hardest to hunt

handgun357 · January 15, 2001, 05:59 PM

What animal is the most challenging to hunt and why?
My choice is deer!!!!!

CD1 · January 15, 2001, 09:24 PM

Im an avid deer hunter so Id have to say that the whitetail is the toughest, but I only hunt deer, geese, ducks, dove, squirrel, & hogs. Im sure a lot of other animals are tough too, just that I havent had a chance to go after them...yet. I look forward to turkey hunting this year, and I hear they are pretty tough to trick.

LoneStar · January 16, 2001, 11:23 AM

I've taken lot's of whitetail, and they are of course very challenging, however, I've hunted spring turkey the last 2 years without success. They are fairly easy pickings during deer season, but in the spring, calling them, they always seem to hang up just on the other side of whatever cover is around. Arrghh!

But, I'll try again

MP Freeman · January 16, 2001, 12:19 PM

It often depends upon the terrian and the tactics. Hunting in some of the state parks in Indiana is easy. Take Brown County State Park. The deer are so small and docile because hunting is hardly ever allowed. The deer could actually be hunted with a handful of grain and a baseball bat.

The most difficult critter I've ever hunted were crows in my younger days. I'd have to hide for a long time in different places every week to get a decent shot from my single shot .22.

Regards,
MP

abrahamsmith · January 16, 2001, 03:29 PM

From my personal. limited experience, I'd say turkey, at least here in WI.

They have excellant vision and are very paranoid. As someone once said, it's a good thing they can't smell, cause then we'd have no hope.

I've heard fall is harder than spring, but I dunno, sicne i haven't tried spring yet.

Matrix · January 16, 2001, 10:33 PM

In my opinion, a really good whitetail buck is the most difficult to take. By good, I mean Pope and Young or Boone and Crockett level. Next would be a good bull elk. Taking either of these is something to be proud of.

Art Eatman · January 16, 2001, 10:44 PM

The hardest thing to kill is the biggest buck in the pasture. My dear ol' daddy 'splained it to me this way:

First, you gotta check out all the good bucks to find the biggest. Now, you won't know which is the biggest until you've seen 'em all, which means you gotta find Ol' Biggie a second time so you can shoot him.

Second, a really good buck normally only makes maybe one mistake a year. If your first sighting was his once-a-year mistake, you, dear heart, have a serious problem.

Add number one to number two, and you have enough work cut out to stay busy for the whole season! You'll sure find out just how good a hunter you are--and you probably won't do it while sitting in a stand, either.

, Art

BadMedicine · January 17, 2001, 02:30 AM

In my experiance the Black-footed Ferret, and the Spotted owl are exeptional difficult to bag. It's not that they're overly bright. Or that they're wiley, or hard to kill. It's just that there's so darn few of them, and well, they're sooo darn protected

Art Eatman · January 17, 2001, 12:00 PM

Aw, c'mon, BadMedicine, I got a whole cage full of those owls! They taste a lot like Whooping Crane.

Got any good recipes?

, Art

BigG · January 17, 2001, 01:19 PM

catch a Spotted Owl; defeather and gut, reserving giblets for gravy. Stuff with snail darter souffle mixed with bread cubes; bake in a 350 F oven for 3 hours or until done, basting occasionally. Make gravy from drippings and giblets, mmm - good!

Serve with a good German Reisling for gemuetlichkeit. Or an American premium beer - Carling's or Ballantine's preferred.

Zorro · January 17, 2001, 10:51 PM

Cross Reference:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...threadid=53613

Leave the Black-footed Ferrets alone they are excellent Ground Squirrel eaters!

I prefer the taste of Snowy Plovers and Tiger Salamanders!

Viva Santa Barbara County - NOT!!!

BadMedicine · January 18, 2001, 02:24 AM

The more ground squirrels they eat, the less we can shoot.

or are we enviromentalists now??

kjm · January 18, 2001, 02:26 PM

...have any of you tried Kemps Ridley sea turtle eggs? I find them irresistable when scrambled with the brains of white rhino, or siberian tigers.

On a serious note, where I hunt, the whitetailed deer is a joke. Not only is he relatively small, but he is easy. Last season '99, I blasted my limit within the first 2 minutes of daylight on opening day. This year, I got my limit on the last 10 minutes of daylight on closing day. A lot of folks here in Texas consider them a nuissance so I guess the game depends on where you live. While the WT Deer is easy here, I hear that they are more scarce but much bigger up North.

