If you could relive one hunting moment.

[frenchbar]

If you could go back in time and have a hunting moment relived what would it be...i was hunting a staging area back in the 80s,about 4500 ft level...i spoted a big 2 pt buck along the edge of a treeline ..took off my coat and belly crawled to about a couple hundred yrds,as i was looking at him through the binos ,all of a sudden 3 monster bucks came srtorming out of the trees. well you talk about getting excited they start to do the get away,i got shots away at 2 of the three and missed them both.watched in horror as they bounded back into the trees.dont know if it was the buck fever or what but it was sure a moment that i look back on and wish i could do it all over again.i can picture it in my mind like it was yesterday..lets here some of your misfortunes ..im gettin bored:biggrin::biggrin:

[Sitkaspruce]

Mine was in Princeton.

Hiked up onto "Hindo Mountain" through an old skidder trail, jumped a couple of does as I walked up the trail.

Got near the top and sat down against big fir to rest and let things settle down. I had not even got settled in when I noticed a doe standing about 40 yards from me, but not looking at me. She stood there for about 10 min while I picked all the brush apart around her. Nothing, so I relaxed and started to look around, while keeping an eye om her. I looked away for about 5 sec. and when I looked back, the deer looked different. I glassed "him" and all I saw were points everywhere, and big!!! I paniced, stood up and flicked the saftey off, threw the gun to my shoulder, looked at the bone, and tried to drop the x hairs to behind the shoulder, but a signal from my brain told my finger the squeeze. All hell broke loose as I watched the biggest buck of my life (at that time) take off with a bunch of other deer and I never even brought up the gun for another shot. I mumbled some choice words for my self and looked around for any indication of a hit. I followed the clan for about 2 miles before they went the wrong way for me to follow. Jumped him twice more, but no luck.

I think about that this incident all the time, when I am sneaking through the big timber.

[bsa30-06]

I haven't had "that moment" yet,bigger and better things still to come for me.

[frenchbar]

It never goes away sitka.

[KodiakHntr]

If you could go back in time and have a hunting moment relived what would it be...i was hunting a staging area back in the 80s,about 4500 ft level...i spoted a big 2 pt buck along the edge of a treeline ..took off my coat and belly crawled to about a couple hundred yrds,as i was looking at him through the binos ,all of a sudden 3 monster bucks came srtorming out of the trees. well you talk about getting excited they start to do the get away,i got shots away at 2 of the three and missed them both.watched in horror as they bounded back into the trees.dont know if it was the buck fever or what but it was sure a moment that i look back on and wish i could do it all over again.i can picture it in my mind like it was yesterday..lets here some of your misfortunes ..im gettin bored:biggrin::biggrin:


How did you know you missed the first one, before you started shooting at the second one?

[frenchbar]

How did you know you missed the first one, before you started shooting at the second one? because i was the guy there with the gun doing the shooting and clearly seen that i missed.so keep your lame comments to your self jack ass .:smile:

[srupp]

A few years back I flew into a coastal inlet to hunt coastal grizzlies on a coveted LEH draw...after a week I finally found a bear worthy of harvesting so I SWAM and waded the freezing feeder creeks to get close enough for a shot....I belly crawled through the muck and bird poop and????..I finally made it to a stump to hide behind and get a good rest..I had seen 13 coastal bears up to this point but here was THE JET BLACK coastal bear I had SPECIFICALLY been looking for..I glassed him at a mere 110 yards for 5 minutes..glossy black coat that had a blue sheen..no rubs .. chocolat muzzle and a huge pumpkin sized head..I judged the bear to be well over 9 feet .... maybe aproaching that magical 10 foot monster that legends are made of..

As I was taking off my binos to get ready to shoot the brisk southerly wind swapped and the wind now was blowing directly towards the bruin..instantly he stood , swapped ends and left running directly away from me sending the tidal flat water spraying up over his back like the wake from a water skier..and then he was gone...that is why Tims jet black grizzly from the same bay was so satisying..maybe a son of the one that got away...and I was so pleased it was tim and I had a small part in the success...

Steven

[mark]

I had a similar one to you frenchie! Back when I was about 19, im hiking up a hill in heavy bush, and hear this noise crashing towards me, I think its one of my hunting buds. At about 30 yards big bucks come running right at me, the second one I figure was about a 200 class frame. I got 3 shots off, and not a hair nor drop of blood in the snow! :-( Another on that haunts me was squeezing the trigger on a HUGE elk at 60 yards with an empty chamber! :frown:

[Jelvis]

I've had at least two but one at Carpenter Lake just by Gun Creek rocked me so hard I still see the monster muley when I think about it. I was with B.C. Safaris from the P.N.E grounds. We all 12 of us in a bus park by the creek. I was young and green like some of the others. We decided the guy to get the biggest buck gets a prize we each throw in a 10 spot. First day the owner of Safaris says go where you want. I go across the main road, well up on the ridge and start hunting slowly along .The country is absolutely dripping with everything muley.The forest floor is covered with pine needles it's as quiet as walking on a 2 inch shag rug. Over a little ridge and low and behold a buck laying down looking over the area away from me. His rack was wide and high a perfect four, not even noticing me I froze, I tried quietly slipping the safety off my Husqvarna o6, hand trembling he turned his head and bit at his hide and I panicked, lifted the gun in shock firing quick and hit the ground in front of the massive roman nosed beast, up he sprang and over the lip I went forward he ran left I tried again only put the empty back in and click didn't pull it back far enough to eject the spent 165 nosler. The huge buck vanished like a ghost, I was sick for years over that, a failure I coulda I shoulda I woulda. You don't want to hear about the other one at least not now the keys are still wet with my tears, Jel in 3

[Tarp Man]

I would relive the morning hunt that Lapadat and I had in 2006. We shot two blacktail bucks 4 minutes and 10m apart. A morning to remember. You can read the story if you do a search in the Mainland Hunting forum about Blacktail hunt in November.

[KodiakHntr]

because i was the guy there with the gun doing the shooting and clearly seen that i missed.so keep your lame comments to your self jack ass .:smile:


Wasn't a comment, was a question buddy. Seems pretty stupid to start flock shooting if you don't know if you actually hit the first one. Seen a few nimrods do that though, so you probably won't be the last one to do it.

[KodiakHntr]

I imagine that you also didn't bother to go look for hair or blood 'cause they all ran away huh?

[Leaseman]

To relive one...I actually have two.....

The first....

Was in the early 80's, was hunting mile high for the first time. Had borrowed a 4x4 for the first time and was meeting my dad, brother in law and buddy who had gone up the day before.... having shot a nice bull moose 10 days before in Vanderhoof wasn't into deer hunting too much....as I pulled off the main road to head up to camp,I spotted the biggest non-typical mulie I have ever seen in all my years of hunting!!! Every mistake possible to be made, was made that day, from gun still in case, to ammo still packed in box...I actually had two shots at this massive buck, took time to count it as a 11x12 rack, first shot at its neck (maybe 100-125 yards_ and missed, this shot worked so well, tried again with the same result!!! This buck is still in my dreams, 25 years later....

The second...

Was in the mid 80's (bad decade for me!)... was at our favorite area, south of Vanderhoof, moose hunting....My Dad spotted at huge bull in a swamp....200 yards fom any cover...this bull was facing us head on with his head lowered...massive antlers for this area...probably in the 60+ inch range....stood there looking at us, giving me all the time in the world, which I took, shot and expected him to drop....NOT!.... he ran off with both my Dad and I taking another shot each and missing...I head in through the swamp with my dad going through the bush...after a couple of hundred yards, I see him racking the bush ahead of me!!!....taking carefull aim, I pull the trigger to a click!!!....My first and only ever dud in Remington factory ammo....I can hear still hear my Dad laughing as he thought that I had not cycled the bolt fully...The bull ran off no worse for wear and my dad didn't believe me until I showed him the punched primmer....!!!

[frenchbar]

Wasn't a comment, was a question buddy. Seems pretty stupid to start flock shooting if you don't know if you actually hit the first one. Seen a few nimrods do that though, so you probably won't be the last one to do it.First off im not your buddy:razz:and secondly it wasnt flock shooting.so unless you were there keep your speculating to your self. :smile:

[dana]

I imagine that you also didn't bother to go look for hair or blood 'cause they all ran away huh?

To think there are many here that think I'm an ass. Yet this ASS makes remarks like this and will ruin a great thread. :roll:

[Marlin375]

Goes like this....Four budys, early season muleys north of Cash Creek. We meet up for lunch and drive (2 trucks) to the end of the road and turn around on a landing. I am standing at the door of truck no2 talking to the driver and my partner (the driver of truck no1) is standing at the passenger window of truck no 2. We yak abit and have a beverage. I pull the old kmeer deer (cow call) out of my pocket and start fritzing around with it, blow, stretch the rubber band, blow a couple more times.............woooooooofffffffffffffff, wooooooofffffffffffff:eek: I look at my friend in the driver seat....we both knew exactly what that was, a monster but where was he.
I look accross to my driver standing at the other window and he yells "THATS THE BIGGEST BUCK IVE EVER SEEN" I step back from the truck to see what he's yelling about and there he was 60 yrds away. Easy 30 inches wide and heavy with a sway back and an ass like a cow moose. Well my driver (the rookie in the group) with his yelling made this old boy nervous and he turned to leave. Meanwhile the rookie has lost it, he runs over to his truck and grabs his gun and starts running across the landing chasing Mr Big (he missed a 200yrd shot the day before and thought he should get closer) By now I cant contain myself and I yell at him to shoot (I can still picture that old buck stumbling off the edge of the landing and climbing up the hill towards the treeline) The rookie gets down on one knee takes aim and......CLICK.... works the bolt.......CLICK.......he yells back NO BULLETS (they are tucked away in his coat in the truck). The three of us that are 40 yrds behind him have now moved out to each side to get a shot before the buck hits the timber, we finally do but with no success. We call him Click to this day.

It would have been so easy to slip buddys 280 out of the drivers window, step out from the truck and drop that curious buck at 60 yrds.........if only, if if if.

