Wow What’s happening here?

Amen!

However, while I am here my granddaughter hopes to knock down a Nyala, Bushbuck, Kudu, Eland, and Gembok. Would someone be so kind as to advise us where to find them, the best time of day to hunt them, what caliber to use, what bullet to use, and whether or not we will need a PH to help us or can three women just wander around until we see them ? ( sorry, could not resist )

I vote wander around 😉
 
There are plenty of crusty old miners here who are happy to help a greenhorn learn to find gold on their own but will also happily give a virtual weggie to those who want to be shown where their stash of nuggets are.

Perfect analogy for HT.

If more users would contribute before they consume, there would be a lot less weggies. I really like helping those who help themselves. Heck, if you found my honey hole on your own I would be happy to confirm it. Those kind of guys are ones I'd like to hunt with. I think experienced hunters have a obligation of sorts to help out the rookies, but the rookies need to respect what it took to gain that knowledge.
 
I have only been on here a couple months as well. A lot of nice folks have reached out to me when I have questions and are happy to give any pointers that will help me out in future hunts out west. There are always bad apples in every batch. I used to think Wisconsin had the greatest people in the world until I witnessed college students at a badger game dumping beer on an elderly couple wearing opposing teams clothing. It is until you venture out of your little hometown you realize its not all honky dory. LOL

All I can do is raise my child/ future kids to not be tool bags.
 
I helped a buddy run a Virginia based hunting and fishing forum and it never really had a lot of members but most of the members where friends before coming to the forum it became friends because of the forum. Forums take a lot of work to keep up with the upkeep adding new members and so and so forth. Any forums lifeblood is it members, the member who aren’t rude, are helpful and even have a heathy debate and disagree with one another but still keep it civil. What drives a forum to the group is people who want want want but never want to give anything. I think this forum is on of the best ones out there is it’s because of the membership who have something to contribute.
 
Let me offer an analogy to what the hunt is to me. As stated before, blood, sweat and tears. PAIN is part of the effort. This is found when hunting mountain goat at 64 years of age. Intuition and expectation of the results. Realm of wonder of the mountainous terrain and topography. Difficulty of access and habitat that I have overcome or accepted as gospel. Researching same to find another route of access whether successful or not. Lack of access does not ruin my hunt. Learning how to deal with difficult terrain and what I must do physically to get into rugged country. Cannot set on the couch ten months of the year and hunt the “breaks country”. Let us ponder the shot. How much time is spent at the range shooting area in all positions. The solid shooting benchs are not always available. Not many, to my knowledge, in the mountains. How about familiarization of ones firearm or bow and the ballistics of such. Is this part of hunting?
Let us say that a person is successful. What about game preparation and means of getting the reward to the table? Part of hunting? Does a person need to know about safety, what to do if turned around, have to spend the night, how to read a map? What happens when your GPS does not work? Compass and map? Is this part of the hunt?
There are so many parts, beyond pulling the trigger, that encompass the “hunt” itself to regard. It all adds up to the full range of being a hunter and the reward of adventure.
BTW, this not meant to be a lecture, but an eye opener to those who seek adventure and quality of experience.
When mentored or asked to accompany as a fellow hunter, it should be valued and enjoyed. Then, it helps to pay this forward to keep our sport viable for succeeding generations.
I have been fortunate enough to be an outdoorsman who has hunted many lands and exotic, to me, places. I have matured by success and failure. My memories are fond with experience of adventure. These, and more is what hunting represents to this aging sportsman. MTG
 
I am more than happy to share experiences with techniques and opinions of gear. I will take time to share strategy on how to go about applying in multiple states and what that might cost and my approach which is to shoot for middling odds hunts so I can hunt more often for low-pressure hunts for average animals than to hold out for only the primo tag or just go hunt with the masses every year in a brown and down hunt.

When it comes to unit-level information that is beyond was there cell phone coverage, where are the close gas stations, was I seeing animals up high or low or first light or all day, etc operational info then am not sharing unless involved a tag I can never likely draw again (my moose hunt in ID) and then will share only by PM.

Not sure where that places me on the spectrum of things but that is my approach.
 
If these game numbers were not kept artificially low, our conversations would be so much different.

This statement gets my attention in so many ways, but just for the heck of it and because it crossed my screen earlier this morning, ponder this

103742

There is, on average for every green square, 15 blue squares targeting them in their crosshairs.
 
Let me offer an analogy to what the hunt is to me. As stated before, blood, sweat and tears. PAIN is part of the effort. This is found when hunting mountain goat at 64 years of age. Intuition and expectation of the results. Realm of wonder of the mountainous terrain and topography. Difficulty of access and habitat that I have overcome or accepted as gospel. Researching same to find another route of access whether successful or not. Lack of access does not ruin my hunt. Learning how to deal with difficult terrain and what I must do physically to get into rugged country. Cannot set on the couch ten months of the year and hunt the “breaks country”. Let us ponder the shot. How much time is spent at the range shooting area in all positions. The solid shooting benchs are not always available. Not many, to my knowledge, in the mountains. How about familiarization of ones firearm or bow and the ballistics of such. Is this part of hunting?
Let us say that a person is successful. What about game preparation and means of getting the reward to the table? Part of hunting? Does a person need to know about safety, what to do if turned around, have to spend the night, how to read a map? What happens when your GPS does not work? Compass and map? Is this part of the hunt?
There are so many parts, beyond pulling the trigger, that encompass the “hunt” itself to regard. It all adds up to the full range of being a hunter and the reward of adventure.
BTW, this not meant to be a lecture, but an eye opener to those who seek adventure and quality of experience.
When mentored or asked to accompany as a fellow hunter, it should be valued and enjoyed. Then, it helps to pay this forward to keep our sport viable for succeeding generations.
I have been fortunate enough to be an outdoorsman who has hunted many lands and exotic, to me, places. I have matured by success and failure. My memories are fond with experience of adventure. These, and more is what hunting represents to this aging sportsman. MTG


