Most memorable or favorite hunt

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I'm just curious about most memorable or favorite hunts. Does anyone else have a favorite or most memorable hunt that ended with no taking of game. My all time most memorable hunt occured this year and ironicly ended with me sending an arrow through a P&Y 8 points antlers at about 20 yards    .  Some of you may have read the post about my spot and stalk through the field.  For some reason this hunt just sticks with me.  Maybe it's just because I had a realization that success is different for different people    .

[2Knives]

2007 Archery Elk hunt in Wyoming...and we didn't kill an elk.
It was awesome! Blew a few stalks, wind screwed up a bunch of them. We caught the rut good!!!!
I called in a few nice bulls and my buddy just couldn't get a shot.
He called in a NICE 6x6 for me, he came RUNNING in and stopped at approx 8yds....behind a tree!!!
He was all worked up, bugling right there in front of me...I still get goose bumps thinking about that.
We chased 1 herd for a few days, approx 40head...thats alot of eyes and noses to fool.
The satellite bulls were very nice, the herd bull was 6x7 and I watched him one day a little over 40yds with ALOT of cows between him and me. I watched him laying on the ground and bugling, kinda cool I never thought they did that.
It was a very good time!
I still think that was my favorite hunt, beating out the hunts where we actually killed an elk/deer.
It was just so much action and thinking and working them, kinda made our heads hurt.
I guess thats why its called hunting and not killing.
You would think with everything working so great that a kill would have been easy.
It definately beat out the 08 season where it was so hot (70 degrees during the day) that we didn't see anything.
Oh well, it was still time off from work and spent with good friends.

[maineac]

Any hunt that has an encounter is memorable.  My first trad kill this year was my a hunt that had some great aspects that are and will always be burned in my mind.  The most memorable turkey hunt was one that I worked a bird for four hours until it snuck through brush to ten feet, and my buddy refused to shoot because it wasn't strutting out front     .

[Arwin]

In 2007 I was out on bow opener. Two wide and heavy beamed bucks traveling together came right in to me at 25 yds. I'm guessing they went between 110-120 inches.  The first one walked out between two trees, leaving his vitals exposed. I let loose and my arrow went just under his armpit. He bolted forward and the second buck hopped between the same exact two trees. I let it rip again and my arrow went high. Talk about heartbreak!
   

[centaur]

I was hunting elk in the Washakie Wilderness in early September. I had a BIG black bear respond to my bugling, and I shot him as he came towards me at 7 yards. He let out a big roar and ran all of 15-20 yards before falling over, dead. I didn't get an elk that year, but the bear sure made up for it. An adrenaline rush for sure. The following year, my hunting buddy had the same thing happen within a couple of miles of where I shot my bear. Unfortunately, we never found his bear, although we tracked him for a long way. Having bears respond to your bugling definitely adds some spice to an elk hunt.

[bohuntr]

I posted about one of my favorite hunts of all time on a thread recapping my 2008 bowhunting season. The part of that thread that talks about that hunt was titled Deer, Elk and Antelope Hunt.
I am going to try and post a link to that thread below. It was a recap of a 2 1/2 day hunt with lots of up close action.


 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=068622;p=1

[Dave Lay]

I think mine are the ones where I had pretty steep odds to overcome but they did result in game taken. I am a lefty and a few years ago i broke and severly cut a couple fingers on my left hand about the first of Nov. I had planned a backpack hunt which was in 1 week and I wasnt going to give that up for anything, so I found a right hand bow (53lb bear kodiak hunter) kinda learned to shoot it and proceeded on the solo hunt. it was a challange to say the least, but on the second afternoon I was able to arrow a very nice buck, after cleaning it and hauling it out, I left camp set up and went to the doctor (after the taxidermist and meat locker) as my hand had the stitches ripped open and between the deers blood and mine, the bandages were a mess, and I caused a little stir at the doctors office.
  the next one was 2 years ago, I had completly broken my left bicep tendon in a hunting accident and had drawn a hunt at Mcallister munitions depot that was in 2 weeks, and knew I was hurt pretty bad, but didnt want to go to the doctor knowing surgery was a sure thing. I shoot a 60lb bow and that proved pretty much impossible so I borrowed some lighter limbs for my bow but didnt have any arrows set up for it. So I pretty much decieded it was my 60lb bow or nothing. So I worked with it, started tryin to use my back to draw, it hurt and I was weak but could shoot. So I decieded that I would shoot very little in practice and hopefully could do it if the chance was given. I killed my biggest buck on that trip. my 2nd biggest was with the messed up hand. I take a lot of kidding that I need to hurt my self more if it leads to that kind of deer. I stay gimped up enough as it is !!!, since I found I could shoot some I waited till the 2nd flurry of rut activity was over to go to the doctor with my arm and he was stunned that I was such a DA to wait even 1 day let alone 2 months, I killed 2 more deer and a hog in that time..  ( he wasnt a hunter!) but the surgery date was set !    thats 2 of my most memoriable but there are plenty that ended in no game and were just as good due to time spent with good friends etc...