Click learned alot that day......mainly "be ready...starting at your front door" and where to find big mulies "they are where you find them"

[frenchbar]

To think there are many here that think I'm an ass. Yet this ASS makes remarks like this and will ruin a great thread. :roll: No shit Steve .funny how some people seem to know all the facts without being there :roll::biggrin:

[dana]

There is one big ol' mossy horn that I had more than one chance at over the years that haunts me. I nicknamed him Houdini. He was a heavy 190 inch mainframe buck with cheaters and a sweet dropper. The last time I encountered him, he was bedded under some rimrock sound asleep. I was on top of the rimrock and I actually video'd him before I took the shot. Extreme steep angle. I held on him instead of aiming low. Gave him a shave. Everytime I watch the video I took of him, I kick myself.

[frenchbar]

I imagine that you also didn't bother to go look for hair or blood 'cause they all ran away huh? maybe i did maybe not .i will keep ya guessing since thats what your good at:biggrin::biggrin:

[dana]

maybe i did maybe not .i will keep ya guessing since thats what your good at:biggrin::biggrin:

:lol::lol:

[freeman6]

I got lots that I want to do over, but one I still dream of repeating.

In 1996, I'm working a patch of bush trying to push a moose towards a couple of partners on stands at the other end. I'm more or less still hunting because I don't really want to spook any animals, just move them a bit. I can hear an animal moving in the timber ahead of me and I sneak around the last big spruce between us and there is a huge bull standing on a root wad eating the willows growing out of it.

He was so close that when I put the gun up, all I could see was black and I was aiming nearly straight up. I lowered the rifle just a hair to look past the scope and he stepped down off the root wad and out of sight.

He didn't leave real fast, but I never got another chance at him. The guys on the stands never saw him or the cows with him, so they must have crossed the river on an inside bend. We never found tracks crossing the road either. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't pull the trigger because if he had fallen forward, he would have been awful close to landing on me. Getting him out of that spruce swamp and up to the road would have been mean work as well.

I still go into that swamp and work it every time I have a chance on the possibility of running into one of his grandsons.

[bruin]

Bad: Guiding dall's I once bypassed a small ravine headed for a basin that I had seen a big band of rams in the day before. As I passed the top of the ravine the wind changed and started blowing down into it. Up the other side came half of the rams from the day before including the one I was hoping to take, would've been the biggest so far. I still remember the sight of his tips coming up over his nose as he quartered away.
Good: In about 2002 when there was still a few deer in Churn Creek I was hunting with my grampa and I got the pleasure of pakcing his 4 point out for him, and still managed to go back in and get my own that afternoon.

[freeman6]

This is a second "do it over for" me. I was hunting muleys in the upper Fiva Creek area of the Kettle. It was open timber and I was sneaking along a trail in the fir and I saw a porcupine wandering down the trail toward me. I just stood still and let him come. When he was about four feet away, I couldn't take it anymore and I stepped aside. Of course porky then panicked and headed for the nearest tree.

I wish I had had the guts to stand my ground and make him walk around me. It would have been even better if I had been carrying my camera.

[MattB]

There is one big ol' mossy horn that I had more than one chance at over the years that haunts me. I nicknamed him Houdini. He was a heavy 190 inch mainframe buck with cheaters and a sweet dropper. The last time I encountered him, he was bedded under some rimrock sound asleep. I was on top of the rimrock and I actually video'd him before I took the shot. Extreme steep angle. I held on him instead of aiming low. Gave him a shave. Everytime I watch the video I took of him, I kick myself.
Its a good thing my bro found his rack eh? :wink: LOL. That is some cool video of him though!

[dana]

Its a good thing my bro found his rack eh? :wink: LOL. That is some cool video of him though!

LMAO! You still think that's him eh? Not on your life. It is posible it is his grandbaby. The milk on that buck's lips weren't even dry when that lion killed him. :tongue:

[daycort]

2003 hunting elk in a spot that wasn't yet known that held elk. I got stuck getting in there with my truck. I sat down in a little clearing a starting cow calling. About a half hour into the calling I hear a faint bugle. I close the distance and set up so the elk has to come in in front of me. I was quickly making a better shooting lane when the elk apears out of know where! and on the other side of the brush that I expected him to be. I had to make a qiuck guess at the yardage without looking at the huge bone on his head(300 +). I made my guss and let her fly and I gave him a buzz cut under is vitals, it was so close to connecting that I seen hair on the ground when I went to look for my arrow. I guessed him at 30 yards and I guess he was 25. I had nightmares about laughing elk for months. I would think about it drivng down the road and get mad all over again. It was fun though. over the past 5 years I have been lucky enough to have several close encounters with elk just unable to seal the deal. I think ol bwhnter is getting frusterated with me.

[tufferthandug]

I've had a couple "Almosts", but one with a huge Non-Typ Muley I'll probably think about forever. It's gotta be what keeps a person so hooked on hunting.

I could only imagine what a sheep hunter has to go through each year with only a 2 week trip window up North. One screw up with a huge curly head could mess your mind up for a whole year. At least with mule deer hunting you can go back to the same spot for a month or more...

[Blktail]

Sorry about all your screw-ups you guys.

I have had more than my share too. However, if I could relive one hunting moment, it would be when I got my biggest blacktail. He wasn't a monster, but was near to the biggest I ever saw. My stupid partner went missing in the snow and ice. I stomped up and down the hill whistling for him imagining the worst. Suddenly a buck walked through the only opening in the sunlight. I plopped down on my rear and waited for him to appear between the trees and dropped the hammer when he was in my scope. (So much for the partner.) A few minutes later the partner showed up wondering what was going on. After cursing him out and thanking him for the opportunity we found my buck 25 yards away in the salal. He packed that buck straight up for hours and I dragged him down for hours more. It took five hours to reach the truck, we were both near dead and I was still crying with joy.

Beats the heck out of reliving any of my missed opportunities.:D

[.303]

3.5 years ago in Sept. my wife and I just got married and headed into Banff for our Honeymoon. We opted out of the organized tours and decided to go look for wildlife ourselves....(not Hunting with a Gun obviously, just wanted to find the wildlife)

It was about 6:00 am and we found this old abandoned Ghost Town mine site off the usual tourist path. As we are wondering through, we see the biggest Elk tracks we have ever seen in our lives.

It was about 2 degrees Celcius, foggy and the air was crisp. It was just breaking daylight but you could see pretty good. In the distance, we heard a bull bugling. Man was he vocal. We heard him for about 10 minutes off and on. We tried to follow the bugle through the forest but never did see him. Even though we didn't see him, we knew he was huge. It brought an awesome erieness to the morning that is really hard to explain.

That was one moment that my wife and I always talk about and would love to relive.

[Will]

Shot a bear in the chest at 30 paces.......full frontal shot, 300 win mag.....he spun and bolted...tracked him through some god awful thick cedars until well after dark....then the trail took a steep drop down a gully into a raging spring creek, never recovered that beatiful 6 foot Cinnamon :icon_frow

Would love to take that shot back......broadside or I'll pass now.
We Hunt, we Learn:wink:

[browningboy]

When everyone woke up early to go out and I decided to sleep in ( 1992?93?) from drinking the night before, had myself breaky then decided to go out back for a walk, only to find a beauty 3 point bedded down in which I got around 10am, then went back and had a nap..good hunting trip!

[Jelvis]

If I could get one more chance to be in that spot again, it would be just off the oil pipeline at Peterson Creek by Gorman Lake. My cousin Rocko and I were hunting with my late Uncle the best mule deer hunter up the Nor River at that time, the years 1930 to the 80s. It had snowed the day before and my Uncle and his hunting buddy Kenny from Ex-Lou took me and Rocko up to the pipeline. The day before Rocko wounded a big four point just off a ridge about a kilometer away and Uncle said we could go in from this way. We parked Kennys red ford 4 wheel on the bush edge of the line. Rocko a muscular athletic type was off to look for his wounded big buck and Uncle and Kenny disappeared into the cedar. I hunted around in the snow and I circled back not really sure where I was. I saw a pile of wood and bark and just behind it a world class set of mule deer antlers moving, I thought what is going on here, I wasn't sure what to do. A huge rack perfectly formed typical and so he was going a little to the right. I like a dummy went left to kinda go around to see. I went around and no buck so I followed his tracks, he made a small circle and the tracks went up and I looked and there he was.I was shaken, he was standing looking behind three immature Christmas trees. I raised my gun and thought I'll wait till he comes out a bit instead of shooting, well he turned and ran straight away and gone. Never to be seen again at least not by me. If I could have, I would have kicked my own butt. well guess what, I walked back twenty-five yards looked down and theres Kennys truck, it blew me away and that would have been my biggest buck, I still remember it as plain as day, Jel P.S. My Uncle laughed at me and said the buck was going to cross the pipeline and saw the truck, he said, you should have shot when he was looking at you,through the trees. Dam I was young then. Jelvis

[Scobo]

15 years old called in my first bull moose bow hunting on my own (I had a good teacher). was in hip high tall grass. moose broadside 50 yards (I could put 8 arrows in 5" at that yardage) stood up and took the shot, practiced for min of 2 hours per day shooting and could make that shot with my eyes closed...but the string hit my hunting jacket sleeve and obviously slowed the arrow enough to hardly graze the moose under the brisket. lesson learned: ALWAYS PRACTICE IN THE SAME GEAR YOU WILL BE HUNTING WITH. Later the same day called in another bull, got him within 60 yards head on. didn't take the shot obviously, a cow came and circled him and headed off the other direction. the bull followed so i gave him a grunt, his ears went back and within an instant he turned and charged to within about 50 yards but didn't see me. Lesson learned: ALWAYS BRING SPARE SH&*&^T TICKETS AND UNDERWARE WHEN BOW HUNTING MOOSE IN THE RUT!
last lesson, shot a nice deer near dark, it jumped about 5 feet straight in the air and took off, seeing it was nearing total darkness i rushed after it and jumped it up 10 yards in the brushline, never recovered it. lesson learned: WHEN YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A GOOD SHOT ON AN ANIMAL LEAVE IT BE FOR MIN 30 MINS-1 HOUR.

[BCbillies]

Day 9 of a 10 day Stones hunt, heading back to base camp, 6 PM, decide to take one last peak into a drainage. Do a double take, wave my buddy over, "holy crap" sheep everywhere including a band of 12 rams, a good selection of "crankers" - many well over and nicely flared. Sheep at 400 - 500 yards, major storm moving in, banged my rifle scope earlier on a rock. After the dust settled and we finally made it back to camp we unloaded our "lightweight" packs. Long story short - no sheep taken. :cry: Awesome experience, beautiful sheep, a dream hunt in most regards - just wasn't meant that we take one (or two). My most memorable hunting moment ever and one I have relived many, many times in my head. It may never happen again but it's a heck of a lot of fun trying!

