Any hunts you wouldn’t do again?

[HankBuck]

This was my biggest, though he still had room to grow.
View attachment 560194

Congratulations on that Bear - thats massive and BIG regardless of where it was taken...apparently that thyme of luck “avoids Me”. No wonder I never got a Big Bear in Maine - YOU Killed him before I got there !!

 

[WAB]

Revturbo, I know that there are Big Bear in Maine also “more bear” in Maine then any other State East of the Mississippi. I also know that the “average bear” shot by Hunters in Maine is 135lbs (per Maine Fish & Wildlife). Maine has the smallest Black Bear of any State because of the long hibernation period they endure - the largest (fattest) bear are coming out of PA and NC - also some in NJ (the years where politics allows bear hunting). Unless you go to Alaska, BC/Vancouver Island, or parts of Canada where you can spot & stalk or be in remote areas with a better chance for big bear with Big Heads. After 4 Maine bear hunts with 6-12 hunters in Camp each time - have seen 3 bear that “scaled” 300 lbs (one was 357lbs) all were live weight... - yes Big ones are there but they are a very small percentage. I’ve gone home empty - “seeing” but passing small bears each time (although once killed 167.lb. “dressed” w/hounds). My friend continues to go back often and has 10-11 baited hunts there with 3 different outfitters over the past 15 years — he took only one bear over 200 lbs and usually only one or 2 bear is taken in Camp over 200 the whole week - with 12-15 hunters. What you always hear about is the 300-400 pounder that gets taken every season by these guides - by 2 or 3 hunters out of the 60 that hunted there each season. The Big bear are definitely in Maine but odds very low. But, I love Maine, the people and hunting there, If I lived there I know I could set up my own baits, camera’s and likely find a better bear plus the “satisfaction” of doing it myself would make the hunt more of an accomplishment. MY 2 best bear came off my property in NY Adirondacks - 225 lb sow during deer rifle season (pure chance “luck” encounter) and a 265 lb. Male (I weigh “everything”) the following bow season — he was on camera often and feeding in a cornfield - set up a stand on his travel route and 3rd sit he came by. These weren’t huge bear but they were better then average and both trophies to me.

I’m not sure the length of hibernation has much to do with the size of the bear. You certainly can’t explain the bear we kill in Alaska with that as a determining factor.

 

[revturbo9967]

Congratulations on that Bear - thats massive and BIG regardless of where it was taken...apparently that thyme of luck “avoids Me”. No wonder I never got a Big Bear in Maine - YOU Killed him before I got there !!

I do also hunt way up, in the Allagash. Less people and more big bears.

 

[revturbo9967]

I’m not sure the length of hibernation has much to do with the size of the bear. You certainly can’t explain the bear we kill in Alaska with that as a determining factor.

View attachment 560198

Hibernation doesn't seem to affect Alaska bears like it does in Maine. Lake affect snow fall really creates a problem for food for these bears and causes them to hibernate for quite some time. Nice bear!

 

[HankBuck]

I’m not sure the length of hibernation has much to do with the size of the bear. You certainly can’t explain the bear we kill in Alaska with that as a determining factor.

