How do you rank/compare/contrast the difficulty and overall experience of hunting each of North America's Big Game Species?

[Northern Shooter]

As someone living in Eastern Canada, I feel like my hunting experiences here are much different than those in Western Canada or in the Northern Territories.

Here in Ontario we primarily hunt White Tail, Black Bear and Moose.

White tail - Generally hunted on private property in an agricultural setting. Hunting from within a blind along the edge of a cornfield. I don't really find this style of hunting all that exciting but it produces meat every fall.

Black Bear - Similar hunting style as above, hunted in the same kind of environment, typically from a blind or tree stand over bait. I prefer spot and stalk style hunting but have never been successful doing so with black bear.

Moose - I hunt Moose in Northern Ontario. It involves spot and stalk and covering large tracks of land, often walking 10-20km each day through rough, wet terrain. This is the hunt I look forward to most each year, even if we don't always get a bull.

How does this compare to hunting game out West like Mule Deer, Caribou, Elk, Brown Bear, Dall Sheep, Mountain Goat, Bison etc?. I've heard that Mountain Goat and Sheep hunts are some of the most challenging to be had in North America.

How would you rank these hunts in terms of difficulty? Do you prefer hunting one N/A game species over the others? I've heard that Elk hunting is some of the best that Canada has to offer. Is it the terrain that you find elk in? The scenery? The volume of game that you see while on the hunt? The difficulty of closing the distance?

I'm curious how each game animal stacks up against the others in terms of difficulty and overall experiences and would like to hear your take.

 

[eyedok]

Have hunted most of the North American species and my favorite and the most challenging have been the mature mule deer in the sandhills of west Texas and eastern New Mexico

 

[BRICKBURN]

Geographic location changes every one of these hunts in Alberta.
Learn how to shoot more than 100 yards.

Prairie -bring your spotting scope and binocs. Be ready to crawl and pull cactus from various body parts. It is not really flat.

Parkland -
Sneak around in the trees, wait on crop fields if you have the patience

Boreal
Much like Ontario.

Start on your stair master now and bring your spotting scope and binocs.
Foothills
Mountains

All of these guys can be hunted in multiple cover and terrain types. They all have different challenges.
Prairie/Parkland/Foothills/Mountains/Boreal
Whitetail -
Mule Deer -
Elk -
Moose -

Pronghorn - Spot and stalk. Finding them, judging them, getting there and shooting straight. Just like sheep on flatter terrain. Out here, its tougher managing slob hunters than getting an Antelope, once you have the tag.

Black Bear - Baiting is allowed in some areas now. (The ability to manage blinds, stands and boredom) Spot and stalk only in the foothills and mountains. Much tougher hunt.

Grizzly - spot and stalk when you could hunt them. Mountain hunting is always tough.

Big Horn - Finding them, judging them, getting there and shooting straight. Getting there...oh.

Goats - You can see them easily enough. Getting at them without dying or destroying the animal is the trick.
Caribou - Can't be legally hunted here. Spot and stalk in the mountains or get sneaky in the forest up north.

Bison (wild) - Plenty of equipment required to stay alive in the winter season (snow machines, sleds, etc.) Then getting the monster out in very deep snow. Not for the faint of heart.

For my two cents:
Toughest to get, a good one has been the Bighorn.
Toughest for survival - Bison in February.
Bow hunting Elk outside the rut - Can't beat the reward.

I'm lucky to have been able to hunt Mule Deer and Whitetails across the board and likely take them a little for granted now. So, I am biased about how tough the hunts are now.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I think a 30"+ mule deer may be the toughest trophy in North America today. Sheep are mainly a challenge to get the permit/tag. The rest is a not as tough.

 

[JimP]

Of the North American big game that I have hunted, the hardest has been a trophy coues deer.

 

[R eight]

I've not done much hunting in North America. However, the few North American hunts that I've done have been some of my greatest hunting adventures.

Which of the species that I have hunted has been the most rewarding or most challenging ? It is hard to say. They were all true wilderness hunts and required both physical and mental fitness. I've enjoyed them all.

The barren ground caribou was the first species with which I had success. I was told that the hardest part would be drawing a tag. I drew one on the first attempt. A solid seven days hunting before I had my first opportunity on a bull. He scored just over 400 B&C and made the all time record book. A lot of walking went into finding that bull and even more effort was required to carry him out. Alaska Range.

The second species I was successful on was a Dall ram. Took 2 trips, a lot of walking and a lot of effort. Alaska Range.

The third species was a Brown Bear. Spring hunt on the Alaska Peninsular. Wild weather, a heap of walking / climbing glassing and playing with devil club when the weather allowed. Shot my Brownie on the last day of hunting on the side of a mountain upon which any goat would be happy to live. 3 Tags to get him.

