North American big 5

[supergrizzly]

How about including the inexperienced hunter you are mentoring (and invited as a good will gesture) who almost blows your head off unloading his rifle at dark in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and then blames the gun? That is America's most dangerous thing while hunting! And trust me, it was a long, silent 26 hour ride home the next day!!!

 

[CoElkHunter]

Im not sure we really have an equivalent of the African "Big 5" or "Dangerous 7"...

We certainly have animals that potentially can hurt you, have predators, etc.. but our primary predators (that are hunted) like Moutain Lion/Cougar, Brown Bear, etc.. are rarely an actual threat to humans unless provoked or cornered, etc.. and our big herbivores like bison, moose, etc can be aggressive.. but again, there no comparison to a truly pissed off moose and a mildly irritated cape buffalo.. the cape buff is the far bigger threat..

Even our big lizards pale in the shadow of their african counterparts.. both in terms of size and their aggressive nature/predation of humans...

Its a total guess on my part.. but I'd bet more people are injured every year by feral pigs in North America than any other animal.. I know several people that have managed to get their ass handed to them by a pissed off or wounded pig... but dont personally know anyone that has actually been injured by an alligator, bear, cougar, moose, bison, etc... (I know attacks happen every year.. and a handful of people actually are killed.. but I dont personally know anyone thats been subject to an attack... while I personally know probably a half dozen people that have been hit by a pig...)...

Statistically speaking, more hunters have been injured by "undead" whitetail bucks, than any other North American game animal. Member of the NA Big 5? Use enough gun! Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

[CoElkHunter]

No offense meant, but who cares?

Unless one is trying to create a new class of trophy for bragging rights? Not why I hunt.

North American record jackalope? Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

[CoElkHunter]

If all were huntable, my analogy would be:
- Polar Bear
- Grizzly/Brown Bear
- Jaguar
- Mountain Lion
- Wood Bison

Wolverine!

 

[CoElkHunter]

I maybe wrong, but I think I have figured out a North American animal to but on the North American dangerous game list.

This animal is not very big, actually very small compared to other North American animals. They are soft, maybe some people would call them cute, maybe even cuddly, maybe even loveable. Yet this critter has been known to cause a great commotion just by showing itself. The danger is creating a stampede of 1 or more people in a rush to get away from the mere area when this critter just wonders in unexpectedly.

Although more of a nuisance. This critter will attack if provoked or just because it can, with deadly accuracy, like a spitting cobra, with long lasting effects because their scent last along time even after they have left the vicinity. Something like that of the African waterbuck, but much worse than a waterbuck, because the scent doesn't wash off so easily.

There are various color phases from more or less solid black to more or less solid white, even as very rare albino.

Here are a couple of pictures if you haven't figured out this animal I'm describing:

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View attachment 466863

Although its teeth and claws will definitely hurt when bitten and/ or scratched. Its repulsive spray will forever linger. The person sprayed will forever go though life enduring various skunk jokes, stories and puns of being skunked.

Disclaimer:

I've never been skunked....yet....and hopefully never will. As I can say I have in good fun delivered (more than) a few humourous one liners at a couple of friends expense.

Don't forget that many of them carry rabies?

 

[R eight]

I've always thought that "sheep hunting" was the holy grail of North American hunting... so for the top five I reckon all four sheep; Dall, Stone, Desert and Big Horn and the Mountain Goat.

As to Dangerous..... then same list as above. I reckon you've got a greater chance of falling to your death hunting sheep and goats than you have of being killed by a bear or a moose.

 

[Ridge Runner]

How about including the inexperienced hunter you are mentoring (and invited as a good will gesture) who almost blows your head off unloading his rifle at dark in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and then blames the gun? That is America's most dangerous thing while hunting! And trust me, it was a long, silent 26 hour ride home the next day!!!

Not to distract from the OP, But this is a good follow-up to supergrizzly's thread. As a reminder to everyone who owns or handles a firearm at home, the firing range, or in the field.

Hmmm..... wasn't at night, wasn't a friend invited along as a good will gesture, and he wasn't unloading his inherited 16 gauge double barrel rabbit ear shotgun, but we were out hunting.

Our stepdad was in lead, younger brother was in the middle, and I was still hoping that cock pheasant would fly up out of the briars before I had to follow them back out to the field on our way back to the car.

It happened just as I turned to follow, my brother slipped, on some loose dirt or tripped on a tree root. Exactly how I'm not sure, but this is my guess. He some how managed to get his thumb across both hammers and one finger on each of the triggers (double triggers), as he braced himself for the fall, both barrels went off.

Luckily our stepdad didn't realize how close he came to being a statistic until much later.

He (our stepdad) thought my brother was shooting at the pheasant or a rabbit. Seeing my younger brother on the ground stepdad was about to laugh at him for discharging both barrels at the same time resulting in my brother ending on the ground.

...a couple of hours later....in the car on our way home..... stepdad asked him why he shot both barrels at the same time. When my brother told him what happened...needless to say the least stepdad was not happy... From day 1 at the ages of 7 & 8 with his .22 High Standard, Double Nine, revolver our Stepdad made it his number 1 priority that we knew, understood, and always practiced firearms safety.

