Your toughest animal

[lpcjon2]

What is the toughest animal you have ever hunted.Both terrain wise and animal wise.      

[FerretWYO]

I would have to say that would be Bighorn sheep. They are the most amazing animals. They can defiy gravity or so it seems. They are smart and can see very well. It was a lot of fun though.

[tradtusker]

wild Ostrich or Gemsbok on the ground walk and stalk.

[Rick P]

Tie between Dall sheep and mountain goat. Here is the thing, goats like terrain that would give a sheep a nose bleed but they also like to laugh at hunters who die trying to reach them so they hold there vertical wall of rock longer than sheep.

Sheep live so high up because they are basically cowards a big full curl will run if he spots you a mile away!

So between the tougher terrain of goats and the easily spooked nature of sheep they end up very different, but about even.

[imhntn]

Elk for me.  I've been 6 times with a bow and have not harvested one yet.  That is about as exotic as I have been able to do so far.

[Whip]

Mule deer for me, hands down.  I haven't hunted sheep or goats, so can't compare to those, but mulies are tough!

[bowmofo]

Coyote for me, every time I get close, I get Busted. When I do get mine, It will be a trophy!

[Ragnarok Forge]

Elk or coyote.  Coyotes are a lot tougher to get a shot at up close.

[Rick P]

Any archery K9 predator harvest is a trophy!

Don't stalk them, call them to you, much less chance of getting busted especially combined with a visual decoy.

[Brian Krebs]

elk

[m midd]

Roosevelt Elk

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Terrain: elk.

Toughest animal: gray squirrels.

[Rick P]

Hmmmm I was thinking big but Jason might be on to somethin here, lightning fast, nearly impossible to sneak up on or hit......?

[LKH]

I've not found goats to be very smart, but hunting them in PW Sound (the only place I have), is the definition of miserable and tough.

Dall Sheep in areas where they aren't too pressured are not very bright.  Twice I've seen sheep rifle killed and the others just run a short distance and then watch their buddy get cut up.  Like goats, the challenge is the terrain.  

I think deer, hunted spot and stalk would be the hardest for me.  Elk after they've shut up are about the same.

[trad_bowhunter1965]

I would have to go with Whip Muledeer.

[Bowspirit]

Gray Squirrels...just once I'd like 'em to fall over dead the moment the arrow hits 'em...

[Rick P]

Originally posted by LKH:
I've not found goats to be very smart, but hunting them in PW Sound (the only place I have), is the definition of miserable and tough.

Dall Sheep in areas where they aren't too pressured are not very bright.  Twice I've seen sheep rifle killed and the others just run a short distance and then watch their buddy get cut up.  Like goats, the challenge is the terrain.  

I think deer, hunted spot and stalk would be the hardest for me.  Elk after they've shut up are about the same.

Sorry but what draw did you hit to find Dall sheep that behaved like that!?! Never seen a full curl that didn't head for the next mountain ridge the second it thought a hunter might be in the area.

And no goats aren't smart they are tough and vindictive!

[LKH]

Tok, Mt. Harper.  Both cases the survivors just stayed around.  

I've bumped rams while bow hunting that just went over the next ridge.  In some cases they let me walk under them at about 400 yards.  We once hunted 2 big rams, one probably 13 years old, for 4 days by just going to the next canyon.  Kind of ping ponged them back and forth till partner's back gave out and we had to leave.  

Remember the "aren't too pressured" part of what I posted.

[Thumper Dunker]

Coyotes and edgucated ground squirrels. Real hard to get an educated coyote to come in .

[Charlie Schweikert]

Bighorn sheep for me.  They can see real good.  They are mostly really smart and cagey, sometimes almost dumb, always in physically demanding terrain.  I learned a lot.  Hunt of a lifetime for me.