Dream hunt-would you shoot?
#11
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
I find that throwing money at animals helps me hunt them more effectively. I do both outfitted bear hunts and self-guided bear/deer/turkey hunts every year.
I'll be using my fourth outfitter this fall. So far, every one has a saying "If you'd shoot it on the last day, shoot it on the first day". Some people consider this gospel; I do not.
Experience has made me take this not too literally, although I almost follow it by only slightly lowering my size standards as the week moves on.
In 2014, I shot my very first bear on the first night. The bear was very small (~75lbs) and I took a lot of crap for it, but I likely would have shot it on the last day. Still, I would NOT shoot such a bear on the first day any more.
On two occasions, I passed on a bear early on because it was too small. Once a larger bear came in, once I went home empty-handed. I feel I made the right call both times.
Putting numbers on it, I'd probably pass a 120-lb bear on Day 1, but not Day 6. (I took a 120lb on Day 6 in 2018 - would have let him go on Day 1) 150+? I'd shoot any time unless I had intelligence suggesting a 200+ was also in the area.
I'll be using my fourth outfitter this fall. So far, every one has a saying "If you'd shoot it on the last day, shoot it on the first day". Some people consider this gospel; I do not.
Experience has made me take this not too literally, although I almost follow it by only slightly lowering my size standards as the week moves on.
In 2014, I shot my very first bear on the first night. The bear was very small (~75lbs) and I took a lot of crap for it, but I likely would have shot it on the last day. Still, I would NOT shoot such a bear on the first day any more.
On two occasions, I passed on a bear early on because it was too small. Once a larger bear came in, once I went home empty-handed. I feel I made the right call both times.
Putting numbers on it, I'd probably pass a 120-lb bear on Day 1, but not Day 6. (I took a 120lb on Day 6 in 2018 - would have let him go on Day 1) 150+? I'd shoot any time unless I had intelligence suggesting a 200+ was also in the area.
#12
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
My father used to say "Never pass on a bull the first day that you would shoot on the last day" when he was teaching to to hunt elk in my native Colorado.
A professional hunter friend of mine named Walter Enslin is licensed to hunt 6 different countries in Africa and he told me "Never pass on a gift the bush gives you" when a huge bull eland srepped out in front of us when I was trying to close the deal on a blue wildebeest. I took the shot and at the time that eland was #13 in the world for the cape eland subspecies.
Both are sound wisdom. I would take the shot if for no other reason than the huge pile of meat a moose represents.
A professional hunter friend of mine named Walter Enslin is licensed to hunt 6 different countries in Africa and he told me "Never pass on a gift the bush gives you" when a huge bull eland srepped out in front of us when I was trying to close the deal on a blue wildebeest. I took the shot and at the time that eland was #13 in the world for the cape eland subspecies.
Both are sound wisdom. I would take the shot if for no other reason than the huge pile of meat a moose represents.
Last edited by flags; 01-13-2020 at 03:39 PM.
#13
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
I guess the one thing I'd say I've learned since my early days is the importance of deciding ahead of time what constitutes a "shooter". I've sort of done that for black bear and deer, but not moose. If you know ahead of time, you can avoid hesitation when the first-day opportunity arrives.
#14
Never would I pass on a legal tag filler on Day 1 unless guide states otherwise. Reasons for me not to pass -- 1) First time harvesting particular species. 2) Paid guided hunt. and 3) Enjoy the remainder of the days in camp doing most anything outdoors besides hunting.
#15
This was not a size issue. It was over 60". Very nice moose.
If I had to guess I think he dreamed of the back country experience more than of tagging a moose. The moose was just his way of getting that experience.
When he shot it that first morning he felt like he missed out on the experience.
Again I only talked to him for a few minutes as I stood in his living room taking down some info for a report.
Just got me thinking after hearing what he said and wondered what others thought about it.
-Jake
If I had to guess I think he dreamed of the back country experience more than of tagging a moose. The moose was just his way of getting that experience.
When he shot it that first morning he felt like he missed out on the experience.
Again I only talked to him for a few minutes as I stood in his living room taking down some info for a report.
Just got me thinking after hearing what he said and wondered what others thought about it.
-Jake
#16
What I think is if his goal was more about the backwoods experience than taking a Moose, it would have been a lot less expensive and less work if he had simply went on a hike and camping trip in the back woods. I guess I am more of a count your blessings kind of guy then some.