[Archer Fanatic]

Back in the early 70'S my dad and I went rabbit hunting. We saw 4 men and a young boy coming toward us that was hunting with shotguns. When they got up to us one man said don't tell us you are hunting rabbits with them bows. I said how many rabbits do you guys have. They laid 1 rabbit on the ground and they said how many if any do you have. My father and I laid 7 rabbits on the ground and they walked away talking to themselves. My dad and I laughed and we proceeded to get one more for our quota.

[huntswithwidow]

That is a really tough question. My favorite hunt that I did not harvest anything on was in Texas for hogs. My most memorable hunting trip was to Wyoming for Turkey and Mule Deer. I was able to see an incredible number of animals, hunted with my friends, harvested a turkey, and was there to see my friends harvest two mulies.
My favorite day in stand was the day I shot my biggest buck ever, and it was my first buck.

[JGoemaat]

My most memorable hunting memory was backpack hunting with my father in Colorado. We spent five days in the mountains. We never came closer than eighty yards to Elk, but it never mattered. The mountains, carrying a bow, and feeling close to God made it exceptional.
My second memory was watching a squirrel jump from limb to limb for about 10 mins. After which he jumped, came up short, and fell out of the tree. I can't tell you how many times the hair has stood up on my neck as I thought a whitetail was approaching, only to curse a squirrel. My smile was my revenge.  

[Horner]

Mine was this year.  It still bothers me today.  I was hunting during the rut and had out my montana buck decoy.  At about 15 min before dark I saw a doe running rite at my setup.  I looked behind her and saw something running behind her and it had a rack a big rack. She stoped at about 40 yards away from my decoy.  Then old Mr.Lucky saw my buck decoy and he puffed up and started slowly walking at my setup.  It was the most awsome un-nerving thing I have ever seen it was just like I have saw on TV.  Anyway he kept on putting his rack down like he was going to charge.  He got at 15 yards and I thought do it now or he is going to charge.  I drew back and let my arrow fly.  It hit the groung rite under his vitals.  He stood there and did not know what happend.  So I went to get another arrow and the doe he was with bolted and took him with her.  I can tell you this and this is the hard part, in my life I never did expect to ever harvest a big deer, but I blew it.  He was on the low end 150PY high end 180PY.  I will never forget how he looked when he saw that decoy.  TALK ABOUT LOOKING FOR A FIGHT.
Sorry so long but I loved sharing it,
Bryan Horner

[Roy Steele]

Three OCT.ago I had 2 strokes.A year in a wheel chair year I could'nt talk for over year with a walker and cain for another year.I had killed 32 bucks with my selfbows. I was starting to have with draws.Even though I had really bad cornation on my right side and could'nt feel my anchor.I started shooting in the spring and even though I had to come down from 61#s to 50#s by OCT.I was back up to 55#s.I was totally on the ground[could'nt climb]did'nt really bother me over the last couple years I ground hunted mostly anyway.On OCT.28th I shot an killed a 5 pointer at 5 yards.He was my 33 buck with my own selfbows.He was'nt a pope an young but a was a booner to me.

[bohuntr]

Awesome stories guys ... Roy your story is just outright inspirational!!! Keep um comin!!!

[FerretWYO]

I have got one that I will throw on here tonight.

