Any hunts you wouldn’t do again?

[375Fox]

CBL?

Captive Bred Lions

 

[375Fox]

Cull hunting warthogs. I just really did not enjoy it.

What did you not like about this? I always thought it would be a lot of fun

 

[Doubleplay]

I absolutely love hunting lion (it’s my #1 pick out of all of Africa’s Big 5) and was fortunate enough to begin hunting them at a time when the concept of captive bred lions was completely unknown in Africa. Then, captive bred lion hunting slowly began to gain prominence as a budget alternative to the increasingly expensive hunts for truly wild lion.

So I hunted one captive bred lion in South Africa, just to see whether or not it could even remotely hold a candle to the real thing (as my white hunter was promising). Not even close. And I immediately resolved that henceforth, I would only hunt truly wild lion in places like Tanzania… even if it’s more expensive than hunting captive bred lions.

Nevertheless, I don’t advocate for a ban on captive bred lion hunting on mere principle. It offers a relatively economical route for several aspiring hunters on a budget to be able to get a taste of what lion hunting is like. And game farms definitely play their role in wildlife conservation.

Still… personally speaking, it’s just not for me.

I never hunted wild lion and probably will never able to.
But for sure I won't shoot any captive bred, hand fed lion after seeing the lion breeding farms in SA.
Conservation or not it was heart breaking least to say.
However each on it's own.

 

[Doubleplay]

What did you not like about this? I always thought it would be a lot of fun

Agreed. They are truly one of the few animals in Africa which can't be contained by high fences.

 

[YancyW]

Dove hunting in 100 degrees with dusty wind blowing my hat off. F that all day long.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I never hunted wild lion and probably will never able to.
But for sure I won't shoot any captive bred, hand fed lion after seeing the lion breeding farms in SA.
Conservation or not it was heart breaking least to say.
However each on it's own.

A gentleman of principle, you are.

 

[Red Leg]

We once did a 200 bird pheasant shoot in Poland, It took the second drive to work out that all the birds were brought out in cages and literally thrown from the cages. Appalling.
Mark CZ

Essentially the same as a tower "shoot" in this country. It isn't intended to be hunting.

 

[Justbryan]

For me it is extremes in weather. I am getting to old for above 90 degrees and below freezing. Above 90 need to be inside with the A/C and below freezing in front of the fireplace. I did break this rule to hunt Tahr and chamois in New Zealand last year.

So, most duck hunting is out (loved it when I was a kid) and most northern states after October. I would not do it for free.

But I would hunt a CBL, giraffe, grizzly, brown bear, and just about any legal game that is exportable.

 

[Skshyk]

I would never hunt anything that was not wild again, caged, or fenced. Just not for me.

 

[Daisy]

This exact topic came up around the grill yesterday while waiting for the doves to start flying. 3 or 4 of the guys had done a “continental shoot” and to a man none cared to repeat it. Shooting pheasant thrown from a tower doesn’t seem right.

It’s one of favorite events yearly. That said, it’s a shoot not a hunt.

 

[Jay Kelley]

I did a 2 day pheasant hunt in west Texas - a fund raiser for a local service club - on private land donated and marked. First day we were covered up with hunters. Second day we were on our own. Never saw a pheasant. Won't do that one again.

 

[Red Leg]

I did a 2 day pheasant hunt in west Texas - a fund raiser for a local service club - on private land donated and marked. First day we were covered up with hunters. Second day we were on our own. Never saw a pheasant. Won't do that one again.

I was unaware we had any pheasants in West Texas.

It is why I usually hunt western Kansas.

 

[Hunt anything]

There are a lot of places doing that in US and charging an arm and a leg.
Clueless so called wild bird hunters can't even see the holes in pheasants beaks.

Are the holes in the bills where they had something so the roosters wouldn’t peck and fight one another? And then removed before being liberated.

 

[Red Leg]

Mountain goat in the Chilcotin Mountains of British Columbia. Would return for black bear anytime, but getting above the tree line is a challenge for a younger man. I think it is the steepest terrain I have ever attempted to hunt. We had a full week, but spotting weather on only three days. No goats spotted one day and did two blind climbs on the other two. On both occasions, the goats were across the drainage when we topped out.

