I confess...

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

On occasion, I have been known to feel irritation when someone puts up a story about their hunt when they didn't kill anything. Now I've never expressed this to anyone, and I guess I could just not say anything, but I was in the wrong and wanted to say so.

Today I had the coolest hunt of my life and not an arrow was flung. I couldn't wait to get home to tell family and friends about my day. It got me thinking about how cool our sport is, and how good it feels to tell someone about a joyous, inexplicably wonderful, bloodless hunt. So I guess this is my apology, and the eating of my humble pie.

So post up your stories, whether the pictures are of trophies, or of memories in the making, or the stories are of days when no pictures were taken! I, for one, will be listening.

[nineworlds9]

[MCNSC]

I agree, some of my best hunts ended with out shooting anything.
 Me and my hunting buddy like the saying " the best way to ruin a perfectly good hunt is to shoot a deer"  we say that half joking, as of course the entire purpose of the hunt is to shoot a deer, but shooting something doesn't make the hunt.

[McDave]

I had the most entertaining hour in New Mexico a couple of years ago.  I was walking up an arroyo when I noticed a group of several does and a nice 3X3 buck headed down the arroyo.  Now obviously, if I noticed the deer, at least one of the does had noticed me first.  But the buck hadn't.  I was behind a tree by this time.  So the buck decided to head on down the arroyo toward me, but the does held back. This pissed him off, so he explained in deer language to them that everything was fine down there, and they should follow him. They said no! no!  everything is not fine! let's go back up the hill!  This threatened his masculinity, so he went around behind them and butted them in the butts, but they were not persuaded.  This continued for the better part of an hour, as I said.  Finally, one doe said f*** this, and ran back up the hill, and the buck, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, followed.

I'll have to admit that it was worth not getting a shot to see all of this happen.

[Mudd]

[Terry Lightle]

Every time I take my longbow to the woods I am going out to kill something.Some of my most memorable hunts my bow was never drawn.

[damascusdave]

I was hunting elk a couple of years ago and had just left my truck when I noticed a nice bull moose coming up the trail...I quickly got out of sight and decided to try calling him in for fun...that is when I realized that getting a rutting bull all worked up with only a stick and string in my hands was maybe not the smartest thing in the world, especially when I did not have a moose tag...I never did see that moose again but it was certainly a hunting experience I will always remember

DDave

[VictoryHunter]

[UrbanArcher1975]

The joy is the hunt, not the kill. I've had some of my best days hunting that and never even seen anything worth shooting. A kill is an exciting moment, but the hunt can be a relaxing time to reflect.

[Stump73]

The only thing I kill is time on most of the hunts I've been on, but the time being with friends and family hunting is memorable as is seeing that big buck from last year. Even though you maynot get a shot its like seeing an old friend.

[Fattony77]

I seem to be somewhat of an expert at having a great time hunting, but not killing any animals. I am, however, a relentless serial killer of time!    

Trupmkin, I'd love to hear about your bloodless adventure as well....

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Originally posted by Fattony77:

Trupmkin, I'd love to hear about your bloodless adventure as well....

I will try to put it up in a separate post later today, or maybe tomorrow. I saw many of my quarry, other critters of an edible sort, and even had a      moment! Learned some new stuff too...  

[LongStick64]

I hunt in very high pressure state land, just to get a chance to see a deer and get a shot opportunity is a major thrill and accomplishment.
Being there counts.

[LongStick64]

I hunt in very high pressure state land, just to get a chance to see a deer and get a shot opportunity is a major thrill and accomplishment.
Being there counts.

[rlc1959]

I just returned from 7 Days in the Wilderness of Colorado Unit 66. 3.5 Hours on Horseback and dropped off for 7 days of Mule Deer Hunting. Tough hunting , Beautiful Country, Saw some great Mule Deer Bucks but could not get close. They were above treeline on the open Ridges. Great Hunt without even nocking an arrow. Great to experience the ruggedness of this Country. Had a experience with altitude sickness. Camped at 12,000 and hunted to 13,500. I am Leaving in 10 days for New Mexico Elk Hunt. Spent 7 days in early August chasing Mule Deer in Nevada. I did take a shot but no Harvest. Another Great Experience.

Good Luck to all, Randy Chamberlin

[Mojostick]

In many cases, when one becomes quite proficient at killing bigger game, even with traditional gear, one finds that the close encounters where the quarry escapes can be more memorable, meaningful and teachable than the encounters that actually resulted in a kill.

[Bladepeek]

I may have told this before, but one of my most interesting experiences was when I wanted to climb into a tree stand early one afternoon, but there was a doe near it. I scuffed around on the gravel road for a while until she drifted away and then climbed up into the stand for an evening sit. Darkness finally approached without seeing a single deer and then the original doe returned. When she walked up to the stand, the two fawns she had left there stood up right underneath me. I spent the afternoon/evening sitting there and never knew they were there. I made a few soft noises until she got nervous and moved her babies away so I could leave. It was an unforgettably beautiful moment for me.

[GreyGoose]

That's why it's called "hunting", not "killing".  One of the best days of deer hunting I can remember,  the wind went wrong and no whitetails showed all day, but I sat in a ground blind and had songbirds flying in and out, and a fox that hung around unaware of my presence for five minutes.  I love to hear about hunts that result in a harvest, but they;re not the only successful ones.

[GreyGoose]

[Charlie Lamb]

I think hunting taught you something very important. Congratulations on acquiring more wisdom.