Any hunts you wouldn’t do again?

[mdwest]

I remember a 3 day pub crawl around Anchorage in 1980 that I'd not repeat.

We called that "Hog Hunting" or "Hoggin" during my army days

 

[WAB]

Bears in Maine are a little different over bait then other animals. I agree I would never hunt whitetail over bait, but bears, if you don't bait them you will never see one. At least not a mature bear. The amount of bears taken in Maine by chance is low, very low. There is no glassing or areas to spot and stalk. I would group some African cats into the sane category. You will need to bait them, even just to see them.

Spot and stalk bear in Alaska is one of the truly great hunts. We would run the boat down the coast, anchor up, and use the zodiac to get to the flats and creeks.

I have sat on a bear bait in the past. I have no problem with it, it’s just not for me.

 

[Hunt anything]

Bears in Maine are a little different over bait then other animals. I agree I would never hunt whitetail over bait, but bears, if you don't bait them you will never see one. At least not a mature bear. The amount of bears taken in Maine by chance is low, very low. There is no glassing or areas to spot and stalk. I would group some African cats into the sane category. You will need to bait them, even just to see them.

Definitely see your point on bears and the cats, my one and only bear was a chance encounter in California before they outlawed non-resident bear hunting. I would bait a leopard but my wife has said no cats, zebra or giraffe. She has been so supportive that I won’t argue this time.

 

[ActionBob]

Lion in South Africa.

And any other hunt where things are so misrepresented. Just be honest about what it is and let me decide if I want to do it or not. That goes for some some other hunts in RSA and Texas. I have also had great experiences in RSA and Texas. It just gets frustrating when the Outfitters and PHs have told so many tall tales that they can't even recognize the truth any longer.

I've had good experiences with Crusader Safaris, Lalapa Safaris. And Limpopo Big Game Safaris, all in RSA.

Having hunted Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania I have had good experiences with challenging hunts.

I had a bad experience with an outfitter in Alaska who was a confirmed alcoholic and political liberal. I would never hunt with him again but would definitely do those hunts again, with the right outfitter and guide.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I had a bad experience with an outfitter in Alaska who was a confirmed alcoholic and political liberal. I would never hunt with him again but would definitely do those hunts again, with the right outfitter and guide.

I'm a card carrying non-partisan but most "conservatives" define that as liberal (and most liberals think it is too ... free thinking is supposedly by definition liberal minded behavior). My best friend and my brother both are rabid conservatives but I still have fun hunting with them when I'm in Montana. Not as much fun discussing politics over a beer, but when we're hunting we make sure the talk is about hunting, not Trump's porn star hush money or what brand of diaper Biden wears.

Was the liberal drunkard outfitter able to produce the trophies you were after? Or did that not matter?

 

[revturbo9967]

Spot and stalk bear in Alaska is one of the truly great hunts. We would run the boat down the coast, anchor up, and use the zodiac to get to the flats and creeks.

I have sat on a bear bait in the past. I have no problem with it, it’s just not for me.

I would love to try that. I'm in a debate with myself on my next hunt after next year. Go back to Africa, or head to Alaska.

 

[freefall]

Ambush is ethical for courting, especially for those hunters who are handicapped with small caliber guns. Worked for me.

Best pick-up line ever, "Does this smell like ether?" -Emo Philips

 

[WAB]

I would love to try that. I'm in a debate with myself on my next hunt after next year. Go back to Africa, or head to Alaska.

First full week of May. The weather is typically beautiful and the bears are moving.

 

[revturbo9967]

That looks great. Were you hunting Grizzly or Black bear?

 

[Captain David newlin]

I hunted with Shawn Keeny and we were 6 hours from Johannesburg and the farm we hunted was definitely not a small pen and the animals were definitely switched on.

We hunted no shot tame animals about an hour from airport. Most places I could always see a fence. In 2016 I was completely turned off went to eastern cape in 17 with frontier safaris was a totally different experience real hunting wild animals. Been back every year since. Shawn burned me once never again.

 

[Hunt anything]

We hunted no shot tame animals about an hour from airport. Most places I could always see a fence. In 2016 I was completely turned off went to eastern cape in 17 with frontier safaris was a totally different experience real hunting wild animals. Been back every year since. Shawn burned me once never again.

