Your first big game animal

[Redthies]

Saw a bull the night before, sat in my truck in the same spot for 8 hours. I fell asleep, woke up .. looked in the rear view and 2 bulls standing in the middle of the road. Shot one and brought it home.

Absolutely classic!

[HappyJack]

My first big game animal, a moose, it was so long ago I cannot recall the details of my first big game kill. But I do know that it was a 30-06 that was in my hands and around 1970 and in BC.

[TheObserver]

White tail with the .222 (unfortunately thieves stole that rifle, took a lot of Deer with it and was very sentimental) in Rock Creek. Got it the first day we got there I was 10 years old would have been 2004, set up camp went for a drive and 2 bucks ran across the road, this guy and a young 4 point, this guy offered the shot. He only went 20 yards but somehow me and the old man ended up lookin for a couple hours and then finally found him 20 yards away hahah. Only was ever out shed huntin prior to this it was the first hunting trip. I may have also gotten a Mulie too but can't remember would have to look, can't post any new pics anyways havent been able to for months now.

Back in the golden days of hunting I am told, wish I was doin what I do now back then.

[robertmcallan]

My first animal was a moose while hunting with my grandpa and his group. Was 18 when I finally was able to take this Moose. The trip started quick with the first day My cousin and buddy called on the radio saying they had downed a bull a few KMs away from camp. It was an experience seeing how the old boys seemed to have every trick in the book to recovering a downed moose out of the bush to get to the road and into the truck. Sure made it look easy. (Bunch of old loggers). The next few days were slow with little sign. My grandpa had told me to take the wheel as he wanted to sleep. I had parked the truck on a road that I had seen some sign, not knowing if it was fresh or not. About 2hrs of sitting watching the road a young 3/2 bull walked out on the road. I remember jumping up with the excitement waking up my grandpa. He was trying to talk me through the shot but I remember saying I’m struggling holding the gun on one spot, can remember saying I got the head now I have the rump. He had set up for a back up shot for me and calmed me down. What seemed to take forever might of only been 45sec. I was able to pull the trigger and hit the bull in the hump above the shoulder. A follow up shot from gramps and the work started. The bull went down in the center of the road.
Something about Moose hunting with him we always found a way to drop the moose on the gravel road.

[7mag]

For me I would have to go back 45 or 46 years ago…when I was 13 or 14 I guess. I always hunted from the time I could tail along behind my Dad with a 22 for grouse. I had saved up my haying money and bought a Parker Hale 7mm mag…this was my first fall hunting with it. It was fancy as it had a 3-9x Bushnell on it…lol.
Dad and I had gone for a long walk in the morning with no luck so just around lunch we found a large slash to have a bit of lunch and glass over…as it was a nice sunny day, a little kip after lunch was in order. I woke just prior to Dad and could see a mulie in the corner of the clearing. I woke pops, and to us, it looked to be a buck (back then it was either antler or antlerless none of the 4pt shit)…so off I went to close the hundreds of yards gap and confirm it was a buck!
As I was closing in to that 200 yard area the mulie started to slowly ease into the brush-line. With no clear shot I was discouraged, but I pushed on up to the edge of the little ridge where the mulie went into the woods. I slowly walked into the brush which was fairly open and listened and looked…I hear a noise, OMG is he still there? I see movement, then a face looking at me…I shoot he goes down! I am ecstatic!
My Dad is a minute or two behind me…he shouts out, “is he down?” I yell back yep, I got him! He walks back to where I am standing…only to exclaim…”what the hell”…as it was a nice little black bear that was laying there, not a mulie. A bear must have been walking to me as the mulie was walking away…I had tags for both so didn’t hesitate, but my Dad was sure surprised!
I have always been so fortunate to have my best hunting partner be my Dad….

[horshur]

Spike Whitetail at Rendal creek in the Christian Valley with a Savage 99 in 300 Savage with my Old Man.

[hawk-i]

Mule Buck
Early 70's
Alberta
Rem 760, 30-06

[604ksmith]

I moved to Prince George in my mid 20’s back in 2014, after growing up in Vancouver as a family that considered walking a gravel dog park path as being outdoorsy.

I hunted that fall in PG, Chetwynd, and Tumbler Ridge but had no success. Only knowing one other hunter, and he was back in Van, I decided I needed to increase my odds. After a bit of research, that meant deer hunting in the Queen Charlottes due to their deer density. That Feb I made the snowy drive from PG to Prince Rupert, hoped on the overnight ferry, and woke up at 6am ready to hit the haul road taking advantage of the 5 deer in possession bag limit and late deer season.

It was drizzling, and too dark to see much of the few deer I bumped off the road, but I knew I was in the right region. I pulled into a road system I had somewhat pre-scouted with basic mapping back then, and started to walk. Within 5-10 minutes of walking, I had shooting light. Not a minute after that, a spike buck popped out but quickly lost me in the large cutblock with 4-6ft stumps all over. With adrenaline pumping from the close encounter, optimism was still high, and I continued on. Walking around the bend, there was a doe bedded in the open grass of a riparian zone, looking right at me. Standing at 70 yards, I froze. Unsure if it was going to stand up, or not, I raised my Sako 85 in 7mm rem mag, and stood still. Eventually the deer stood up, and just starred at me. After an honest 10-15 seconds, which felt like forever, I anchored my elbow into my side, and shot.

Down the deer went, and I was extremely grateful. It was all of 8am or so in the morning and I shot my first big game animal, solo, and on day 1 of a hunt. I stumbled my way through gutting it, lifted it up onto a stump, and decided to walk back for the truck instead of trying to use my pack for the first time. I came back and it was still there, even cleaner than I left it, as the rain continued. In the next few days I shot another two deer, and came back with my cooler full of 3 Sitka black tails. I would return next Feb with more cooler space…