[Brambles]

Missed a cranker whitetail in alberta one year, wouldn't mind going back and setting that one straight.

Missed a monster bull elk by deflection on a branch at 25 yards, that one still pisses me off but him bugling in my face at 25 yards was one of my hunting highlights too. Would have been pushing B&C, he was a pig, I have the branch in my hunting room as a reminder.

Blew an archery stalk on a highcountry 160 -165 mulie and ended up missing him.

I guess everytime i miss I want to go back and give it another shot

[Bow Walker]

To think there are many here that think I'm an ass. Yet this ASS makes remarks like this and will ruin a great thread. :roll:

There are damn few who can truthfully boast of even half of your hunting knowledge and experience. An ass? Not so much.:cool:

[hunter1947]

If i could relive a hunting time this is what it would be. Me and my two buddies were hunting off of Kangaroo road ,this road is off Sooke rd ,it was back in 1966. I would relive this day buy not going hunting this day ,my buddy shot my other buddy in the chest killing him ,he died in my arms.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif. There's not a week that goes buy that i don't think about the hunting accident.

[calvin L]

Hunter 1947 I am very sorry to hear that . My grandpa got shot in the face on a upland bird hunt years ago But lucky for me he lived .

As to relive a hunt it would be a elk hunt in the peace country . It was a 307 yard shot . The bullet went through the void .Tracked him for 8 hours never did catch up to him . Came back 2 1/2 weeks later and a other hunter shot him with 11 cow's . He taped out at 372 " I almost cried writing this I have to go know :cry:

calvin L

[KodiakHntr]

Sorry to hear that Hunter. Never a reason for that to happen.

[Walksalot]

I would like to relive a couple and those are the animals I wounded. The big ones, and there was a massive whitetail, I missed a crack at sure I think about them now and then but they lived to spread their genes.

[newhunterette]

How I would relive one hunting moment, only one story comes to my mind and it is a story hard to tell.

It was hunting trip that started off as every other of Peter's hunting trips. He went to work and I packed his food and clothes to be sure everything was good to go when he got home, as the guys would be here waiting. It was Peter's turn to drive this trip. As per usual, Peter stopped in at the wholesaler he deals with and where our nephew worked. Jason, was excited and all over Peter, "have a great trip, Uncle Pete." Peter came home loaded the truck and off the guys left. (now Peter hunts with 2 groups of guys on different trips and neither group has ever hunted together, althought they all know one another - the only common connection is Peter). Another point, Peter always lets me know the approx. area he will be located or camped just in case of an emergency.

Fast forward - my telephone rings early morning, Where is Peter, can you get a hold of him?", my brother in law asks. "No, I can't, what's wrong, what's happened?", I ask back and I get no reponse. A few minutes later I get another phone call, it is my brother in law again, he is now screaming at me to get Peter somehow but still won't tell me anything other than he has to come home immediately. I am now in a panic becasue how can I get a hold of someone in the bush, my instincts finally kick in and I call one of Peter's friends who knows exactly where he is camped (thank goodness he had to work and couldnt go with them). I tell him (Rob) that I need to find Peter for some reason but his brother won't tell me why, just that he has to come home. Rob says, "I will find him." Another phone call from my brother in law, he is more calm this time and finally tells me why it is so important to find Peter and get him home. Our dear dear Jason, beloved nephew - killed himself at age 21.

Fast forward again - just on a fluke Rob and one of Peter's other friends from the other hunting group (Luke - also an HBC member) somehow were in contact with one another and they both decided to go after Peter together for me. They drove up to the spot, and the guys were settled into camp, when they walked in and Peter looks up and see Luke and Rob together. Not making a connection right away, he is all excited to have 2 more of his friends join, all of a sudden CLICK, Rob and Luke do not belong together, something is wrong, Peter thought Oh my God what happened to Alison, the kids, what? He is told we are all fine, and that is Jason, He is told Jason is dead. They didn't know all the circumstances so they just told him he was dead and had to come home now. Peter left with them that moment and his other friends were told to stay and hunt and bring his truck home for him.

I would love to be able to relive this day, for Peter to have his hunting trip and be successful, and have Jason back at the wholesaler, excited when Uncle Pete would come in and tell him all about the trip and show pictures.

RIP Jason, we miss you everyday and Love you. (December 13, 1979 - October 25, 2001)

[Sitkaspruce]

If i could relive a hunting time this is what it would be. Me and my two buddies were hunting off of Kangaroo road ,this road is off Sooke rd ,it was back in 1966. I would relive this day buy not going hunting this day ,my buddy shot my other buddy in the chest killing him ,he died in my arms.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif. There's not a week that goes buy that i don't think about the hunting accident.

Wayne

That is not a hunting story I wish in anybody. Sorry to hear that happen.

I grew up on Kangaroo Rd, actually it was Eales rd off Kangaroo. When I was kid we used to find these big drops all over the place, and when I was old enough to hunt, we used to hunt Blinkinghorn Lake are, peddle out bikes up there, with our guns on our backs and off we would go. never did kill anything, but had fun trying. My mom would be freaking out when were gone.

Ahh the good old days.

SS

[shoot'm agn]

1947, Hunterette,

Thanks for the posts.

My Best Regards for you today...

[shoot'm agn]

Hunting moments? ...let's see.

Back in the 70's I was deer hunting with a friend in the foothills. I was sitting at the bottom of a draw watching several game trails. This good-sized white tail buck appears from around the corner of the brush and heads down a trail that will pass right in front of me. I remain absolutely still and am tucked up between a small tree and clump of brush. As he passes by at 10 feet I raise the barrel ever so slightly to just clip the bottom of his chest. The gun goes off and it's literally a snow-storm of white hair...he drops like the proverbial ton of bricks. I reload and stand up. Walking up to him his eyes are glazed and in poking him he's clearly dead. I unload my gun and lean it up against the tree, taking off some layers of clothes to field dress him. I walk around his back side, draw my knife, kneel down and reaching across his neck to cut his throat, he blinks and comes fully alive! Out of instinct I put my right shin on his neck and grab his off-leg next to the ground and pulled up hard, dogging him (ranch work comes in handy some times), cut his throat, and hung on for dear life. He got his rear legs up part way and dragged me, my back to his rack, all over tarnation. It was one of those great situations gone to pieces in an instant. looking back, what should I have done? Let him up? Would he have fought me? All I had was a knife. And I thought he had been shot and I certainly didn't want to lose him. At the time I wasn't scared in the least. Once it was all over I realized how it wouldn't have taken much for it to have come out very much to the wrong. When I did skin him there was no bullet wound! The concussion had simply knocked him for a loop. Lookin back I don't think I've ever felt so alive (+)...and so fortunate (-). My mistake - being full of vinegar enough to shoot from the hip. I grew up alot because of that incident.

[todbartell]

if I could relive one moment, it would be October 26th 1995, when I took my first buck, a small 2x2, at 30 yards with my open sighted 30-30. My Dad was right beside me and he was even more excited than I was :)

[pupper]

If i could relive a hunting time this is what it would be. Me and my two buddies were hunting off of Kangaroo road ,this road is off Sooke rd ,it was back in 1966. I would relive this day buy not going hunting this day ,my buddy shot my other buddy in the chest killing him ,he died in my arms.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif. There's not a week that goes buy that i don't think about the hunting accident.

thats horrible wayne, sorry to hear that. Thanks for sharing though
my condolences to you

[newhunterette]

If i could relive a hunting time this is what it would be. Me and my two buddies were hunting off of Kangaroo road ,this road is off Sooke rd ,it was back in 1966. I would relive this day buy not going hunting this day ,my buddy shot my other buddy in the chest killing him ,he died in my arms.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif. There's not a week that goes buy that i don't think about the hunting accident.

Wayne, that is the biggest fear I have when Peter goes hunting is the stroy you have shared with us- I am so so sorry - no words can ever express the feelings I have for you in regards to this - you are such a strong and compassionate man - bless u always and ur friends families

Ali

[Bow Walker]

Wayne, I was shocked when I read your post. Something like that makes the news once in a long while - and you think it'll never happen to you. I feel your pain and heartache, although it is impossible to put ourselves in your shoes.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Sept 20th 2001......A friend and I were hunting sheep near Spences when I glassed a MONSTER brown phase blackie mousing on a rockslide. I had seen a swack of bears that fall already but had never taken a bear. I decided to go for it while my partner stayed behind to keep an eye on him.
After 2 hours of climbing straight up in loose footing in temps approaching upper 20's Celcius I arrived at a rock face. I began sneaking along the rocks as it was a lot quieter that sneeking along the scree slope. I was about 150 yards from getting to a spot that I had last seen the bear. Glassing back, my partner was the size of a spec of sand and we did not have radios.
All of a sudden about 80 yds away was a brown bear staring at me face on. I immediately raised my rifle knowing I wouldn't have much time. Just before I squeezed the trigger I thought the bear didn't look as big as I first thought. I was sweaty, tired and light-headed from the steep hike so I thought my judgement may have been impared. I thought "What the hell! My first bear." Boom!!
I walked up to the bear grabbed it by the fur on it's back with two hands, lifted it off the ground looking for the rest of the bear but somehow couldn't find it:confused:.


Skinned the greasy bear out in the rising temps, covered by wasps and almost stepped on a rattler on the way down. Got back down to where my partner was and he was standing there with a puzzled look on his face. He asked "What happenned?" I said that I had shot the bear but it wasn't as big as we had thought. He then said "No you didn't. It was in the same slide for over two hours. When he heard the shot he just lifted his head and sniffed the air and wandered off AND HE WAS THE BIGGEST BEAR I HAVE EVER SEEN:eek:!!"

As you probably figured out there were two brown phase blackies on the same semi open hillside about 150 yds apart.
We knick named him "King Kong" and he is still the bench mark by which we measure all other bears.

SSS

[Islandeer]

Great to share stories, sad to hear of yours 1947.