View attachment 560198

That’s a good point and I’m not sure “why” because then you’d expect Florida & Georgia to have heaviest bears?? I’m recalling from somethings I’ve read a few years ago pertaining to the extremely heavy weights being recorded for PA bears (three 800 lb bears taken same season w/in 50 mile radius around Poconos). Study showed not only were PA Bears averaging heavier then any other State but the Sows also had more cubs per liter and cub weights also increased faster etc.. Something is happening regarding Black Bears in the Eastern U.S. over the past 30 years thats for sure, both the population has increased as well as the size....previous World record weight was low 700s in 1970s and now 800+ pounders killed every year in multiple Eastern States. It’s good news for Hunters regardless. Lastly, I still believe the largest skulls are coming from Vancouver Island and think that those bear are now in a different B&C classification.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Ontario, you remind me of my only Canadian hunting friend (met him during the 2 years I lived outside Toronto 1990s). He’s older now (late 70s), good hunter and even better shot - competitive handgun shooter but excellent with shotgun or rifle too. He also couldn’t sit still on a stand for more then an hour - not for deer or bear or turkey etc... He wanted to be “on the move” stalking and what he felt was “real hunting”. Same way with ducks - we went to farms and “jump shot” mallards off farm ponds - it’s a One & Done type of duck hunt. He didn’t disagree that his “style” of hunting was often “unproductive” but he admitted “I hate sitting in a stand” and “I like to walk”. I admired his enthusiasm & intensity and he took deer every year with small group of friends on “deer drives”....he liked shooting game on the run and antler size didn’t matter to him - that was secondary to the meat and “the shot”. He also always shot the “first Legal deer that walked by”.
He was stubborn and set in his ways - but a good guy and hunted hard, didn’t complain, dressed and butchered anything he shot and enjoyed the meat. I was lucky to have met him otherwise I would’ve never found some of the good hunting spots he took me to during my 2 year stay in Ontario. He also liked my dog (Brittany) and told me that some of the farms he took me to - he’d hunted for 20 years but “never killed as many grouse or rabbits as when we hunted behind your dog”....I think he liked my dog more then me !

I guess he and I could be twins except for that part about not complaining. I have a Brittany too (French variety). She's twelve and still giving it hell. Thought I was going to lose her to cancer at Christmas. Her surgery cost more than a Cape buffalo bull but worth every cent.

 

[HankBuck]

I guess he and I could be twins except for that part about not complaining. I have a Brittany too (French variety). She's twelve and still giving it hell. Thought I was going to lose her to cancer at Christmas. Her surgery cost more than a Cape buffalo bull but worth every cent.
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Well Ontario I don’t know you but from your “writings/posts” you sound very similar to my friend: Set in you ways based on extensive hunting experience and success combined with many “Do it your self” hunts. You don’t care for anything fancy or flashy (guessing you didn’t get many “best dressed” awards” - nor did you care. My Ontario friend hunted Winter’s exclusively in “wool” and often Army Surplus wool - he swore by it and now I do as well. For wet weather - “waxed cotton” with his comment “that’s what they wear in England and they know something about rain”. For Most hunting outings he carried a vintage rifle or shotgun - most 50-100 years old and he could always shoot them well, he enjoyed taking game with any vintage rifle/shotgun and that was a bigger part of his joy then whatever animal/bird he shot. When he came to my cabin in NY for Spring gobbler season I paced him in a ladder stand overlooking my 4 acre food plot (corn stubble) and told him “I know you don’t like to ‘sit’ but 2 long beards are feeding in this plot daily between 8am-11am...stay here and you should get a crack at one”. He reluctantly agreed, I took up a place in the woods about 400 yrds away. At 9:00am I saw him walking thru the woods and went up to him and he said “I see anything and can’t anymore” so I said - “then I’m gonna go into that ladder stand myself”...I did and both long beards showed up at 9:30am - I killed one. He later said “I should of listened to you” (words I never heard from him before) and He sat in that stand for the next 2 mornings but never saw a gobbler. We got into gobblers a couple times in the woods but never got one in for a shot - he still loved the hunt, the cabin and Never Complained.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I won't ever hunt in Australia again. The country is not hunter friendly and once you have your water buffalo, there isn't enough variety of other game that is interesting to hunt.

@chashardy
You could have gone after bantang after buffalo and pigs are always fun to hunt.
You must have found the wrong people as Australians are usually very hunter friendly. Some customs officers can be a bit strange tho.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

For me it is extremes in weather. I am getting to old for above 90 degrees and below freezing. Above 90 need to be inside with the A/C and below freezing in front of the fireplace. I did break this rule to hunt Tahr and chamois in New Zealand last year.

So, most duck hunting is out (loved it when I was a kid) and most northern states after October. I would not do it for free.

But I would hunt a CBL, giraffe, grizzly, brown bear, and just about any legal game that is exportable.