This is a great post. These are all reasons why I have recently come to the sport/lifestyle. I love the struggle, the failures, and the pain. I'm a firefighter out here in California. My job demands perfection because the consequences are high. I love carrying that same mentality to the hills. Although I have only harvested 1 small deer, it was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. I spent soooo many months scouting only to find out that opening day my "spot" wasn't just my "spot", but about a dozen other hunters. I had to completely regroup. I spent the rest of the season hunting my butt off in places I never wanted to hike into. I only saw legal bucks 2 days of the 24 days I spent hunting... and thank God I was able to capitalize on 1 of those days. SO many emotions flooded my body that morning. It was a morning I will never forget. I think its those experiences that my generation (millennial) should be learning from guys like you. It shouldn't come easy, and thats what makes it special. I believe that is the best use of this forum- story sharing and mentorship. There will always be guys/gals looking for and demanding easy info... I mean my generation was raised on that very notion. Just ignore those folks and invest in those that are willing to struggle... that's my 2 cents- and its worth probably less than that

Jake
 
I learned awhile back that whatever question/problem you have, it is better to spend time and figure out what seems like a correct response. Then after that I go to a person or people with my thoughts on the question/problem and lay out what I found out. I have found that this gets a more honest and helpful reponse. I use this in my professional career most. But when it comes to hunting/fishing it works just as well. When researching an out of state hunt, I put in hours of my own reseach then go to people I know have been there and done that. Bring something to the table. It opens the door to people willing to share some hard learned knowledge. Don't expect GPS locations but expect some hints or important pieces to the puzzle. Don't come looking for a handout.
 
I find it quite amusing when I get asked via pm for some information on where I have found success in the past, often from new people to the forum, I often wonder if they realise I actually reside in the UK and am far from an expert!
In my experience the vast majority on this forum will do all they can to help, and I reciprocate (for what its worth) with those that have helped, but never pass on any information supplied in confidence.

In addition, I know Randy is getting a little fed up with things at the moment but it would be a sad day if this forum ever closed down because of outside influences.

Cheers

Richard
 
Great forum, Great people. I've had the privilege of hunting with several, exchanged info with many and enjoyed the comradery with a good portion of Hunt Talk members. Had Hunt Talk members stop by and stay at our house while traveling through for vacations, had the opportunity to assist others within my profession, etc. always a great opportunity to "pass it along", per say. I learn much more than my skill, research, knowledge can share. There are some very serious, die hard hunters here! :)

Never had a fellow long term HT member burn me though that would peeve me to the, "bite me twice" proverb.

All in all, for a public forum - best forum out there.
 
I grew up were the unwritten law of never divulging a hunting location or fishing hole was never questioned, it was just part of the sport. When asked, my go to answer is always “in the woods.” Many accept the answer with a smile but more and more people seem to feel that answer just makes me a smart ass SOB. Attitudes are changing, hunting is evolving more towards the sharing of information. I don’t like it much but I guess I don’t have the right to judge. I know that my favorite elk area was destroyed when a couple of hunters found it. They told me they belonged to a big archer club. The next weekend there were probably 30 people there who had never been there before. It just got more crowded after that. But that was those guys idea of hunting comradery, the more the merrier. Even had a guy tell me he wanted a lot of people around because the only way he sees anything is if someone spooks it to him. I suppose that’s just a little different hunting style.

Maybe I’m evolving too. I pretty much quit hunting bear several years ago but I found a new, really great spot two years ago and I have found myself just waiting for someone to ask me about a good bear hunting spot so I can take them there. (early fall season, not spring)
 
Perhaps just a sad sign of the times. The “me” generation seems to require instant gratification. Don’t get the answer you want, instantly blame everyone instead of yourself. Google almost any unit in Wyoming. Between all the info you find there, and the new info Fish @ Game has on their hunt planner, there’s enough information there to begin your research in earnest. For all the first posts looking for unit information, believe it or not, there is a great satisfaction to be had from doing it on your own. I managed to do it, and I’m as technologically challenged as you can get. Ask a specific question, preferably through a p.m., after doing your initial research, and you’ll find folks to be more helpful!
 
Over the years the new users come and go, it seems with the ebb and flow comes with the marketing/posting/video drops by Randy. It used to revolve around how much trolling Mooise did on various sites. I also find it funny that so many new guys come here expecting all the answers without bringing anything to the table. Like @Randy11 mentioned, I too give out very little information anymore, unless its people I know, or have been around for a while. Not so much that its a big secrete, most all good spots fade and eventually get overrun with people, but some have remained ok. I have more places to go than 3 lifetimes to hunt, but on the principle that giving things away for free gets old. We are under no obligation to do so. That information is earned many ways over. Some of my spots have taken years of my time of success and failure and thousands of dollars to figure out. For people to expect it to be given away helps me understand how they value other people's time and worth.

I've helped a fair number of people over the years, and have met many in person from this forum, and developed some great friendships. I rarely help random people anymore due to similar circumstances as Randy11. Every once in a while I'll get on charity kick and will give xs on a map or unit info, but its rare anymore.
 
Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

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