[stumpsniper]

My most memorable hunt wasn't an archery hunt and didn't result in any game being taken.  When I was probably around 13 or 14 me and my Dad went rifle hunting around Christmas.  We found a nice hemlock tree to sit under and watched the snow falling.  You could faintly hear the Christmas music that was being played down in the town.  It was just cool sitting there with the snow and the music talking with the old man.  I don't think we even saw a deer, but that is definitely my most memorable hunt.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Congrats Roy  

[vtmtnman]

1991,I was 11,dad and I were hunting on our place before we built the house.The land was somewhat cleared,and dad had skid a pile of logs out front.We when across the road,and sat under an ol white pine.I said I'm gonna go and sit by myself.I went and sat on that old log pile out front.About 10 minutes after I plopped down,in plain sight,a line of eight deer(Back when we had awesome numbers of deer around VT..seemed like you could wade through deer in the forest back then) came crossing the road about 40-50 yards away.I was just sitting there watching them,not knowing what to do.Then I said to myself I'll try for the last one.I had the same bow I'm shooting now in my sig,with some of dad's old fiberglass arrows,and some of his old green razorheads.The arrow fell about 20 yards short,all the deer took off running.I ran over to dad.He said be quiet!I just saw deer come through.I said I just shot at them,lol.

A boy was hooked and a hunter was born that day.  

[Dave2old]

In general, and odd as it sounds, I can honestly say that most of my most memorable hunts and hunting adventures involved "failure." Go figure. We work so hard to kill ... and yet come away so grateful for the experience even when we don't ... and often remember those "losses" most poignantly. At least me, but of course, as my wife eagerly testifies, I'm a crazy old coot. To each his own. Up to a point. Dave

[Huntrdfk]

For me it happened in '02.  I am the only hunter in my family, (5 brothers and sisters).  My brother is a big NASCAR fan and DJ on a morning radio show here in New Hampshire. In June of '02 he convinces me to go to the NH NASCAR race with him, trying to convert me.  Well I went, and he did all he could to get me interested, I mean we went into garages, met crew chiefs, met a couple of drivers and then watched the race from a suite with all the food and drink you could want.  No offense to race fans, but it still wasn't for me......as we left that day I told him as payback he would have to spend an afternoon in a tree with me.  He agreed, and as the time got closer he came up with the idea that he would play it up on his radio show. We did, I went on the show a couple of times, and the support was outstanding.  The night of the hunt I took him to my honey hole, where I had been watching deer all summer and fall, including a nice ten point with a dislocated shoulder.  The night of the hunt was uneventful, right up until I hung my bow up readying to leave.....when I heard some deer coming.  I told him not to move, and soon 5 bucks including a couple of eights and the ten walked right under us coming out of the woods into a finger of swale grass we were on the edge of, all within 15 yards or less.  They milled around a bit when the ten and one of the eights began sparring in front of us, then eventually all of them moved into the field. That's the only time in over thirty years of hunting that I have seen bucks sparring in New Hampshire, I told Greg how rare it was to see. My brother did a great job, we left under cover of darkness, and then we had a segment on his show the next morning, again it was very well received.  That night I went back and shot the ten, which was really an eleven, from the same stand. (It is the buck in my avatar) Every hunting season since, they talk about it on his show, and the response has always been overwhelmingly supportive.

To top it off, just last week he told me that he wants to go with me again this year to photograph deer and the hunt, I can't wait!!!!!


David

[Rufus 25]

Mine was Feb 7, 2008, I took some friends 9 year old daughter, Sidney, deer hunting (she had been begging her parents to let her go with me.. she's a bit of a tomboy and loves camo). We were easing down a old logging road stopping every 10 yards or so she could operate the doe bleat can, and doing it very well.  After only about 3-4 stops, out pop a spike buck about 80 yards from us and it made a bee line straight to us.  It stopped about 20 from us (we were kneeing down) and then turned back into the woods.  I told her to "call him back" and she made 2 little bleats on the can and the spike came running back toward us grunting.  He made about 3 grunts and walked within 10 yards of us before stopping and doing a stare down for about a minute.  Then he took off into the woods, but he never blew.  Sidney looked at me and said... "That was so cool!"