 

[Jay Kelley]

I was unaware we had any pheasants in West Texas.

It is why I usually hunt western Kansas.

I hunt the ColbyGoodland area at least once a year.

 

[Sideshow]

Again some very interesting views.
With the bird hunting I learnt to just pick the birds that I found to be a challenge.
The one other thing that I do as well is go to the game cart and check the birds.
I like to see if there in good nick. ie fat and in good condition.

With hunting everyone taste are deferent aren't they.
Having grown up hunting truly wild animals free range in NZ it's truly its fascinating to rear game and then release (not in cages off of a scafold) them and keep them alive and then get them to fly over the guns.
Sounds easy but its anything but. When it goes right its brilliant but when it goes wrong well once there out there wild, lol.
We decided one year to do English Partridge. They just coveyed up into one huge group and in the 9 days we had we only once managed to get them to come over the guns.
What I would not hunt is Rhino. Lion would need to be wild. Leopard not sure....
Elephant at the drop of a hat....but its got to be on foot and close.
I guess at the end of the day each to there own, but for me if its not free range hunting, its not really my kettle of fish.
Bit like stocked fish ponds I guess.
Actually a day on a pea field shooting wild pigeon. Those guys know how to fly.
Ohoo and Stewart island. Thats a cool place to hunt....but then its not guided.

 

[WAB]

High volume shoots are done like that. Some people are for that, some are not.
There have been shoots with 1000 - 2000 birds per day. No other way. (photo from internet)

View attachment 559600

That may be true in Poland, that is absolutely not true in the UK. In fact, that would be highly illegal in the UK.

 

[Roller]

I think everyone here generally discusses their favorite hunts. Are there any hunts that no longer interest you or you wouldn’t repeat? I’ve been lucky and got to hunt quite a few different regions and outfitters. I’ve never had a bad hunt but think I’ve learned more what I want and don’t want with each trip. This is my list

1. The commercial game farm hunt in Limpopo. I’d be really glad to hunt bushbuck or warthogs or a dedicated kudu hunt in the mountains on very non-commercial properties, but seeing farmed species, color variants, or ear tags would ruin my hunt now. It’s generally too commercialized for the hunting I want now.

2. Estate hunting in New Zealand. I’ve had some PMs telling me otherwise, but the wild deer and farmed deer have very different temperaments from what I observed. I got to see 3 deer estates while I was there. I’d be excited to hunt free range deer or tahr again, but one estate stag is enough for me.

3. Single tag hunts in western US. I’m not a collector. I like going to see new areas and hunting styles and getting in all the days I booked. My biggest concern on these type hunts is finishing on the first day. I’m not one to pass trophy animals just to extend the hunt. I’ve only done one hunt like this for mule deer. Outfitter, guide, and area were great, but I took my mule deer on first afternoon, and hunt was over. I’d go as a group or with multiple tags in my pocket, but only one tag is too much of a potential limiter to me.

Agree. Been to a game farm in RSA once and that was enough for me . Granted there are some larger properties and good outfitters there, but better options elsewhere in my opinion . Sorry if that hurts peoples feelings .

 

[WAB]

One hunt I would not do again was a red stag hunt in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland. The outfitter assured me that a good red stag was realistic. When I got there, they really pushed me to shift my focus to Sika. Nothing against Sika, but I was there for red stag. Bottom line, I got put with the guide’s son because they had a client doing a promo article hunt with the guide. We got on one red red stag and the kid made the most godawful squeal and blew that stag into the next county.

The final straw was when they started pushing sheep. I knew they were planted, but they didn’t know that.

Needless to say I won’t go back.

 

[Fixfire]

Dove hunting in 100 degrees with dusty wind blowing my hat off. F that all day long.

Hahaha!!! Sorry but that’s exactly what I love about dove hunting - versus freezing my arse off in a tree stand or goose blind for 12 hours!!