Sorry to here about your experience it was 180 degrees from what my wife and I experienced.

 

[WAB]

That looks great. Were you hunting Grizzly or Black bear?

Both. At the time, griz tags were $25, black bear were free.

 

[Rem280]

I will never do a 2X1 hunt again without knowing the other hunter, well. I have had far too many hunts or days ruined by someone not up to the task. If something goes wrong with the hunt due to the hunter, I want it my fault only. At least thats a pill i can swallow.

Second that

 

[R.M.C.]

I will never do a 2X1 hunt again without knowing the other hunter, well. I have had far too many hunts or days ruined by someone not up to the task. If something goes wrong with the hunt due to the hunter, I want it my fault only. At least thats a pill i can swallow.

I bet a 2x1 with someone you don't know well has to be bad!!

 

[Hunt anything]

I did a 2x1 hunt in 2018, it wasn’t my hunt I was invited on a buddies last African hunt. It worked out well and we both got everything we wanted plus some. The only animals we both wanted was mountain reedbuck and we each shot one about 15 minutes apart. (Game 4 Africa)This trip also worked as a springboard to getting my wife hooked on Africa. I probably won’t ever set up a 2x1 and would think long and hard before going on another if invited.

 

[channelkat]

I had a not so great guided goose hunt in Saskatchewan a few years back. The guide really didn't do any guiding. He just dropped us off with decoys and disappeared for the day.

My first "guided" hunt was waterfowl on Chesapeake Bay. Similar experience, I would never do again, in fact I refused to do a guided hunt for another 15 years.

 

[fourfive8]

I have been extremely lucky on the relatively few guided hunts I've done over my lifetime and would do any of them again. But I've expended very large effort of due diligence and gut feeling before committing on those guided hunts. I have avoided the trendy, flashy, over-cooked, over-hyped and "we've got a deal" hunts. Too good to be true, usually is. I learned to hunt on my own from a very young age. I have experienced many, many unsuccessful hunts along the way. But that has made the successful ones all the more appreciated. Looking back, the toughest hunts physically have probably been DIY in the western US and Alaska. Spot and stalk moose in the tundra and muskeg of mixed boreal forest ranks pretty high on the list of difficulty and discomfort I've done. A DIY bear hunt on Kodiak pushed my limit. Backpack hunts for elk into wilderness areas will also test the best. Long, unsuccessful tracks for eland in the desert sand or around and through kopje after kopje after kopje in mixed woodland will have the most dedicated hunters questioning sanity. My percentage success on those is well under 50%

Would I give it a go again on any those low percentage efforts, successful or not? Absolutely!

 

[revturbo9967]

Both. At the time, griz tags were $25, black bear were free.

I may do caribou/ grizz. But I need some more time to think, Africa may call me back sooner rather then later.

 

[WAB]

I may do caribou/ grizz. But I need some more time to think, Africa may call me back sooner rather then later.

Griz is an expensive hunt for a non-resident.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I have been extremely lucky on the relatively few guided hunts I've done over my lifetime and would do any of them again. But I've expended very large effort of due diligence and gut feeling before committing on those guided hunts. I have avoided the trendy, flashy, over-cooked, over-hyped and "we've got a deal" hunts. Too good to be true, usually is. I learned to hunt on my own from a very young age. I have experienced many, many unsuccessful hunts along the way. But that has made the successful ones all the more appreciated. Looking back, the toughest hunts physically have probably been DIY in the western US and Alaska. Spot and stalk moose in the tundra and muskeg of mixed boreal forest ranks pretty high on the list of difficulty and discomfort I've done. A DIY bear hunt on Kodiak pushed my limit. Backpack hunts for elk into wilderness areas will also test the best. Long, unsuccessful tracks for eland in the desert sand or around and through kopje after kopje after kopje in mixed woodland will have the most dedicated hunters questioning sanity. My percentage success on those is well under 50%

Would I give it a go again on any those low percentage efforts, successful or not? Absolutely!View attachment 560076

I wish my DIY hunts here for elk were 50 percent. More like 25 percent, but that beats the 10-13 percent average.