My biggest buck fubar goes something like this. The year before(1990) I had shot a 150 whitey in the EK off of a little hidden ridge that was a natural during the rut. So next year i am back,sitting in the same thicket edge in the timber. Along comes a real love struck doe, wandering right by me, looking for Mr. Big. Cool I think, 5 mins later i hear some serious commotion down the ridge, thrashing,grunting etc. Then out steps the buck that I shot the previous year's Great Great Grandpappy!! Heavy,wide,tall and beautiful dark antlers. I am chuckling to myself,how am I gonna afford another mount! So he walks by me at 50 ft head down bird doggin the doe. Boom, not the result I had envisioned, but he did allow me a real good CLOSE look at his glorious stuff.

Still looking for him....

[ruttinbuck]

Dec 4 1987
I had stumbled onto a giant NT mulie I had been hunting all morning.This guy had been thrashing 6 inch birch trees looking for one last fight at the end of the rut.I was 40 yds away when he let me know he was there and he had no idea what just woke him out of his bed.
I had a really good look at one side of his huge dark brown antlers counting at least 8 tine tips.His face and chest hidden behind a large pine,but the rest of him on alert ears working trying to pinpoint the sound he had heard.I raised my rifle and as I looked through the scope I stepped sideways to get a perfect shoulder shot.
I had been sidehill gouging all morning trying to find him on a steep, knee to crotch deep with snow hillside.My BSA 30-06 spending alot of time in my hand was getting covered in snow.The best I can figure the bolt had moisture inside,freezing solid with the 2 hour exposure to the constant snow.
As I pulled the trigger the rifle failed to fire,I moved the rifle away from my shoulder and remember looking at it wondering what was wrong when it went off up into the sky.
Mr NT wheeled and was gone up the steepest slope he could find leaving me almost in tears of disappointment.
That hunted burnt in hard over the winter and I have yet to see let alone shoot any NT in that class to this day.RB

[Fisher-Dude]

First year of the 6 point rule in the EK, and eastkoot and I are hunkered down bugling on opening day at "The Hole", our favourite little meadow where we have killed several elk. We had a bull bugling to the south a ways, but he was hung up and hadn't moved for quite a while. Another bull had bugled to the northeast at first light, but we hadn't heard from him since. So, we figured we would sneak a hundred yards or so down the creek to the south and pressure the bull that was still bugling.

We spent a while down there, but that bull had bailed with his cows, so we decided to head back to our original position. As we approached it, there was a dandy 315++ class bull standing in the meadow, not 15 feet from where we had first been set up, looking right at us. It was the one from the northeast, and he had snuck in without making a peep. We both hit the dirt and scoped him from about 40 yards, but just couldn't see his sixes, as he was looking dead on at us, and his antlers flared back perfectly to hide his rear tines. We had about a 2 minute stare down, when suddenly he wheels around and bolts through the small trees in the meadow, showing off his 8" long sixes! Two shots into the dirt and trees by us, and he was gone.

Had we stayed put in our original spot, we could have plunked him with a slingshot. :-|

[newhunterette]

1947, Hunterette,

Thanks for the posts.

My Best Regards for you today...

Thank you very much :)

[zigman]

My first year hunting with a buddy. We had walked into a recently burned area at first light and split up. Very shortly after I started to see deer. I sent out a few psst. and finally got his attention and we both headed into the burn to set up. The wind was perfect and in our face, the deer (counted 13 does and 3 bucks) had started out at 600 yards and were heading right for us with no cover for them. Our setup couldn't have been more perfect.
We both were prone resting our rifles on a log. We agreed which deer we were going to shoot so when i said ok, I let go with a shot at the closest one and none of the deer flinched. I shot twice more at that buck, and my buddy simply watched his buck walk away (through his scope).
I kick myself for not taking another shot after as he had gone into the bush which in the end wasn't really thick, the shadows made it look impenetrable. We both looked around for half the day trying to find any sign that I had connected.
I checked my scope later in the day only to find that somehow it had been knocked out badly (almost 2 feet at 100 yards), so each of my shots landed behind him.
The good thing about this day was the laughs we have over what happened. It is funny how experiencing 'losses' like this with good friends makes great stories.

[Gateholio]

I've told the story too many times, dont' even want to remember anymore...:oops:

[MattB]

I'm too good at killing things...nothing big gets away :-)

[dana]

Hmm,
I seem to remember seeing an absolute monster standing right in your boot tracks once. The tracks in the snow told the story. He layed low in his bed and you walked past him at about 5 yards. :eek:

[Islandeer]

I'm too good at killing things...nothing big gets away :-)Lol, never let a little humility stand in the way of immortality!!

[oscar makonka]

Hey Frenchbar, you musta been really rattled to miss those bucks, I seen you shoot a few 4 points over the years and you hammered every one of them dead right there first shot every time.:cool:.

[frenchbar]

Hey Frenchbar, you musta been really rattled to miss those bucks, I seen you shoot a few 4 points over the years and you hammered every one of them dead right there first shot every time.:cool:. They caught me off guard , what can i say.was a learning curve for me no dought.young and anxious then:)

[horshur]

A big whitetail buck......I had snuck in real early and set up an hour before light when in the dark I caught the flash of a white antler tipsand heard grunting. I grunted back and the buck stopped but it was to dark. All you could see were the white tips of his antlers....he started to move off and I grunted to stop him....several more time.. the minutes were to damn slow.
The rack was so big I began to have second doubts about him being a whitetail...I have seen Mulie bucks in the same place so a long wait and then a wiggle of the tail, damn ,he sure is a whitetail....I decided to take him in spite of barely being able to see him...it was now legal light....Missed three times. A dark bush 50 feet out messed me up.....he left for his doe and I cried.
I had heard talk about a whitetail that had mass like a moose....I missed him.

[CanuckShooter]

If there was just one I could pick it would be:

I was about 15 years old and out road hunting with my dad. As usual I was falling asleep from the boredom of driving back and forth, back and forth, along the same five mile stretch of road. [But that's how my dad hunted back then so it was all I had.] Anyways, I keep laying my head against the window and dozing off, all the while my dad is reaming me out....how the he## you supposed to see a moose if your sleeping?? he keeps saying. yadda yadda yadda All of a sudden he hollers MOOSE and hammers on the brakes....I look out his side window and see a cow moose there, my dad was so hyped up he couldn't even get a shell in his gun...the moose was just standing there looking at us..so I calmly walked over to my dad..took the rifle out of his hands...loaded it for him..put on the safety..gave it back to him and said.."you saw it..you'd better shoot it' !!! And he did ~~!!~~ One shot and it was down for good!!

The beauty of this story is that was the first moose my dad had ever shot by himself...[I already had a few under my belt]...and he is gone now, so if there was one hunt ever that I could re-live, it would be the one with my dad.

[303carbine]

The absolute best was watching my son take his first Island Blacktail,one of mine was taking a big bull moose with a jungle carbine.There have been many moments, but those stick out.

[freeman6]

I want to take mine back and replace it. I too lost a dear hunting comrade in a "hunting accident."

In November of 1996, I had made tentative arrangements to hunt whitetails one weekend near Greenwood with one of my buddies, Garvin Cox. I phoned him at nearly the last minute and told him I wasn't coming, I was going to work instead.

He went hunting with another one of his buddies, M. A. I guess a couple of mistakes were made and M. A. shot Garvin in the middle of the chest with a 7 mm Mag. At least it would have been nearly instantaneous.

I ended up saying my goodbyes as a pallbearer. If I could do it over, I would go hunting and maybe things would have ended up different.

It nearly tore Greenwood in half going through the pain of losing one of its young men like that. I know his family still misses him and his kids have grown up with fading memories.

[larry m]

I Would Re-live The Day My Son Got His First Deer. He Is My Best Friend And The Ultimate Hunting Partner. We Were Both So Excited We Couldn't Stop Shaking.

[wsm]

do i have to relive it or could i do someting different?

[farside]

As punishment for a lack of experience and screwing up, I am reliving 2 hunts over and over and over. Both from this past season. 2008 has to be better - it just has too!!

The 1st Island elk I tried a poke at will haunt me till the day I die. A once in a lifetime bull and a once in a lifetime shot and I pooch it. I truely HATED my crossbow (and the operator) that day. BTS has a pic that would make most people weep.

The 2nd was in Alberta. Whitetail hunt. Have to get way better at the long shots or way quicker at putting the bead on an animal. Time waites for nobody and neither does a good buck!!

[pupper]

I want to take mine back and replace it. I too lost a dear hunting comrade in a "hunting accident."

In November of 1996, I had made tentative arrangements to hunt whitetails one weekend near Greenwood with one of my buddies, Garvin Cox. I phoned him at nearly the last minute and told him I wasn't coming, I was going to work instead.

He went hunting with another one of his buddies, M. A. I guess a couple of mistakes were made and M. A. shot Garvin in the middle of the chest with a 7 mm Mag. At least it would have been nearly instantaneous.

I ended up saying my goodbyes as a pallbearer. If I could do it over, I would go hunting and maybe things would have ended up different.

It nearly tore Greenwood in half going through the pain of losing one of its young men like that. I know his family still misses him and his kids have grown up with fading memories.
so in this situation was there any criminal charges? did he think the guy was a deer?

[freeman6]

M.A. thought Garvin was a deer somehow. Part I can't get is Garvin was about 6'4" and wearing a brick brown Carhart type coat. Not the colour for a late season deer and hardly the size either. The distance was 30-40 yards, and the weather good, visibility excellent, scope set @ 4 power.

Garvin was, or had been rattling aparently but M.A. shot him above the antlers he was holding or so rumour has it.

I didn't have the strength to read the coroners report myself. Doubt if I could do it even now.

I don't know about how the charges thing went. I was living in Enderby at the time and never did hang out with most of the crowd that M.A. hung with. I do know that it deeply affected M.A. I don't think he has ever hunted since then.

[porcupine]

This has been a really good thread, and, has brought back many painfull memories, as well as some good ones. I wanted to write in quicky, but I found it hard to put the details into writing. That's what happens when you've been hunting for close to 5 decades. I remember blowing a great opportunity on a wall hanger 5 point whitetail when hunting with my dad when I was 16.... still hurts. Then there was my first of two screw ups on BIG Island Blacktails, each at least 5 points a side. so... lets think of some good thoughts

Here is a picture that I took when walking back downhill after taking my first and only Stone's Sheep ram when I was fifty. The way I felt I can never begin to explain. Decades of dreaming and months of training to get into shape and 9 days of hard hunting , well..............

