What Are Your 2026 Hunt Plans?

Mtn_Infantry said:

You’ll enjoy hogs with hounds. It’s my favorite way to hog hunt. I’ve got an Ek Commando that I use.

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You’ll have to join us one year… this will be our 10th year doing it…

I organize the hunt for the group… we typically have 10-12 old crusty veterans running around in a convoy of 4-6 side by sides… we typically rifle hunt from the blinds starting Thursday night, then run the dogs all day Friday and Saturday.. then depart camp Sunday morning…

The hunt is almost always the first half of March, after deer season has ended and the woods have had a few weeks to calm down..

Well typically take at least 12-15 hogs… there have been a few years we have stacked up 20+…

There’s a great lodge on the property and a handful of little cabins to sleep in.. the property is on about 26,000 acres outside of Onalaska, TX ..

The hunt costs $0.00… the property owner is a good friend and serious patriot, that just loves taking care of veterans… he provides the lodging… “Dan”, our dog guy, brings a dozen or more bay dogs and usually 3-4 solid catch dogs… Dan just loves hunting hogs.. he doesn’t charge anything either… and the “old” hunters cover all the food… new guys aren’t asked to contribute anything… and new guys get first run at the pigs

@Goopy has hunted with us… he can attest to it being a great weekend… lots of like minded folks breaking balls around the campfire at night, chasing hogs all day… lots of great food.. etc etc

I’ll be happy just to leave my county this year. Work and honey-do’s took all my time.

Ice storm zapped the last couple weeks of my deer season. Gonna use this time to improve our woods.

Thinking about bear/deer in GA.

mdwest said:

You’ll have to join us one year… this will be our 10th year doing it…

I organize the hunt for the group… we typically have 10-12 old crusty veterans running around in a convoy of 4-6 side by sides… we typically rifle hunt from the blinds starting Thursday night, then run the dogs all day Friday and Saturday.. then depart camp Sunday morning…

The hunt is almost always the first half of March, after deer season has ended and the woods have had a few weeks to calm down..

Well typically take at least 12-15 hogs… there have been a few years we have stacked up 20+…

There’s a great lodge on the property and a handful of little cabins to sleep in.. the property is on about 26,000 acres outside of Onalaska, TX ..

The hunt costs $0.00… the property owner is a good friend and serious patriot, that just loves taking care of veterans… he provides the lodging… “Dan”, our dog guy, brings a dozen or more bay dogs and usually 3-4 solid catch dogs… Dan just loves hunting hogs.. he doesn’t charge anything either… and the “old” hunters cover all the food… new guys aren’t asked to contribute anything… and new guys get first run at the pigs

@Goopy has hunted with us… he can attest to it being a great weekend… lots of like minded folks breaking balls around the campfire at night, chasing hogs all day… lots of great food.. etc etc

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Don’t tempt me with a good time … just shoot me a message next time. Hopefully, I’ll have just made a run back from Mississippi and have the freezer stocked with that good sausage.

Mtn_Infantry said:

Don’t tempt me with a good time … just shoot me a message next time. Hopefully, I’ll have just made a run back from Mississippi and have the freezer stocked with that good sausage.

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Will definitely do it… we’re always looking to bring new guys into camp.., at this point we’ve probably had 40+ different guys come through…. Always a great weekend…

mdwest said:

Will definitely do it… we’re always looking to bring new guys into camp.., at this point we’ve probably had 40+ different guys come through…. Always a great weekend…

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+1!! I’d go in a heartbeat next year. Not begging or anything, just, you know,.. begging.

all kidding aside, hit me up around mid Jan next year.. thats when we typically start planning the hunt.. and I'll get you on "the list".... we're always looking to bring new guys in..

the only requirement is that you served in the military in some capacity at some point in time (we used to do this hunt over veterans day.. and the landowner likes to think of it as his way of "giving back" to veterans).. we literally have guys from all branches of service.. guys that did a single hitch and got out as E4's.. guys that did 25 years that retired as O6's.. and everything in between.. everyone is welcome.. its a good time..

Had a little more luck in the spring lottery draw applications…Utah Division Wildlife Resources posted Spring Black Bear Draw Results:

LIMITED-ENTRY - Black Bear
Choice 1: BR7016 - Wasatch Mtns, West-Central - Mar 28 - May 25, 2026 - Spring - Any Legal Weapon, No Bait- SUCCESSFUL

Somehow, I remain lucky in drawing Utah nonresident black bear tags - hit in 2019, 2023, and now in 2026. Hunt contract already signed with the outfitter/houndsman.

