ELK.... And thanks to a VERY generous Friend who also posts here. This coming season is shaping up to be that DREAM hunt for my Hunting partner and I.

Tally To Date:

21 Moose
15 Elk
3 Whitetail
3 Mulie

That is a lot of swamp donkies!
Also, Over 1000 views!

Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM

Elkampmaster,
Kicking it up a notch to other animals and leaving whitetails behind I think is because they can be hunted many more locations than your other listings. If you re-list your question as to which game is the smartest...not the toughest...I think Whitetail will be right up at the top.

Outdoor,

??
I believe my initial poll scenario addressed neither "toughness" nor "smartness".

I believe none of my other follow up posts, including the "kick it up a notch" post, addressed either "toughness" or "smartness" of the four big game animals mentioned.

If I'm correct, then, it's okay though, it is not the first mis-quote in this thread. Thanks for your input.

Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM

WOW.... Take it easy EKM -
Your initial poll scenario did not address this
I DID..it was a suggestion


"If you re-list your question as to which game is the smartest...not the toughest...I think Whitetail will be right up at the top."
Taking it up a notch is that not making it tougher?

Gotta go with the moose man. 45/70 would be the gun I would take, and I would probably go with a guide since I have never hunted them.

Outdoor,

My apologies. [:-]
After a good, "one against the world" linguistic workout, one can get a little defensive.[:@]
--------------------------------

As far as my thought process goes....

"Re-list" to me implies that there is something there in the first place to be replaced in the "re-list" process, which in this case there wasn't.

By "taking it up a notch" I mean pursuing something better, more notable, more exotic, more non-ordinary, more non-common, and BTW additionally, for me --- bigger or more dangerous. Of course, this only my own personal opinion.

I can see where you might assume that I meant "tougher" when I spoke in terms of "kicking it up a notch" and in the case of elk and moose, IMHO they ARE much more durable --- one can get pretty loosy goosy with ones cartridge/bullet selections with deer and still knock them right over.

In the case of "smarter", I do hear of other folks talk about white tails in almost "ghost like" terms. In my own personal experience only, I have found both mulies and white tails to not be all that hard to get compared to elk --- that "run-turn broadside-look" pattern of behavior is a significant weakness. One consideration being that in our area the "horizons" were more distant, not claustophobic as is more common in "the east". We seldom had any problem, ahem, "harvesting" --- ah, screw it --- "popping" either mulies or whitetails in fairly short order on the opening day.

Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM

MOOSE!, what, are you kidding me? of course the MOOSE! i haven't noticed if there was a difference in preferences between those areas with elk vs. moose. in my opinion, hands down it is a moose. moose are not that easy to hunt, or to get a draw tag for. in many areas, if you don't draw or out bid, forget moose hunting. you can purchase an elk tag in a great many places. while i love deer hunting, they aren't that difficult to either drop or attract/find. but a moose, well, despite their size, and our nice population, and living in a small state, many people here in VT have yet to see a moose. besides, if you are meat hunting also, let's see, one moose would equal an elk, muley, and about 80 southern whitetails in total meat, wouldn't it?

I've actually heard whitetail are not very smart at all. They appear smart because they have very keen senses. This of course is second hand knowledge. I heard this on two seperate shows on the outdoor channel. I think one said a whitetails brain is very small compared to its body size and something about the texture of a deers brain indicate lack of intellegence back up by research.

Moose are pretty stupid too. Now an elk would take the cake in intellegence.

I grew up watching moose in northern MN and took a bull a few years back. Hunted and took all others mentioned and out of all I think that a trophy whitetail might be one of the wariest of all. As to what I prefer to hunt, I'd pick a bull elk anytime. Having them bugle down below you and seeing 50 head of elk fly down the side of a canyon not 20 yards away is just something I that will stay in my mind forever!! Hearing them bugle is worth it in itself and maybe that's why I'm hooked on turkey hunting as it is quite similiar to bowhunting elk.