This was a moment I could live over and over and over again.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u260/tvaida/HeadingBack.jpg
________
head shop (http://headshop.net/)

[huntwriter]

If I could go back in time to relive one very special hunt, it would be my very last hunt with my dear father a few weeks before he passed away.
It is not the most spectacular hunt but the most memorable hunt, one I will never forget.

[cwocarsten]

I was hunting Sparwood about 15+ years ago for Elk and Deer. I was up on top of no name mountain looking down at shut my mouth creek glassing Elk on a far ridge. As I got up to reposition myself I saw movement in a draw about 200 meters below me. There they were 7 heavy massed RAMS and I had no tag. I bought a sheep tag the next day and every year after, never to see them again.

[Elkhound]

one moment..................when my 7mos pregnant wife got her first big game animal ever. That bear did not stand a chance. Great moment in my life. I am still proud of her

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Great pic Porcupine!!:cool:
I can smell the alpine and feel the cool breeze in my face:cool:.

SSS

[srupp]

HMMM the memory I want to relive is STILL waiting to happen...me and ???? hunting stone sheep this COMING sept and my finally getting a stone sheep...sigh.....

Elmer Fudd Ruppster

[308Lover]

It was the last day of my LEH moose draw. I stubbornly kept to my open sights for over 30 years. After a crawl-look-stalk of over 200 yards, I got a big bull in a broadside view--in bright sunshine--on a cold, calm fall day, with leaves still on every bush. Only a few small bushes in my way, so I squeezed off a careful shot and heard the bullet zip upward. In shock and knees trembling, I moved a bit closer. He didn't move an inch. I squeezed a second shot off and watched him trot away. I walked slowly up to the spot of the deflection to see a huge boulder, moss-covered, hidden by a small spruce. A bullet scar was along the top. While I stood cursing fate, I looked up to see that bull, stopped for one last look--on a hillside--and I had not re-loaded--he didn't hurry--he just disappeared through the pines.I use a scope now.

[BCrams]

I have many moments I would like to relive that I cannot isolate any one on its own.

Here's a couple -

On my very first Stone's sheep hunt, I went solo and I hiked into (crawled, climbed more like it) an isolated basin of sorts. The first morning, I had 4 legal rams within 40 yards of me but all were clearly young full curls in the 6.5-7.5 age bracket. I stood up and watched them run off .... then turned my attention to glassing again. A couple hours later, I spot a giant ram appear on the skyline and then bed down in a small saddle all by himself. I watched him for an hour and was amazed at the size of him. He was massive, broomed and at least 5 inches above the bridge of the nose......after an hour of watching and figuring out how to go after him .... I realized he was in a hell of a spot that would require me to be fully exposed for much of the stalk. After 2 hours of climbing and ridge walking to close the distance out of sight, I now had approx 800 yards of open scree slope to cross in plain view only roughly 800 yards from the ram. I belly crawled 7 hours to cover that 800 yards in scorching 30 degree weather inch by inch at which the ram stared at me on one occasion for a solid hour ...... the whole time while I was crawling - I was amazed with the size of that ram and and thinking to myself 'this is insane, my first ever sheep hunt and I am on a ram of this calibre'. 'I can't believe I am going to nail him' ---- eventually I reach the point where I could neither see the ram and he couldn't see me. I stood up and stretched my legs, sat down to collect my nerves and proceeded to stroll out of sight along the ridge top towards the knob I knew the ram was bedded below. I was amazed how quickly I was able to cover the 600 yards or so of ridge top after spending 7 hrs crawling.

I reached the knob and started crawling over the top ....... my heart was pounding.......thoughts and emotions racing through my mind as I saw the tops of the rams horns only 35 yards away and at this point, things seemed to slow down as I lowered my head in disbelief. I inched another foot forward, raised the rifle and put the scope on his head - he was asleep, and no clue I was there - I quickly lowered my head again in disbelief.....'this is stupid'......I can't explain the actions what happened next other than it happened ........ I crawled another 3 feet and now I was in plain view and he still didn't know I was there ......... I got up on my knees and obviously made a commotion as the ram turned his head at the same time and looked right at me ...... I do recal in my mind screaming ' get up ... get up ' with my rifle trained on him .... next thing I knew the rifle was in my lap while I stared at the ram and finally he stood up - with trouble. He was an old ram, I counted at least 13 rings with the visible eye ..... he stood there staring at me as if waiting for me to shoot him .... he started to walk ..... limping stiff legged ... arthretis?? the rifle never left my lap as I watched him slowly walk down off the mountain with difficulty. I didn't move for a long time.........I was tired and eventually made my way back to where I orginally spotted him from.......... I know that ram died a natural death that fall / winter.

Now some people will know why I pass up the rams I have passed up (right Deaddog!). I have already seen and had the opportunity to shoot the ram of a lifetime....on my very first day of sheep hunting. That is what fuels my desire and search for a big ram and I realize I may never get another opportunity to kill one. I have no regrets, as I am sure I wouldn't have the desire and will to hunt Stone's sheep like I do today.

A few weeks later I was talking to a guide of the outfitter where I was hunting and learned of a huge ram they had been trying to find for the past 3 years that they figured would go in the 180 range.....it didn't take long with descriptions etc to realize the ram I was on, was the ram they were searching for. This was further substantiated when I talked to a retired biologist who had known there was a giant ram in the area. His first remark was, 'you should have shot him'.

While I have seen good rams since, nothing has come close.


-------

I'll also never forget the shot my dad made on his first ram after a very tough hunt on day 11.......I can still hear the rifle thunder through that basin and smile on his face as he hoisted the rams head.

[frenchbar]

I have many moments I would like to relive that I cannot isolate any one on its own.

Here's a couple -

On my very first Stone's sheep hunt, I went solo and I hiked into (crawled, climbed more like it) an isolated basin of sorts. The first morning, I had 4 legal rams within 40 yards of me but all were clearly young full curls in the 6.5-7.5 age bracket. I stood up and watched them run off .... then turned my attention to glassing again. A couple hours later, I spot a giant ram appear on the skyline and then bed down in a small saddle all by himself. I watched him for an hour and was amazed at the size of him. He was massive, broomed and at least 5 inches above the bridge of the nose......after an hour of watching and figuring out how to go after him .... I realized he was in a hell of a spot that would require me to be fully exposed for much of the stalk. After 2 hours of climbing and ridge walking to close the distance out of sight, I now had approx 800 yards of open scree slope to cross in plain view only roughly 800 yards from the ram. I belly crawled 7 hours to cover that 800 yards in scorching 30 degree weather inch by inch at which the ram stared at me on one occasion for a solid hour ...... the whole time while I was crawling - I was amazed with the size of that ram and and thinking to myself 'this is insane, my first ever sheep hunt and I am on a ram of this calibre'. 'I can't believe I am going to nail him' ---- eventually I reach the point where I could neither see the ram and he couldn't see me. I stood up and stretched my legs, sat down to collect my nerves and proceeded to stroll out of sight along the ridge top towards the knob I knew the ram was bedded below. I was amazed how quickly I was able to cover the 600 yards or so of ridge top after spending 7 hrs crawling.

I reached the knob and started crawling over the top ....... my heart was pounding.......thoughts and emotions racing through my mind as I saw the tops of the rams horns only 35 yards away and at this point, things seemed to slow down as I lowered my head in disbelief. I inched another foot forward, raised the rifle and put the scope on his head - he was asleep, and no clue I was there - I quickly lowered my head again in disbelief.....'this is stupid'......I can't explain the actions what happened next other than it happened ........ I crawled another 3 feet and now I was in plain view and he still didn't know I was there ......... I got up on my knees and obviously made a commotion as the ram turned his head at the same time and looked right at me ...... I do recal in my mind screaming ' get up ... get up ' with my rifle trained on him .... next thing I knew the rifle was in my lap while I stared at the ram and finally he stood up - with trouble. He was an old ram, I counted at least 13 rings with the visible eye ..... he stood there staring at me as if waiting for me to shoot him .... he started to walk ..... limping stiff legged ... arthretis?? the rifle never left my lap as I watched him slowly walk down off the mountain with difficulty. I didn't move for a long time.........I was tired and eventually made my way back to where I orginally spotted him from.......... I know that ram died a natural death that fall / winter.

Now some people will know why I pass up the rams I have passed up. I have already seen and had the opportunity to shoot the ram of a lifetime....on my very first day of sheep hunting. That is what fuels my desire and search for a big ram and I realize I may never kill one. I have no regrets, as I am sure I wouldn't have the desire and will to hunt Stone's sheep like I do today.

A few weeks later I was talking to a guide of the outfitter where I was hunting and learned of a huge ram they had been trying to find for the past 3 years that they figured would go in the 180 range.....it didn't take long with descriptions etc to realize the ram I was on, was the ram they were searching for.

While I have seen good rams since, nothing has come close.

-------

I'll never forget the shot my dad made on his first ram after a very tough hunt on day 11.......I can still hear the rifle thunder through that basin.Cool story BCrams!