We were 8 & 9 or 9 & 10, regardless of age Firearms Safety Should Always be The Priority.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Don't forget that many of them carry rabies?

Yes, I was going to mention rabies, but raccoons, are also know to be prime carriers of rabies, and this past hunting season Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA); a trapper first warned me then TWRA confirmed it; to be leery of raccoons as some have tested positive and are infected with the parvo or distemper disease. I forget which either way I quit hunting raccoons this season as I was intending to take my buddy's 9 year old grandson on his first 'coon' hunt.

Which again leads back to the most dangerous, most fickled, creatures on this planet....a pissed off human mother when you tell her her son (or daughter) was hurt in your care. Dad with his vast assortment guns is not scary. Pissed off momma and whatever she can arbitrary get her hands on within arms reach is definitely the scariest and most dangerous. Even if she is only 5'4" tall and only weighs 100 pounds, she scares every man around when she gets mad.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Wolverine!

Forgot about that critter and our NA badger. Then there is our illustrious groundhogs because of all the holes they make for animals and people to break their ankle/legs in.

I didn't break anything, but my horse had a heck of a time getting me out of one. I was literally up to my hind end with one leg in the hole and the other leg unable to lift myself out of the hole.

 

[npm352]

Cool thread. Hard to compare with African game. It's like the difference in fishing for bass in a lake or fishing the ocean with bait as big as the bass.

NA Big Five (danger to hunter because of all involved in hunt)
1. Mountain goat (especially late season, probably most dangerous hunt due to terrain)
2. Polar bear (they view you as food)
3. Brown bear (they don't mess around)
4. Moose (these are legitimately dangerous to people, but in hunting situations they are usually killed before they are close enough to hurt you.
5.Mountain Lion (dangerous due to winter conditions, especially if hunted by cutting tracks on foot in Backcountry, then turning dogs loose...I also got rolled by one in a cave this season, but alot of animals will do that if cornered.)

 

[Fixfire]

If the Big 5 would the finest trophies, then I would say:

Brown Bear
Mountain Goat
Sheep of some kind (Bighorn, Dall, Stone, Desert)
Rocky Mountain Elk
Yukon Moose

+1!

 

[teesquare]

Forgive any perception of impertinence.....but EVERYONE here has clearly missed THE most dangerous animal - not just in N. America or Africa...but the world:

POLITICIANS.......( a bag limit seems only fair....)

 

[Pole Pole]

I’m appalled that the armadillo has not been included. Twice while hunting them I encountered deadly situations. Once while hunting or rather chasing ‘dillos at night using truck headlights I failed too see a creek which I ran into tumbling down a fifteen foot embankment. Another time we were hot on the tail of a ‘dillo but before grabbing his tail he ran into his hole. My friend was ahead of me and as a last chance effort ran his hand down the hole only too retrieve it with a copperhead snake hanging on his hand. That stopped our ‘dillo hunting and slowed out beer drinking. This was in my high school days many years ago. Since then I have wised up pursing meeker sport such as buffalo and bear hunting and drinking single malt scotch

 

[Sourdough]

Here in Alaska Black Bears are more deadly than Brown Bears. And, according the Alaska F&G the folks killed by Black Bears in the last couple of years were actually being hunted by the bears, not defense attacks. I don't recall any Brown/Grizzly killings in the same time period.

I've never seen a polar bear, nor any warning signs for them up here. But apparently there is a significant population of them in Florida. So many in fact that Florida DOT has even put up warning signs along the highway where they are known to cross. I even took a picture of the sign because I was so shocked. Black and Brown Bears have completely different body shapes than Polar Bears. I think this is pretty conclusive evidence that global warming is a real thing-I mean it's from the government.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Wife, Mother-in-Law, Mistress, Polar Bear, Coastal Brown Bear ('23' gator and invasive Burmese Pythons to round out the D7.) How many handles is one allowed to have on here, to start posts??

 

[Ridge Runner]

Here in Alaska Black Bears are more deadly than Brown Bears. And, according the Alaska F&G the folks killed by Black Bears in the last couple of years were actually being hunted by the bears, not defense attacks. I don't recall any Brown/Grizzly killings in the same time period.

I've never seen a polar bear, nor any warning signs for them up here. But apparently there is a significant population of them in Florida. So many in fact that Florida DOT has even put up warning signs along the highway where they are known to cross. I even took a picture of the sign because I was so shocked. Black and Brown Bears have completely different body shapes than Polar Bears. I think this is pretty conclusive evidence that global warming is a real thing-I mean it's from the government.

View attachment 473327

It's not necessarily global warming that would be responsible for polar bears to transition to Florida.

As everyone/everything ages they just naturally want to leave the cold areas to warmer climates cause they are tired of the cold and shoveling snow and to help ease arthritis pain.

 

[Alaska Luke]

Most polar bears don't move to Florida until they reach retirement age...