My personal challenge is the ferral hog that I've detailed in other posts. My favorite game to hunt is still the squirell. He's easy to hunt, quick to clean, tasty to eat, and I can just about eat him every day I go out hunting. They reproduce rapidly (heck- they're rodents after all), and the more you kill this year it seems, the more pop up next. The equipment for hunting him is inexpensive (a .22 and a knife, maybe a thermos full of your favorite beverage), and the time spent out in the pecan bottoms is better for my soul than most Eastern religions!

ERRainman · January 20, 2001, 04:51 PM

I have to vote for Spring Turkey. Although it is quite a toss up here in Upstate SC between them and the very few coyotes we've spotted around. Actually, it's gotta be the Turkey. I've got a couple of coyotes in my bag, no turkey's yet.

The deer around here are just too stupid. I'm not a trophy hunter, I just want meat for the freezer. This year I made enough noise to scare off any other critter in the woods (including squirrels) and still got a nice 6-point buck with no effort.

Crows around here aren't that hard, you just gotta get an owl or raptor decoy, sit it on a fence post and leave the dead ones where they land. Their siblings and cousins think it's a "kill the raptor" party and come from all over to get in on the action. What a hoot!

ERRainman

Art Eatman · January 20, 2001, 07:31 PM

Dunno how the wildlife biologist boffins figure these things out, but: A wild turkey is one of the world's best at what is called "pattern recognition". That is, if anything makes a different pattern than the last time the turkey saw some area, he thinks it's by definition "BAD!" and it's time to leave RIGHT NOW! I guess 98% of that tiny brain works at 100% efficiency at identifying Bad Things.

Hunting for turkeys is about the only time that real, sure nuff Camo is anywhere near necessary. After you find a good sitting spot, imitating an old log that's been there for a long time is a major part of the deal. Ya gotta think like a log, and move about as much.

Fun, though.

Art

January 16, 2001, 11:23 AM	#3
LoneStar Senior Member Join Date: March 10, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas USA Posts: 259	Spring Turkey I've taken lot's of whitetail, and they are of course very challenging, however, I've hunted spring turkey the last 2 years without success. They are fairly easy pickings during deer season, but in the spring, calling them, they always seem to hang up just on the other side of whatever cover is around. Arrghh! But, I'll try again

January 16, 2001, 03:29 PM	#5
abrahamsmith Senior Member Join Date: October 5, 2000 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 177	From my personal. limited experience, I'd say turkey, at least here in WI. They have excellant vision and are very paranoid. As someone once said, it's a good thing they can't smell, cause then we'd have no hope. I've heard fall is harder than spring, but I dunno, sicne i haven't tried spring yet. __________________ Abe Smith, President of UW-Madison's Student Alliance for Firearm Education and Responsibility

January 16, 2001, 10:44 PM	#7
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	The Hardest To FIND The hardest thing to kill is the biggest buck in the pasture. My dear ol' daddy 'splained it to me this way: First, you gotta check out all the good bucks to find the biggest. Now, you won't know which is the biggest until you've seen 'em all, which means you gotta find Ol' Biggie a second time so you can shoot him. Second, a really good buck normally only makes maybe one mistake a year. If your first sighting was his once-a-year mistake, you, dear heart, have a serious problem. Add number one to number two, and you have enough work cut out to stay busy for the whole season! You'll sure find out just how good a hunter you are--and you probably won't do it while sitting in a stand, either. , Art

January 17, 2001, 01:19 PM	#10
BigG Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,334	Sure, first... catch a Spotted Owl; defeather and gut, reserving giblets for gravy. Stuff with snail darter souffle mixed with bread cubes; bake in a 350 F oven for 3 hours or until done, basting occasionally. Make gravy from drippings and giblets, mmm - good! Serve with a good German Reisling for gemuetlichkeit. Or an American premium beer - Carling's or Ballantine's preferred. __________________ o "The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching." Assyrian tablet, c. 2800 BC o "In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain o "They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do they want to come here?" Paul Harvey o TODAY WE CARVE OUT OUR OWN OMENS! Leonidas, Thermopylae, 480 BC

January 20, 2001, 07:31 PM	#15
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Wild Turkeys Dunno how the wildlife biologist boffins figure these things out, but: A wild turkey is one of the world's best at what is called "pattern recognition". That is, if anything makes a different pattern than the last time the turkey saw some area, he thinks it's by definition "BAD!" and it's time to leave RIGHT NOW! I guess 98% of that tiny brain works at 100% efficiency at identifying Bad Things. Hunting for turkeys is about the only time that real, sure nuff Camo is anywhere near necessary. After you find a good sitting spot, imitating an old log that's been there for a long time is a major part of the deal. Ya gotta think like a log, and move about as much. Fun, though. Art

January 15, 2001, 05:59 PM	#1
handgun357 Senior Member Join Date: January 11, 2001 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 293	What animal is the most challenging to hunt and why? My choice is deer!!!!!

