how do you challenge yourself?

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Being the camp Bull Cook & house keeper for a couple of weeks is enough challenge for me during deer season to break the monotony. But being the chief cook and coffee cup washer does have its perks. First deer shot goes to the cook of course as his reward. But I hate being given a fawn to bring home year after year. So by the second weekend the fawns gone. And big daddy here. Well he serves eviction notice on whom ever is sitting in his stand. {Actually being the camp Cook is a necessity for those others having dependence on my skills. As I am quite familiar with a kitchen stove and my abilities to keep us healthy and fed. No doubt no one can survive on Slim-Jims, chips & Coors for two weeks.} All in all its a fun time of year for me. Everyone goes home with a nice deer and happy memory's to think about through-out the following year until we can do it again. And that OP is the challenge and also my reward. If I were given one favor to ask. It would be "They gott'a give up their cheat'en ways when playing cards."_ Pinochle counts and figures are always off. And those extra begging's on the cribbage board are so blatant to those who are observant. No shame what-so-ever.

S/S

 

[shortwave]

Deer hunting: Started this years ago...I'll pick out a certain buck during pre-season scouting and that's the only buck I'll hunt/shoot. Kind of a chess game between him and I.
Most often...he wins.

Turkey hunting the Spring season with a cross bow has proven to be challenging. Started that two seasons ago. Scored the first season and last season got skunked so current score is one turkey for two seasons.

 

[lwb]

I have hunted squirrel for over 50 years with a 22 or shotgun and once in a while with a handgun.This year will be handgun only with a Ruger mk111 with scope,the rifle stays home.The challenge will be getting closer to make the shot.

 

[huntinaz]

I guess I've not yet hit that point. It's challenging enough most hunts for me just to find a legal animal and kill it. Plus I (and my family) like the meat too much for me to go hindering myslelf with archery or iron sights

 

[Paul B.]

MY preference is to hunt with single shot rifles. However, since I had an accident out in the hill and trashed my right knee, just going hunting is a challenge. These days I hunt through an outfitter for elk and he forbids single shot rifles. I'm going to try and convince him to let me use one nest January when I do my hunt as on the hunts I've done with him so far, an antelope and two elk have all been one shot kills. I've done in a few deer with a handgun and even took one with a bow an arrow. They just didn't float my boat.
Probably my biggest challenge was glassing for coyotes and then doing a stalk. I even had a special rifle built up for that hut, a Ruger #1 action, Remington M7 barrel and a custom stock. A 3X El paso Weaver completed the package.. It was a lot of fun but the coyotes usually won that race. No matter as until I wrecked my knee, I was a pretty darn good stalker especially on deer.
I never have been too keen on muzzleloaders although I am certified to teach muzzleloader in the Hunter Ed program. I just hate cleaning the darn things.
My biggest hunting challenge though is drawting a tag, any tag. I've been here in AZ since 1979 and I've drawn 8 deer tags, 5 elk tags and zero tags for antelope and Bighorn Sheep. Since the knee got trashed haven't put in for the sheep tag.
I just turned 75 so there probably aren't too many hunts left for me so I hope I can get tags next year just so I can get out and hunt.
Paul B.

 

[bird_dog]

As I said in an above post, handgun hunting has definitely challenged my deer hunting. Another poster said archery bear. I did that once, too, after killing a few black bears with the rifle. I got one with the bow and it was definitely a high point of my hunting career and the most adrenaline I've ever experienced.

This past weekend's challenge, handgun squirrels. I don't recommend this if you want to make a lot of squirrel stew. I love squirrel hunting, but doing it with a revolver adds a whole new dimension. Lots of shots per squirrel taken, so far:

 

[Bezoar]

in order to challenge myself, and make it almost impossible to hunt deer. I decided upon the following rules.

1.do not shoot a deer thats already been poorly shot by someone with a bow, rifle, handgun, or buckshot

2. do not shoot deer that have horrible infections.

I do admit, i have broken the rules simply to use a tag on the last day of season so i can put a horribly injured animal out of its misery humanely.

 

[bird_dog]

in order to challenge myself, and make it almost impossible to hunt deer. I decided upon the following rules.

1.do not shoot a deer thats already been poorly shot by someone with a bow, rifle, handgun, or buckshot

2. do not shoot deer that have horrible infections.

I do admit, i have broken the rules simply to use a tag on the last day of season so i can put a horribly injured animal out of its misery humanely.

So...you worry about humanely putting an animal out of its suffering only on the last day of the season when it's convenient?

Interesting, to say the least. I won't say the worst.

 

[shortwave]

in order to challenge myself, and make it almost impossible to hunt deer. I decided upon the following rules.

1.do not shoot a deer thats already been poorly shot by someone with a bow, rifle, handgun, or buckshot

2. do not shoot deer that have horrible infections.

I do admit, i have broken the rules simply to use a tag on the last day of season so i can put a horribly injured animal out of its misery humanely.

Bezoar,

I hope that I am misunderstanding your post.

If I'm not... to see an animal suffering and not putting it out of its misery is cruel, inhumane and goes against most every hunters thought process I know. And you sir, have made some **** poor hunting 'challenges' for yourself.

 

[doofus47]

This year I"m taking the mtb in deeper and spike camping for a couple days to a week.
Also, I'm doing archery elk. That's a whole cornucopia of additional challenge...