Fourth species was a moose. With 2 unused Alaska moose tags as souvenirs I decided to head to BC, North West BC. Wilderness hunt. Canoe, rubber boat and boots for transport once the Beaver had departed. Saw one bull in close on day 3. Too small. Saw the second bull on about day 7. Shot him after a long and exciting stalk. 54 inches or there about. A lot of effort went into that bull. And the carry out was a Herculean task . There was nothing easy about that hunt.

So that's it for my North American hunts so far. All of those hunts are hunts that I'll remember to the day I die. I dream of Alaska and BC often. Which one was the best ? I really don't know.....maybe a toss-up between the Brown and the Dall.

 

[WAB]

With the exception of Coues deer, all of my NA hunts have been DIY. Of these, Alaska wilderness hunts have been the most physically challenging. Of those, boat based goat hunts would top the list, followed closely by fly in/pack hunts for dall sheep.

 

[Fatback]

My most physically challenging hunt was for Dall sheep in NWT. Being a flatlander from the SE it is always quite an adjustment when I get into the mountians.

Of the animas I have hunted I would agree that a 30 inch mule deer is probably the most difficult animal to obtain.

My personal nemesis when it comes to North American game is the mountain lion. I’ve been on multiple trips and have not even seen a cat. I’ve definitely had more than my share of bad luck on those hunts. I’ll be trying again in about a year.

 

[fourfive8]

Big mule deer and Coues deer DIY on public land.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Coues deer - yes. Tough to hunt due to the terrain, cover and natural wariness. They are rather thinly distributed, compared to other whitetails, mule deer, and blacktails I've hunted.

I used to hunt elk a lot and successfully in BC, Washington, and Oregon, but it has become expensive and it's hard to draw a rifle or general season tag. Not really hard to hunt once you have a tag and are in good elk country.

 

[vlwtx348]

Snipe....definitely snipe

 

[BourbonTrail]

Mountain Lion (especially without hounds) is the most difficult I have hunted.

Big Muley and big Coues are also challenging in rough mountain country.

Elk is not as bad as whitetail to get close to, but the physical challenge is much more obvious.

Whitetail is difficult if you (me) fidget a lot. I find public land whitetail archery, especially spot and stalk, to be tough.

 

[Northern Shooter]

In terms of sheer difficulty of terrain I'm guessing the Sheep and Goat are near the top given the mountainous landscapes?

I've been looking into guided hunts with an outfitter and pricewise, these two game species are near the top. Elk hunts on the other hand are much more reasonable priced.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Guided hunts; Sheep will be at the top (cost wise) for certain.

 

[Northern Shooter]

So I'm guessing that white tail and moose don't rank very high in terms of difficulty?

How about Moose vs Elk Vs Caribou? Is one typically more difficult than the other?

In going to guess you tend to see higher volume of elk and caribou due to their herd sizes, presenting greater opportunity.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Grand Slam of Sheep is the most difficult.

HH

 

[R eight]

I rec

So I'm guessing that white tail and moose don't rank very high in terms of difficulty?

How about Moose vs Elk Vs Caribou? Is one typically more difficult than the other?

In going to guess you tend to see higher volume of elk and caribou due to their herd sizes, presenting greater opportunity.

IMO that depends on how and where you hunt them.

I’ve hunted moose in areas where they have a 4 brow tine or 50” spread to be legal. Saw heaps of moose….but I reckon unicorns outnumbered legal bulls.

Never hunted whitetail in North America, but I’m guessing shooting from a stand overlooking crops isn’t too hard. But I have hunted whitetail in NZ on public land where it was bush stalking/ sitting on the ground overlooking sign. Nothing easy about that ….sand flies, cold, sand flies, wet and did I mention sand flies.

I guess anywhere can be as difficult as you want to make it.

 

[Mark Audino]

Polar Bear.

 

[steve white]

There are categories and then there are categories...
White tail deer--any old deer off the old corn feeder--easy peasy
Mature trophy White tail deer that KNOWS IT IS BEING HUNTED...supernaturally HARD.

THAT GOES DOUBLE FOR A 30 INCH MULEY!!! Hard to come by. Supernaturally wary.
Elk--you hunt them with your legs. Think elephant tracking hard.

 

[channelkat]

Coues deer - yes. Tough to hunt due to the terrain, cover and natural wariness. They are rather thinly distributed, compared to other whitetails, mule deer, and blacktails I've hunted.

I used to hunt elk a lot and successfully in BC, Washington, and Oregon, but it has become expensive and it's hard to draw a rifle or general season tag. Not really hard to hunt once you have a tag and are in good elk country.

Just curious, where in WA and BC did you typically hunt? That coastal WA rainforest seems to me about the most difficult hunting there is.