Well, ended up going OK today, found 3 herds of elk and the last group of 150 or so were in a good spot for me, bad spot for them.

With the wind blowing full insane today, I knew I had to get close. Glassed them and looked like I could be in business stalking up a draw. Got right on top of them, the closest ones were about 30 yards, but all bedded in a big knot, no way to not hit 2. One on the far edge finally stood up to stretch and that was a bad move. Shot was only 72 yards and I killed it with my late Grandfather's 300 Winchester. Last time I fired that rifle was checking zero for him in the summer of 1999. Since then, my Dad has shot 3 shiras moose with it, by brother killed a shiras with it and I wanted to, but killed a moose before they got down here to help me out.

Not sure how old this one is, but real old. I kept a tooth to have it aged by the GF.

I think this was the last whitetail my Grandfather shot with his rifle, November of 1999, he was 84.



The elk I shot with it today:





Old cow, kept a bottom tooth to send in for aging...I'm guessing crowding 20 years old:

You made it clear what you are!

Congratulations on your elk BuzzH.

Isn't it the best thing, taking an animal with a family heirloom? That's a beauty!

When I hunt with mine, I feel as though my father is with me during the hunt :o)

Cheers ~

For sure, I also killed an elk with my Dad's pre-64 30/06 some years back. My Dad, Grandpa, and I have all killed deer, elk, and pronghorn with that same rifle in Montana.



My Grandfather gave the pre-64 to my Dad and bought the 300 for himself.

I like to do both

This is one of the moose I have shot with mine, I actually shot 2 bulls that day, a double as I called them in together, they traveled as a team the other one was bigger.

Mine is a BSA Sporterized 1917 .30-06.

Don’t stroke out!! Remember to keep your lume subscription up to date, sally!! 😂

Hell ya. Grats

Never thought I’d say that to you, so 🖕🏿😆

Pretty darn sweet...I like it!

Gonna have to disagree. I am a meat hunter. For me it is about filling the freezer. I have not targeted a buck or bull in decades and go after does and cows for the most part. 2 plump does will feed me and the wife for a year and if you toss in a hog then I'm good for sausage and port roasts too. I can easily afford to buy meat but I prefer to hunt it. To say I am not a meat hunter is really overly simplistic on your end.

I wished you lived closer mac, I’d keep you in venison backstraps and tenderloin 👊🏻👍

MAC, try cutting your sausage with Beef Fat instead of Pig. Beef fat does not go rancid and change the flavor of the sausage after being in the freezer for a few months. I will guarantee you that you will be happy you did :o)

Cheers ~

I don't care what other people do as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on me. As a land owner in a State without a lot of public land, I heartily dislike trespasser and will press charges against them every chance I get. I cut down 4 tree stands that trespassers put up on our ground just last week. I cut 'em down, drag 'em out to the nearest county road, cut 'em up with a sawzall, and leave them in a pile for the scrappers to pick up. The guys putting up these stands know that they're trespassing and by their actions show that they just don't care.

I prefer to shoot bucks that have nice or unusual racks, so most young bucks are going to get a pass from me. I'll tag a deer that is showing signs of being wounded, just so it won't die a slow death or get torn apart by coyotes while it is still alive. I can buy 2 buck tags and about as many antlerless whitetail tags as I want, so the opportunity to fill a freezer with venison is pretty much a given. I actually give most of the deer that I shoot away, usually to Hunters Helping The Hungry.