[M.Dean]

WARNING: This story is Graphic! Some hunts you want to remember, some you can't quit remembering. A few of the stories here refresh one of mine, a bad one. A number of years ago, 2 buddy's and myself went coyote hunting on the Harper Ranch, the snow was quite deep and as we drove down the trail heading towards the bottom area of the ranch, my one buddy said, Look there's some fool at the old cabin. I glassed the truck behind the cabin and then said, he's not camped, there's a foot of snow on the hood, it's been there for a month or so. Well we decided to drive off road and go take a look. When we got close, we left the truck and walked up to the Jeep, as we opened the door we could see what looked like rust all over the glass! Wasn't rust! The inside of the jeep was covered in blood, the cup holders were full, the roof, every part of the inside was covered! Murder Scene? We shit our pants! We looked for bullet holes and such but could see nothing, just then one of my buddy's yelled, Look at this! he was behind the truck about 30 ft. Frozen in the snow you could see where the coyotes and birds had been eating something!!! At first it was hard to tell what, then the baseball shaped thing and the bones frozen in the ice started to take shape! Time to dial 911! When we tried to get out with the truck for help,we found out we should have walked down from the road, were stuck!!! What a eerie feeling! We have a dead guy stuck in the snow and we can't get the hell out of there!!! We finally made it back to the lake and phoned the police. We had to go back in with them and the coroner in the dark, on there snow machines this time!!!We had to stay there best part of the night while they dug him out. We found out later that we knew the guy,he had cut his own throat with a olpha knife!!! Try to get that out of your memory bank!!! We named the cabin after him. Some hunts never leave your mind, and thats one of them!!! M.Dean

[dana]

There are some absolute horror stories on here.:shock: Some good positive hunts though to balance it out.:smile: I find I relive all my hunting memories when I flip through my photo albums. That is why I love to take a lot of pics, because they keep the mind reliving those great trips of the past.
I dug through my pics and found this one of Houdini's shed. A buddy found this shed a couple weeks before I missed the buck. It is from the previous year. It was chewed pretty bad, with just pieces of the double droppers hanging on. They were much longer than the remnants showing in the pic.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/Hunting%20Pics/Houdini.jpg

There is one trip that sticks out in my mind as THE TRIP FROM HELL. My brother and I were hunting with my dad out in the Churn area with horses. We all split up and went our seperate ways in the morning. My dad ended up getting in on 2 monster bucks fighting. As he was getting set up for the shot, he had a heart attack. Long story short, he was found laying on the ground by a mountain bike hunter who then rode out of the vehicle restriction area and flagged down the first vehicle he saw. Turned out to be a Paramedic from Victoria. They went and got my dad and took him back to our camp. My brother and I had just got back from the mornings hunt when they pulled in. My brother raced dad to Williams Lake and I stayed back so I could retreive my dad's horse. After finding my dad's horse and taking care of him, I sat for hours on end by myself in the walltent, not knowing if dad was alive or dead. Longest day of my life. My brother showed back up in camp shortly after midnight to get me. Dad's heartattack lasted more than 6 hours and he had sevre damage. A triple bypass and numerous days that were very touch and go, he pulled through. Doctors were amazed that he was able to live.

[srupp]

hmmm somber story Steven..but on a BRIGHTER note your DAD made it AND aint those PARAMEDICS WONDERFUL..:tongue:


Steven

[Elkhound]

hmmm somber story Steven..but on a BRIGHTER note your DAD made it AND aint those PARAMEDICS WONDERFUL..:tongue:


Steven

Not only that he was from the coast. I guess all us southern BC hunters going up there to hunt isn't all that bad:p

[Jelvis]

I remember back in 75 I was hunting by Barriere BC up the Nor river from Kammyloops and I was looking so hard to find a big antlered muley buck I was praying to the hunting gods for a biggin. Well I hunted hard in a foot of snow that was perfect for hunting, no crunch no ice and no powder just the kind that the tracks are sinking in and you can see the detailed foot print well defined and the snow was quiet. I heard some shots up on the ridge above me, boom, boom, boom? I get up there a ways and heres this guy with a mustache and a serious look behind his little smirk. A big four point laying there and he says ya I saw this big four going over the ridge and I got him on the last possible shot he chuckles. Well I was churning inside after that, envious ya, you could say I was a shade of green. I pouted all night my lip was dragging, I said one more thing to the hunting gods and out the door the next morning, guess what, I'm in this gorgeous spot a little creek lots of willows and timber. I count not two, not four but six yearling does going up single file on a ridge end. I walks over and looking around and down in the snow a track three and three quarter inches long. I look up and whoosh out of the buck brush busts this 27 and a half inch typical as hes making his get away I lower the boom, bam and away he goes in over drive and off to the left he circles so I run like Ben Johnson to my left through the shoulder high buck brush and there he is standing broadside. I let one off into the brisket area and he turns and gone. My heart sank what? No? It can't be. I go over to where he last stood like a giant buck and I see crimson red as I follow looking ahead I see the rocking chair rack sticking out of the knee high snow. My prayers were answered I took my time capeing him out, gun against a tree and I looked up and there watching on the side of a small hill a smaller five point. I guess he was eying those six does along with the dominant four point I got, and then he slowly slipped into the willows and was gone. You can see the buck in the previous threads a 180 class whopper. A perfect four. Jel got. + I relive that moment everytime I see the mount on my wall

[model88]

This one goes back about 8 years, but started much earlier if life. I always get a wicked case of "mulie fever" when I see a nice one.

Any how, my buddy and I chased a nice buck to no avail. Went back 4 days later to spot in the same area, get set up and after about an hour I spot a nice buck chasin a doe. Off I go up the mountain, halfway up I am sweatin me arse off so I take my jacket and stuff it in my pack. Not 20 mintutes later as I am getting close to where the buck was, it starts to snow! Pull jacket back on, search all over for the buck. Nothing, look high and low. Its getting near dark so I figure I will head down and check out some does I passed low down and see if a buck is with them. No sooner head down and out pops the buck from a little gully.

He is pogoing his way across and uphill away from me, well here comes the "fever" again. Take a running shot, then he stops skylined at about 200yrds, don't even look for a rest try another shot and watch him walk away unscathed. Spent the next 3 hours looking for blood, snow made that job much easier, no blood or anything just tracks as he ran away laughing.

[The 'Hummer']

On the lighter side,:smile: I don't know if it's a hunting moment I want to relive but it's definately one I remember. A number of years ago on a Moose hunt in 5-15, close to my home town area of Wells, I was working my way around a slash where I'd seen a nice bull the previous day. As much as possible I was making use of blown down trees as a quiet pathway. Working my way around the top of the slash I had just reached the stump end of a big spruce and again glassed the area before proceeding. Looking past the side of the root it looked like I could land on soft gravel so I swung myself over. Just as I touched down a HUGE man eating Ruff Grouse exploded from between my feet!!:shock: I've been 'spooked' a couple of times by a Grizz but this time I just about crapped myself. :oops:Technically, Mr. Ruff did. As he was making good his escape he let out a short brown 'after burner' burst.;-)

[rocksteady]

When I was about 10 or 12, I went hunting with my dad and older brother. They were hunting the deer and I was packing the .410 Cooey Single shot for grouse...

We were hunting around Merritt, on the road that goes from the top of the Princeton Highway across to Upper Nicola Ranch. We were drivning along and this grouse runs across the road into the open grasslands....Dad had to take a leak anyways, so he tells me to go get it...

I load the Cooey, walk about 40 yards up the hill and the grouse flushes and is gone. I swing the Cooey, smack the trigger and the bird folds....My dad and brother could not see the bird, just me......Dad says to my brother "If he hit that damned bird I am gonna S*&T".....Next thing you know I walk back over the hill side with the chicken above my head.....

Had never taken a flying shot until that day and had never shot trap or skeet....


The looks on their faces was priceless.....

[Jelvis]

If I could relive three hunting moments, this would be the third, frenchbar, I enjoyed reading your thread. - Walking along on a ridge that, my Uncle, loved to hunt, for the elusive mule deer. I still call it, Phantom Buck Ridge. The ridge ends into two other ridge ends like the hub of a wheel. Killer spot! Muley magnet area. As I walked slowly and methodically along my eyes and ears scanning the area surrounding me. I looked to my right, there looking at me just above the peak of the ridge, the grey white neck and big antlered head of a trophy mule deer buck, antlers big and wide, I swung my Husqvarna odd six around and upped the Bausch and Lomb 4 power towards the gray misty colored buck and one roll to his right over the edge, Gone! Poof. Like a phantom. I felt robbed I felt disgusted that I blew it, I wasn't quick enough and The Phantom Buck escaped, he and his offspring live on to make muley magic a reality! If I could live that over again I would. --- The Phantom Buck Houdini, was first to see, me. Jel beat ---

[waistdeep]

30 years ago as a young hunter I was walking the disabled train tracks in southern Saskatchewan just as the sun was rising. The morning mist was holding on as the warmth of the sun had yet to arrive. As the track bed was craved through the rolling hills it was hide and seek with the mulies in the low lying swamp beds, perfect walk and stalk morning. As I can still close my eyes and remember this picture in my mind: a large 6 point mulie appeared on a hill top not 40 yards from me, standing 20 feet higher than I was standing with the morning sun coming up behind him just visible in the mist.

I never even lifted my rifle, I stood and looked with absolute adoration at this animal and that morning sun siloquetting his massive rack above me. Best moment a young man can have as he learns the ways of the outdoor life. :smile:

[Jelvis]

Frenchbar, lets hear another hunting moment you would live over and over, another positive story from you, Jel

[frenchbar]

1984 me and a couple buddies hoofed it in to paddle pass. ,hunted most of the morning seeing i decent 4 pt,but it was on the move and dissapeared .heading out in the early afternoon making our way down to the trucks we stop at a alpine stream for a drink and a bit of rest.we were laying at the base of the hill side above us for about 10 min ,when all of a sudden one of my buds quietly says buck 12 noon about 300 yds up the hill laying under some buck brush.we tell him to take your time and try and get a good rest and take him in his bed .in my binos i see hinm good its a old grey face non typ i figured him to be around the 210 mark.well he lets fly and hits below him ,up he gets and he lets fly again again hitting below his front left leg,then it starts to trot away .i got one shot away before the big roman nosed beast went over the top of the rocky ridge.went in after him the next day and never did see him again.i dought he made it another winter. just another day i could relive again jel. im going in this summer to my old haunts see if i can scout out some louies hopefuly i will have some pics for ya in july.

[MattB]

Frenchbar, how late in the season do ya figure the bucks stay in the alpine in your neck of the woods. I was thinking mid october, but its tough to say.

[frenchbar]

between here and where your living they stay in there a little later than what they do north west of here,3rd wk of oct is usualy when the vacate.and where you and kirby hunted they tend to head for lower ground by the first of oct.

[bwhnter]

Aug 2003 bowhunting Stone sheep up by Muncho Lake.Third year of hunting and burnt alot of shoe leather. Rained hard with some snow for the first couple of days and finally spotted a legal ram in a spot that I could pull a stalk on them. Got to where I thought I was above them and waved my hunting partner to join me. Look below me and the rams had moved higher up the mountain.Two smaller rams stand and slowly walk past me. Soon I spot the target ram bedded below mw at 5o yards. He gets up and starts to slowly walk past me. I draw aim and release and proceed to hit him right on the end of his horn. Last time I saw that ram alive he was over 60 inches long with 30" being aluminu. Since that day I try to shoot every day.

