10 year plan...

[Soilarch]

Where I live deer are the biggest critters you're gonna get a shot on.  (Unless the neighbor decides his Angus Bull would look better in 1/4 pound portions...which isn't really hunting...I digress.    )

What would be a logical/practical plan for getting up to dangerous game?

I really don't know much about it but my mind comes up with something like this..

Boar: Gets me use to "guided-hunts".  Gets me use to having to respect an animal's ability to do me harm.

Moose:  Gets me use to being freaky-close to a wild animal bigger than most horses.  Gets me a little more use to the whole "guided-hunt" routine.

Elk:  I get the general impression this is a harder hunt due to Moose's poor eyesight.

Black Bear:  Gets me in on predators.

Go from there until I feel ready to tackle a Griz/Brown.

I doubt I'll ever have the money to go on this many hunts, but dreaming is good for the soul.  Besides, the first step is as simple as having a plan.

I'd love to hunt other things like rams, cougar, and pronghorn, but they don't fit into "a plan" of preparing for Grizzlies.

Suggestions, Idea, Comments....?

I'd say we're looking at AT LEAST a 10 year plan.

[tradtusker]

yip Cash would be a good thing to have a lot of    :D

shoot enough weight to do the job! learnt that one quick.

[Soilarch]

Originally posted by tradtusker:
yip Cash would be a good thing to have a lot of     :D  
 

No joke, read an article last night somewhere here on the internet that put a rough estimate on the price tag for a Super Slam. (All 27 or 28 big game species in N.A.)

The author put a very conservative guess at $400,000.00  And that was not including gear.  Just the tags, guides, and plane tickets.  I bet anyone who even thinks of doing something like that easily has another $100,000.00 in hunting "stuff".  And then, there's always taxidermists.

Don't recall the date it was written but the language made it sound like it was fairly recent with Chuck Adams' "Super Slam".   Which would have been long before the American dollar started falling like it has been the last couple years.


Cash, and lots of it, indeed.  That's why it's a dream.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Mate, even though you might be hunting deer, for the time-being just pretend they're big and dangerous, and get a heavier bow and heavier arrows, and use it all the time on them, so that you're used to it. How heavy depends on which animals you'd like to hunt. You won't need as much of a jump for moose and bears as you would for buffalo.

[Dr. Ed Ashby]

I'll second what Ben said. Initially, spend your time building up your ability to handle the equipment you'll need for the truly big animals. Once you can handle the equipment, learn to USE that equipment; learn to be comfortable using it to hunt with. I hunt doves, rabbits, fox, and everything else with my buffalo setup!

Spend your time and effort (and money) on getting the most from your arrow setup. The right arrow will let you get away with using a bit less bow force or, looking at it the other way around, it gets the maximum possible from whatever the heaviest bow that you can use effectively turns out to be.

I'd also recommend that you get into doing some predator calling - even if it's predominately just foxes. This is an exciting, and often tense form of hunting but, most importantly, the predator responding to a call is among the most difficult of animals to get an undetected shot off at. They are expecting some other animal to already be there; so they are alert and looking. Learn to beat them with any degree of regularity and getting controlled shots off at most other animals becomes a lot easier.

Third, take on some pigs; but do it from the ground, by stalking. Don't shoot them from blinds or stands. Try to get as close to them as you can before taking your shot. This will get you use to working close, and to an element of potential danger.

Forth, move on to some black bear hunting from the ground - and not from inside a blind. I've shot baited black bear at a range measured in feet; not yards; and it can be as nerve racking as shooting  any buffalo.

If you have the chance, do a bit of moose and elk hunting. It will help you develop confidence in your setup's performance against sizable game. Along that same line, on every one of the larger game animals you do kill, take the time to do some test shots into those 'tough to penetrate' areas. Dissect the animal to learn exactly what your setup did; and what it didn't do. In essence, learn what your setup is capable of doing, and what it isn't. If your setup won't shoot through pig shoulder bones, it's not enough for the ribs of things like buffalo.

Spend a lot of time learning to stalk properly. The best of the big game hunting comes through stalking. For things like buffalo, stalking is a 'must have' skill.

Hope that helps a bit.

Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow

[Soilarch]

Thanks guys.

Getting the equipment "there" is a very smart idea and something that I can work on now.

Dr. Ashby, I hadn't ever thought of the fact that the umpteen-million coyotes running around here are the perfect practice.  It may take me several years to bag one, but you're right.  Not only do they have finely honed senses that are on "high-alert" mode, but when they come in responding to calls they'll practically run over before you see them if you're not out in the open. (Don't know if foxes are the same.)

I'm sure you get tired of hearing it, but you've done ALL the bowhunting world a service with your research. Thank You.

[Dr. Ed Ashby]

Houston, thanks for the kind words. They're always appreciated.

With lots of coyotes available to you, you're well setup. I'm of the opinion that predator calling is one of the very best training grounds for bowhunting. It offers year-round hunting opportunities and gets you use to getting your shots away successfully and, with time, you'll develop confidence in your ability to make the shot whenever the opportunity IS there.

Absolute confidence in your ability, and that of the equipment you use, is a huge part of consistently taking game; regardless of the size of the game hunted. I still miss the occasional easy big game shot - but it surprises the devil out of my whenever I do miss. I EXPECT to make the shot every single time a draw down on an animal.

Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow

[Soilarch]

Bringing this one back.

I don't know where tradgang will be in 2018.

Don't know where I'll be in 2018. That's not the point.


I have a 62 Pittsley Predator and a 63# Sentman Longbow now. (Started with #50 cheapo.)  I'm trying to get them going with new arrows that will be 12gpp.  I want more..but for now that gets me above a 700gr arrow.

No coyotes with a bow yet. Only one true attempt so far.  I've been far too busy with work, life, and tinkering/tuning in the backyard.

There's your update.

It will be phenomenal if the thread can track my progress through a "10 Year Plan".
   

[weedwacker]

Sounds very interesting.

[Rik]

1.  Do not listen to the guys who tell you that you can't do it.

2.  Dr. Ashby is dead on. (But ohhhh is he a bad influence!)

3.  Just take the first two steps. . . the rest will follow as naturally as your next breath. (That advice comes from an Idaho guy who makes little money, but has been on some of the best hunts EVER!)

4.  Australia, and it's wild and crazy bowhunters, are only a short hop across the Pacific away. Except for the bowhunters being a bit feral, and the dangerous critters being a bit wild, it's a great place. Can't wait to get back there!