Good luck and happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

Cape Buffalo and maybe a couple of plains game in August

Hopefully, I’ll draw one of three buck/either sex pronghorn tags for the Colorado Ranching for Wildlife program’s Kiowa Creek Ranch. Only took me 26 preference points (26 yrs) to get to this point. LOL. Draw results in June.

2026 is going to be an interesting year for me as long as the health holds out. Not mine but rather, my wife’s. She’s had a serious illness for over 4 years and the hunts I’m taking this year were booked several years ago when we had no idea she’d be dealing with something so long term. Everything this year is subject to change.

Anyway, with that caveat 2026 is going to be an active year.

I just finished a wonderful steelhead trip with my son, floating the Rogue River in SW Oregon. Already planning next year’s trip on the Rogue.

Spring turkey is in full force here in CA. Had a buddy from Alabama out here for a couple days with a friend and I. That was fun annd he shot 2 Tom’s in 2 days. I’m going to start my own turkey hunting in a week or so once the weather improves. And I’m headed to Idaho for a few days next month to hunt for a Merriams.

I apply in quite a few western states draws every year so always anticipate drawing a good tag somewhere. Time will tell.

I’m heading to Mozambique in September with friends. We’ll be hunting Coutada’s 9 & 14 over 12 days. I’ve got a buffalo, kudu, eland, bushbuck & Nyala plus a few assorted things like warthog & reedbuck on my list. A 79 year old friend is looking for his first Buffalo, sable, kudu, eland and a few other things. And finally a good friend is bringing his 28 year old son. They’re looking for a full bag between them. First African hunt for son and first African hunt in 30 years for the dad. The dad has hunted Africa a few times back when his dad took him. He’ll be buffalo hunting with his mother’s Army-Navy 470 that she used on a 98 lb. Elephant in Kenya back in the 60’s. It’s going to be a very fun safari!

In November I head to Zambia to hunt Sitatunga with Johnny DuPlooy. We will be on Tondwa with our goal set pretty high. After we take a Sitatunga, then it’s on to Upper Lupande to survey a water project the Mzuri Wildlife Foundation has provided funding for. I expect over half my days there will be looking at that project as well as evaluating a few more conservation projects for potential funding support.

Time will tell how the year plays out.

2025 ended with a quick trip to hunt with a group Gizmo set me up with for West Texas mule deer. Currently chasing eastern wild turkey in South Carolina. My wife and two of my daughters are taking a mostly tour trip through London (12 hours on the ground) then JNB through the Limpopo into Botswana and onto Vic Falls and Zambia. Then my son and I head back to west Texas to chase antelope for the first time for each of us.

CoElkHunter said:

Hopefully, I’ll draw one of three buck/either sex pronghorn tags for the Colorado Ranching for Wildlife program’s Kiowa Creek Ranch. Only took me 26 preference points (26 yrs) to get to this point. LOL. Draw results in June.

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I thought the ranching for wildlife gave tags to landowners to open some of their land to public use, but the landowners got the tags to use themselves or sell if they wanted.

Are you saying you can put in to draw a ranching for wildlife tag?

Sabre said:

I thought the ranching for wildlife gave tags to landowners to open some of their land to public use, but the landowners got the tags to use themselves or sell if they wanted.

Are you saying you can put in to draw a ranching for wildlife tag?

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The landowners do get tags for their own use by allowing Colorado resident public hunters to hunt on their property with tags issued through the annual big game drawing.

Anxiously waiting for New Mexico to release draw results in a few weeks. I also ended up getting in on a hunt to Sask in October for ducks/geese. That will be a new experience for me.

The New Mexico results are out.

CoElkHunter said:

The landowners do get tags for their own use by allowing Colorado resident public hunters to hunt on their property with tags issued through the annual big game drawing.

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Beat me to it.

The RFW program is designed to provide additional private land access for resident hunters. In return for the landowners allowing a very small limited number of resident hunters access to their ranch via draw tags, they get an allocation of private land vouchers they can sell to resident or non resident hunters.