The next time I saw that ram he was at the taxidermy shop and still had my b-head and 2-3" of my arrow stuck in his horn.

[Jelvis]

Thats a kewl story bwhnter bow hunting sheep. What would you have done different If you could go back a week before that moment and do it all over again, that particular moment in history. One week before and up to the very release of that arrow? Jel-cool-story.

[bwhnter]

There are a couple of things that I would do. I would shoot more down and up hill. I shot a fair bit before I went but most of it was on fairly level ground so when it came to making the shot I had a voice in the back of my head going "WOW! It feel as if I am shooting straight down"( now not only do I practice shooting up and down steep inclines I have a "Slope Shot" on my range finder that gives me the degree of the slope so that I can compensate for the shot.)
Next I would have convinced somebody in my hunting party to watch the rams and give me hand signals and "walk" me to there location.
One final thing that I learned is that I needed to be in better shape. The following year I trained for 2 hours a day for 4 months. I cut out all my caffine and chocolate and I noticed a huge difference in my shooting (both rifle and bow) That year I finally harvest a ram with my rifle but if I hadn't been in such good shape I would not have made it to where the rams were.

Some people might think that cutting out the caffine and chocolate might be a little extreme but I wanted to put my best effort forward.


Bwhnter

[Jelvis]

bwhnter that is a good follow up plan you made from your summary of things to do different next time. I think next time will prove successful because of it. Jel-Little-Big-Bar.

[Jelvis]

Relive one hunting moment with all of us, for Christmas 2010. We need another story, we love stories.
Jel .. more

[frenchbar]

some otherday jelvis..i will cook one up for ya..maybe boxing day kAPow>><""":mrgreen: 'A Muley Story'

[dime]

As is the case with so many other stories on this thread, I have a big buck that I let get away. I was walking through a slash and looking down at a huge set of tracks going up the hill when I looked up and there he was. A nice big 4x4 looking right at me at about 125 yards but facing towards me. I held the scope on him wishing he would turn broadside for a couple of minutes but no luck. Finally I decided I would try and shoot him in the neck but at that distance I wanted a rest. I looked to my left and there was a nice stump that would afford me a perfect spot to take my shot but as soon as I took one step towards it I looked back and the buck was off like a bat out of hell. I still regret not waiting until his ADD kicked in and he turned of his own volition. As seems to be a common thread amongst these stories, patience is a virtue.

[Sleep Robber]

If I could relive one hunting moment, it would be any one of them that had my Dad back with me in the field, successful hunt or not, as he is in the presence of the Lord now.:(

[RayHill]

I would relive the day I shot over the big black tail this year and this time shoot a little lower.:twisted:

[watson721]

if i had the chance i would relive the day last season in november were i was glassing over a small lake when i heard what sounded like a stampede coming over the hill on the other side of the lake. i looked over and watched about 30 deer with 3 massive bucks pile over it at about 500 yrds. I put my rifle up and was about to take a shot at the largest buck but i thought that i might be able to get closer so i made my way around the lake as quick as possible but when i made it to the other side the deer where no were to be seen. i wish i took a shot

[hunter1947]

Wayne

That is not a hunting story I wish in anybody. Sorry to hear that happen.

I grew up on Kangaroo Rd, actually it was Eales rd off Kangaroo. When I was kid we used to find these big drops all over the place, and when I was old enough to hunt, we used to hunt Blinkinghorn Lake are, peddle out bikes up there, with our guns on our backs and off we would go. never did kill anything, but had fun trying. My mom would be freaking out when were gone.

Ahh the good old days.

SS


Sitkaspruce the title says if I could relive one hunting moment well this was a hunting moment I was on and if I could go back in time and undo what happend that day I would..

[bowhunterbruce]

the only memory i would want to relive would be mt very first elk hunting trip.
after months of reading and learning everything i could about elk,training like a kid possed,reading topo maps my dad and i head to the elk valley way up passed elkford.
everything about this trip was put into my hands.i truely felt ready and pretty confident that we would get into some bulls.
we got there only to find a camp set up at every place one coould pull over so we started looking for any off the main trac road and hung a left to start climbing,back in the late 70's there wasn't many roads closed back then.
well we found outselfs in the high country on level ground after only a couple hrs and set up camp.a primative one consisting of a mattress in the back of our 4x4 datsen p/u and a wooden conopy i had made.plus all the colmen gear of the time.
at morning light after a quick scout the night before,we were set up on an open plateu with dad in the middle of a small group of trees (he had the only camo) and myself in the trees behind him .i called and instantly a bull responded back from up the hill from us.watching the alders parting as he made his way down the hill towards us was incredible as alot of you know.
after calling back and forth the whole time he didn't stop moving until finally he appeared with only his head,neck and back showing slightly uphill from our location,dad being diirectly in front of me i didnt have a shot so it was all on him.
boom goes his gun and the bull disappeared.i climbed up to find his tracs and the trees he beat the shit out of without a single trace of any hair or blood.only a blown out alder right above where the elk had been.
dad has since passed on and he never did get an elk.
bhb

[M.Dean]

Were driving up a hill, late Nov, snowing like crazy when 2 bucks run across the road in front of us. The driver jumps out and starts after them,I get out of the truck, gun in hand to watch. He's going up the road to the left, I glance down the bank to the right, and Holy Shit! There's around 6 or 8 Does looking at me and the King of the Mountain! This buck was big, when he turned his head it looked like he had so many points I couldn't count them! I laughed to my self as I chambered a round in my 308 Win. What a easy shot I said, so I took aim and fired! He was maybe 60 yards down, there was a small bush he was behind, but a easy shot! When I fired he turned slowly and watched the Does run, he turned broadside and walked away! Why in God's name I didn't fire again is a mystery to me, I dream about that Buck! It was hard tracking him because of so many Deer tracks in the bottom, I got so turned around down there I had to use my Compass to get back to the truck! My bullet must have hit a branch or twig and off walked the Monster Buck, live and learn I guess, I'm a little smarter now!!!

[killer]

I was young maybe 14ish my dad had just started letting me go off on my own.We were hunting nanaimo river camp out towards copper canyon gate, i jumped two monsters, they were across a valley from me.At the time i was shooting a open sight 30-30,probably 200-300 yds.Well nowadays i would have tried to get closer i believe i took 8 shots before they walked over the ridge.Walked back to our meeting spot ,my dad and uncle were like yah they were probably not that bigso dont beat yourself up .The next weekend a friend of a friends dad shot both,one scored 125 the other 118.Man if my grandfather had only bought me a 338 instead of that 30-30.

[killer]

I will not mention the monster i had my crosshairs on this year.Only problem was i forgot to load my rifle,the sound of that click i will never forget.Nor will my two friends let me live it down.(They say it doesnt matter that they werent ready to back me up.That buck is going down next year.

[Ron.C]

Mine is pretty simple. It would be in 2001 "my hunting partner of that time" harvesting the first animal either of us had ever taken with a bow. It was a spike whitetail he shot while sitting on a stump along a treeline. I have taken some pretty respectable size animals since that day and I can honestly say that little spike had me as excited, overjoyed, proud of my partner as any animal I have personally ever taken.

One hell of a good memory

[proguide66]

Just read all these , Wayne I am very sorry this happened to the three of you back then , cant imagine the sadness on that day.

Well , here's ONE of my many that have plagued me for yrs.
Once while bowhunting on the island in the Highlands maybe 23 yrs ago I had done my early morning hunt and was 'done'. Clear night ,full moon , frost , nothing to see as the 'night time party'rs' were probably all stuck in bush sleeping before sun up.
I was walking through salal and crap just blatantly truging along straightlining to the truck and came up on a BIG 5X5 laying on the ground under a tree maybe 15 yrds away from me. I thought , 'shit , someone lost a BIG one'...then its ear twitched!! DOH,....his head was left , butt right , facing away from me , head on the ground passed right out! I was a teenager and was instantly shitting myself!...drew an arrow back , aimed for between his shoulder blades to drive it into his goods ( back to me laying on his side) , let her fly...wack....he gets up , runs a half cirlce and just stands there...the arrow barely penetrated due to a bullseye on his shoulder blade maybe? I then make rookie mistake #2 , try to shoot it in the damned neck while he's broadside at 15 yrds...shot through the top half , just neck meat...good bye bucky......still makes me sick.haha

[mungojeerie]

Mine was a double back when I was 16 in Ontario hunting white tails. Shotgun season had closed and we had given "our" corner of the bush a rest for a few weeks. My neighbor had given me an old 150lb cross bow and had decided we better make use of it.

Out to the bush went... plan was for me to get up on this ridge and him to head down the road to check some scrapes then dog towards me.

He made it to the first scrape and hunkered down just in time for a big buck to come on out. It sauntered over to the scrape as he raised his bow, finger tried to find the trigger, but alas there was still a trigger lock in place haha and his keys were hidden under the rock by the truck so as not to lose them in the bush... all he could do was watch the buck do his thing and head on off...

I sat freezing my nuts off for a few hours... and didn't see a damn thing but squirrels. Then I hear something, I start to get ready bow facing the ground but half up and the real branch breaking starts up. I figure well no deer I've ever seen has made that kinda noise, must be Wayne coming through the bush to meet me. I stand up, point my bow up in the air (prob not the safest idea) and jam my free and very frozen hand in a pocket.

Out of the bush 15 yards from me come bounding two fantastic wt's a nice doe and a terrific buck. They burst through and stop dead in their tracks sniffing around. I got my hand outta my pocket when they saw me, as they watched I slowly lowered the bow, raised my hand and clicked the safety off, got 3/4 of the way to shooting position and boom they were gone.

Not quite in the same caliber as many stories here but to a 16yr old kid it's one of the hunting experiences I will never forget.

[bugler]

The one that haunts me is a big whitetail that got away. It was a cold morning in December of '04 and I was sitting in a treestand. My old Jennings Carbon Extreme bow was starting to show its age but it still shot great. A few deer had gone by including some smaller bucks. About 9:30 here comes the buck I've been (and still am) waiting for. I know at a glance that I want to shoot him, I figure he's 160 if he's an inch. The trail he took brought him 10 yards from my stand and I figure I got him. As he came broadside I drew my bow and two loud "ticks" emanated from the limbs. His head whirled around, we locked eyes and he was gone before I could settle the pin on him. What a bummer!!!