 

[tahunua001]

I'm afraid I agree with shortwave. not putting an animal out of it's misery is not only allowing it to suffer but while it's waiting to die a slow cruel death you are removing another healthy animal from the population and allowing the infected/injured animal to continue spreading disease and consuming resources that healthy animals would put to better use. last year I shot a deer that had been hit in both legs on one side earlier that morning and by brother shot a cow elk with one leg atrophied from a bullet wound inflicted the year before. neither stood much chance of living in a herd or rearing young successfully and both of us felt good about offering an end to their suffering...

 

[Bezoar]

1. google sarcasm.

2. That is a good way to challenge yourself while hunting.

3. how many of you hunt over the electronic radio controlled food spreader devices that you can buy online?
stop doing that for a real challenge.

Thing is in the last three years i would have used my tags on the first day of archery season if i simply wished to use tehm to put down suffering animals.

 

[bird_dog]

Google 'sportsmanship' and don't make assumptions that everyone other than you isn't practicing it.

 

[tahunua001]

feeders and electronic devices are not allowed in Idaho except for predators(bait is only allowed by permit for bear only) so I hunt the old fashioned way: no calls(except for turkey), no fancy range finding night vision scopes, no bait, just walking around with a gun and hope I see them before they see me. most of the time it works out for me.

also, even though I've lost my fair share of animals, I find it hard to believe that you have so many wounded animals running around that you could fill your tag on opening day. perhaps that was more sarcasm but that certainly doesn't paint michigan hunters in a very positive light, especially considering the average deer shot for me is over 200 yards and michigan is less than half that.

 

[shortwave]

1. google sarcasm.

Like I said...I hoped I was misunderstanding your post.

Thing is in the last three years i would have used my tags on the first day of archery season if i simply wished to use tehm to put down suffering animals.

But now...I don't think I was. So my earlier statement stands, " ... to see an animal suffering and not putting it out of its misery is cruel, inhumane and goes against most every hunters thought process I know. And you sir, have made some **** poor hunting 'challenges' for yourself."

3. how many of you hunt over the electronic radio controlled food spreader devices that you can buy online?
stop doing that for a real challenge.

Lets try not to muddy the waters to bad. Not putting a suffering animal out of it's misery has nothing to do with hunting over feeders, food plots, a watering hole a bean field or a stand of nut tree's.

Most sportsman/hunters would rather put a suffering animal down and let it lay for the buzzards rather then let it go on suffering.

 

[tahunua001]

Most sportsman/hunters would rather put a suffering animal down and let it lay for the buzzards rather then let it go on suffering.

talk about muddying the water. I personally think such an act is ethical however, killing an animal without tagging it and without making a reasonable effort to recover the animal is illegal in any state I've ever looked at(not to say that there aren't some that would allow such conduct).

in washington state just over the idaho border there are huge herds of deer. they are almost entirely does and bucks not large enough to legally harvest. they are so overpopulated that disease and starvation are very prevalent. they are not healthy in the least and will probably be eventually wiped out by disease and damaged genetics. after years of washington F&G failing to do anything about it some sportsmen finally took it upon themselves to thin the population by shooting them and leaving them to the carrion. washington F&G then ordered extra river patrols because "people were poaching deer from boats".

I think they were doing the right thing even if it was illegal but illegal activity is still not something that can or should be endorsed.

 

[22-rimfire]

Want a challenge? Hunt with a handgun. Be willing to pass up a shot when handgun hunting and don't spend the rest of the day calling yourself names why you didn't bring old faithful (rifle).

Set restrictions on yourself on distance with a rifle or say... antler size with a deer.

 

[shortwave]

I've killed a few suffering deer during our deer season in my time. Deer that have been shot where gangrene had set in the wounds. Have called ODNR and have never had to use one of my tags once the officer got there and saw the deer. But I would have tagged them if I had to.
Shot one once(permission given by sheriff) that was suspected of having pneumonia that my neighbor, his wife, a deputy sheriff and I were standing there petting. She would stand there and then go into convulsions, come out of them and repeat process. Never tagged her either.

We have gotten way off topic the OP intended for this thread and for that I apologize to him.

Maybe we should get back on topic.

 

[tahunua001]

FWIW, I am the OP and though I agree that it is off topic it has been a good discussion. I've heard too many horror stories about guys doing such things as described and then had the game warden turn around and revoke their hunting rights for failing to tag and failing to recover the animal. nothing confirmed but enough to make me wary of such a thing.

now...


hijack, rerouted.

 

[shortwave]

FWIW, I am the OP

Oooops! I see you are.

And yes, this has been a great discussion and the very reason I didn't want it closed for being off topic. It got me thinkin of new ways to challenge myself.
But the OP can hardly hijack his own thread now can he.

Sooo....

they are so overpopulated that disease and starvation are very prevalent. they are not healthy in the least and will probably be eventually wiped out by disease and damaged genetics.

Same thing has happened in the past with a few of the parks around Ohio. Park rangers in one park even attempted to net deer for relocation but ended losing many of the deer and some of the deer that did make it spread disease to healthy deer where the sick ones were relocated to.

In another park, there is such a massive deer herd that ODNR took a total of 100-150 deer a year (for three years I know of) out of that herd spotlighting them at night. Believe me when I tell ya, there were/are some massive bucks in that huge herd. But unless ODNR can get the numbers down, there will be a massive 'die-out ' as well.