@Justbryan
I'm with you on those temperatures mate. To old for that shit now. Used to enjoy running around in 40+ degrees celcieus chasing pigs when I was younger. Not now tho.
I don't mind temps down to minus 10 celcieus as I know it's going to warm up a bit.
I REFUSE to hunt with anyone using a 243 loaded with 87gn bullets as I'm sick of cleaning up their mess.
I will hunt most times and a lot of different game.
Hunting to me isn't about killing something. It's about time spent out bush with like minded people, sharing a camp-fire, and good company. If I actually get something on the ground that's an added bonus but not a necessity.
I get a lot of enjoyment out of teaching others and seeing the joy on their face when they get an animal. I do love my hunting and time in the bush.
Bob

 

[Erny]

There are really no hunts have done that I would not do again. But, there are outfitters I would never use again and animals I would not hunt again just because of cost (roan and sable come to mind).

 

[chashardy]

@chashardy
You could have gone after bantang after buffalo and pigs are always fun to hunt.
You must have found the wrong people as Australians are usually very hunter friendly. Some customs officers can be a bit strange tho.
Bob

I did some donkey culling and shot a big scrub bull, but still not as much game as Africa. I agree that Aussies are great people and they seem to like us Texans, but the Australian regulations for bringing a rifle into the country and then getting the same rifle out of the country are absurd.

 

[C.W. Richter]

'Never had a bad hunt. (It's akin to the golfer's creed. lol. 'glad they're so easily amused.) Sadly, I will not repeat most simply because I like to hunt different areas for (different) species endemic to each. That said, certain species like S. African/Cape Buffalo, maybe elephant somehow continue to flow through your blood in perpetuity, and thus, they never really get crossed of your list. BIG AK brown bear would be quite a similar experience (I've seen them up-close, just haven't shot one yet!) This was un-guided with my resident Son. (I'd rather tangle with a Buff or Ele than a pissed off Coastal Brown Bear! The weather and ground cover in Africa are MUCH better, for starters, for necessary follow-ups, and the bear a bit faster! You can also get lucky and find one in a food coma laying on a kill mound-count yourself lucky!) LOL now that I think of it, I did once take my son deer/coyote/hog hunting on a cotton plantation in SE SC many moons ago...they showed us a beautiful old plantation house in an e-mail, but then quickly placed us in the "slaves quarters" w/ drunken non-hunters that carried on all night and didn't have to wake up. (I could elaborate, but the Hunting was just fine, the after-hunt accommodations-wedged in a room with my poor son through a kitchen door, unheated in SC Winter (lol above freezing), cold running water, etc. IF they would've just told us, I would've brought all of our camping gear and we'd have lived like demi-gods! LOL That was the worst it ever got. At least I got to take my son on an unofficial tour of the infamous Savannah River Plant (American nuke war disaster) and its secret retirement community (aka trailer park) for the affected across the river in Tiger Ridge, GA. We the People need a BIG rebate!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I did some donkey culling and shot a big scrub bull, but still not as much game as Africa. I agree that Aussies are great people and they seem to like us Texans, but the Australian regulations for bringing a rifle into the country and then getting the same rifle out of the country are absurd.

@chashardy
Nowhere can equal Africa for game variety but we have enough to keep us happy plus we have a 365 day deer season that y'all ain't got in texarse.
Our border security can be a bit strange especially those from NESB backgrounds.
As long as your paperwork is in order all should be fine BUT you will have a nightmare of a time if you want to hunt we it a handgun.
That's something else again because they think only criminals have hand guns not hunters.
Bob

 

[Rare Breed]

Captive Bred Lions

Respectively disagree. Good luck paying $60k plus and never having an incredible experience that I had this year