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
What I think is if his goal was more about the backwoods experience than taking a Moose, it would have been a lot less expensive and less work if he had simply went on a hike and camping trip in the back woods. I guess I am more of a count your blessings kind of guy then some.
personally IMO< when ever you DREAM a hunt, seldom does it goes as the dream!
and after taking the first hunt in a location you dreamed about, odds are higher that you will make a second sone and that you will also have learned more of what you want and don't want in a hunt and get a better result the second/this time and so on.
this tread sort of reminds me of, when a kid goes on his first deer hunt and shoots a monster buck
and everyone says, where do you go from there??
you simply keep hunting, as lets not forget its NOT all about the kill some times, but I do think most folks on guided hunts where a chunk on money is on the line are more about a KILL than the hunt, and most guides know this, and again, would expect a CUSTOMER, to shoot when the chance is there, over it being about the experience
they start talking MORE about the experience of the hunt, after days pas and they DON"T get you on an animal your after LOL
sort of preparing you in case you end up eating a tag!
all hunters have different goals
some get mad if they PAID for a hunt and don;t get a kill, some look at it , with the, they enjoyed the hunt attitude .
#18
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
The way I see it, what is the point of going on a six-day hunt if you absolutely refuse to shoot for the first three days? Why not just go on a three day hunt?
Oh sure, you could spend the first days scouting-only, but it seems foolish to me to pass on an obvious bruiser just because it was early.
Last fall (Aug 2019), I shot the biggest bear of my life on Maine's opening day. It was about 7pm, getting down to the wire. I had already started planning the next day in my mind, things like "Move the chair farther from the tree" and "Get more Thermocell packs" when the bear showed up.
When he arrived, I estimated him at 150 lbs, but even that is above my "Shoot it" criteria, so I did. I will admit a slight sense of sadness at ending it so soon, but at the same time, I knew I wouldn't be eating tag soup, and I got to help other hunters recover their bears.
The year before, I shot a bear at the same camp on the last day. I can't say it was any more satisfying than shooting it on the first.
As someone who spends more money than he should on hunting trips, I can say I've never felt cheated by an early harvest.
Oh sure, you could spend the first days scouting-only, but it seems foolish to me to pass on an obvious bruiser just because it was early.
Last fall (Aug 2019), I shot the biggest bear of my life on Maine's opening day. It was about 7pm, getting down to the wire. I had already started planning the next day in my mind, things like "Move the chair farther from the tree" and "Get more Thermocell packs" when the bear showed up.
When he arrived, I estimated him at 150 lbs, but even that is above my "Shoot it" criteria, so I did. I will admit a slight sense of sadness at ending it so soon, but at the same time, I knew I wouldn't be eating tag soup, and I got to help other hunters recover their bears.
The year before, I shot a bear at the same camp on the last day. I can't say it was any more satisfying than shooting it on the first.
As someone who spends more money than he should on hunting trips, I can say I've never felt cheated by an early harvest.
#19
or he could have done a caribou hunt for a fraction the costs of doing a moose hunt, and just hunted MT caribou , so he could get the same terrain and like set up.
personally IMO< when ever you DREAM a hunt, seldom does it goes as the dream!
and after taking the first hunt in a location you dreamed about, odds are higher that you will make a second sone and that you will also have learned more of what you want and don't want in a hunt and get a better result the second/this time and so on.
this tread sort of reminds me of, when a kid goes on his first deer hunt and shoots a monster buck
and everyone says, where do you go from there??
you simply keep hunting, as lets not forget its NOT all about the kill some times, but I do think most folks on guided hunts where a chunk on money is on the line are more about a KILL than the hunt, and most guides know this, and again, would expect a CUSTOMER, to shoot when the chance is there, over it being about the experience
they start talking MORE about the experience of the hunt, after days pas and they DON"T get you on an animal your after LOL
sort of preparing you in case you end up eating a tag!
all hunters have different goals
some get mad if they PAID for a hunt and don;t get a kill, some look at it , with the, they enjoyed the hunt attitude .
personally IMO< when ever you DREAM a hunt, seldom does it goes as the dream!
and after taking the first hunt in a location you dreamed about, odds are higher that you will make a second sone and that you will also have learned more of what you want and don't want in a hunt and get a better result the second/this time and so on.
this tread sort of reminds me of, when a kid goes on his first deer hunt and shoots a monster buck
and everyone says, where do you go from there??
you simply keep hunting, as lets not forget its NOT all about the kill some times, but I do think most folks on guided hunts where a chunk on money is on the line are more about a KILL than the hunt, and most guides know this, and again, would expect a CUSTOMER, to shoot when the chance is there, over it being about the experience
they start talking MORE about the experience of the hunt, after days pas and they DON"T get you on an animal your after LOL
sort of preparing you in case you end up eating a tag!
all hunters have different goals
some get mad if they PAID for a hunt and don;t get a kill, some look at it , with the, they enjoyed the hunt attitude .
#20
Most hunts that I have been on and had the great fortune of tagging out early, I still went out. Guides like the extra help packing or glassing, and if you have a buddy or someone else in camp still hunting you can probably tag along with them.