New Mexico’s private land voucher system is different. If a landowner provides access to their ranch the tags they received are “Unit Wide” meaning hunters and access or hunt on their land, but the voucher tags they sell can also hunt on public land in the unit. Whereas if a landowner doesn’t allow the public to access their property, their landowner voucher is “Ranch Only” meaning the tag holder (them or the whoever bought it) can only utilize it on that specific piece of property. Purchasers need to be aware “Unit Wide” vouchers cost a significantly higher amount, and the “Ranch Only” vouchers can at times be tied to extremely small properties

Mtn_Infantry said:

Beat me to it.

The RFW program is designed to provide additional private land access for resident hunters. In return for the landowners allowing a very small limited number of resident hunters access to their ranch via draw tags, they get an allocation of private land vouchers they can sell to resident or non resident hunters.

New Mexico’s private land voucher system is different. If a landowner provides access to their ranch the tags they received are “Unit Wide” meaning hunters and access or hunt on their land, but the voucher tags they sell can also hunt on public land in the unit. Whereas if a landowner doesn’t allow the public to access their property, their landowner voucher is “Ranch Only” meaning the tag holder (them or the whoever bought it) can only utilize it on that specific piece of property. Purchasers need to be aware “Unit Wide” vouchers cost a significantly higher amount, and the “Ranch Only” vouchers can at times be tied to extremely small properties

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This is accurate and thank you for informing our group. One does have to know what they’re buying in New Mexico, that’s for sure.

A friend and I bought ‘ranch only’ tags in unit 13 back in 2002. The ranch was only 10,000 acres of high desert, but bordered a couple much bigger ranches. My buddy did not fire a shot. I was fortunate and took the biggest bull of my life, a 386” giant. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, a tag with so-so odds of success with an expectation of 300-330 bulls but a chance for much bigger. Luck smiled on me as I passed a 6x6 bull on day 1 that wasn’t what I wanted. On day 2 I only saw 1 elk but it was the one I shot. Ranch only tags are very dependent on which ranch it is.

DLSJR said:

This is accurate and thank you for informing our group. One does have to know what they’re buying in New Mexico, that’s for sure.

A friend and I bought ‘ranch only’ tags in unit 13 back in 2002. The ranch was only 10,000 acres of high desert, but bordered a couple much bigger ranches. My buddy did not fire a shot. I was fortunate and took the biggest bull of my life, a 386” giant. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, a tag with so-so odds of success with an expectation of 300-330 bulls but a chance for much bigger. Luck smiled on me as I passed a 6x6 bull on day 1 that wasn’t what I wanted. On day 2 I only saw 1 elk but it was the one I shot. Ranch only tags are very dependent on which ranch it is.

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Congrats on your monster bull!

DLSJR said:

This is accurate and thank you for informing our group. One does have to know what they’re buying in New Mexico, that’s for sure.

A friend and I bought ‘ranch only’ tags in unit 13 back in 2002. The ranch was only 10,000 acres of high desert, but bordered a couple much bigger ranches. My buddy did not fire a shot. I was fortunate and took the biggest bull of my life, a 386” giant. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, a tag with so-so odds of success with an expectation of 300-330 bulls but a chance for much bigger. Luck smiled on me as I passed a 6x6 bull on day 1 that wasn’t what I wanted. On day 2 I only saw 1 elk but it was the one I shot. Ranch only tags are very dependent on which ranch it is.

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I’d roll the dice on a ranch that size

There are ranches in certain units which get tags but are significantly smaller in size (like 1-10%) compared to the ranch you hunted. If you’re hunter #1 (often the land owner/relative/friend) the elk might be on the property, but after a day or two of them hunting and a shot or two the elk are on the neighbors place and the hunters coming in later that paid thousands for a voucher will just watch them over the fence line never getting a shot.

I’ve never bought a land owner voucher personally, and have just relied on drawing tags in a variety of states out west, but know multiple people who’ve been bitten by the scenario above.

Also in the spirit of this thread but instead of planning I am possibly delaying or outright cancelling.

I'm strongly contemplating cancelling my September Tur hunt in Russia. I'm following the news and also what is happening on the ground and I'm not getting warm of the things I'm hearing. Advice is to not take my phone but a burner because of checking of my phone. Seems that cellphone and internet is out. It seems it is getting tougher by the day. Renting a rifle, the right permits, flights or only a few weeks out available, lot of cancellation of flights because of Ukrainians operating drones in the area. Things piling up.

I'll have a good chat with my outfitter but things are heading in a direction of the hunt not going through.