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Well Ontario I don’t know you but from your “writings/posts” you sound very similar to my friend: Set in you ways based on extensive hunting experience and success combined with many “Do it your self” hunts. You don’t care for anything fancy or flashy (guessing you didn’t get many “best dressed” awards” - nor did you care. My Ontario friend hunted Winter’s exclusively in “wool” and often Army Surplus wool - he swore by it and now I do as well. For wet weather - “waxed cotton” with his comment “that’s what they wear in England and they know something about rain”. For Most hunting outings he carried a vintage rifle or shotgun - most 50-100 years old and he could always shoot them well, he enjoyed taking game with any vintage rifle/shotgun and that was a bigger part of his joy then whatever animal/bird he shot. When he came to my cabin in NY for Spring gobbler season I paced him in a ladder stand overlooking my 4 acre food plot (corn stubble) and told him “I know you don’t like to ‘sit’ but 2 long beards are feeding in this plot daily between 8am-11am...stay here and you should get a crack at one”. He reluctantly agreed, I took up a place in the woods about 400 yrds away. At 9:00am I saw him walking thru the woods and went up to him and he said “I see anything and can’t anymore” so I said - “then I’m gonna go into that ladder stand myself”...I did and both long beards showed up at 9:30am - I killed one. He later said “I should of listened to you” (words I never heard from him before) and He sat in that stand for the next 2 mornings but never saw a gobbler. We got into gobblers a couple times in the woods but never got one in for a shot - he still loved the hunt, the cabin and Never Complained.

Some good jump shooting today but really had to work for the birds.

Two honkers after daybreak in the fog. Several hundred were packed around the corner of a oxbow slough. A loner came by for a look, and I dropped it dead on the water in front of me. Ellie made a quick retrieve and right to hand which is almost a first for honkers. She's usually good for bringing them to shore and that's it. Then the deafening roar as the flocks departed out the far end. They milled around in the sky in a mass of confusion. I figured some would come back so I positioned myself in the thick swamp below the old beaver dam. Probably a hundred came back but from the opposite end. Eventually a family group overshot the mark and circled by me. I dropped one and immediately knew I was in trouble. It took us two hours to find that dead bird in grass high as my head and full of booby trap abandoned beaver trails. Everything was dripping wet with heavy dew and dogs were having trouble picking up a scent.

I drove to town and bought a box of shells. Then returned to see if any geese were back on the pond. From the sounds of it the back side was packed so I worked my way around through the brush to again get below the abandoned beaver dam. The alder bush in the center of the below photo is on the dam ten yards away. Three hundred geese are in the water on the other side of the dam!

What a racket! Honking, wings slapping the water, birds gliding in. Three different family groups cruised by but no way was I dumping another bird in that jungle! Shoot them over the water in front or don't shoot. Floundering around in that swamp grass again is a good way to break a leg. Poor cell coverage meant if hurt I'd have to crawl 2.5 miles back to my vehicle. The problem with shooting into those geese was they were too much of a good thing. Daily limit is five and there's two back in the Jimmy. One shot into that rising mass of birds could easily knock down as many as a dozen. Ask me how I know! Anyway, the thought of hauling just three ten to thirteen pound geese out of that hellhole was already giving me a backache. Three and no more! Otherwise I'd have to drive five of them home and come back for the rest. Not doing that! Flurry shoot at the club this afternoon. My poor dogs were going nuts but I kept them still beside me. Suddenly I noticed the little Britt had slipped away. Nothing I can do. Can't call out because she's going deaf. The geese start getting noisy so I know they must see her up on the dam. Suddenly something came flying through the brush and almost hit me in the head. "Puppy" had been pointing a teal. Somehow that duck managed to fly through the mess without being knocked down. Dad called them waterfowl trapeze artists. She returned to an arse chewing and retook her station behind Ellie. I didn't have to wait long before six geese drifted in for a landing in front of us. It wasn't an easy shot. They were almost on the water when I fired at two nearly on top of each other. Only four geese flew out of the brush in front. They immediately landed in the mass of geese to my left. The noise was deafening but no birds were leaving. I called the dogs back. I had live decoys. May as well use them. A few minutes later four honkers came in for a landing and I clobbered a big one in the lead. That should be three. I crawled up on the damn and the honker horde departed. Yep, three dead geese on the water. Just what I wanted. I sent Ellie after them and Puppy swam along to give encouragement. As Ellie was bringing in the last bird, honkers continued to mill about, some even landing! These are dumb new geese just down from the arctic circle.

I gathered up the geese and got out of there as quickly as possible to let the flocks come back down. Carrying three geese in one hand and my A-5 Magnum in the other didn't work.