I discovered the hard way that in the cold my bow had developed a "tick". I figured out that if I drew the bow a few inches once in a while it would take the tick out and I could draw quietly. Sure wish I could go back and do that before the buck showed up. Now when I sit I always make sure the snow and ice is cleaned from my bow and arrow and I draw it periodically to make sure it is silent. I will get another chance!

[elkdom]

in the early 1980's when I woke up with 2 waitresses that came along with me hunting mule deer in late November near Bridge Lake, minus-20, small pup tent,,,,,,,,,,1 sleeping bag, ,,,,,,,,,,2 blankets,,,,,,,,,,,,,

remember guys, if the girls cant find you handsome,,,,
they sure as hell will find you,,,, if your WARM !:mrgreen:

[SURGE]

back in 2007 i took my wife and small son out blacktail hunting with me for the day. i usually hunt timber and by myself but enjoy the wifes company if she wants to come. we were having a great day seeing all kinds of does and small bucks but nothing i wanted to shoot. we drove into this area that was just freshly logged and my wife said lets go up this little road,it was only 300 yards long or so.i told my wife ahh this place sucks it's to new and i was focused on just turning the truck around when my wife says theres a doe and then theres a elk.i look up and i am muttering theres no elk here when this buck which was bedded with 4 does breaks for the timber,maybe 80 yards away. omg huge massive bladded buck . he hit the timber and was gone. i dogged him in the timber for a mile or so but could not catch him. i was there the next day and ran into a couple hard core blacktailers i know and they had been gunning for this deer for a month. they figure he would hit the 130 mark and named him the blade. no one ever got him as far as i know . if i had only glassed the area before driving forward . shoulda woulda coulda but didn't . lesson learned

[BigfishCanada]

Couple of years ago, the stars aligned and I got a monster, man it was something I hope to never forget

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=3389

[Brambles]

Any hunt with my Dad, may he Rest in Peace.

[blindguy]

I have 2 stories the first one me and 2 buds were up in the peace deer hunting( 2008) we just left the house and i told my buds that i had a dream last night that my rifle is shooting way to the rite and i should shoot it before we head into the spot.Long story short i didn't check it when we stopped to glass a huge slash a big muley came running in and stopped broadside at 300yrds I'm on a great rest let fly and nothing let fly again not even a twitch then he's off pogoing and gone forever then it stoped for a split second at 500or so yrds and my part let one fly and nocked him down. It grossed in the high170's and while i'm glad one of our group got it,it still stings seeing it on his wall.lol Checked the rifle and it was 6in to the rite at 50yrds.

Second was in the exact same spot the next year 2009 and this time me and my buds managed to drag my dad along who hasn't hunted in over 15 yrs.He was hard core way back and has shot some awsome blacktails on the island but never hunted the mainland.
So it's our first night out and one of the buds spots a nice whitey about 600yrds away but he's coming rite at us so we say to my dad go for it he gets down gets a rest and by now he's 300 yrds and closing.I say can you see him Dad says no can't find him in my scope i dial it down to 4 power he says ya got him now, then i turn it up to 7 by then the bucks at 250yrds and stops i say now might work and BOOM bang flop! He was so pumped he couldn't stop shaking and i was one proud kid thats for sure.The buck grossed close to 150 and i had it mounted for him for christmas last yr. Great memory i wish i could relive every day.

[XPEIer]

Mine was only 2 years ago, hunting mulies late season and I was pushing through some semi open fir. I came to an opening in the bush and as I stood at the end I told myself, take your time glass everywhere as you will get busted if you cross this opening.
So, I spent about 15 minutes glassing, just being still. NOTHING

Ok, I started across the opening (it was only 80 yrds), sure enough.....
I get halfway across and freeze, there is a really nice 4x coming straight at me.

He hangs up behind a fir, I can see horns on both sides but no body, after about a 5 minute standoff he spins and bolts.

No shot for me.

second story, my best day, a day when I learned more about hunting than any other.

It was back on PEI, we were hunting ducks, me and this old crusty trawler fisherman friend of mine. I was a young buck full of piss, wanting to kill.

We were set up in a leeward bay on this estuary, sat there for hours till the wind and tide picked up and the birds started. They were coming hard into the decoys in singles, doubles, perfect.
I picked off my 4 birds and he just sat there. When I asked him how come he wasnt shooting, his response. "he was happy just to be out". With that my entire outlook on hunting had changed, be happy with just getting out, get your hours in.

Xpeier

[deer nut]

I would like a chance to relive the moment before I shot a little buck in any buck season only to see the buck of my dreams standing right out in the open a second later!! DAMN!! Talk about "target fixation"!

[dutchie]

I think that it was this year... I was hunting with Elkhound and his 8 year old daughter!

We found a little deer haven and Elkhound shot a buck. His daughter was so pumped she was screaming with glee in the truck, and when it came time to gutting it... she was trying to dig her hands in deeper then mine!

the funniest comment from her was "you know, i am surprised because there is nothing about this that gross' me out!"

Also, seeing little miss Steelco with her first deer and when we drove into camp, buckwheat saying "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!"

it was a great season for memorable moments!

Dutchie

[Tikka270wsm]

I missed a monster blacktail buck three years ago due to rushing the shot. Buck fever to say the least. That buck haunts me to this day. I now always get a good rest for long shots.
Well, this past November I blew another opportunity. On the exact same hillside and the buck was pretty much in the same spot as the one 3 years ago.

Another HBC member(835) and I hunted all day in the deep snow and found lots of sign but didn't see any deer. About 3:00 pm we decided to split up and watch two different areas. I made my way up a steep slash towards the timberline I wanted to watch and made it half way up the hill when I caught movement at about 400 yrds at the treeline. It was a beauty buck chasing a doe. I hurried up the hill to about 300 yards and the buck was about to follow the doe into the timber. I took out the rattling antlers and smashed them together as hard as I could to get him to stop. He did and stood there long enough for me to pack the snow down on the edge of a steep bank to get a solid laying down rest. I was just about set to shoot when the snow let out underneath me and I went slinding about 10-15 feet down the hill backwards on my stomach. My gun went off and echoed through the valley. By the time I got my wits about me, the buck was gone. I couldn't believe it. Not wanting to give up, I hiked up to a landing that is about 200 yards from where the buck was. I got up there and there were 3 deer standing 30 yards into the timberline at the top of the hill. One was a crabpincher buck and I was so pissed about blowing another opportunity at a big buck on that hillside that shot him in the neck. I filled my last tag on that dink buck and drug him down to 835's truck by one leg. He kinda laughed at me. Guess he didn't expect to see a guy that just shot a buck look so pissed off.

[Big Lew]

If I could re-wind the clock on a missed opportunity, it would be the first deer I took a shot at. My Dad brought me along when I was 14 up into the canyons and ridges below Indian Gardens Ranch. We came upon 2 nice bucks and my Dad shot one, the other ran off. As we were gutting his, the second buck came back, and it was my turn. Well, I had "buck fever" so bad I shot the ground half way to the buck. To this day I thought I was aiming for his heart. He was only about 60 yards away. I know my Dad was pretty disappointed, but he was big enough not to make an issue of it, or tease me.
If I could re-live a successful hunt, it would be in 2000, when I was able to get a 3-point mulie, and a 6-point whitetail with my hunting bow during the first 2 days of september, only 6 months after badly breaking both my left elbow into pieces, and my left hip. Everybody, including the doctors, said I wouldn't be hiking or hunting, or even walking without help anymore, and to just forget about it. I was still so weak, I had to cut them into quarters to carry them back to the truck. It was the best feeling, to be able to "stick my tonque out" at all the nay-sayers, you bet!

[Jelvis]

Big Lew coming through after a terrible accident by the sounds of it, left elbow and hip shattered but still makes the season and blows away the nay sayers, big lewy is one durable guy, way to go lew.
Jel Starsky

[Gateholio]

If I could relive a hunt, it would definitely be the Epic tale of Adventure-

FLATTOPS AND FIREBALLS....
:wink:

[steelheadSABO]

If i could relive any hunting moment It would probably be a moment that hasn't happened yet

[todbartell]

Epic. agreed.

[Ltbullken]

The 62" + bull moose that slipped into the willows when I turned the corner on my mountain bike... just enough time to see his rump through the scope get swallowed up by the brush. AND, the once-in-a-life-time mule buck, 5x5 box rack outside the ears on the cut block that stood there long enough for me to get out of the truck before taking the 2 bounds into the tree line... :(

[deeks1989]

This year was mine. I was with my hunting partner H47 on the first morning and first light of the whitey hunt in the EK. We parked the trucks and peeked into a cut and at 250 yards stood a heavy tall and wide 160 class whitetail buck with a few does. I immediately set up my shooting sticks and had a perfect rest and squeezed the trigger and my firing pin did not go off!!!! I scrambled and figured out what was going on and pulled the trigger but again nothing! The buck was a 350 yards when I figured I would pull the trigger calmly and hope the bullet would fire....BOOM! The buck flinched and went a little ways stood there behind some timber...The other does with it ran to where he was and then the buck eventually followed them into the timber like nothing had happened...? After the shot I knew I held to high and did not compensate for shooting downhill! We went to the spot the buck had been standing and found hair and a tiny spec of blood. After following the tracks through the open cut for quite a ways we knew we had just gave him a hair cut...I felt like crying! It was the best chance at a wall hanger whitey but I guess next year?

[Kody94]

If you could go back in time and have a hunting moment relived what would it be...

If I had to pick just one moment, it would be my 1999 Stone Sheep. I'd love to re-live this entire hunt, from start to finish......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/1999_Sheep.jpg

[bforce750]

I'd love to relive this hunt, from start to finish...my 1999 Stone Sheep...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/1999_Sheep.jpg
That's an awsome stone!!!! I'd love to re-live that one every year for sure.

[Big Lew]

I'd love to relive this hunt, from start to finish...my 1999 Stone Sheep...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/1999_Sheep.jpg
Man what a beautiful trophy! You, and everyone else on this site would like to be involved on a successful hunt like yours!

[whitespringer]

How did you know you missed the first one, before you started shooting at the second one?

So what if he shot at the second one? Two tags in the pocket, two bucks. Big Deal:-?