January 15, 2001, 09:24 PM	#2
CD1 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2000 Posts: 320	Im an avid deer hunter so Id have to say that the whitetail is the toughest, but I only hunt deer, geese, ducks, dove, squirrel, & hogs. Im sure a lot of other animals are tough too, just that I havent had a chance to go after them...yet. I look forward to turkey hunting this year, and I hear they are pretty tough to trick.

January 16, 2001, 12:19 PM	#4
MP Freeman Senior Member Join Date: July 27, 2000 Location: Secret volcano lair Posts: 489	It often depends upon the terrian and the tactics. Hunting in some of the state parks in Indiana is easy. Take Brown County State Park. The deer are so small and docile because hunting is hardly ever allowed. The deer could actually be hunted with a handful of grain and a baseball bat. The most difficult critter I've ever hunted were crows in my younger days. I'd have to hide for a long time in different places every week to get a decent shot from my single shot .22. Regards, MP

January 16, 2001, 10:33 PM	#6
Matrix Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: E. PA. Posts: 179	In my opinion, a really good whitetail buck is the most difficult to take. By good, I mean Pope and Young or Boone and Crockett level. Next would be a good bull elk. Taking either of these is something to be proud of.

January 17, 2001, 02:30 AM	#8
BadMedicine Junior member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: Anchorage Posts: 863	In my experiance the Black-footed Ferret, and the Spotted owl are exeptional difficult to bag. It's not that they're overly bright. Or that they're wiley, or hard to kill. It's just that there's so darn few of them, and well, they're sooo darn protected

January 17, 2001, 12:00 PM	#9
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Aw, c'mon, BadMedicine, I got a whole cage full of those owls! They taste a lot like Whooping Crane. Got any good recipes? , Art

January 17, 2001, 10:51 PM	#11
Zorro Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2000 Posts: 1,072	Cross Reference: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...threadid=53613 Leave the Black-footed Ferrets alone they are excellent Ground Squirrel eaters! I prefer the taste of Snowy Plovers and Tiger Salamanders! Viva Santa Barbara County - NOT!!!

January 18, 2001, 02:24 AM	#12
BadMedicine Junior member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: Anchorage Posts: 863	The more ground squirrels they eat, the less we can shoot. or are we enviromentalists now??

January 18, 2001, 02:26 PM	#13
kjm Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 1999 Location: College Station, Texas Posts: 1,871	...have any of you tried Kemps Ridley sea turtle eggs? I find them irresistable when scrambled with the brains of white rhino, or siberian tigers. On a serious note, where I hunt, the whitetailed deer is a joke. Not only is he relatively small, but he is easy. Last season '99, I blasted my limit within the first 2 minutes of daylight on opening day. This year, I got my limit on the last 10 minutes of daylight on closing day. A lot of folks here in Texas consider them a nuissance so I guess the game depends on where you live. While the WT Deer is easy here, I hear that they are more scarce but much bigger up North. My personal challenge is the ferral hog that I've detailed in other posts. My favorite game to hunt is still the squirell. He's easy to hunt, quick to clean, tasty to eat, and I can just about eat him every day I go out hunting. They reproduce rapidly (heck- they're rodents after all), and the more you kill this year it seems, the more pop up next. The equipment for hunting him is inexpensive (a .22 and a knife, maybe a thermos full of your favorite beverage), and the time spent out in the pecan bottoms is better for my soul than most Eastern religions!

January 20, 2001, 04:51 PM	#14
ERRainman Member Join Date: July 21, 1999 Posts: 76	I have to vote for Spring Turkey. Although it is quite a toss up here in Upstate SC between them and the very few coyotes we've spotted around. Actually, it's gotta be the Turkey. I've got a couple of coyotes in my bag, no turkey's yet. The deer around here are just too stupid. I'm not a trophy hunter, I just want meat for the freezer. This year I made enough noise to scare off any other critter in the woods (including squirrels) and still got a nice 6-point buck with no effort. Crows around here aren't that hard, you just gotta get an owl or raptor decoy, sit it on a fence post and leave the dead ones where they land. Their siblings and cousins think it's a "kill the raptor" party and come from all over to get in on the action. What a hoot! ERRainman

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