I slipped off Puppy's collar and tied one leg of each geese together, then slung the bundle over my shoulder. That got me back out into the alfalfa field but her leash just wasn't long enough. Couldn't hang on.

The red speck in the distance is my Jimmy.

Looking back to the swamp (the ditch running left to right).

Eventually, it occurred to me that my belt would work much better. It's longer.

By the time we were back to the vehicle I was dripping wet, head to toe. Thoroughly soaked. And it wasn't because of the heavy dew. Heavy geese!

Box of shells cost $32, gas $40, coffee $1.75. Still have all the shells and some gas is left in the tank. I'm about to flush the used coffee. Maybe not a cheap day of hunting but these days it's hard to find any hunting that's cheaper.

Sorry for the derailment. What a train wreck, eh?

 

[375Fox]

Respectively disagree. Good luck paying $60k plus and never having an incredible experience that I had this year

Neither a wild lion hunt or leopard hunt is top on my list of planned hunts at moment. That post was answering another member’s question what CBL stood for. However, if I really wanted a lion I’d pay the $60k-$100k for a wild lion to know it was a wild lion and a real experience. Knowing the history of how a CBL lion was raised, selected, and placed on property would ruin the experience for me before it even began, which is why I will never participate. A wild lion is an expensive hunt, but has value to me. A CBL lion has zero value to me, so $5000 becomes a lot.

 

[Mucheni]

Sengwe Campfire 1,2,3 although I tracked my last 100 lb+ there...
Save river Moz....

Can you give us some more context?

 

[HankBuck]

Some good jump shooting today but really had to work for the birds.
View attachment 560292
Two honkers after daybreak in the fog. Several hundred were packed around the corner of a oxbow slough. A loner came by for a look, and I dropped it dead on the water in front of me. Ellie made a quick retrieve and right to hand which is almost a first for honkers. She's usually good for bringing them to shore and that's it. Then the deafening roar as the flocks departed out the far end. They milled around in the sky in a mass of confusion. I figured some would come back so I positioned myself in the thick swamp below the old beaver dam. Probably a hundred came back but from the opposite end. Eventually a family group overshot the mark and circled by me. I dropped one and immediately knew I was in trouble. It took us two hours to find that dead bird in grass high as my head and full of booby trap abandoned beaver trails. Everything was dripping wet with heavy dew and dogs were having trouble picking up a scent.

I drove to town and bought a box of shells. Then returned to see if any geese were back on the pond. From the sounds of it the back side was packed so I worked my way around through the brush to again get below the abandoned beaver dam. The alder bush in the center of the below photo is on the dam ten yards away. Three hundred geese are in the water on the other side of the dam!
View attachment 560296
What a racket! Honking, wings slapping the water, birds gliding in. Three different family groups cruised by but no way was I dumping another bird in that jungle! Shoot them over the water in front or don't shoot. Floundering around in that swamp grass again is a good way to break a leg. Poor cell coverage meant if hurt I'd have to crawl 2.5 miles back to my vehicle. The problem with shooting into those geese was they were too much of a good thing. Daily limit is five and there's two back in the Jimmy. One shot into that rising mass of birds could easily knock down as many as a dozen. Ask me how I know! Anyway, the thought of hauling just three ten to thirteen pound geese out of that hellhole was already giving me a backache. Three and no more! Otherwise I'd have to drive five of them home and come back for the rest. Not doing that! Flurry shoot at the club this afternoon. My poor dogs were going nuts but I kept them still beside me. Suddenly I noticed the little Britt had slipped away. Nothing I can do. Can't call out because she's going deaf. The geese start getting noisy so I know they must see her up on the dam. Suddenly something came flying through the brush and almost hit me in the head. "Puppy" had been pointing a teal. Somehow that duck managed to fly through the mess without being knocked down. Dad called them waterfowl trapeze artists. She returned to an arse chewing and retook her station behind Ellie. I didn't have to wait long before six geese drifted in for a landing in front of us. It wasn't an easy shot. They were almost on the water when I fired at two nearly on top of each other. Only four geese flew out of the brush in front. They immediately landed in the mass of geese to my left. The noise was deafening but no birds were leaving. I called the dogs back. I had live decoys. May as well use them. A few minutes later four honkers came in for a landing and I clobbered a big one in the lead. That should be three. I crawled up on the damn and the honker horde departed. Yep, three dead geese on the water. Just what I wanted. I sent Ellie after them and Puppy swam along to give encouragement. As Ellie was bringing in the last bird, honkers continued to mill about, some even landing! These are dumb new geese just down from the arctic circle.
View attachment 560298
View attachment 560299
I gathered up the geese and got out of there as quickly as possible to let the flocks come back down. Carrying three geese in one hand and my A-5 Magnum in the other didn't work.
View attachment 560300
I slipped off Puppy's collar and tied one leg of each geese together, then slung the bundle over my shoulder. That got me back out into the alfalfa field but her leash just wasn't long enough. Couldn't hang on.
View attachment 560301
The red speck in the distance is my Jimmy.
View attachment 560302
Looking back to the swamp (the ditch running left to right).

Eventually, it occurred to me that my belt would work much better. It's longer.
View attachment 560304
By the time we were back to the vehicle I was dripping wet, head to toe. Thoroughly soaked. And it wasn't because of the heavy dew. Heavy geese!

Box of shells cost $32, gas $40, coffee $1.75. Still have all the shells and some gas is left in the tank. I'm about to flush the used coffee. Maybe not a cheap day of hunting but these days it's hard to find any hunting that's cheaper.

Sorry for the derailment. What a train wreck, eh?

Ontario, you worked hard but got yourself into a great spot and for a No Boat/No Decoys hunt - you shot a mess of geese. Sounds like a fun Hunt - although the walk back to the truck was more of a “workout” then hunt. Your Brit did a fine job on the retrieves - geese are like lifting a cinderblock for that small dog....but you wouldn’t have recovered those geese without a dog. My first Brit was also a do-it-all dog and water retrieved well for ducks & geese, ducks were delivered to hand but geese were “Left at the bank”, just didn’t want to carry 10-12lbs and he was a larger then standard Brit. He’d also retrieve rabbits, woodchucks (liked to catch/kill them himself). For grouse, woodcock, pond & freshwater ducks/geese I think Brits are great - not too big but “big enough”. I switched to a Lab when I started doing more duck hunting and always on tidal water or ocean bays - the upland bird hunting in NJ really deteriorated by the late 1990s, fewer house and almost no wild quail.....but great waterfowling. My lab would also retrieve in icey water and temps well below freezing, they have the same gentle affectionate temperament and a shorter coat that keeps cleaner and never picks up burrs. I like both breeds and hunting dogs really change-your-life....I found myself hunting many days (that I would’ve stayed home) just to spend time with the dog. My days afield “tripled” after I got my Brit, hunted before work or cut out early to catch last few hours of daylight. Later when I switched to my Lab - I hunted 40 days of a 60 day waterfowl season and (while still working FT in Manhattan). You must enjoy your dogs greatly - they add value and enjoyment to every hunt - even the ones with an empty bag

 

[revturbo9967]

Neither a wild lion hunt or leopard hunt is top on my list of planned hunts at moment. That post was answering another member’s question what CBL stood for. However, if I really wanted a lion I’d pay the $60k-$100k for a wild lion to know it was a wild lion and a real experience. Knowing the history of how a CBL lion was raised, selected, and placed on property would ruin the experience for me before it even began, which is why I will never participate. A wild lion is an expensive hunt, but has value to me. A CBL lion has zero value to me, so $5000 becomes a lot.

Agreed. there's a lot that goes into the decision of a hunt, but cost shouldn't be at the top.

 

[Doubleplay]

Hopefully this most recent hunt changed your mind. The level of service you get in Africa vs North America is night and day.

"The level of service you get in most of the World vs North America is night and day"
There corrected it for you
No doubt with the amount of clueless customers who never experienced anywhere else in the World (maybe Canada which mainly caters to same clueless US customers) throwing money around like there's no tomorrow and the lack of oversight and governing body for the so called guides/outfitters, North America is the most expensive place for what you get.
And this is not only for hunting.....